Psychomotor phenomena as paradigmatic examples of functional brain organization and the mind-brain relationship: A systemic neuropsychiatric account of a neurophilosophical problem

Psychomotor phenomena such as catatonia or Parkinson's disease are shown to be paradigmatic examples of functional brain organization and mind-brain relationship. First psycho-motor relationships in both diseases are described on the phenomenological level, emphasizing motor similarities and psychological differences. The next section, relaying on the various results in recent neuroimaging as a well as on the Russian elaboration of the systemic concept of functional systems, elucidates various principles of the functional brain organization (parallel-distributed, serial-hierarchical, context-dependent, different modes of mental-motor relationships). Alterations of functional brain organization in catatonia and Parkinson's disease are shown. Finally, neurophilosophical implications of such a systemic neuropsychiatric approach of functional brain organization are discussed. Ontological and epistemological problems as well as the question of consciousness are raised and related with the principles of functional brain organization. It is concluded that psychomotor phenomena may well serve as paradigmatic examples of mind-brain relationship, which may therefore stimulate further neuropsychiatrie and neurophilosophical research.