Brain complexity: different regions function the same? (Introduction)

by dhw, Wednesday, March 14, 2018, 11:08 (2229 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: The brain has been mapped to isolate different functional areas, but this paper wonders if they operate in all the same fashion:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/neuroskeptic/2018/03/09/what-does-part-of-brain-do/#....

QUOTES: "How can we know the function of a region of the brain? Have we been approaching the problem in the wrong way?"

“…it may be that there is no ‘necessary and sufficient brain area’ for any behavioral function.”

"This is a fascinating paper. I wonder, however, whether we might end up discovering that all brain regions – or at least, the bulk of the cerebral cortex – have the same core cognitive function? It might be that most of the cortical ‘modules’ are actually doing the same kind of processing, but operating on different inputs."

DAVID’s comment: We know general areas such as speech, hearing vision, memory, etc. But the brain must work as a whole with varying parts interacting. Do input areas (auditory, vision) or export areas (writing speech) work the same as theoretical concept areas? A neuron may be specialized, but they all must work in a similar fashion. we don't anything about this area of potential research. For example, I have no idea where my personality is hidden but I assume pre-frontal cortex. We do know the brain is very cooperative in responding to our mental needs, but that is superficial knowledge compared to the questions being asked.

Thank you for this illuminating article. I have always been reluctant to accept the rigid pigeon-holing of brain areas, especially in relation to cognition. My own view is that the brain is a community of cells cooperating with one another and with the other cell communities of the body. Whether the material communities produce the personality/self/soul/consciousness (materialistic collective thinking) or there is an immaterial s/s/c that uses and directs the material communities is the core of the debate between materialists and dualists.