The Macro-Micro
This page contains audio segments under the theme of 'macro-micro.' The theme indicates discussions about large scale behavioral (macro) issues and how they stand in contrast to or work in tandem with biological mechanisms (micro). The interviewees discuss differences in intellectual focus between fields as a limitation and/or a benefit to brain research; others see macro-micro issues as experimentally or pragmatically inseparable.
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- Themes: newness macro-micro hype funding divide multiplicity
The Macro-Micro
Audio Segments with Description
Jack Gallant
1. Dr. Jack Gallant believes that he cannot - in some ways - separate the micro from the macro in science. For example, by using science to build a model of the brain, engineering can then step in to build a brain decoder, which can be used for good or bad, regardless of the broader theoretical or micro-level intentions of the scientist.
2. Dr. Jack Gallant says that many of neurosciences' everyday problems are far removed from the humanities. In some ways, he is not interested in the macro level of humanities problems such as human interaction. Instead, he is interested in modeling the brain and examining how neurons interact. Note: This segment non-exclusively coded also as 'divide.'
Marco Iacoboni
1. Dr. Marco Iacoboni discusses the use of the mirror metaphor for the discovery of the mirror neuron and how it is both an advantage and limitation to the understanding of the research. It is an advantage because it describes the activity of one or two cells and the metaphor catches people's imagination. But Iacoboni also argues that people must go 'beyond' the metaphor of the mirror to understand the whole phenomenon. Note: This segment also nonexclusively coded also as 'Hype.'
Gregory Hickok
1. Dr. Gregory Hickok agrees that there is a macro/micro disconnect between neuroscience and social behavior, where neuroscience is studying activity at a low level while behavior is at a high level.
2. Dr. Gregory Hickok describes a macro/micro disconnect between low level experiments and high level theorisations; he speaks about theories coming from embodied cognition as well as the simulation theory of MNs. The result, he suggests, is that neurobiological problems yet to be solved are getting pushed around to different fields of research.
Larry Cahill
1. Dr. Larry Cahill discusses whether we need to study the brain to study the mind. He uses the analogy of respiration research to explain the importance of studying the brain to study the mind, i.e. by studying what passes through the mouth in different situations, a scientist can study respiration without studying the lungs, but that seems less valuable.
2. Dr. Larry Cahill debates the possibility of ever fully understanding the human brain but doesn’t allow that to hinder his research.