What is the primary function of the brain and nervous system?

[rousseau]

I've been wondering about this lately..

- Can all the functions of the the brain and nervous system be generalized into one primary function?
- If not, why not?
- If so, what is that primary function?

Your answers are much appreciated..

 

[Jokodo]

I've been wondering about this lately..

- Can all the functions of the the brain and nervous system be generalized into one primary function?
- If not, why not?
- If so, what is that primary function?

Your answers are much appreciated..

Define "primary function".

 

[Peez]

I've been wondering about this lately..

- Can all the functions of the the brain and nervous system be generalized into one primary function?
- If not, why not?
- If so, what is that primary function?

Your answers are much appreciated..

Define "primary function".

That would be important, but I would hazard a guess for the OP:

The coordination of the body in response to conditions for the purpose of maintaining homeostasis and reproduction.

Peez

 

[steve_bank]

To allow us to enjoy procreation and ask dumb questions.

From an evolutionary view it is about survival. We can figure out function bait IMO purpose implies an intentional design. There is no intent to evolution.

 

[Treedbear]

I've been wondering about this lately..

- Can all the functions of the the brain and nervous system be generalized into one primary function?
- If not, why not?
- If so, what is that primary function?

Your answers are much appreciated..

Define "primary function".

That would be important, but I would hazard a guess for the OP:

The coordination of the body in response to conditions for the purpose of maintaining homeostasis and reproduction.

Peez

I think that's correct. Primative organisms don't need a brain to respond to stimulus from the environment. But having a centralized nervous system allows conflicts between various functions to be coordinated to best advantage.

 

[Speakpigeon]

That would be important, but I would hazard a guess for the OP:

The coordination of the body in response to conditions for the purpose of maintaining homeostasis and reproduction.

Peez

I think that's correct. Primative organisms don't need a brain to respond to stimulus from the environment. But having a centralized nervous system allows conflicts between various functions to be coordinated to best advantage.

Nah. Not general enough. Coordination of the body is good. I keep it. But, in effect, coordination of the body comes under something else more general... So, we can in fact dispense with it.

But, hey, surely that a question for the scientists here!
EB

 

[Politesse]

I don't think "primary" function really means anything in this case. If an organ has multiple vital functions, and both the brain and the other components of the nervous system certainly do. there's no reason to distinguish between them in terms of importance. Would you try to decide whether structurally supporting the upper body or acting as conduit for the nervous system is the primary function of the spine? You're a few steps from death if it stops performing either one.

 

[Treedbear]

I don't think "primary" function really means anything in this case. If an organ has multiple vital functions, and both the brain and the other components of the nervous system certainly do. there's no reason to distinguish between them in terms of importance. Would you try to decide whether structurally supporting the upper body or acting as conduit for the nervous system is the primary function of the spine? You're a few steps from death if it stops performing either one.

Right. If rousseau is asking about a specific type of brain then the primary function is rather nebulous. That's why I looked at the more general concept of what a brain is and what basic functionality it provides. In that sense it's a region of concentrated nerve tissue that connects with various inputs and outputs of the organism's body. It seems the advantage there is to provide the opportunity for mediation between the various functions that might otherwise act in conflict with one another. That's the most basic functional advantage fullfilled by a brain.

 

[Gun Nut]

The brain has multiple components that each have different primary functions. The brain stem's primary function is to regulate organ function. The frontal lobe's primary function is to generate mind... etc..

 

[steve_bank]

We are partly hard wired. Thohts are software, the brain hardware.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomic_nervous_system

The autonomic nervous system (ANS), formerly the vegetative nervous system, is a division of the peripheral nervous system that supplies smooth muscle and glands, and thus influences the function of internal organs.[1] The autonomic nervous system is a control system that acts largely unconsciously and regulates bodily functions such as the heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, pupillary response, urination, and sexual arousal.[2] This system is the primary mechanism in control of the fight-or-flight response.

Within the brain, the autonomic nervous system is regulated by the hypothalamus. Autonomic functions include control of respiration, cardiac regulation (the cardiac control center), vasomotor activity (the vasomotor center), and certain reflex actions such as coughing, sneezing, swallowing and vomiting. Those are then subdivided into other areas and are also linked to ANS subsystems and nervous systems external to the brain. The hypothalamus, just above the brain stem, acts as an integrator for autonomic functions, receiving ANS regulatory input from the limbic system to do so.[3]

The autonomic nervous system has three branches: the sympathetic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system and the enteric nervous system.[4][5][6][7] Some textbooks do not include the enteric nervous system as part of this system.[8] The sympathetic nervous system is often considered the "fight or flight" system, while the parasympathetic nervous system is often considered the "rest and digest" or "feed and breed" system. In many cases, both of these systems have "opposite" actions where one system activates a physiological response and the other inhibits it. An older simplification of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems as "excitatory" and "inhibitory" was overturned due to the many exceptions found. A more modern characterization is that the sympathetic nervous system is a "quick response mobilizing system" and the parasympathetic is a "more slowly activated dampening system", but even this has exceptions, such as in sexual arousal and orgasm, wherein both play a role.[3]

There are inhibitory and excitatory synapses between neurons. Relatively recently, a third subsystem of neurons that have been named non-noradrenergic, non-cholinergic transmitters (because they use nitric oxide as a neurotransmitter) have been described and found to be integral in autonomic function, in particular in the gut and the lungs.[9]

Although the ANS is also known as the visceral nervous system, the ANS is only connected with the motor side.[10] Most autonomous functions are involuntary but they can often work in conjunction with the somatic nervous system which provides voluntary control.

 

[Speakpigeon]

I've been wondering about this lately..

- Can all the functions of the the brain and nervous system be generalized into one primary function?
- If not, why not?
- If so, what is that primary function?

