1st Edition

Macroneural Theories in Cognitive Neuroscience

By William R. Uttal Copyright 2016
    214 Pages 7 B/W Illustrations
    by Psychology Press

    214 Pages 7 B/W Illustrations
    by Psychology Press

    214 Pages 7 B/W Illustrations
    by Psychology Press

    In this book, William R. Uttal continues his analysis and critique of theories of mind. This book considers theories that are based on macroneural responses (such as those obtained from fMRI) that represent the averaged or cumulative responses of many neurons. The analysis is carried out with special emphasis on the logical and conceptual difficulties in developing a theory but with special attention to some of the current attempts to go from these cumulative responses to explanations of the grand question of how the mind is generated by the brain. While acknowledging the importance of these macroneural techniques in the study of the anatomy and physiology of the brain, Uttal concludes that this macroneural approach is not likely to produce a valid neural theory of cognition because the critical information—the states of the individual neurons—involved in brain activity becoming mental activity is actually lost in the process of summation. Controversial topics are considered in detail including discussions of empirical, logical, and technological barriers to theory building in cognitive neuroscience.

    Preface. Prologue.What is a Theory? Prototheories and Nontheories. Conceptual Issues. Macroneural Connectionist Theories of Cognition. Additional Critiques of Macroneural Connectionist Theories. Implications and Emerging Principles.

    Biography

    William R. Uttal is Professor Emeritus (Engineering) at Arizona State University and Professor Emeritus (Psychology) at the University of Michigan. He was one of the pioneering researchers in computational modeling and is the author of numerous books and over 140 scholarly articles.

    "In Macroneural Theories in Cognitive Neuroscience, William R. Uttal describes the requirements for the development of prototheories (an intermediate step between data and an explanatory theory) and theories of cognitive neuroscience in clear and concise terms. Further, he presents balanced and fair evaluation of the extant research conducted in cognitive neuroscience and explains how it either hits or misses the mark for developing theories... The book's chapters flow in a way that makes the reading of the book remarkably smooth... I would recommend this text to anyone teaching a graduate course in cognitive neuroscience... I have already recommended the text to my colleagues in educational psychology who work with teacher eductors.... I will be able to discuss the state of macroneural theories in cognitive neuroscience in a much more intelligent manner having completed the text." - Christopher A. Was, Kent State University, PsycCritiques