Continuous manipulation of mental representations is compromised in cerebellar degeneration.

We introduce a novel perspective on how the cerebellum might contribute to cognition, hypothesizing that this structure supports dynamic transformations of mental representations. In support of this hypothesis, we report a series of neuropsychological experiments comparing the performance of individuals with degenerative cerebellar disorders on tasks that either entail continuous, movement-like mental operations or more discrete mental operations. In the domain of visual cognition, the cerebellar disorders group exhibited an impaired rate of mental rotation, an operation hypothesized to require the continuous manipulation of a visual representation. In contrast, the cerebellar disorders group showed a normal processing rate when scanning items in visual working memory, an operation hypothesized to require the maintenance and retrieval of remembered items. In the domain of mathematical cognition, the cerebellar disorders group was impaired at single-digit addition, an operation hypothesized to primarily require iterative manipulations along a mental number-line; this group was not impaired on arithmetic tasks linked to memory retrieval (e.g. single-digit multiplication). These results, obtained in tasks from two disparate domains, point to a potential constraint on the contribution of the cerebellum to cognitive tasks. Paralleling its role in motor control, the cerebellum may be essential for coordinating dynamic, movement-like transformations in a mental workspace.

Number line estimation and complex mental calculation: Is there a shared cognitive process driving the two tasks?

It is widely accepted that different number-related tasks, including solving simple addition and subtraction, may induce attentional shifts on the so-called mental number line, which represents larger numbers on the right and smaller numbers on the left. Recently, it has been shown that different number-related tasks also employ spatial attention shifts along with general cognitive processes. Here we investigated for the first time whether number line estimation and complex mental arithmetic recruit a common mechanism in healthy adults. Participants' performance in two-digit mental additions and subtractions using visual stimuli was compared with their performance in a mental bisection task using auditory numerical intervals. Results showed significant correlations between participants' performance in number line bisection and that in two-digit mental arithmetic operations, especially in additions, providing a first proof of a shared cognitive mechanism (or multiple shared cognitive mechanisms) between auditory number bisection and complex mental calculation.

Das provas operatórias à construção de estruturas cognitivas: um estudo de caso em psicopedagogia / From operational tests to the cognitive structures construction: A case study in Psychopedagogy

O artigo apresenta um estudo de caso com foco nas provas operatórias de Jean Piaget utilizadas numa avaliação psicopedagógica com uma criança de 9 anos. A análise das provas operatórias apontou que ela apresentava um ritmo de desenvolvimento do raciocínio mais lento do que a média. Apresentamos, então, propostas de intervenção psicopedagógica, que tiveram por base as teorias de Jean Piaget e de Vygotsky, visando contribuir no processo de desenvolvimento do pensamento lógico de sujeitos que apresentam dificuldades para aprender, como é o caso do sujeito avaliado.

This paper presents a case study focused in the operational tests of Jean Piaget used in a psychopedagogical evaluation of a 9-years-old child. The analysis of the operational tests showed that the young boy exhibited a slower reasoning rhythm compared to the average. Therefore, we presented psychopedagogical intervention proposals, which were based on Jean Piaget and Vygotsky theories, aiming to contribute to the development process of the reasoning logical of individuals who exhibit learning disabilities, as occurs to the person evaluated in this study.

Brain-mind dyad, human experience, the consciousness tetrad and lattice of mental operations: and further, the need to integrate knowledge from diverse disciplines.

Brain, Mind and Consciousness are the research concerns of psychiatrists, psychologists, neurologists, cognitive neuroscientists and philosophers. All of them are working in different and important ways to understand the workings of the brain, the mysteries of the mind and to grasp that elusive concept called consciousness. Although they are all justified in forwarding their respective researches, it is also necessary to integrate these diverse appearing understandings and try and get a comprehensive perspective that is, hopefully, more than the sum of their parts. There is also the need to understand what each one is doing, and by the other, to understand each other's basic and fundamental ideological and foundational underpinnings. This must be followed by a comprehensive and critical dialogue between the respective disciplines. Moreover, the concept of mind and consciousness in Indian thought needs careful delineation and critical/evidential enquiry to make it internationally relevant. The brain-mind dyad must be understood, with brain as the structural correlate of the mind, and mind as the functional correlate of the brain. To understand human experience, we need a triad of external environment, internal environment and a consciousness that makes sense of both. We need to evolve a consensus on the definition of consciousness, for which a working definition in the form of a Consciousness Tetrad of Default, Aware, Operational and Evolved Consciousness is presented. It is equally necessary to understand the connection between physical changes in the brain and mental operations, and thereby untangle and comprehend the lattice of mental operations. Interdisciplinary work and knowledge sharing, in an atmosphere of healthy give and take of ideas, and with a view to understand the significance of each other's work, and also to critically evaluate the present corpus of knowledge from these diverse appearing fields, and then carry forward from there in a spirit of cooperative but evidential and critical enquiry - this is the goal for this monograph, and the work to follow.