Your answers are much appreciated..

There are different levels of abstraction when we describe anything and that's true certainly of organs.

And it seems rather difficult to offer any answer to your question that's not a bit dodgy.

Still, as I see it, all cells, for example, whether in the brain or in the leg, will do very similar things, but they will do also things that are specific to them.

So, by "function", I will guess that you mean what an organ does that's specific to it and that helps understand why the human species survives.

And so, I would guess that the primary function of the brain is to take rational decisions on behalf of the whole organism. And by "decision", I mean everything from regulating your heart beat to whether you send roses or a chocolate box to your sweet heart (yeah, I know, equivocation on "heart").

I mean, isn't that what you really need your brain for?
EB

 

[Speakpigeon]

- If so, what is that primary function?

Define "primary function".

Sure:

There are different levels of abstraction when we describe anything and that's true certainly of organs.

Still, as I see it, all cells, for example, whether in the brain or in the leg, will do very similar things, but they will do also things that are specific to them.

So, by "function", I will guess that you mean what an organ does that's specific to it and that helps understand why the human species survives.

EB

 

[Speakpigeon]

- If so, what is that primary function?

The coordination of the body in response to conditions for the purpose of maintaining homeostasis and reproduction.

Except brains don't really have any purpose ever anymore than they love your neighbour or are hungry.

Rather, a brain may give you the impression of a purpose and the notional purpose will seem to get you do things. So the impression of a purpose, not any actual purpose, will be the immediate cause. And the impression of a purpose is then part of how the brain coordinate the body.

And there is no actual purpose of maintaining homeostasis and reproduction outside our own mental model of our self.
EB

 

[Speakpigeon]

I don't think "primary" function really means anything in this case. If an organ has multiple vital functions, and both the brain and the other components of the nervous system certainly do. there's no reason to distinguish between them in terms of importance. Would you try to decide whether structurally supporting the upper body or acting as conduit for the nervous system is the primary function of the spine? You're a few steps from death if it stops performing either one.

There are different levels of abstraction when we describe anything and that's true certainly of organs.

Still, as I see it, all cells, for example, whether in the brain or in the leg, will do very similar things, but they will do also things that are specific to them.

So, by "function", I will guess that you mean what an organ does that's specific to it and that helps understand why the human species survives.

EB

 

[DBT]

'Your' brain being a figure of speech.

 

[steve_bank]

One thought leads to another and another and round and round we go. It is like pushing a kids merry-go-round.

 

[Jokodo]

Sure:

There are different levels of abstraction when we describe anything and that's true certainly of organs.

Still, as I see it, all cells, for example, whether in the brain or in the leg, will do very similar things, but they will do also things that are specific to them.

So, by "function", I will guess that you mean what an organ does that's specific to it and that helps understand why the human species survives.

EB

You got off to a promising start telling it what you understand under "function"; this doesn't however answer the question what rousseau means, and it doesn't even start to touch the question what either of you means with primary.

Is primary to be understood chronologically, i.e. is the primary function the one that is historically prior?

Or is it to be understood as the most vital function, the one whose absence would kill us most quickly? Do we include functions that (in humans/mammals) are served by the central nervous system due to historical evolutionary contingencies or only ones that cannot be adequately served by other systems (endocrine system, local feedback loops) in principle?

Or is the primary function the one that consumes most resources within the brain and central nervous system?

Are we excluding the endocrine system, and why?

The answer to the OP's question will depend on these parameters. E. g. if it's the most vital function we're after and include everything that happens to be regulated by the nervous system, it's going to be controlling circulation and respiration - despite the fact that a fully autonomous heart and lung are definitely imaginable (though they might be poorer at increasing supply in times of heightened consumption), and despite the fact that our ancestors probably had a circulatory system of sorts before they had a nervous system.

 

[DBT]

There are so many vital functions that the brain/central nervous system performs that it seems fallacious to narrow it down to a single or primary function.

 

[steve_bank]

How does a bird successfully land on a small branch on a tree blowing in the wind?

 

[Speakpigeon]

Sure:

There are different levels of abstraction when we describe anything and that's true certainly of organs.

Still, as I see it, all cells, for example, whether in the brain or in the leg, will do very similar things, but they will do also things that are specific to them.

So, by "function", I will guess that you mean what an organ does that's specific to it and that helps understand why the human species survives.

EB

You got off to a promising start telling it what you understand under "function"; this doesn't however answer the question what rousseau means, and it doesn't even start to touch the question what either of you means with primary.

Is primary to be understood chronologically, i.e. is the primary function the one that is historically prior?

Or is it to be understood as the most vital function, the one whose absence would kill us most quickly? Do we include functions that (in humans/mammals) are served by the central nervous system due to historical evolutionary contingencies or only ones that cannot be adequately served by other systems (endocrine system, local feedback loops) in principle?

Or is the primary function the one that consumes most resources within the brain and central nervous system?

Are we excluding the endocrine system, and why?

The answer to the OP's question will depend on these parameters. E. g. if it's the most vital function we're after and include everything that happens to be regulated by the nervous system, it's going to be controlling circulation and respiration - despite the fact that a fully autonomous heart and lung are definitely imaginable (though they might be poorer at increasing supply in times of heightened consumption), and despite the fact that our ancestors probably had a circulatory system of sorts before they had a nervous system.

Primary
1. First or highest in rank or importance; principal. See Synonyms at chief.

Do we really have to define again and again all the words we use even though they are in the dictionary?

I definitely thought that was self-explanatory...

So, by "function", I will guess that you mean what an organ does that's specific to it and that helps understand why the human species survives.

So, I sort of guess it's indeed what rousseau meant. What else could it be? What function could be more primary than that? I'm open to suggestions...
EB