CONCURRENT SESSION PAPERS What Is Mind? : A Neuropsychological Perspective Thomas.M.V* *PG Student (MSc Clinical & Counseling Psychology), School of Behavioral Sciences, Kannur University, Kannur, Kerala, India. Phone: 91496 2524638 Mobile: 919447540351 E-mail: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
We commonly call mind is a range of functions carried out by the brain. The action of the brain underlie all behavior not only relatively simple motor behavior such as walking, and eating but, all the complex cognitive actions that we associate with specifically human behavior such as thinking, speaking and creating work of art. The neuropsychological aspect of mind begins with brain- behavior relationship. Charles Darwin put forward the Materialistic theory of behavior. The development of language is an example. Language is a cognitive behavior which can be explained on the basis of neural science. The different theories explain how the language has been developed in animals including human beings. The need for effective communication between the same species and the search for food led to non-verbal language which later led to verbal language. The verbal communication made the life easier. Certain areas in the brain are responsible for the language process. This means that the cognitive behavior (language) is a product of brain. Hence we can say that the mind is a product of brain activity. And a new model to define the mind is also been presented by the author.
Keywords: Mind; Dualism; Materialism; Neuropsychology; Cognitive behavior; Language; Cerebral Mental Field; Electro-Magnetic Field.
INTRODUCTION were several principles put forwarded to discuss this idea. Many philosophers and scientists studied the matter from From the time immemorial, the human thoughts have been in different perspectives. search of the concept of mind. The mind-body relation, the existence of mind and its activities were still inviting attention Aristotle (384-322BC) describes object as combination of form from different perspectives. Ancient philosophers were able and matter. He argues that there are many cases where the to express their views on the context. Modern researches form of the object is what’s essential to being such an object, revealed more scientific idea about the concept. Above all our while matter is not. Aristotle used the term “psyche”, which is rich Indian tradition, based on Vedas and Upanishads described responsible for life. He said that the non-material psyche mind on more acceptable and comprehensible way. In governs our behavior and based on this concept the idea was Kathopanishadu it was stated as, known as “Mentalism”. (Beakely, B and Ludlow, P. 2006). “Atmanam radhinam vidhi, Rene Descartes (1596-1650) describes that the mind and body Sareeram radhameva thu, are different sorts of things, made of different substances. It is referred to as Cartesian Dualism. The body, in its intrinsic nature Budhim thu saradhim vidhi, exactly like every other material object, being an essentially Manah pragrahameva cha” extended thing (in Latin res extensa), extended in space that is to say, and defined by such properties as length, depth, height, -Kathopanishadu, lesson-1, valli-3. (Prasad.M.N, 2003) mass, motion and spatial location. On the contrary, mind is The conscious principle within is the lord of the chariot. The essentially a thinking thing (res cogitans), devoid of shape, mass, body is the chariot, the intellect is the charioteer or driver, the location in space or any other physical property and governed mind is the reins, the senses are the horses, the objects of the by reason rather than mechanical causation. (Beakely, B and senses are the roads. So the charioteer (intellect-brain) controls Ludlow, P. 2006). the (reins-mind) paths where we have to go. John Locke (1623-1704) said that our knowledge is limited PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES both by our imperfect evidence and by the limited ideas; we use to understand this evidence. He was totally against The concept of mind primarily debates on two issues: (1) Is Cartesian Dualism. (Beakely, B and Ludlow, P. 2006). mind an immaterial thing? (2) Is mind is just the brain? There
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George Berkeley (1685-1753) said that this is a form of Monism- unknown ancestor. In Darwin’s terms all living things are said the view that everything in the universe is made of the same to have a common descent. As the descendents of original substance. Berkeley argues that, what we perceive- our entire organism spilled into various habitats over million of years, concept of an apple, for instance, involves just the qualities of they developed different structural and behavioral adaptations the apple that we see, taste, touch etc. So the apple is nothing that made them suited for specific ways of life. But at the same more than a group of sensory qualities and he said mind is a time they retained many similar traits that reveal their cluster of sensations. (Beakely, B and Ludlow, P. 2006). relatedness to each other. Brain cells are having such characteristic common to animal species. Consequently all Julien Offray De La Mettrie (1709-1751) argues that, this is a brain cells that living organism possesses are descendents of form of ‘Monism’ that claims that everything in the universe is that first brain cell (Kolb, B and Whishaw.I.Q. 2001). made of matter. On the basis of some studies he concludes that everything in the universe –including human mind- is Life is evolved to multi