Mind operational semantics and brain operational architectonics: a putative correspondence.

Despite allowing for the unprecedented visualization of brain functional activity, modern neurobiological techniques have not yet been able to provide satisfactory answers to important questions about the relationship between brain and mind. The aim of this paper is to show how two different but complementary approaches, Mind Operational Semantics (OS) and Brain Operational Architectonics (OA), can help bridge the gap between a specific kind of mental activity-the higher-order reflective thought or linguistic thought-and brain. The fundamental notion that allows the two different approaches to be jointly used under a common framework is that of operation. According to OS, which is based on introspection and linguistic data, the meanings of words can be analyzed in terms of elemental mental operations (EOMC), amongst which those of attention play a key role. Linguistic thought is made possible by special kinds of elements, which OS calls "correlators", which have the function of tying together the other elements of thought, which OS calls "correlata" (a "correlational network" that is, a sentence, is so formed). Therefore, OS conceives of linguistic thought as a hierarchy of operations of increasing complexity. Likewise, according to OA, which is based on the joint analysis of cognitive and electromagnetic data (EEG and MEG), every conscious phenomenon is brought to existence by the joint operations of many functional and transient neuronal assemblies in the brain. According to OA, the functioning of the brain is always operational (made up of operations), and its structure is characterized by a hierarchy of operations of increasing complexity: single neurons, single assemblies of neurons, synchronized neuronal assemblies or Operational Modules (OM), integrated or complex OMs. The authors put forward the hypothesis that the whole level of OS's description (EOMC, correlators, and correlational networks) corresponds to the level of OMs (or set of them) of different complexity within OA's theory: EOMC could correspond to simple OMs, correlators to complex OMs and the correlational network to a set of simple and complex OMs. Finally, a set of experiments is proposed to verify the putative correspondence between OS and OA and prove the existence of an integrated continuum between brain and mind.

Brain, mind and language functional architectures.

The interaction between brain and language has been investigated by a vast amount of research and different approaches, which however do not offer a comprehensive and unified theoretical framework to analyze how brain functioning performs the mental processes we use in producing language and in understanding speech. This Special Issue addresses the need to develop such a general theoretical framework, by fostering an interaction among the various scientific disciplines and methodologies, which centres on investigating the functional architecture of brain, mind and language, and is articulated along the following main dimensions of research: (a) Language as a regulatory contour of brain and mental processes; (b) Language as a unique human phenomenon; (c) Language as a governor of human behaviour and brain operations; (d) Language as an organizational factor of ontogenesis of mentation and behaviour.

El cerebro, mapa itinerante / The brain, a moving map

O presente trabalho orienta-se para a relação estética que deriva das conexões cerebrais das relações neuronais. Propõe que a complexa rede cerebral é um mapa cujos dispositivos que levam a rota que faz pensar, sentir e agir, são os mesmos que se perdem no recanto do caminho ou aqueles que levam à meta sem avisar primeiro. Os órgãos dos sentidos presentes na relação entre a realidade interna e o contexto externo fazem lembrar que nada se encontra no intelecto se antes não passou por eles. O trabalho com ôa coarõ, como um exemplo da percepção, desde três pontos de vista diferentes, leva à reflexão sobre as múltiplas possibilidades cerebrais, as infinitas possibilidades de combinação e os variados elementos criativos que fazem possíveis a sobrevivência e o fazer humanos. A estrutura complexa do cérebro com seus milhões de neurônios e suas infinitas conexões compara-se freqüentemente de modo metafórico, com a rede de telefonia, com uma intrincada maquinaria e com diversos parecidos. No presente artigo, se compara com um mapa e uma carroça atravessada pela narrativa, a estética e a ciência.

