Imaging Mentality: Focus on fMRI

Abstract Currently, most neuroscience efforts are focused on developing technologies based on the idea that our mental processes are based on synaptic connections between sets of neurons, exemplified by the Connectome Project. Technologies of physics have been adapted to study the brain, notably with fMRI (focused magnetic resonance imaging). The medical fMRI technique detects mainly the H in water (H2O) or blood in the brain, as it is the relatively a much stronger signal than any H bound to tissue. The resultant "negative" image is generated by ignoring the signals of water and blood. Thus, we contemplate the "negative" image of the flesh of the whole brain. A major flaw in all the above-cited works is that they do not consider the neural extracellular matrix (nECM) as relevant to the brain's mentality. This in spite of published works describing the composition, structure and relevance of the nECM to neuron function. Thus, they are unable to suggest a credible mechanism for brain mentality. We have proposed a tripartite mechanism of memory which involves the interactions of neurons with their surrounding extracellular matrix (nECM). The neurons encode incoming perceptions into the nECM by ejecting trace metal cations and neurotransmittters (NTs). This generates a bio-chemical emotive memory code that is achievable by neural circuits employing available materials and processes. We have discussed how the limitations of the fMRI technique "blinds" the neurobiologists to the presence and role of the nECM around the neurons. A few experiments are suggested that would clarify the mechanism of neural mentality pointing to a nexus between chemodynamic and electrodynamic signaling. We may not be able to penetrate the "event horizon" of mentality, but such experiments will help establish the limits of our understanding.