Trying to figure out how to best word my question... I study plant behavior (really, the study is called "plant neurobiology" but in order to keep this comment on topic, let's just talk about behavior.
From my somewhat limited research, it seems like there is still a pretty strong focus on human behavior being localized to the brain, even in the face of examples where people have lost large chunks of brain and still been able to operate functions once thought to be found there. My question is if there is a branch of human behavior that believes that it is not localized to the brain? If so, what would it be called? Thanks!
Hey,
In general such notons may be captured within paradigms related to emodiment , enactivism or the extended mind hypothesis. The latter holds the consciousness can be extended even onto interactions with bodies and even devices (like phones).
Still the brain is more or less seen as the central locus of behavior. Of course when you look at complex behaviors of an octopus which is thought to be a function of its peripheral nervous system rather than its central nervous system, one can see that some of the fundamental attributes of behavior could stem from the body (hence embodiment).
Thank you! This gives me a good starting point for my research. I often refer back to the octopus when discussing non centralized processing, happy to see you cite them as well. This is all new to me, in that I have focused more on the plant side, but as I prepare a research study with another scientist that will take us into the realm of awareness and decision making with regards to plants, I am finding the need to better understand these aspects with regards to humans.