TY - JOUR

T1 - Uncertainty Promotes Neuroreductionism

T2 - A Behavioral Online Study on Folk Psychological Causal Inference from Neuroimaging Data

AU - Carmon, Jona

AU - Bammel, Moritz

AU - Brugger, Peter

AU - Lenggenhager, Bigna

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s).

PY - 2021/11/1

Y1 - 2021/11/1

N2 - Introduction: Increased efforts in neuroscience try to understand mental disorders as brain disorders. In the present study, we investigate how common a neuroreductionist inclination is among highly educated people. In particular, we shed light on implicit presuppositions of mental disorders little is known about in the public, exemplified here by the case of body integrity dysphoria (BID) that is considered a mental disorder for the first time in ICD-11. Methods: Identically graphed, simulated data of mind-brain correlations were shown in 3 contexts with presumably different presumptions about causality. 738 highly educated lay people rated plausibility of causality attribution from the brain to mind and from mind to the brain for correlations between brain structural properties and mental phenomena. We contrasted participants’ plausibility ratings of causality in the contexts of commonly perceived brain lesion-induced behavior (aphasia), behavior-induced training effects (piano playing), and a newly described mental disorder (BID). Results: The findings reveal the expected context-dependent modulation of causality attributions in the contexts of aphasia and piano playing. Furthermore, we observed a significant tendency to more readily attribute causal inference from the brain to mind than vice versa with respect to BID. Conclusion: In some contexts, exemplified here by aphasia and piano playing, unidirectional causality attributions may be justified. However, with respect to BID, we critically discuss presumably unjustified neuroreductionist inclinations under causal uncertainty. Finally, we emphasize the need for a presupposition-free approach in psychiatry.

AB - Introduction: Increased efforts in neuroscience try to understand mental disorders as brain disorders. In the present study, we investigate how common a neuroreductionist inclination is among highly educated people. In particular, we shed light on implicit presuppositions of mental disorders little is known about in the public, exemplified here by the case of body integrity dysphoria (BID) that is considered a mental disorder for the first time in ICD-11. Methods: Identically graphed, simulated data of mind-brain correlations were shown in 3 contexts with presumably different presumptions about causality. 738 highly educated lay people rated plausibility of causality attribution from the brain to mind and from mind to the brain for correlations between brain structural properties and mental phenomena. We contrasted participants’ plausibility ratings of causality in the contexts of commonly perceived brain lesion-induced behavior (aphasia), behavior-induced training effects (piano playing), and a newly described mental disorder (BID). Results: The findings reveal the expected context-dependent modulation of causality attributions in the contexts of aphasia and piano playing. Furthermore, we observed a significant tendency to more readily attribute causal inference from the brain to mind than vice versa with respect to BID. Conclusion: In some contexts, exemplified here by aphasia and piano playing, unidirectional causality attributions may be justified. However, with respect to BID, we critically discuss presumably unjustified neuroreductionist inclinations under causal uncertainty. Finally, we emphasize the need for a presupposition-free approach in psychiatry.

KW - Psychology

KW - Body integrity dysphoria

KW - Critical neuroscience

KW - International Classification of Diseases-11

KW - Mental disorder

KW - Neuroreductionism

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116494599&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/4f33cd68-f264-38bb-8e14-184590665f6e/

U2 - 10.1159/000518476

DO - 10.1159/000518476

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 34515236

VL - 54

SP - 298

EP - 304

JO - Psychopathology

JF - Psychopathology

SN - 0254-4962

IS - 6

ER -