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**What is the nature and mechanism behind [[near-death experience]]s?
**What is the nature and mechanism behind [[near-death experience]]s?
***How can death be defined? Can consciousness exist after death?
***How can death be defined? Can consciousness exist after death?
***How do patients with [[terminal lucidity]] suddenly gain a brief moment of restored consciousness prior to death despite physical damage to their brains?
***How do some patients with physically damaged brains suddenly gain a brief moment of restored consciousness prior to death, a phenomenon known as [[terminal lucidity]]?
* Problem of [[Mental representation|representation]]: How exactly does the [[mind]] function (or how does the brain interpret and represent information about the world)?<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vacariu |first1=Gabriel |last2=Vacariu |first2=Mihai |title=Troubles with Cognitive Neuroscience |journal=Philosophia Scientae |date=1 May 2013 |issue=17-2 |pages=151–170 |doi=10.4000/philosophiascientiae.864}}</ref>
* Problem of [[Mental representation|representation]]: How exactly does the [[mind]] function (or how does the brain interpret and represent information about the world)?<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vacariu |first1=Gabriel |last2=Vacariu |first2=Mihai |title=Troubles with Cognitive Neuroscience |journal=Philosophia Scientae |date=1 May 2013 |issue=17-2 |pages=151–170 |doi=10.4000/philosophiascientiae.864}}</ref>
** [[Bayesian approaches to brain function|Bayesian mind]]: Does the mind make sense of the world by constantly trying to make predictions according to the rules of [[Bayesian probability]]?
** [[Bayesian approaches to brain function|Bayesian mind]]: Does the mind make sense of the world by constantly trying to make predictions according to the rules of [[Bayesian probability]]?
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**How is it implemented neurally?
**How is it implemented neurally?
**What is the basis of [[semantics|semantic]] [[Meaning (linguistic)|meaning]]?
**What is the basis of [[semantics|semantic]] [[Meaning (linguistic)|meaning]]?
* [[Language acquisition]]:

** Controversy: infant [[language acquisition]]/first-language acquisition. How are infants able to learn language? One line of debate is between two points of view: that of [[psychological nativism]], i.e., the language ability is somehow "hardwired" in the human brain, and [[functional linguistics|usage based theories of language]], according to which language emerges through to brain's interaction with environment and activated by general dispositions for social interaction and communication, abstract symbolic thought and pattern recognition and inference.
** Is the human ability to use syntax based on innate mental structures or is syntactic speech the function of intelligence and interaction with other humans? The question is closely related to those of language emergence and acquisition.
** Is there a [[language acquisition device]]: How localized is language in the brain? Is there a particular area in the brain responsible for the development of language abilities or is it only partially localized?
** What fundamental reasons explain why ultimate attainment in [[second-language acquisition]] is typically some way short of the [[native speaker]]'s ability, with learners varying widely in performance?
** What are the optimal ways to achieve successful [[second-language acquisition]]?
** [[animal language acquisition|Animals and language]]: How much human language can animals be taught to use? How much of animal communication can be said to have the same properties as human language (e.g. [[compositionality]] of bird calls as [[syntax]])?<ref>{{cite journal|date=2018|first1=Toshitaka N. |last1=Suzuki|first2=David |last2=Wheatcroft |first3=Michael |last3=Griesser|title=Call combinations in birds and the evolution of compositional syntax|journal=PLOS Biology|volume=16 |issue=8 |pages=e2006532 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.2006532|pmid=30110321 |pmc=6093598 |url=http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1260114/FULLTEXT01}}</ref>
** What role does linguistic [[intuition]] play, how is it formed and how does it function? Is it closely linked to exposure to a unique set of different experiences and their contexts throughout one's personal life?
*[[Linguistic relativity]]: What are the relations between grammatical patterns and cognitive habits of speakers of different languages? Does language use train or habituate speakers to certain cognitive habits that differ between speakers of different languages? Are effects of linguistic relativity caused by grammar structures or by cultural differences that underlie differences in language use.
==Mind-body connection==
==Mind-body connection==
*[[Free will]], particularly the [[neuroscience of free will]].
*[[Free will]], particularly the [[neuroscience of free will]].

Revision as of 06:48, 13 July 2023

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

There are yet unsolved problems in neuroscience, although some of these problems have evidence supporting a hypothesized solution, and the field is rapidly evolving. One major problem is even enumerating what would belong on a list such as this. However, these problems include:

Consciousness

Sensation, perception and movement

  • Perception:
    • How does the brain transfer sensory information into coherent, private percepts?
    • What are the rules by which perception is organized?
    • What are the features/objects that constitute our perceptual experience of internal and external events?
    • How are the senses integrated?
    • What is the relationship between subjective experience and the physical world?

Learning and memory

  • Learning and memory:
    • Where do our memories get stored and how are they retrieved again?
    • How can learning be improved?
    • What is the difference between explicit and implicit memories?
    • What molecule is responsible for synaptic tagging?
  • Neuroplasticity: How plastic is the mature brain?
  • Cognition and decisions:
    • How and where does the brain evaluate reward value and effort (cost) to modulate behavior?
    • How does previous experience alter perception and behavior?
    • What are the genetic and environmental contributions to brain function?

Language

  • Language:
  • Language acquisition:
    • Controversy: infant language acquisition/first-language acquisition. How are infants able to learn language? One line of debate is between two points of view: that of psychological nativism, i.e., the language ability is somehow "hardwired" in the human brain, and usage based theories of language, according to which language emerges through to brain's interaction with environment and activated by general dispositions for social interaction and communication, abstract symbolic thought and pattern recognition and inference.
    • Is the human ability to use syntax based on innate mental structures or is syntactic speech the function of intelligence and interaction with other humans? The question is closely related to those of language emergence and acquisition.
    • Is there a language acquisition device: How localized is language in the brain? Is there a particular area in the brain responsible for the development of language abilities or is it only partially localized?
    • What fundamental reasons explain why ultimate attainment in second-language acquisition is typically some way short of the native speaker's ability, with learners varying widely in performance?
    • What are the optimal ways to achieve successful second-language acquisition?
    • Animals and language: How much human language can animals be taught to use? How much of animal communication can be said to have the same properties as human language (e.g. compositionality of bird calls as syntax)?[4]
    • What role does linguistic intuition play, how is it formed and how does it function? Is it closely linked to exposure to a unique set of different experiences and their contexts throughout one's personal life?
  • Linguistic relativity: What are the relations between grammatical patterns and cognitive habits of speakers of different languages? Does language use train or habituate speakers to certain cognitive habits that differ between speakers of different languages? Are effects of linguistic relativity caused by grammar structures or by cultural differences that underlie differences in language use.

Mind-body connection

Computational neuroscience

See also


References

  1. ^ Sejnowski, Terrence J.; Hemmen, J. L. van (2006). 23 problems in systems neuroscience (PDF). Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-514822-0.
  2. ^ Tononi, Giulio; Koch, Christof (2015). "Consciousness: Here, there and everywhere?". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 370 (1668): 20140167. doi:10.1098/rstb.2014.0167. PMC 4387509. PMID 25823865.
  3. ^ Vacariu, Gabriel; Vacariu, Mihai (1 May 2013). "Troubles with Cognitive Neuroscience". Philosophia Scientae (17–2): 151–170. doi:10.4000/philosophiascientiae.864.
  4. ^ Suzuki, Toshitaka N.; Wheatcroft, David; Griesser, Michael (2018). "Call combinations in birds and the evolution of compositional syntax". PLOS Biology. 16 (8): e2006532. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2006532. PMC 6093598. PMID 30110321.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
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