Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 7 June 2018 doi:10.20944/preprints201806.0092.v1 Short Version of ‘The Brain, Explained’: A Response Process Theory of Brain Function Ari Rappoport The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
[email protected] www.cs.huji.ac.il/~arir Abstract Understanding brain function is one of the most important open problems in science today. At present, there is no concrete theory for how the brain works. Here, a the- ory is presented that provides a detailed mechanistic biological account of the brain’s capacities. Brain function is managed by a response (R) process that is structurally similar to the immune response, and shows anatomical and molecular specificity. Dif- ferent R process stages utilize different cortical layers, hippocampus fields, basal gan- glia paths, GABAergic interneurons, cerebellum paths, and molecular agents such as dopamine, serotonin and opioids. We show how the R process supports hierarchical action sequences, language and thought. The theory is supported by a large body of experimental evidence in many modalities, and accounts for virtually all of the major facts known about the brain at the system level. Keywords. Neuroscience, basal ganglia, cortical layers, cerebellum, habenula, inhi- bition, predictions, dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, opioids, mirror neurons, place cells, language, imagery, working memory. 1 Introduction How the brain works is one of the major open problems in science today. Following New- ton, Einstein, Darwin and many others, we understand many aspects of the physical world and life. However, we do not understand how living organisms act and think. These ca- pacities are known to be mediated by the brain, but currently there exists no brain theory or anything close to it [Grillner, 2014], despite the enormous amount of invested research effort.