A. David Redish and Joshua A. Gordon
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262035422
- eISBN:
- 9780262337854
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262035422.003.0002
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience
Psychiatry faces a number of challenges due largely to the complexity of the relationship between mind and brain. Starting from the now well-justified assumption that the mind is instantiated in the ...
More
Psychiatry faces a number of challenges due largely to the complexity of the relationship between mind and brain. Starting from the now well-justified assumption that the mind is instantiated in the physical substrate of the brain, understanding this relationship is going to be critical to any understanding of function and dysfunction. Key to that translation from physical substrate to mental function and dysfunction is the computational perspective: it provides a way of translating knowledge and understanding between levels of analysis (Churchland and Sejnowski 1994). Importantly, the computational perspective enables translation to both identify emergent properties (e.g., how a molecular change in a receptor affects behavior) and consequential properties (e.g., how an external sociological trauma can lead to circuit changes in neural processing). Given that psychiatry is about treating harmful dysfunction interacting across many levels (from subcellular to sociological), this chapter argues that the computational perspective is fundamental to understanding the relationship between mind and brain, and thus offers a new perspective on psychiatry.Less
Psychiatry faces a number of challenges due largely to the complexity of the relationship between mind and brain. Starting from the now well-justified assumption that the mind is instantiated in the physical substrate of the brain, understanding this relationship is going to be critical to any understanding of function and dysfunction. Key to that translation from physical substrate to mental function and dysfunction is the computational perspective: it provides a way of translating knowledge and understanding between levels of analysis (Churchland and Sejnowski 1994). Importantly, the computational perspective enables translation to both identify emergent properties (e.g., how a molecular change in a receptor affects behavior) and consequential properties (e.g., how an external sociological trauma can lead to circuit changes in neural processing). Given that psychiatry is about treating harmful dysfunction interacting across many levels (from subcellular to sociological), this chapter argues that the computational perspective is fundamental to understanding the relationship between mind and brain, and thus offers a new perspective on psychiatry.
A. David Redish and Joshua A. Gordon (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262035422
- eISBN:
- 9780262337854
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262035422.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience
Psychiatry is at a crossroads. Faced with challenges of diagnosis and treatment, it must balance analyses at both neurological and psychological levels. Issues of comorbidity, treatment stability, ...
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Psychiatry is at a crossroads. Faced with challenges of diagnosis and treatment, it must balance analyses at both neurological and psychological levels. Issues of comorbidity, treatment stability, and questions of categorization vs. dimensionality all weigh heavily in current discussions, yet progress has been limited, at best. Computational neuroscience offers a new lens through which to view these issues. This volume presents the results of a unique collaboration between psychiatrists, computational and theoretical neuroscientists, and reveals the synergistic ideas, surprising results, and novel open questions that emerged. It outlines potential approaches to be taken and discusses the implications that these new ideas bring to bear on the challenges faced by neuroscience and psychiatry.Less
Psychiatry is at a crossroads. Faced with challenges of diagnosis and treatment, it must balance analyses at both neurological and psychological levels. Issues of comorbidity, treatment stability, and questions of categorization vs. dimensionality all weigh heavily in current discussions, yet progress has been limited, at best. Computational neuroscience offers a new lens through which to view these issues. This volume presents the results of a unique collaboration between psychiatrists, computational and theoretical neuroscientists, and reveals the synergistic ideas, surprising results, and novel open questions that emerged. It outlines potential approaches to be taken and discusses the implications that these new ideas bring to bear on the challenges faced by neuroscience and psychiatry.
A. David Redish and Joshua A. Gordon
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262035422
- eISBN:
- 9780262337854
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262035422.003.0017
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience
In the opening chapters of this volume, we outlined a series of challenges facing psychiatry, as well as a description of its various promises, and suggested that taking a computational perspective ...
More
In the opening chapters of this volume, we outlined a series of challenges facing psychiatry, as well as a description of its various promises, and suggested that taking a computational perspective could potentially illuminate a way forward. In this concluding chapter, we revisit these challenges and promises, in the context of what transpired at this Ernst Strüngmann Forum, to highlight the connections between the various themes raised. In particular, we will bring out the points of agreement and disagreement between the discussion groups and the chapters that arose from those discussions. We conclude with a description of the efforts, current and ongoing, to bring the potential synergy between psychiatry and computational neuroscience emphasized in this volume to a reality in the scientific and clinical arenas.Less
In the opening chapters of this volume, we outlined a series of challenges facing psychiatry, as well as a description of its various promises, and suggested that taking a computational perspective could potentially illuminate a way forward. In this concluding chapter, we revisit these challenges and promises, in the context of what transpired at this Ernst Strüngmann Forum, to highlight the connections between the various themes raised. In particular, we will bring out the points of agreement and disagreement between the discussion groups and the chapters that arose from those discussions. We conclude with a description of the efforts, current and ongoing, to bring the potential synergy between psychiatry and computational neuroscience emphasized in this volume to a reality in the scientific and clinical arenas.
