Biological, Psychological and Social Systems – Towards an Idea of Integrated Health
With very great interest I attended at the meeting organized by OPT, CNOP and SIPNEL in Florence. I was very curious to know how the biological, psychological and social systems would be correlated each other in order to give an answer to mental heath of our current society. In particular, the expected statement of Giacomo Rizzolatti, on person, about the “mirror neurons” made me very, very curious.
The meeting started with the statement of a science’s philosopher: “How psyche and biology are correlated in a narrow way, also how this evidence changes medicine and psychology too”. It is important to specify that Evidence is a phenomenal matter but not a scientific one. Also, it is opportune to read the article: “A New Marker for Autism early Diagnosis….of the two nasal hemiretina” in the website www.albabernardini.it where the biological theory of the mind is explained.
After the meeting, I can make a bitter and painful remark because, behind words which promise hope and change, an improper preliminary remark and the evidence instead of the science are taken as a ground. This makes sure to get no change, at the same time, it prevents psychology from becoming a science. In practice, it is a paradox if we, also, consider that the meeting was organized by Tuscany Psychologists Order together to National Council Psychologists Order (CNOP) in order to take care of the mental health.
Which is the improper remark?
To consider mirror neurons the neural basic to understand other people is the improper remark.
It would be more appropriate to say to imitate/copy the others like the mirror reflects the image and/or the action. The fundamental phase of the mental process which builds its basis, in order to understand first of all themselves then to understand the others, instead, it is the one which anticipates and makes possible the firing’s mirror neurons. It allows to build neural paths and, then, to give rise to independent actions and habits. This is the essential phase of the mental process on which, now, it would be possible to interfere (if it would be granted) in order to educate and/or educate again the motor-cognitive-behavioural disturbances for the protection of the mental heath. The research made by Alba Bernardini found out the consciousness’s biological basis, therefore, the correlation between biology and psychology, between mind and body; that is: it made the evidence a science (“La motricità, dall’oggettivo al soggettivo nel processo cognitivo e riabilitativo” La Giuntina- Firenze (2008).
On the contrary, the mirror neurons are the result of a research made by neuroimaging completely unable to survey the process which builds the oneself and anticipates fairing’s mirror neurons (they are the phenomenon), therefore, unable to justify the correlation between biology and psychology, between mind and body.
The traditional way to interpret the mental process which starts from the phenomenon (top-down) not from the cause (bottom-up) is unable to make the psychology a science. So, which are the principles on which the patient’s intervention is based? As a consequence of the meeting above named, in addition to the traditional treatment, the intervention should be based on data collection analysis. The latter gathers, on large scale, biological, psychological and social information by computerized systems.
Because it does not recognize the building of oneself, the subjectivity, it put down the ability to fire mirror neurons to Connettoma; an anonymous framework compared to artificial electric systems.
The idea of integrated health needs the involvement of systems which share scientific data. This sharing can be just given by biology; so, the biological-psychological link is fundamental, however, not the one given by philosopher, but the one given by scientific research by Alba Bernardini. For that the presence of the SIPNEI at the meeting is precious and justified.
But, how is it possible to correlate data of scientific disciplines whit the psychology which, at the moment, is not a science? Concerning this, as an example, I refer a statement which struck me. In particular, the way on which researchers of the important universities justify the relation of their studies whit the ones of the traditional psychology to put it in their framework.
Traditionally the psyche is defined as a sigh, a breath (it is not possible to think a science in these terms). The statement, I am briefly going to illustrate, was made immediately after the lunch. The audience, perhaps, was made dull by digestion, the speaker carried out his relation in a very quick way as if he would arrive as soon as possible to the end on which, perhaps, he did not believe either. However, I was able to follow; the speaker took, as an example, the olfactory system to put in correlation breath and consciousness. The professionals know the Olfactory System is the sole sensorial system which does not send information to Thalamus. Also, the detection of the smell is due to the chemical components processed by olfactory bulb set below the frontal lobe which in turn send information to the limbic system. According to the speaker, the information elaborated by olfactory bulb is registered, then, sent to the posterior region of the cortex by computerized systems.
CONCLUSIONS: on the one hand, to the human being it is denied the building of the oneself, to the psychology it is denied the possibility to become science; on the other hand it look for to find the psychology’s scientific evidence through artifices as the statement above reported in order to: 1) – reduce the human behaviour the best possible similar to a computerized system handled by external world, 2) – justify an integrated system based on data analysis instead of on the individual unicity. All of this below the evident goal to put the human being to the centre of the matter. Finally, if the biological theory of the mind (successfully applied in the robotic rehabilitation yet), is not accepted and applied, the psychology will not have the possibility to become a part of the an integrated system scientifically defined.
In addition, we have to consider the goals of the meeting. They was: information, formation and promotion of the integrated health; ECM were issuing. The participants was compelled to “grow” on the basis imposed by a blinded politics in spite of the science.
A last observation I have to do as a teacher and psychologist too with regard to the social systems: can a psychology like this be helpful in school where the building of oneself is denied to children and the authority is denied to teachers?