The 'whole-animal approach' as a heuristic principle in neuroscience research

Neuroscience embraces a heterogeneous group of disciplines. A conceptual framework that allows a better articulation of these different theoretical and experimental perspectives is needed. A 'whole-animal approach is proposed as a theoretical and hermeneutic tool. To illustrate the potential of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological research 2005, Vol.38 (4), p.359-364
Main Authors: Serani-Merlo, Alejandro, Paz, Rodrigo, Castillo, Andrés
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
BIOLOGY
Biomedical Research
Conditioning, Classical - physiology
epistemology
extinction
Extinction, Psychological - physiology
Fear - physiology
fear conditioning
Humans
neurophilosophy
Neurosciences
reductionism
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Summary:Neuroscience embraces a heterogeneous group of disciplines. A conceptual framework that allows a better articulation of these different theoretical and experimental perspectives is needed. A 'whole-animal approach is proposed as a theoretical and hermeneutic tool. To illustrate the potential of this point of view, an overview of the research that has been performed in the extinction of fear-conditioned responses from Pavlov to the present is discussed. This is an example of how a whole-animal-based approach may help to organize and integrate basic and clinical neuroscience research. Our proposal is in agreement with recent statements calling for more integrative approaches in biological and neuropsychiatric research.
ISSN:0716-9760
0716-9760
0717-6287
DOI:10.4067/S0716-97602005000400008