ABSTRACT
The debate over the anatomical locus of the mind is of great antiquity. Plato, as I have noted, thought it was located in the brain, but Aristotle suggested that the brain only cooled the blood and that the mind was actually localized in the heart. However, if there is any single fact that is noncontroversial in the arena in which the mind-body problem is debated today, it is that the seat of mental functions is at least contained within the limits of the central portions of the nervous system and more than likely the essential parts are to be found in the brain. Thus, to meaningfully continue my consideration of the modern status of what I shall now refer to as the mind-brain problem, it is absolutely essential that a foundation of anatomical knowledge of the central nervous structures be established. The purpose of this chapter, therefore, is to explore neuroanatomy in a structural, rather than a physiological or functional, manner. My discussion will not consider all parts of the nervous system in equal detail; for example, I will deal only briefly with the more peripheral receptor or effector structures and pay only passing attention to the communication links that convey information between the periphery and the central nervous system.
