What are we doing? Integrating Mind and Brain
The focus of our group is the relationship of brain and mind. How are neural and mental features related to each other? We try to answer this question in the following way: Neural and mental features are related to each other through their commonly shared spatial and temporal features. Time and space are manifest in the brain’s neural activity and, at the same time, they are also manifest in our perception and cognition like in their fluctuations over time. Going one step further, we claim that the brain’s neural activity is directly related to the mental. Hence, time and space are shared by brain and mind as their “common currency”. The investigation of such spatiotemporal connections of brain and mind is the focus of what we call “Spatiotemporal Neuroscience” (Northoff et al. 2020a and 2020b). Besides outlining the conceptual theoretical framework of such Spatiotemporal Neuroscience, we also apply it by using empirical, phenomenological and computational investigations into various mental features like self, consciousness, thoughts, dreams and meditation as well as mental disorders like depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. We, therefore, develop spatiotemporal models of these mental features like the Temporospatial theory of consciousness (TTC), the Baseline model of self specificity (BMSS), the Topographic dynamic reorganization model of meditation (TROM), the Topographic reorganization model of dreams (TROD), and the Topographic dynamic reorganization of psychopathology (TROP), among others. You can explore all this and the fascinating world of mental features and their relationship to the brain on our website in various talks, books, and articles.
Neuroscientific and neurophilosophical investigation of the link between self and brain
One of the most fascinating characteristics of human nature is our ability to experience ourselves as a self and person. However, because we have no direct access to our brain in experience, the link between brain and self, and thus between mental and neural states, remains unclear. Recent imaging studies suggest that cortical midline structures (CMS) may be involved in the neural processing of self, but the exact physiological and psychological mechanisms required to provide a mental-neural link have yet to be elucidated.
Our prior work focuses on the relationship between CMS, emotional processing, and self-related processing in both healthy and psychiatric subjects using various imaging techniques.It branches into the development of psychiatric diagnostic and therapeutic tools, such as for depression and schizophrenia. In addition, the implications of these findings for philosophical problems such as the mind-brain relation, personal identity, and our brain-based knowledge apparatus have been explored.
Specific Aims
Our aim is to investigate the link between mental and neural states, as well as how our brain constitutes the experience of a self. For this purpose, we integrate neuroscientific, neuropsychiatric and neurophilosophical approaches. We investigate the biochemical underpinnings and neurochemical mechanisms underlying neural activity changes during consciousness and the experience of self, and try to link them with observations at the psychological level. This combination of investigative strategies will help lead us the knowledge required to develop diagnostic and therapeutic tools, in particular for depression and schizophrenia.
Neuroscientific approach: The distinct components of subjective emotional experience (attention, feeling, judgment, observation, etc.) and of the experience of self are investigated in imaging studies using fMRI, PET, DTI, EEG, MEG, and TMS. These investigations are combined with neurochemical studies focusing on the measurement of metabolites (such as GABA and glutamate) in MRS and neurochemical challenge with GABAergic or glutamatergic substances. The imaging results provide the basis for the development of empirically realistic neural network models.
Neuropsychiatric approach: These mechanisms are also investigated in patients suffering from emotional disorders such as depression or anxiety, along with those who experience alterations in the self. Such investigations help to reveal the causes of these conditions, the knowledge of which is vital to the production of new treatments. In addition, an understanding of the alterations in brain function that underlie such changes in an individual's experience of self is an important component in the understanding of the link between the mind, brain and self.
Neurophilosophical approach: Our empirical studies require an epistemic, ontological and ethical reconsideration of the link between the self and the brain. They consequently also have implications for philosophical problems such as the mind-brain relationship and ”the self“. Most importantly, we aim to develop empirically plausible definitions of mental states (e.g. qualia), the self, and the mind-brain relationship. In addition, new developments in neuroscience and psychiatry that enable us to manipulate our mental states, the self, and our personal identity in novel ways call for clarification of the concepts involved and discussion of corresponding ethical issues.
Picture by Philipp Klar
Vision for the Future
Our vision is to reveal the key mechanisms that underlie the generation of mental states and the self. Insight into the physiology and psychology of CMS may elucidate specific functional principles underlying the link between mental and neural states, and thus between the self and the brain. Neuroscientific investigation into the subjective experience of the self may substantially improve our understanding of the underlying neuronal mechanisms in both healthy and psychiatric subjects. In addition, a translational approach – investigating the function and neurochemistry of cortical and subcortical midline structures in animals – will allow for a more in-depth understanding of these mechanisms. The combination of imaging, translational studies, network modelling and neuromonitoring may open the door for the development of reliable diagnostic markers and novel therapeutic interventions. Insight into the link between neural and mental states bears profound implications for understanding human nature, which in turn requires the development of neuroepistemology and neuroethics. As a result, this neurophilosophical approach may enrich and complement historic and current philosophical and ethical discourse.