Este trabajo se orienta más hacia la relación estética que se desprende de las conexiones cerebrales que a las relaciones neuronales que en este órgano se dan. Se plantea que la intrincada red cerebral es un mapa, cuyos dispositivos que conllevan la ruta que hace pensar, sentir o actuar, son los mismos que se pierden en un recodo del sendero o aquellos que llegan a la meta sin previo aviso. Los órganos de los sentidos presentes en la relación entre la realidad interna y el contexto externo, hacen recordar la premisa de que nada se encuentra en el intelecto si antes no ha pasado por ellos. El trabajo con ôel colorõ, como un ejemplo de la percepción, desde tres puntos de vista distintos, lleva a la reflexión sobre las múltiples posibilidades cerebrales, las infinitas posibilidades de combinación y los variados elementos creativos que hacen posibles la supervivencia y el quehacer humanos. La estructura compleja del cerebro con sus millones de neuronas y sus infinitas conexiones suele compararse metafóricamente con una red de teléfonos, con una intrincada maquinaria y con diversos símiles. En el presente artículo se compara con un mapa y una carretera bordeada por la narrativa, la estética y la ciencia.

This work tends to show an aesthetic relation that comes from brain connections to neuronal relations that happens there. It shows that the intricate brain network is a map, whose devices that take the path that creates thought, feel or act, they are the same that lose in a twist of the road o those which get to the finish line without notice. The sense organs that are in the relation between the internal reality and the external context, remind the premise that nothing that is in the mind if it has not already happened over them. The work with ôthe colorõ, as an example of perception, from three different points of view, takes to the reflection about the multiple brain chances, the infinite chances of combination and varied creative elements that make possible the survivor and the daily human routines. The complex brain structure with its millions of neurons and infinite connections is usually compared with a telephone network, complex machinery and several comparisons. In this article, it is compared with a map and a road bordered by the narrative, statics and science.

El cerebro, mapa itinerante

O presente trabalho orienta-se para a relação estética que deriva das conexões cerebrais das relações neuronais. Propõe que a complexa rede cerebral é um mapa cujos dispositivos que levam a rota que faz pensar, sentir e agir, são os mesmos que se perdem no recanto do caminho ou aqueles que levam à meta sem avisar primeiro. Os órgãos dos sentidos presentes na relação entre a realidade interna e o contexto externo fazem lembrar que nada se encontra no intelecto se antes não passou por eles. O trabalho com ôa coarõ, como um exemplo da percepção, desde três pontos de vista diferentes, leva à reflexão sobre as múltiplas possibilidades cerebrais, as infinitas possibilidades de combinação e os variados elementos criativos que fazem possíveis a sobrevivência e o fazer humanos. A estrutura complexa do cérebro com seus milhões de neurônios e suas infinitas conexões compara-se freqüentemente de modo metafórico, com a rede de telefonia, com uma intrincada maquinaria e com diversos parecidos. No presente artigo, se compara com um mapa e uma carroça atravessada pela narrativa, a estética e a ciência.(AU)

Este trabajo se orienta más hacia la relación estética que se desprende de las conexiones cerebrales que a las relaciones neuronales que en este órgano se dan. Se plantea que la intrincada red cerebral es un mapa, cuyos dispositivos que conllevan la ruta que hace pensar, sentir o actuar, son los mismos que se pierden en un recodo del sendero o aquellos que llegan a la meta sin previo aviso. Los órganos de los sentidos presentes en la relación entre la realidad interna y el contexto externo, hacen recordar la premisa de que nada se encuentra en el intelecto si antes no ha pasado por ellos. El trabajo con ôel colorõ, como un ejemplo de la percepción, desde tres puntos de vista distintos, lleva a la reflexión sobre las múltiples posibilidades cerebrales, las infinitas posibilidades de combinación y los variados elementos creativos que hacen posibles la supervivencia y el quehacer humanos. La estructura compleja del cerebro con sus millones de neuronas y sus infinitas conexiones suele compararse metafóricamente con una red de teléfonos, con una intrincada maquinaria y con diversos símiles. En el presente artículo se compara con un mapa y una carretera bordeada por la narrativa, la estética y la ciencia.(AU)

This work tends to show an aesthetic relation that comes from brain connections to neuronal relations that happens there. It shows that the intricate brain network is a map, whose devices that take the path that creates thought, feel or act, they are the same that lose in a twist of the road o those which get to the finish line without notice. The sense organs that are in the relation between the internal reality and the external context, remind the premise that nothing that is in the mind if it has not already happened over them. The work with ôthe colorõ, as an example of perception, from three different points of view, takes to the reflection about the multiple brain chances, the infinite chances of combination and varied creative elements that make possible the survivor and the daily human routines. The complex brain structure with its millions of neurons and infinite connections is usually compared with a telephone network, complex machinery and several comparisons. In this article, it is compared with a map and a road bordered by the narrative, statics and science.(AU)