The Mind and the Brain presents the outcome of an
investigation by Jeffrey Schwartz, MD, (a neuropsychiatrist) into the question
of how The Brain creates a mind. Early in his career as a neuropsychiatrist he
sought a research topic that would illuminate the relation between the brain
and the mind. He became interested in people who suffered from the Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Those who suffer from this disorder find that they
have obsessive thoughts that compel unwanted behaviors. Sufferers of OCD find
themselves compelled to wash their hands hundreds of times a day, for example.
What caught Schwartz’s attention was the fact that these people reported that
the obsessive thoughts seemed to come into their minds from outside. What,
wondered Schwartz, causes these thoughts; where do they come from?

To make a long story short, it turned out that the
unwanted thoughts were the outcome of an abnormal pattern of neuronal
connections in the prefrontal  cortex.
Further research revealed that therapy that caused patients to change the way
that they thought about their compulsions could reduce the strength of the
compulsions. Very surprisingly, Schwartz found that the therapy was effective
because it was actually changing the pattern of neuronal connections in the
brain structures involved. This discovery was surprising because for almost 100
years medical science had assumed that the neuronal structure of the adult
brain does not change. Damage to that structure was believed to be permanent.

As reported in detail in The Mind and the Brain,
this finding that the neuronal structure of the adult brain is plastic rather
than fixed has been confirmed by research coming from many different
directions. Besides Scwartz’s own work, investigations into dyslexia, focal
hand dystonia, and work with animals all provide corroborating evidence. In
what amounts to a case study in scientific ethical dilemmas. the notorious work
on the "Silver Springs Monkeys" by Edward Taub, is described. The
horror of the abuse that those monkeys suffered is not avoided, yet for
Schwartz, the knowledge gained was significant.

The implications of this discovery are very
interesting. Basically, thinking causes the physical structure of the brain to
change. In particular, paying attention to behavior causes the physical
structure of the brain to change.  Since
Descartes (at least) the prime mystery of the mind/body problem has been the
nature of way that the mental (that is immaterial activity like thought) can
influence physical things like the body. For reasons of philosophy, many
scientists have maintained that the mental does not influence the physical – in
fact, scientists have been happier, generally, to consider mental phenomenon to
be some kind of illusion. What Schwartz has demonstrated very clearly is that
that mental activities, like holding something in one’s attention, or trying to
do something, do influence the physical body.

So far, so good. Having established the main point, The
Mind and the Brain moves into a speculations involving Quantum Mechanics.
The ideas of the physicist Henry P. Stapp are discussed extensively. This is
interesting in its way, but for this reviewer the digression weakens the overall
argument unnecessarily. While quantum mechanics is fabulously accurate as a
predictive tool for certain kinds of situations, it is wierd. The ontology of
Quantum Mechanics is not clear; the answer to the question "What is going
on here?" is unknown. Therefore, this reviewer finds that invoking quantum
theory outside of the realm of the behavior of subatomic particles has very
little explanatory value, and, sad to say, Quantum Mechanics still doesn’t do
much to illuminate the mind/body problem. Someday . . . . Maybe . . . .

Nevertheless, even if we throw away the ideas based
on Quantum Theory, what remains of The Mind and the Brain is very
significant. This reviewer suspects that neuroplasticity in itself will serve
to greatly advance our ability to account for how the mind is created by the
brain. The book is well written and clear. I found it a stimulating pleasure to
read.

©
2003 Martin Hunt

Martin
Hunt is an artist living and working in Vancouver, Canada. His work is inspired
by math and science. Lately he’s been indulging an interest in evolutionary
theory and its relation to consciousness.

Categories: Psychology