Cultural Patterns and Neurocognitive Circuits II

EastWest Connections

The contents of this book continues the theme as in the previous volume on cultural patterns and cognitive patterns in the East and West, with special regard to those patterns which are determined by our natural-genetic endownments in contrast to those patterns which are influenced by our cultural ("East-West") influences, and within this context a unique flavour is given to the "good life" aspects of adapting to this global community.

The chapters written by leading neuroscientists, give an overarching picture from the elementary organisational principles of the human brain through the basic perceptual and motor functions of the brain to the highest levels of cognition, including aesthetical or moral judgments, with an eye on what can be called "good life" in both Eastern and Western cultures. A unique compilation of state-of-the-art overviews of how the human brain is organised and functions in order to achieve high level of social, moral or aesthetic thoughts across cultures.

Contents:

• Preface (J Vasbinder and B Gulyás)

• Introduction (Sydney Brenner)

• Neuronal Circuits:

  • Action Observation as a Visual Process: Different Classes of Actions Engage Distinct Regions of Human PPC (Guy A Orban)
  • The Power of Single Cases: Examples from the Early Visual Pathway and from Visual Art (Ernst Pöppel and Yan Bao)

• Emergence of Higher Cognitive Functions:

  • Imitation: Mechanisms and Importance for Human Culture (Giacomo Rizzolatti)
  • Brain Mechanisms of Tool-Use that Advance Our Knowledge Beyond the Border ~Neural Correlates of "Proto-Language" in the Monkey Brain~ (Atsushi Iriki and Kevin W McCairn)
  • Conscious Processing: Unity in Time Rather Than in Space (Wolf Singer)

• Highest Cognitive Functions:

  • Overcoming "Monocausalitis" by Complementarity as a Generative Principle and a Thought Pattern Exemplified with Aesthetic Appreciations and the Arts (Yan Bao and Ernst Pöppel)
  • Modelling Levels of Consciousness for Language Development in Infants: A Feature-based Approach (Helena Hong Gao)
  • Individual Differences in Math Achievement: Finland and Singapore (Kerry Lee and Pirjo Aunio)
  • Moral Progress Requires a Coupling Between Empathy and Reason — A Social Neuroscience Perspective (Jean Decety)

• Appendix: The Video and Presentation Links

Readership: Students and researchers interested in following cultural and behavioral patterns, with respect to their neurobiological foundations.
Key Features:

• Contributions from world renowned neuroscientists
• Focus on highest level neurocognitive functions, including perception, action, learning
• Judgements on aesthetics, morals and good life