cellular body from unicellular structure. made up of a single physical substance. (Beakely, B and Ludlow, The behavior of unicellular structures were as limited as they P. 2006). had only little amount of neural tissues. Reproduction was a behavior that subjected to dramatic change from unicellular Auguste Comte (1798-1857) presents a model of the scientific animal to multi cellular animal. The unicellular organism knowledge, surprisingly; psychology has no place in this model, reproduced by simple techniques such as binary fission and since Comte thinks psychology is far too unscientific to survive the method was called asexual reproduction. When the the march of progress. Traditional philosophical psychology, amount of neural tissue increased proportionally with the he argues, focuses at best only on the intellectual features of body size, the behavior also changed. They have developed the normal humans, thereby neglecting data available from another way of reproduction- the sexual reproduction. Their studies of emotions and mental illness, and comparative studies thinking pattern (cognitive behavior) and mental activity also of animals. As a result of this detachment from data, the changed. The multi cellular animals possess a broader mind traditional picture of the mind is populated with objects. than the unicellular animals with the well developed neural (Beakely, B and Ludlow, P. 2006). tissue-The Brain. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) opposed the ideas of Comte, by While considering the neuropsychological view of mind, Sir providing a methodological argument that psychology will John Carew Eccles (1903-1997) was an important figure who remain valuable as a separate science. The brain is so complex tried to explain the “mind-body problem”. He explained mind and so poorly understood. If we believe that mental states are on the basis of the mechanisms of synaptic transmission and the brain states, we need further study about the mental functional controls with in the central nervous system. His regularities independently of brain research. (Beakely, B and contribution was mostly on the philosophical level. The Eccles’s Ludlow, P. 2006). model of mind was presented with out any experimental William James (1842-1910) said that, everything is made of evidence or experimental designs for testing. A mental field the same substance (experience), but since that substance model was proposed by Hiroomi Umezawa (Umezava 1993) makes up both the mental and physical equally, it is no more which is termed as “Quantum Field Theory”. In the one than other. (Beakely, B and Ludlow, P. 2006). These are interpretation of quantum theory by Nils Bohr (1885-1962), some of the important philosophical views, and we are now mind and matter are two aspects one undivided process. Based going to discuss the neuropsychological views of mind. on this idea David Bohm (1917-1992) formulated another theory, but this also does not solve the problem of how neural NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE activity can be directly related to the subjective, non-physical aspect of mind (Bohr and Factor, 1985). By the middle of 19th century another theory of the brain and behavior were emerging. This theory was the modern The subjective experience involves an integrative property. perception of materialism- the idea that rational behavior can Billions of neuronal action produces the actual experience of be fully explained by the working of the brain and the rest of a unified one. This is termed “binding phenomenon”. Wolf the nervous system. The perspective had its root in the Singer and colleagues claimed that a synchronization of evolutionary theories of Alfred Russell Wallace and Charles rhythmic electrical potentials between different areas of the Darwin. brain might be involved in binding (Gray and Singer, 1989). Eccles realized that some sort of field would have account for Wallace and Darwin independently arrived at the same the integrative aspects of mind. For the elements in the brain conclusion that all living things are related. Darwin elaborated that give rise to the field are the organized bundles of neurons, on the topic in his book titled “On the Origin of Species by or the “psychons” (Eccles, 1994). The American neurosurgeon, means of Natural Selection” in 1859. Darwin believed that all Benjamin Libet, proposed another theory known as the organisms, both living and extinct are descended from some
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“Cerebral Mental Field” or CMF which is potentially testable new model by which it can be easily understood. The model is (Libet, 1994). A small slab of the sensory cortex is neuronally called Electro-Magnetic Field model of mind. When electric isolated but kept viable by making all the cortical cuts subpially. current is passed through the copper coils rounded over an This allows the arterial supply to the project area. Libet predicts iron rod, the rod becomes a magnet, creating an “electro- that electrical stimulation of the sensory slab will produce a magnetic field” around the device. Neither the magnet, nor subjective response reportable by the subject. The slab iron rod alone can produce such field. The magnet and the produces its own CMF by this activity. Benjamin Libet and coils are only different parts of the system. When energy in Hans Kornhuber found out that a “readiness potential” is the form of electricity is introduced, the components act as created in 1/3 of a second before finger movement and it can unique system to produce