What is the Mind and Brain?

Abstract

The questions about mind and brain are enormously important for therapists. The answers influence how to work with clients. Clinicians are always searching for techniques that will be most effective in changing the client's mind. As more is learned about the relationship between mind and brain, new methods emerge to incorporate into practice. Neuroscientists ask important questions about the relationship between mind and brain. Chapter 3 explores the relationship between the mind and brain. This chapter invites the reader to consider the issues. Theory of mind is based on the idea that we attribute mental states, including beliefs, desires, and intentions, to ourselves and to other people. Two perspectives are discussed: Whether theory of mind (ToM) derives from assumptive systems or whether it comes from the brain's mirror neurons and simulation. The sense of self itself has been correlated with the cortical midline structures, and these areas are explained. Many brain processes contribute to conscious mental states, including areas that regulate alertness (the brainstem), body sensations (insula and parietal lobe of the cortex), emotions (the limbic system), and cognition (the frontal areas of the cortex). Neuroscience proposes that consciousness is somehow generated by, through, or in interaction with these brain processes. The relationship points to the very nature of consciousness and the sense of self. The prominent theories of how consciousness is generated through mind--brain interactions is described including physicalism, identity theories, eliminative materialism, and functionalism. Mind-only theories from Buddhism are provided as a counterpoint to these brain-based Western models. At the end of the chapter, readers will find ways to integrate all of these issues into their practice.