Abstract

ARANGO-DAVILA, César Augusto  and  PIMIENTA J, Hernán José. THE BRAIN: FROM STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION TO PSYCHOPATHOLOGY: First Part: Functional Blocks. rev.colomb.psiquiatr. [online]. 2004, vol.33, suppl.1, pp.102-125. ISSN 0034-7450.

The last two decades have been of fundamental importance in the study and understanding of the nervous system, this progress has not only addressed the neurochemical, neurophysiological, neuroanatomical, cytoarchitectonical, imageological phenomena underlying the cerebral mass but also the relationship of this knowledge with complex aspects of behavior and the psyche. The purpose of emphasizing a modern vision of the grasp of neuroscience must necessarily reflect a wider understanding of the reality of mental illness allowing a confluence between our biological, behavioral, psychic and social conditions. This article seeks to review the biological basis of mental disorders based on recent neurobiological investigations. The constituent elements of the superior mental functions are described in five functional blocks, portraying a vision of global organization as the basis for the interpretation of the processing of information and the origin of the different psychophatological manifestations that will be explained in part two, "Microstructure and the Processing of Information".

Keywords : central nervous system; cognition; affect; neurobiology; psychobiology.

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