an electro- magnetic field, just as be recorded by scalp EEG (Ramachandran.V.S, 2007). That is, the cerebral mental field. we can see an electric potential is created in the EEG before we are thinking for a movement. The fore brain, mid brain and hind brain are only the components of the ‘mind system’, and when the soul, in the The brain imaging studies reveals that the theory of mind(ToM) form of vital energy is introduced, it acts as a unique system and the emotion empathy depend on the activation of brain and creates the mind. The activities of brain controlled by this networks mainly localized at the superior temporal lobe and subjective experience (mind) are called behavior, or the non- tempero- parietal junction(Benedetti et al 2009). physical mind finds its expression in the outer world through behavior which is observable and measurable. LANGUAGE AS A BRAIN ACTIVITY CONCLUSION Language is a medium for communication. No other species in the earth has language as developed as human beings are The “mind-body problem” is a fascinating subject. The having. The knowledge about the evolution of language is Cartesian Dualism has opened the path to its enquiry. Every based on various kinds of animal vocalizations. Hewes attempt to define the physical existence of mind will be resulted reviewed many variants of vocalization theory including the in vein. More researches are needed to study the complex “pooh-pooh” theory (associated with strong emotions), the brain activities, Cerebral Mental Field and the Electro Magnetic “bow-bow” theory (imitation of natural sounds), the “ye-ho- Field model. ye” theory (resonate with the natural sounds), and the “sing- song” theory (noises made while playing or dancing). But there DECLARATION are no evidences to support these theories (Kolb,B and This is my original unpublished contribution, not under Whishaw,I.Q, 2008). consideration for publication elsewhere. The language is a cognitive behavior. The basic needs of a REFERENCES living organism are food, sex and shelter. When the number of a specific species in a geographical locality is increased, 1. Beakely B., Ludlow P., (2006), The Philosophy of Mind. USA: Prentice Hall of India Private Limited. this led to the scarcity of food and shelter. Foraging became a 2. Benedetti F., et al., (2009), Functional and structural brain correlates of solution for their existence which led to the development of theory of mind and empathy deficits in schizophrenia. Italy: Scientific Institute and University Vita-Salute San Raffaele. perceptual skills and in turn increased neural communications 3. Bohm D., Factor D., (Eds), (1985), Unfolding Meaning: A weekend dialogue within in the brain, compared to other species. This process with David Bohm. Routledge, London, p.177. affected the language also. To finding food and to 4. Eccles J.C., (1994), How The Controls The Brain. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, p.197 communicate it to others became an integral part of 5. Feser E., ( 2009), Philosophy of Mind-A Beginner’s Guide. Chennai: Chennai community living. The non-verbal language converted into Micro Print (P) Ltd. 6. Gray C.M., Singer W., (1989), Stimulus Specific Neuronal Oscillation in verbal language, which made their life easier. So, the brain Orientation Columns of Cat Visual Cortex, Proc Natl Acad Sci, 86, became more complex and life became simpler. The complex p1698-1702. 7. Kolb B., Whishaw I.Q., (2008), Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology brain performed activities including simple motor behaviors (6thedn). New York: Worth Publishers. and complex cognitive behaviors. These brain activities were 8. Kolb B., Whishaw I.Q., (2001), Introduction to Brain and Behavior, New evolved through thousands of years. The Homo sapiens are York: Worth Publishers. 9. Libet B., (2006), Reflections in the Interactions of Mind and Brain. USA: having the most well developed system, in case of language. Elsevier Ltd. The cognitive behavior of language has been so developed in 10. Prasad M.N., (2003), Kathopanishad (Malayalam). Calicut: Poorna Publications. p. 126. human beings is due to the development of both, the brain 11. Ramachandran V.S., (2007), The Emerging Mind. Noida: Gopsons Paper and its non-physical, subjective experience- The Mind. Ltd. p.101. 12. Umezawa H., (1993), Advanced Field Theory: Micro, Macro, and Thermal An “Electro- Magnetic Field” Model for Mind Physics. New York: American Institute of Physics, p 238. While discussing the structure of mind, I am, presenting a
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Questions That This Paper Raises 3. How does the Electro-Magnetic Field model describe the other functions brain? 1. What will be the fate of neuropsychological study of mind in future? 4. How does the brain relate to mind? 2. Can we able to describe this non-physical, subjective experience on the basis of materialistic point of view?
About the Author Thomas M.V. is a homoeopathic physician. He is graduated from Govt Homoeopathic Medical College, Calicut. Now doing his Post Graduation in Clinical and Counseling Psychology at School of Behavioral Sciences, Kannur University. He has presented posters in National Conferences on Psychology. He is also working as a palliative care volunteer and has completed volunteer course from Institute of Palliative Medicine, Calicut. He is preparing his PG dissertation on Psychological variables of cancer patients under palliative care clinics of Kerala. Email: [email protected]
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