World of Psychology

Brain = Computer? No, according to new study

By John M Grohol PsyD
June 30, 2005

Brain = Computer? No, according to new study

The theory that the mind works like a computer, in a series of distinct stages, was an important steppingstone in cognitive science, but it has outlived its usefulness, concludes a new Cornell University study. Instead, the mind should be thought of more as working the way biological organisms do: as a dynamic continuum, cascading through shades of grey.

In a new study published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (June 27-July 1), Michael Spivey, a psycholinguist and associate professor of psychology at Cornell, tracked the mouse movements of undergraduate students while working at a computer. The findings provide compelling evidence that language comprehension is a continuous process.

“For decades, the cognitive and neural sciences have treated mental processes as though they involved passing discrete packets of information in a strictly feed-forward fashion from one cognitive module to the next or in a string of individuated binary symbols — like a digital computer,” said Spivey. “More recently, however, a growing number of studies, such as ours, support dynamical-systems approaches to the mind. In this model, perception and cognition are mathematically described as a continuous trajectory through a high-dimensional mental space; the neural activation patterns flow back and forth to produce nonlinear, self-organized, emergent properties — like a biological organism.”


1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading ... Loading ...

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

One Comment to
“Brain = Computer? No, according to new study”

This is a clever design and will no doubt be extended to produce more specific evidence. But I wonder where he got the stuff about packets and binary symbols. My impression is that his evidence is quite consistent with the conceptual model proposed by Selfridge (1959. Pandemonium: A paradigm for learning. In Symposium on the mechanization of thought processes. )
http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/pandemonium.html

Join the Conversation! Post a Comment:


(Required, will be published)

(Required, but will not be published)

(Optional)


    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 30 Jun 2005

 


Recent Comments
  • Barack Obama: The medicines that are used for bone pain are narcotics findrxonline as opioids such as Vicodin,...
  • missie pooh: So for all of you think he is suffering from bipolar you really need to do your research. His mother is...
  • jessy: i know that we dont picture a man staving himself but i does happen quite often. i know several men that have...
  • matrixbabe: My Tigger was 9 yrs old and died at home yesterday 11/22/09 of acute anemia and kidney failure. I have...
  • DrSuz: These are encouraging and hopeful words for so many. As a psychologist and empty-nest mom, I would certainly...
Article Tools
Bookmark
Print
Email Friend


Stumble It!


Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter


Users Online: 2062
Join Us Now!




Follow us on Twitter!

Find us on Facebook!