Mahashatavdhan

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Mahashatavdhan

• Dr Sudhir Shah
• (M.D., D.M.)
• Hon. Neurologist to H.E. Governor of Gujarat
• Director of Neurosciences Sterling Hospital
• Head of Department ,Neurology V. S. Hospital

www.sudhirneuro.org
4th March, 2012
Mumbai, India
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Towards Powerful Cognition
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Plan of My Talk

• Memory function
• Tips to improve memory
• Jain view

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Human Brain Capacity

• Human brain has roughly 100 billion (1011)
  neurons and 100 trillion (1014) synapses
• One can store enormous facts e.g. 90 million
  books each having 1000 pages
• One can hold approximately seven items
  in short-term memory for about 20 to 30 seconds
• It is known that we severely underutilize our
  brain

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Brain VS Computer

• The brain is much, much bigger than any current
  computer
• Accurate biological models of the brain would
  have to include some 225,000,000,000,000,000 (225
  million billion) interactions between cell types,
  neurotransmitters, Neuro modulators, axonal
  branches and dendritic spines
• No hardware/software distinction can be made with
  respect to the brain or mind
• Brains are analogue computers are digital

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Brain VS Computer

• The brain is a massively parallel machine
  computers are modular and serial
• Processing speed is not fixed in the brain
• Short-term memory is not like RAM
• Synapses are far more complex than electrical
  logic gates
• Unlike computers, processing and memory are
  performed by the same components in the brain
• The brain is a self-organizing system

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What is Memory?

• Memory is a speci?c cognitive function the
  storage and retrieval of information
• As such, it is the prerequisite for learning, the
  building block of all human knowledge

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Limbic System Memory

• Certain structures of the limbic system are
  involved in memory function
• These large limbic system structures are AMYGDALA
  and HIPPOCAMPUS

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Limbic System
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The Hippocmapus

• The Hippocampus Plays an important role in
  consolidating information from short-term memory
  into long-term memory and retrieves them when
  necessary

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The Amygdala

• The Amygdala is responsible for determining what
  memories are stored and where the memories are
  stored in brain responsible for emotional
  memories

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Memory
Cohen and Squire, 1980
Declarative
Non-declarative

• Experience-induced change in behaviour
• Cannot be declared (procedural)
• Examples
• Subliminal advertising (priming)
• How to ride a bicycle? (skills)
• Phobias (conditioning)

• Available to conscious retrieval
• Can be declared (propositional)
• Examples
• What did I eat for breakfast? (episodic)
• What is the capital of Spain? (semantic)
• What did I just say? (working)

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Mati Gyan Shrut Gyan
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What Is Working Memory ?

• A combination of
• Attention
• Concentration
• Short-term memory
• The ability to temporarily maintain and
  manipulate information

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Working Memory

• The Prefrontal Cortex
• With more difficult tasks involving bilateral
  brain activation
• The number of activated brain regions in the
  prefrontal cortex increases as the complexity of
  the task increases.
• In Munishri, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus
  amygdala must have been very well developed..

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Hypothesized Memory Processes Encoding,
Consolidation, and Retrieval
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Encoding, Consolidation and Retrieval of
Declarative Memories
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Shatavadhani

• Shrimad Rajchandra (1867-1901)
• Shatavadhani Dr.R.Ganesh ( 1981)
• Muni Mahendra Kumar (1957)
• Sathavathani Sheikh Thambi Pavalar (1874-1950)
• Shri Manek Muniji Maharaj (1991)

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  Shatavadhan And Above

• Dr. Garikipati Narasimha Rao (2002)
• Dr. Medasani Mohan (1996)
• Dr. Nagaphani Sarma (2000)
• Kadimalla Varaprasad
• Yashodevsuri Ma. Saheb
• Dharmsuri Ma. Saheb
• Nirmalashriji
• Munishri Ajitchandrasagarji Maharaj ( D/O
  Panyasshree Naychandra Sagarji Maharaj)

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Scientific Tips For Higher Cognition

• Repetition
• Symbolization
• Association
• Visualisation
• Remove stress
• Neurobics

• Be Positive
• Be Interested
• Be Attentive
• Be Active
• Be Relaxed Happy
• Be yourself

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Limitations of Scientific Knowledge

• Laws of Conservation defined only for physical
  systems which are closed and passive
• Biological systems are open systems
• Constantly interacting with the environment
• Human beings have memory, which makes it
  difficult to do any scientific experiment on them

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Jain view

• Gyanavarniyakarma xayopasham
• Worship of Gyan, Gyani tools of Gyan.
• Linked with Past birth achievements
• Ways shown to lead to kevalgyana

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Jain (Oriental-Spiritual) View to Achieve
Higher Cognition

• Maun (silence)
• Brahamcharya (celibacy)
• Sadhna (austerity)
• Tapasya (penance)
• Pratyahaar ( Control of Senses)
• Vinay (politeness)
• Mantrajap (chanting)
• Swadhyaya (spiritual reading)
• Constant Abhyas ( Repeatition)
• Dhyana (Meditation)

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Spiritual Order and Shatavadhanies

• Shatavdhanies spiritual practices involve all
  these disciplines
• By these mind goes into low entropy state
  tremendous data can be stored and recalled
  efficiently
• Involves parapsychology like telepathy and
  clairvoyance
• It will provide new direction of evolution which
  is very different from Darwins principle of
  evolution
• It is a big challenge for the modern science
• Shri Pokharna

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Jains Theory of Knowledge Through Consciousness

• As per modern science, knowledge is nothing but
  information organized in some way and information
  is nothing but data organized in some way
• We can collect data and generate information and
  knowledge through consciousness
• So all knowledge is structured in the
  consciousness
• Hence the Jain concept that knowledge is
  structured in the consciousness is very logical,
  as demonstrated by shatavadhanies
• However final destination is Kevalgyan

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Role of Subconscious Mind
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Subconscious Mind

• The subconscious (preconscious) mind is part of
  the conscious mind and includes our memory. These
  memories are not conscious, but we can retrieve
  them to conscious awareness at any time
• Your subconscious mind remembers everything even
  those things that have entirely by-passed your
  conscious awareness
• So boosting Subconscious mind can be powerful
  memory tool..by spiritual practices like
  meditation, silence, etc.

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Suggested Hypothesis

• There may be opening of Millions of Synapses
• Increased function of Neurotransmitters
• More use of Association areas
• Role of Prefrontal cortex, as it is more
  developed in animals with higher intelligence
• Formation of G Module and extraordinary tracks of
  neurons
• Development of new storage areas

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Memory and Gene

• Neuroscientists identified a master controller of
  memory
• Npas4  gene appears to regulate the brains
  ability to form new memories
• So by increasing this Gene Expression one can
  make powerful memory
• Genes Molecules Synapses
  Neurons systems Networks
  Behaviour

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• "We remember what we understand we understand
  only what we pay attention to we pay attention
  to what we want" - Edward Bolles

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The Value of Chunking

• You have 5 seconds to memorize as much as you can
• Then, draw an empty chess board and reproduce the
  arrangement of pieces

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Thank you