This evening I’m giving a talk at the Smithsonian about where neuroscience is as a field, here early in the 21st century. In some senses I’ll be optimistic. Certainly there has been much progress understanding some of the fundamental processes that underlie neural function, particularly where it is mainly homeostatic as opposed to cognitive. But in another sense, there is a real frustration–one that I’ve expressed before, that we are very very far from a coherent theory of brain function. That is why I have a real worry, with all the new “neuro” social fields (eg. neurolaw, neuroeconomics) that the field will get “over-sold” the way AI did in the 1960’s.

How to avoid.

Well, I believe we need to really adopt integrative approaches that study the brain across the different spatial and temporal levels (and there are many). For example, if we are to understand why music is the muse for so many humans, that it is–across cultures–then we need to know something about the auditory pathways. But we also need to understand something about the brain’s dopamine reinforcement systems…and perhaps something about synaptic plasticity….but also we need to look at a phenomenon like perfect pitch. All of these various aspects of music (within the context of brain function) need to be integrated. Without studying the phenomenon across multiple levels, it’s just hair cell physiology, auditory cortex tonotopic maps, and a human with a smile on his or her face.

Which brings me to the subject of “mind” and the notion of a federal investment into a “Decade of the Mind”. Why, given the above worries, do I believe that now is the time for a Decade of the Mind? The answer I believe has to do with an emerging critical mass of scientists (across many fields, not just neuroscience) who are seriously studying the phenomena of mind (such as music) across levels. They are using new imaging techniques. They are using high performance computation to build models and then testing those models against real data. They are sharing that data. And most importantly they are approaching this monumentally important scientific question in an integrative manner.

The pay off: in terms of people healed, technologies developed, economic growth and security (writ large) would without a doubt be huge.

Jim