On Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:16:19 -0700, Gerald Peterson writes: >But this: >Mike Palij opined: >>How does the human use of language and symbolic representations >>affect the conclusions about learning and memory observed in animals, >>especially species that are not "close" to us genetically? > >Seems to beg the question.
Depends upon what you mean by this. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question >Do psychologists--especially neuro-physio folks attempt to address the >experience or psychological representations of language? I believe that this depends upon how behavioral the researcher is and whether they believe that all brain components (i.e., molecules, neurotransmitters, neurons, etc.) that are directly relevant to a phenomenon have been indentified. I assume that most people who are using conditioning procedures with rodents or other animals would think that a very limited neural circuit is involved and other brain areas play minor roles. In humans, however, the use of language allows one to make an interpretation of an event which can fundamentally change the nature of the experience. Take "cognitive appraisal" is an example of how interpretation (again, using concepts represented by language) can affect one's experience, say, whether a specific stimulus either stressful or annoying, painful or uncomfortable or merely stimulating (I personally don't care for it but pouring hot candle wax on a partner's skin can be interpreted in positive and erotic ways), and whether an event is overwhelming or bearable. I believe that one version of the cognitive theory of panic attacks is that a catastrophic interpretation of physiological signs (i.e., heart beating very fast, high anxiety, difficulty breathing, etc.,) leads one to believe that one will die shortly. Therapy for this is to make the person recognize the symptoms, not to become upset by them, take countermeasures (e.g., deep breathing, etc.), and telling oneself that this will pass shortly. This makes the experience much less unpleasant and can lead to reduction of the fequency of panic attacks. Language and other symbolic processing capabilities, it seems to me, allows humans to simulate their experiences cognitively which can either reinforce the whatever brain processes that were involved in the experience or to weaken them. Mice and other animals may have much more limited symbolic processing capabilities and, perhaps, be more affected by conditioning procedures than humans. -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
