Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism Inés Monguió PhD
American College of Forensic Psychology San Diego, 2016 Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
Jurors, judges, you and I when asked to form an opinion regarding a criminal act, likely will contemplate the following: • “Was it him, or was it his circumstances? Was it him, or was it his brain? But what most people do not understand, despite the fact that naturalis c philosophers and scien sts have been saying it for centuries, is that there is no ‘him’ independent of these other things. Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
(Or, to be a bit more accommoda ng to the supernaturally inclined, there is no ‘him’ independent of these things that shows any sign of affec ng anything in the physical world, including his behavior.)” “Dualism fits naturally with libertarianism [i.e., belief in free will] because a mind dis nct from the body is precisely the sort of non-physical source of free will that libertarianism requires. “ (Greene and Cohen, 2004) Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
Explaining the Mind-Body Issue • Dualism: The belief that there are two separate and dis nct substances that make up a human being: mind and body. – Plato – Chris an doctrine & much of Western Civiliza on – Descartes res extensa (measurable) and res cogitans (non-physical, non-dimensional) Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
• Res cogitans was the “soul” of pre- Enlightenment thinkers. So it was for Descartes. • In the 20th Century the stuff of res cogitans some mes is referred to as “consciousness”. • Physicalism: Consciousness as an epiphenomenon of brain • Modern Trialism (Karl Popper, John Eccles) The “Hard” ques on is always “HOW”?
Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
• HOW does the immaterial, non-dimensional, non-measurable “soul”, “psyche”, “mind”, res cogitan cause physical changes in the physical reality that is the brain? HOW does it cause behavior? Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
“Any mind to brain communica on has to be compa ble with the natural laws, in par cular with the principle of energy conserva on. Making the brain do things, like messing with synapses, takes work that the soul would have to perform and that has to be accounted for.“ (Koch, C. (2012), page 151) Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
• Integrated informa on theory (IIT) in the late 20th and current 21st Century (Francis Crick, Giulio Tononi, Chirstof Koff). • Consciousness (Φ) exists in all and every system that possesses informa on that it integrates, and that creates new informa on of its own. The more informa on, the higher the Φ. Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
• In our chosen specialty of Forensic Psychology we are asked to evaluate “fuzzy concepts” such as mo va on, intent, understanding, apprecia on of consequences, veracity, prognosis of recidivism, psychopathology, extenua ng circumstances, and so on. • Dualism seems to be at the root of many opinions and recommenda ons I have read in reports by colleagues in forensic psychology. Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
Defini ons of Psychology - The scien fic study of the human mind and its func ons, especially those affec ng behavior in a given context. - The mental and emo onal factors governing a situa on or ac vity. (Note the implicit dualism in the defini on) Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
Defini on of psychopathology • The scien fic study of mental disorders in order to understand their gene c, biological, psychological, and social cause, course and treatment. Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
Defini on of Neuropsychology -The study of the rela onship between behavior, emo on, and cogni on on the one hand, and brain func on on the other. - A science concerned with the integra on of psychological observa ons on behavior and the mind with neurological observa ons on the brain and nervous system
Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
Defini on of Forensic Psychology - As defined by the American Psychological Associa on, is the applica on of clinical special es to the legal arena - The applica on of clinical special es to legal ins tu ons and people who come into contact with the law ( Cronin, p. 5). - The applica on of psychology to legal ma ers in a court of law. Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
• Much press given to the neurosciences in the past 15 -20 years. • The Decade of the Brain was a designa on for 1990-1999 by U.S. president George H. W. Bush as part of a larger effort involving the Library of Congress and the Na onal Ins tute of Mental Health of the Na onal Ins tutes of Health "to enhance public awareness of the benefits to be derived from brain research". Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
Defini on of Neuroscience - The interdisciplinary scien fic study of the nervous system. It involves biology, chemistry, engineering, computer science, linguis cs, mathema cs, medicine (in cluding neurology), gene cs, philosophy, physics, and psychology.
Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
“The growing role of neuroscien sts in court means that neuroscien sts should be aware of important differences between the scien fic and legal fields, and, especially, how scien fic facts can be easily misunderstood by non-scien sts, including judges and jurors.” (Jones et al., 2013)
ISSUE: Is a judge or jury able to define a “normal” brain? Since the brain causes all behavior, can any behavior be excused? How about NO behavior can be excused? Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
• Mr. Weinstein, 1992, killed his wife and then threw her out the window from their Manha an apartment to make it look like suicide. A subarachnoid tumor was found in his brain. The prosecu on so feared the informa on going to the jury that Mr. Weinstein was allowed to plea to manslaughter. Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
• Science aims to discover facts through induc ve and deduc ve means that increase our collec ve knowledge of reality. • The law aims to pursue the ends of society’s values — with respect to orderly, produc ve and just behavior. • Judge and jurors must always decide within a system of uncertainty. The more dire the consequences of their decision, the more that uncertainty must be reduced.
Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
• As expert witnesses in psychology or neuropsychology we must be constantly on the alert to – 1) Iden fy our own propensity to separate “psyche” from “soma” in the evalua on and in our conclusions – 2) Educate lawyers, inves gators, judges and juries in considering factors important at the me of clarifying/concre zing “fuzzy concepts” Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
• Assess the individual in all spheres of func oning and of influence received • Consider all possible condi ons that must be ruled out, and thoroughly assess (personally or via well-coached inves gators) • Insist on having access to all medical, school, and employment records available • Always ques on your first impression by forcing yourself to come up with alterna ve explana ons for a symptoms or behavior Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
Known areas of the brain are involved in • Apprecia on of reward and punishment • Ascribing emo onal valence to external events • Emo onal responsiveness and aggression • Decision making • Reasoning • And many/all behaviors associated with lawful and unlawful behavior
Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
• Since all and any behavior has correlates in the brain, and the behavior of the brain correlated with external and internal behavior of the periphery, then it follows that at the me of assessing criminal behavior the psychologist must consider physical condi ons that may present with psychological or neuropsychological symptoms and condi ons. Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
• “Physical” illnesses/condi ons with neuropsychological or psychological correlated symptoms: ! Migraines ! Porphyria ! Chronic Fa gue Syndrome ! Fibromyalgia ! Chronic Lyme Disease ! Hypoglycemia ! Hypothyroidism Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
• “Physical” illnesses/condi ons with neuropsychological or psychological correlated symptoms, (cont.) ! Systemic Lupus ! Gulf War Syndrome and other chemical injuries ! Acute thiamine (vitamin B6) deficiency ! Mul ple sclerosis ! Alzheimer’s disease and Pick’s disease, early ! Hun ngton’s chorea, early ! Cushing’s syndrome Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
• “Physical” illnesses/condi ons with neuropsychological or psychological correlated symptoms, (cont.) ! Par al complex seizures ! Accumula on of toxins from severe liver or kidney disease ! Disturbances in electrolytes ( toolow sodium or too high calcium) ! Intoxica on with heavy metals (lead, mercury, manganese) ! Exposure to pes cides ! Menopausal and premenstrual syndromes ! Inhaled anesthesia
Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
• Because psychological condi ons are known to affect cogni on as well as emo ons, and therefore the brain’s behavior, a forensic psychologist must look for the presence or absence of these condi ons at the me of formula ng an opinion regarding premedita on, intent, and extenua ng circumstances. Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
Psychological condi ons with physical correlates/consequences • Depression • Anxiety disorders (a variety of them) • PTSD • Dissocia ve disorders (possibly excluding Conversion Disorder, but definitely including DID.
Neuropsychology, psychopathology, and neuroscience: The Death of Dualism
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