MSU philosophy faculty researching new ways to understand the human mind
by Sam Kealhofer, Intern on the A&S Research Support Team
Neuroepigenetics, a relatively new field focusing on genetic expression in the nervous system while under the influence of the environment, is the subject of new research by John Bickle, a Mississippi State professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion.
Bickle is collaborating with Antonella Tramacere, a post-doctoral researcher who earned her Ph.D. in human and comparative neurothology from the University of Parma in Italy, whose research focuses on the role of epigenetics in the development and evolution of the human mind.
Bickle’s research in the philosophy of neuroscience, as well as the cellular and molecular mechanisms of cognition and consciousness, combined with Tramacere’s research now seeks to highlight the importance of neuroepigenetics and demonstrate its implications in the fields of psychology and the cognitive sciences.
Bickle is the author of four books and more than 90 articles and is the editor of the Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Neuroscience.
His work focuses on connecting various theories of mind, creativity and human consciousness to specific neural mechanisms, often down to the level of the expression and synthesis of specific genes and proteins in brain cells.
His forthcoming article, “Linking mind to molecular pathways: the role of experiment tools,” justifies the claims neurobiologists make of connecting the mind and behaviors to molecular events in and between neurons by describing the kinds of experiment tools that discovered the linkages.
Bickle said gene-targeting techniques were imported from developmental biology to behavioral neuroscience more than two decades ago. He contends that the findings from such
tools are more reliable than theory, and his research shows the advantages of utilizing these techniques in traditionally theory-based fields such as philosophy.
Bickle’s recent article, “Memory Linking and Creativity,” coauthored with University of California, Los Angles, neurobiologist Alcino J. Silva, demonstrates that the neural pathways in human brains responsible for linking memories across a span of time also play a key role in creativity.
Similarly, Tramacere’s research focuses on gene heredity and epigenetics in the neural networks implicated in the origin of mental functions. She has applied the epigenetic perspective to the investigation of language, imitation and empathy through what is now called Integrative or Synthetic Philosophy: the production of an “overall picture” that is able to generate new research questions and deepen the understanding of and communication to other sciences.
Tramacere’s research explores the hard science of these topics rather than simply their theory, often by directly working with wet-lab scientists.
Tramacere’s research starts with offering an epigenetic lens on the development and mechanisms of the mirror neuron system. Mirror neurons are neurons that activate both when an animal acts and when that animal sees the same action performed by another, and play a crucial role in understanding, reacting to and learning from others actions and emotions.
In her recent work, her enthusiasm for neuroepigenetics led her to compare the epigenetic investigation of the mind to Ayahuasca, a psychoactive compound used in South America among shamanic cultural groups.
Like the shamans use Ayahuasca to augment the understanding of reality, Tramacere argues neuroepigenetics promises to augment human understanding of how the mind works, and to enhance its applications for therapeutic implications.
Tramacere and Bickle also are contributing to the expansion of the network of scholars working on similar topics. Bickle’s annual workshop, this year organized in collaboration with Tramacere, had to be expanded to a 3-day virtual event because more than 20 scholars from around the globe collaborated to speak on the topic.
Together, Bickle and Tramacere find themselves on the forefront of research, navigating a complex but exciting intersection of biology, neuroscience, philosophy and psychology. The research is a testimony to the transdisciplinary interconnectedness of knowledge and the multifaceted nature of current philosophical work.
In an effort to contribute solutions to the various challenges facing the nation, as well as insight into other points of interest, the College of Arts and Sciences will continue to highlight faculty research in our “Research in the Headlines” series each Monday and Wednesday. For more research in the headlines, visit https://www.cas.msstate.edu/research/researchintheheadlines/; and for information about the College of Arts and Sciences or the Department of Philosophy and Religion visit https://www.cas.msstate.edu/ or https://www.philosophyandreligion.msstate.edu/.