PART THREECognitive Science
HIGHER BRAIN FUNCTIONAND MIND
The ultimate goal of neuroscience is to understand higher brain function and behavioral phenomena we often refer to as mind or cognition. Perception, language, memory, learning, emotion, motivation, and consciousness are all aspects of mind and are considered in this last section. Our understanding of these phenomena is still rudimentary, but many of them can be localized to specific brain areas, and in some cases we have even gained some insights into their underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms. Whereas in the past separation of mind and brain was vigorously argued by distinguished philosophers and scientists, virtually everyone today believes that mind originates in brain function and is an emergent property of the brain.