Brains Top Down: is Top-down Causation Challenging Neuroscience?

Jacket Description/Flap: Written by an international team of leading experts in neuroscience, this book presents an overview of some of the main schools of thought as well as current research trends in neuroscience. It focuses on neural top-down causation applied to hot topics like consciousness, emotions, the self and the will, action and behavior, neural networks, brains and society. A special feature of the book is pertinent presentations and lively discussions on the topic. The book provides the reader with invaluable information on what the latest research is in this field and will enable the reader to gain considerable amount of knowledge as well as hints for further enquiry. This is the first book on the topic of neuroscience and top-down causation, and is written at a level that will interest both academics and the general readers. The extensive and lively discussions included in the book offer the reader a clear idea of the research in this field, and what will emerge as the main trends. Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Table of Contents: List of Contributors -- 1. Introduction: Consciousness as a Top-Down Causal Agency / G. Auletta, M. Jeannerod -- 2. A Constraining Role of the Mind? / G. Auletta -- 3. Neurons, Schemas, Persons and Society Revisited / M. A. Arbib -- 4. The Neural Basis of Consciousness and the Issue of Downward Causation / G. Auletta, I. ColagE -- 5. The Functional Role of Conscious Will in Voluntary Action: Cause or Consequence? A Position Paper / M. Jeannerod -- 6. Can the Self Be Considered a Cause? / J. J. Sanguineti -- 7. The Brain: A Highly Distributed Self-Organizing System. Who Has the Initiative? / W. Singer -- 8. Two Views of Brain Functioning / M. Raichle -- 9. Top-Down Causation in the Brain: Promises for Cognitive Psychology and Challenges for Research / C. R. Crowell, J. R. Moskal, J. Burgdorf, J. Panksepp -- 10. Consciousness and the Global Neuronal Workspace Hypothesis: From Bottom-Up to Top-Down Causation and Vice Versa / G. Auletta, I. ColagE -- 11. Computation, Representation and Physicalism / P. Jacob -- 12. Overall Discussion -- Postface: M. Jeannerod (1935-2011): A Personal Note / G. Rizzolatti -- Appendix I. The History of this Volume -- Appendix II. The Lyon Document: Top-Down Causation in Cognitive Science? -- Author Index -- Subject Index.

Contributor Bio:  Auletta, Gennaro Gennaro Auletta is Scientific Director of Science and Philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. His main areas of research are quantum mechanics, logic, cognitive sciences, information theory and applications to biological systems. Contributor Bio:  Jeannerod, Marc MARC JEANNEROD is the founder of the Institute for Cognitive Science in Lyon, a member of the French Academy of Science, and a leader in the field of motor representations. His most recent book in English is "Motor Cognition: What Actions Tell the Self".