Which part of the brain is the domain of mind?

Question

Which part of the brain is the domain of mind?

Answer 1

THE CENTRAL PROBLEM in neuroscience is to understand the cognitive functions of the human mind: perception, action, emotion, language, learning, and memory. Techniques are now in place to tackle rigorously a set of cognitive problems relating to learning and memory. In the wake of the excitement generated by recent progress in molecular biology, there has been concern that these advances would lead to a separation of the molecular aspects of neural science (which deal with neuronal signaling) from the systems and cognitive aspects (which deal with behavior and higher mental functions). These problems, traditionally the province of psychologists and neurologists, are now being tackled with the tools of molecular biology. The time is right to apply molecular approaches directly to mental functions in animals and then to extend these findings to human cognition, using neuroimaging and other analytic approaches. We believe the Columbia faculty is appropriately positioned to provide national leadership in coordinating molecular biology, neural system studies, and cognitive psychology in a novel way, thereby founding a new discipline: the molecular biology of cognition.

Answer 2

It depends if your left handed or right handed. If you left handed there is a chance that your better in Talking while driving in heavy traffic,

Piloting jet fighters, Playing fast video games , and visual thoughts and painting and artistic side.

Two theories predominate in the debates that rage on as to why a mere 4% o the population is left-handed. Most authorities agree, to the relief of many a mother of a left-handed child, that if the child prefers using the left hand, and functions well with it, there is no need to correct this "condition."

One theory centers on the two halves of the brain, i.e. the left half and the right half, each of which functions differently. Medical science believes that the left half of the brain predominates over the right half. The stem of this theory is the fact that nerves from the brain cross over at neck-level to the opposite side of the body, and nerves from the other side of the brain reciprocate. The end result is that the opposite sides of the body are supplied by the opposite sides of the brain.

The predominant left half of the brain, which graciously supplies the right half of the body, theoretically renders it more skillful in reading, writing, speaking, and working, and makes most people right-handed. "Lefties," however, are the product of an inversion, whereas the right half of the brain predominates, and they work best with the left side of their bodies.

Theory number two trickles down to the asymmetrical nature of the body. Examples of the asymmetry, which flows from head to toe, are that the right side of our faces differs slightly from the left, that our legs differ in strength, or that our feet vary in size. One aspect of this asymmetry is that for most people the right hand is stronger than the left.

There is no doubt that all exist in a "right-handed society," which manufactures most basics, including scissors, doorknobs, locks, screwdrivers, automobiles, buttons on clothing, and musical instruments for the 96%. Left-handed people compensate for this snobbery of sorts, by being members of an elite society, which includes many of the greatest geniuses, including Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and The Useless-Infomaster.

Answer 3

I suggest the the mind is the result of the functioning of the entire nervous system just as the circulation is the functioning of the entire heart.  This does not imply that the brain is homogeneous and undifferentiated.  Different areas of the brain deal with different aspects of the mind, but the summation of the activities in every part of the brain constitutes the mind.

Note that this implies that all creatures having a nervous system also have a mind of some sort.  It is just that the mind of a cephalophod is different from the mind of a human or the mind of an arthropod.

This allows me to think about the mind in terms of its functions without being anthropocentric.

Answer 4

The frontal lobe

Answer 5

Good question.  Unfortunately, there are no good answers. The reticular activating system is a tract of neurons located in the medulla, pons, and reaches up to the thalamus.  It is believed that this is where consciousness lies in the sense that if there is a malfunction, it produces a coma.  However, this is not where intelligence lies and not where feelings are.  Feelings are thought to exist in the interaction between the cortex and the subcortical structures.  The thalamus is thought to be the processing center of the brain.  There are other structures involved in memory but the limbic system is an integral part of that system. Depending on what you define as the mind, any or all these structures are important in its functioning.  Science and medicine still has a long way to go before unlocking all the secrets of the brain.