Mental Functioning is Neural Functioning:
Towards a Unified Ontology of
Mind, Brain, and Behavior
Gwen A. Frishkoff
Department of Psychology
Georgia State University
NeuroInformatics Center
University of Oregon
Outline of Talk
• What is a mental process?
– A view from cognitive psychology
– The Mind–Brain problem and three proposed
solutions (ontology views)
• A neurophsysiological framework for
understanding mental processes
– Levels of brain, levels of mind
– What are mental representations “about”?
(Proposed solution to problems of subjectivity, aboutness)
Outline of Talk
• What is a mental process?
– A view from cognitive psychology
– The Mind–Brain problem (redux) and three
proposed solutions (ontology views)
• A neurophsysiological framework for
understanding mental processes
– Levels of brain, levels of mind
– What are mental representations “about”?
(Proposed solution to problems of subjectivity, aboutness)
What is a Mental Process?
A view from cognitive psychology
Sensation,
Perception
Short-term memory
Cognitive control
Motor control,
Action
Long-term Memory
Habits & Skills
How do we know any of this?
That is, where did the components of the
standard model come from?
The mind as a black box
•
•
X
Mental processes cannot be observed.*
They must be inferred based on what we can observe.
What can we observe?...
*We can revise this assumption later (if Mind = Brain)
What we can observe… and How
• Physical processes in body  Behavior
(response type, accuracy, reaction time)
•
Physiological processes in brain 
Neural activity and correlates of neural
activity (blood flow to brain regions)
A schematic of Helmholtz’s apparatus
for measuring the time course of
muscle contraction and the
propagation velocity of the nerve
impulse. Source: Bennett, 1999.
CogPO!
A 256-channel electrode “net” that is used
to measure brain electrical activity (EEG)
What IS a mental process*?
* “process” and “function” are used interchangeably in this talk
What IS a mental process?
NOTE: Dotted line designates indirect link within subsumption hierarchy
Three proposed solutions
Outline of Talk
• What is a mental process?
– A view from cognitive psychology
– The Mind–Brain problem (redux) and three
proposed solutions (ontology views)
• A neurophsysiological framework for
understanding mental processes
– Levels of brain, levels of mind
– What are mental representations “about”?
(Proposed solution to problems of subjectivity, aboutness)
“A mental process is NOT necessarily a physical process.”
⇒ Mental processes could be something qualitatively different
from bodily and brain processes; aka Dualism (Mind ≠ Brain)
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR
ARGUMENTS AGAINST
• Can accommodate lay view
•
Imprecise (what kind of process…?)
• Can explain properties of mind:
 subjectivity
 aboutness
•
Unclear how Mind and Brain are related
•
Unnecessarily complex
“A mental process is a physical process, but is
NOT necessarily a neural process.”
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR
• Avoids Mind-Body dualism
• More precise than Solution #1
ARGUMENTS AGAINST
• Still somewhat imprecise (what kind of
bodily process…?)
• Does not make explicit the relationship
between mental and neurophysiological
processes
“A mental process is a neural process.”
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR
• Avoids Mind-Body dualism
• More precise than other two
solutions
• Gives ready framework for
comparative neurophysiology &
comparative cognition
• Knowledge of brain structure &
function informs understanding
of mental function (and
dysfunction)
Outline of Talk
• What is a mental process?
– A view from cognitive psychology
– The Mind–Brain problem (redux) and three
proposed solutions (ontology views)
• A neurophsysiological framework for
understanding mental processes
– Levels of brain, levels of mind
– What are mental representations “about”?
(Proposed solution to problems of subjectivity, aboutness)
A neurophysiological framework for
understanding types of mental process
• Unimodal regions:
sensory and motor cortex
• Hetermodal regions
 Heteromodal association
cortex: “cognitive” functions
 Paralimbic regions: emotion
and motivation, selfregulatory functions
Levels of brain, levels of mind
Representation, monitoring and
control of bodily interface to
external environment
(“real world”)
Representation, monitoring and
control of internal environment
(“self”)
Mesulam, 1990
18
Mental representations: What are they “about”?
Sensoy-motor maps in the brain
Peripheral (sensory-motor) parts of the body
are “mapped” to (represented by) an orderly
set of discrete regions within sensory and
motor cortex.
Maps of the internal milieux
The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis
monitors and controls internal bodily functions, such
as blood circulation, breathing, digestion, stress, and
arousal.
Perception of
internal
(bodily)
environment
(“self”)
Perception of
external
environment/
sensory input
(“real world”)
20
Mental processes, states, and representations
Summary
• What is a mental process?
– A view from cognitive psychology
– The Mind–Brain problem (redux) and three
proposed solutions (ontology views)
• A neurophsysiological framework for
understanding mental processes
– Levels of brain, levels of mind
– What are mental representations “about”?
(Proposed solution to problems of subjectivity, aboutness)
Acknowledgements
Funding from the National Institutes
of Health (NIBIB), R01-MH084812
(Dou, Frishkoff, Malony)