Research Project Overview by http www bmscience com

Research Project Overview by http: //www. bm-science. com and http: //www. mind-consciousness-language. com 1

Project: Rationale This research project tries to answer two main questions: 1) What are the set of coordinated brain areas and structures responsible for human ability to use language? 2) On what brain processes are the production and comprehension of the meanings of words and sentences based? By answering these questions, the research project will bridge a fundamental gap between brain and mind, thus opening the road to important future technological applications in essential areas such as human language and mind-reading. 2

Organizations involved: BM-Science (1) BM-SCIENCE – Brain & Mind Technologies Research Centre is a scientific research organization, founded in 2002 in Finland by two neuroscientists (Alexander and Andrew Fingelkurts) and a computer science and IT specialist (Carlos Neves), focused on the study of human brain and mind. Its main areas of interest and expertise are: • • Fundamental and applied Brain Research, focusing on Electroencephalography (EEG) and Magnetoencephalography (MEG); Systemic Psychophisiology; Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders; Developmental Neuropsychology Development and testing of new scientific tools Psycho-Pharmacology studies Consulting and services (for individuals; partners, labs; industry) 3

Organizations involved: BM-Science (2) Founding principles, vocation, core motivation, goals: • To carry out High-level, High-Quality research in Neurophysiology (Brain and Mind studies) • Maintain a high level of fundamental research sustained by the revenue/results of products and services from applied research • Delivering value to society, maintaining and developing a good level of interaction and collaboration with it (academics, social and medical organizations, research partners, individuals) • Doing research and business ensuring “fair play”, respecting the individual, contributing (directly or indirectly) to increase the quality of life / health of society • Business sustained growth, while respecting the core-principles 4

Organizations involved: BM-Science (3) “Assets”: • • Highly-qualified skills/know-how in neurophysiology Powerful unique techniques and methodologies for brain research acknowledged and validated by numerous publication in the scientific community • Highly “networked personnel”, in continuous contact with world recognized neuroscientists Resources: • Electrophysiology Laboratory for EEG scientific research • Computing resources for complex and extensive data processing and analysis • Versatile equipment for diverse experimental setups in neuroscience research. 5

Organizations involved: BM-Science (4) Selection of previous and ongoing research projects with valuable scientific results (both fundamental and for applied science) and closer to the aim of the suggested project: 6

Organizations Involved: MCL-Network (1) www. Mind-Consciousness-Language. com is an expanding international network of researchers, founded in 2002 by two Italian scholars, Giorgio Marchetti and Giulio Benedetti, focused on the relationship between mind, consciousness, and language. www. Mind-Consciousness-Language. com promotes and supports: • Theoretical and empirical research on mind, consciousness, language, and their relationship • • Collaboration between researchers of various research fields The publication and diffusion of the most significant contributions 7

BM-Science and MCL-Network Common Motivation BM-SCIENCE and www. Mind-Consciousness-Language. com have joined their effort to carry out experimental research on the human cognitive activity involved in using or perceiving language. BM-SCIENCE and www. Mind-Consciousness-Language. com have had different starting points but interestingly complementary and parallel approaches: • • BM-SCIENCE’s “Brain Operational Architectonics” (OA) is a neurobiological approach, derived from experimental observations through EEG and MEG techniques, and mathematical elaborations of electrophysiological data. www. Mind-Consciousness-Language. com’s “Mind Operational Semantics” (OS) is a theoretical approach, derived from linguistic data and introspective analysis 8

Brain Operational Architectonics (OA) Mind Operational Semantics (OS) • Cognitive activity can be analyzed at the level of large-scale cortical networks • This level is captured by EEG • EEG-signal can be divided, by means of “rapid transition processes” (RTPs), into quasistationary segments • These segments are characterized by several features: average amplitude, average length, average steepness among adjacent segments, etc. • Such segments are synchronized between different EEG channels, thus forming simple and complex, short-term meta-stable “operational modules” (OMs), whose duration ranges from 80 ms to 30 s • To any OM there is an appropriate pattern of phenomenality (including reflective thought) that corresponds to it • Linguistic (semantic/syntactic) activity can be analyzed at least at three different operational levels: 1) elemental operations; 2) mental categories; 3) correlational networks (or thought) • Some elemental operations proposed by OS are: attentional focalization, attentional discarding, representation, comparison, presence keeping, memory • Elemental operations make up mental categories. Example of mental categories are: prepositions, interrogative- indefinite pronouns and adjectives, demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, negation, numerals, morphemes indicating cases, number, moods of verbs, etc. • A correlational network, or thought, is made up of correlata and correlators. All correlators are mental categories 9

OA Framework: Example 1 An example of 16 -channel EEG record exhibiting some coincident “rapid transition processes” (RTPs) between different EEG channels 10

OA Framework: Example 2 An example of simple and complex short-term metastable “operational modules” (OMs) 11

Mutual Theoretical Framework Both approaches (Brain Operational Architectonics and Mind Operational Semantics) share the view that: • What seems to be a continuous, uninterrupted flow of mental activity – the stream of consciousness - actually consists of discrete cognitive states: atoms of thoughts, moments of experience, perceptions, meanings of words, etc. • • Discrete cognitive states are the product of specific brain operations There is a tight functional isomorphism between the electrical brain field and conscious phenomena: in both we can find a succession of discrete and relatively stable periods (simple and complex OMs and cognitive states, respectively) separated by rapid transitive processes (RTPs and abrupt periods of fringe between cognitive states, respectively) 12

Research Project: Operational Aspects (1) This research project will empirically ascertain what correspondence exists between: the brain operations identified by Brain Operational Architectonics (simple and complex Operational Modules) and the cognitive operations theorized by Mind Operational Semantics (elemental operations, mental categories, and correlational networks). } { Attentional focalization, attentional discarding, representation, comparison, presence keeping, memory Mental categories 13

Research Project: Operational Aspects (2) In order to ascertain what correspondence exists between the brain operations identified by Brain Operational Architectonics and the cognitive operations theorized by Mind Operational Semantics it is necessary to perform some experiments. The experiments should test the relationships existing between each of the two kinds of brain operational modules identified by Brain Operational Architectonics and each of the three cognitive operational levels theorized by Mind Operational Semantics. ? Attentional focalization, attentional discarding, representation, comparison, presence keeping, memory Mental categories 14

Expected Results By revealing what correspondence exists between the brain operations identified by Brain Operational Architectonics and the cognitive operations theorized by Mind Operational Semantics, experiments will make it possible to: • Anchor the linguistic and introspective analyses performed by OS to an empirical ground, and consequently to • Constantly verify their validity and • Improve their quality, thus • Paving the way for a systematic analysis of the meanings of words in terms of brain operations 15

Project: Business Potential and Motivation The systematic analysis of the meanings of words and linguistic thoughts in terms of brain operations through advanced EEG analysis techniques developed by BM-Science may lead in the future to fundamental technological innovations in areas such as: • Mind-reading: visualization of linguistic thoughts • Human language: direct translation of linguistic thoughts into electronic signals, without the need for acoustic signal 16

Towards Increasing the Symbiosis between Business, Science, and Society Why missing the opportunity of taking part in a project that may have significant scientific implications and lead to important future technological innovations? Support personally BM-SCIENCE and www. Mind-Consciousness-Language. com’s research project ! 17

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