Beyond the brain: Toward an integrative cross-disciplinary understanding of human behavior and experience

Abstract Scientists now agree that arguments about the relative importance of “nature” versus “nurture” in human functioning have become moot given that both are essential to the development of the brain. Nevertheless, many still look at brain activity as the origin of experience in mental health and illness. Images of the brain seem to provide a window into mental processes. Yet the architecture and functioning of the brain depend crucially on learning and adaptation to social and cultural contexts. The circuits of the mind are not confined within the human skull but traverse the social world. Taking a perspective that includes the body and the social and cultural environments in which we dwell can help us get a better picture of what the brain is really doing and allow us to address the broader questions about human nature and experience posed by neuroscience.