Journal
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 377, Issue 1844, Pages -Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0534
Keywords
mental functions; structure-function relationship; brain evolution
Categories
Funding
- National Institute of Mental Health [MH071589, MH112517]
- Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation [PID2019-108725RB-100]
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Mental terms are epistemically sterile as the brain's structure and function go beyond the boundaries of traditional psychology. Comparative neuroanatomy studies of the vertebrate brain have shown that it supports extensive signal communication and integration, enabling animals to adapt to complex and changing environments.
Mental terms-such as perception, cognition, action, emotion, as well as attention, memory, decision-making-are epistemically sterile. We support our thesis based on extensive comparative neuroanatomy knowledge of the organization of the vertebrate brain. Evolutionary pressures have moulded the central nervous system to promote survival. Careful characterization of the vertebrate brain shows that its architecture supports an enormous amount of communication and integration of signals, especially in birds and mammals. The general architecture supports a degree of 'computational flexibility' that enables animals to cope successfully with complex and ever-changing environments. Here, we suggest that the vertebrate neuroarchitecture does not respect the boundaries of standard mental terms, and propose that neuroscience should aim to unravel the dynamic coupling between large-scale brain circuits and complex, naturalistic behaviours. This article is part of the theme issue 'Systems neuroscience through the lens of evolutionary theory'.
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