patrickw@cs.monash.edu.au (Patrick Wilken) writes:
> >Anders Sandberg:
> >
> >It is interesting, but I'm not completely buying just this
> >article. What the article seems to say is that psychological abuse
> >causes changes in mental state and brain activation similar to
> >temporal lobe epilepsy. This is another good reason to limit
> >psychological abuse, of course, but what isn't shown is that there is
> >structural damage, just functional damage. The difference is small,
> >but relevant when it comes to repairing it.
>
> Anders:
>
> I am interested what distinction you make between functional and structural
> changes in the brain.
>
> Even if cells are not killed, given that long-term abuse clearly causes
> significant functional changes in people isn't this evidence for structural
> change?
> I guess I am understand 'structural change' differently from you. As I see
> it any functional difference must be reflected in a structural difference
> (though some of these structural states may be more or less amenable to
> change), but not all structural changes necessarily involve functional
> changes (i.e. functional states are supervenient on structural states).
True. But many functional differences do not cause the neurons to change noticeably from normal (i.e. I can come to believe that the earth is flat; it is a stupid belief and corresponds to some changes in my synaptic connections, but no neurons need to die for me to think it). What is interesting is whether a certain psychological state or history can create structural changes that can be detected in some way.
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