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Forum
Can Neuropsychology
Find a Meaningful Place
in Christian Psychology?
Introduction: The actual situation
Johannes Haack
The neurosciences occupy an important place in current Johannes Haack, Germany, M.A.
interdisciplinary research. Besides the established sub- is a Cognitive Scientist at the Uni-
disciplines of neurology and neuropsychology, new sub- versity Potsdam. He is the scien-
disciplines have been set up, such as computational and tific coordinator of the Cognitive
molecular neurosciences, which investigate the biological Sciences Area of Excellence. In
basis of mental processes, or the cognitive, affective and addition to teaching at the Depart-
social neurosciences, which are dedicated to the explana- ments of Psychology and Linguis-
tion of individual and collective experience and behavi- tics he is currently the Editor of the
our. After the public attention aroused during the decade Potsdam Cognitive Science Series.
of the brain in the USA between 1990 and 1999, mention Memberships: Third European
should be made, above all, of three extensive support ini- Network for the Advancement of
tiatives in the USA and Europe: Cognitive Systems, Interaction,
and Robotics EuCogIII, German
- The Human Connectome Project attempts to clarify, Cognitive Science Society GK,
going beyond the classical mapping procedures for the and German Neuroscience Society
human brain (Brodman areas), all details of the neuronal NWG.
connections (connectivity), in a similar way to the Hu-
man Genome Project, on the basis of 3000 living human
brains.
- The Human Brain Project at the École polytechnique
fédérale (EPFL) in Lausanne, which will receive support some messages in popular science about the gradual de-
amounting to 1 billion Euros in the next 10 years. A re- coding of the biological support processes for our per-
search team around Henry Markram will attempt to con- ception, thinking, feeling and activity. Popular science
struct a detailed image of the neuronal structure of the publications promise to solve the puzzle of human con-
human brain on a supercomputer in order to simulate sciousness, develop thought-reading machines and, by
brain performance, brain disorders and the effect of vari- stimulating the brain, heal not only stroke-related illnes-
ous forms of therapy. ses, but also depressions and attention disorders.
- The initiative BRAIN (Brain Research through Advan-
cing Innovative Neurotechnologies) in the USA, with an- Many of these so-called neuromyths have led to optimis-
nual support of 100 million dollars. tic prognoses for the efficacy of neuroscientific interven-
tions in upbringing and educational processes, and have
Behind these initiatives there is the expectation of large thus undermined serious examination of the contribu-
benefits to society in diagnosis, prophylaxis and therapy tion of neuroscience. It can be observed, however, that
of neurodegenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer. The reflective researchers, who use new brain imaging pro-
motivation for the allocation of research funds in these cedures such as fMRI, NIRS and DTI, point increasin-
cases is driven, on the one hand, by the ethics of respon- gly to the limits of the method – while the temporal and
sibility for the easing of suffering and, on the other hand, spatial resolutions of these procedures are producing an
by the efforts to limithealthcare costs inan ageingsociety. ever more precise picture of the networking of both brain
hemispheres in the mental processes of test persons and
The man and woman in the street, and also Christian patients, the great puzzles, the explanatory gap, remain
churches, are simultaneously fascinated and terrified by unsolved:
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