16. The Brain Makes Its Own Ghosts

Editor Julie Beck's article begins with a reference to everyone's childhood; running up the stairs when it's dark, felling like there's someone, something chasing after you. This feeling is called, rather uncreatively, "Feeling of Presence," or FOP. This phenomenon is not fully understood, and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, or EPFL, in Switzerland, is doing some research on the matter. What studies on patients with mental disabilities has shown is lesions in parts of the brain responsible for self-awareness, movement, spacial positioning, or sensorimotor signals. The EPFL has developed a robot that touches one's back with the same movements made by the person on a joystick. When the touch on the back is given a slight delay, the FOP can be induced in regular, healthy test subjects. Researcher Giulio Rognini explains that the research has brought results, but it is still unclear what goes on inside the brain. The next step, he says, is to use the robot to test schitzophrenics or other mentally disabled patients. He also explains how consciousness involves our brain creating multiple projections of what our body is, not all of which we are fully aware. Thus, the sensation of someone else being there, rather than just ourselves, can be created. Julie Beck concludes by saying that there are no ghosts behind us, "the ghosts were always us."

Julie Beck's article is largely informative in nature, focusing on the research done by EPFL. She explores various views on the matter of consciousness and theories about FOP, but does not take a biased stand for either side. However, she uses methods of typical rhetoric to enforce the different views and to convince the reader of the legitimacy of the research done on the matter. She quotes Giulio Rognini, a reliable source. She also refers to each of our simila childhood experience, as well as a story of a mountain climber who felt a third climber beside himself and his brother. Finally, she gives lots of detail on the research done, especially by EPFL, whoch solidifies the claims about what is clausing FOP. She does a good job of explaining complex terms and elaborating on confusing ones, keeping the reader on track without having to slow down. Beck's only problem lies in the inconclusiveness of her article

http://m.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/the-brain-makes-its-own-ghosts/382527/