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Introduction to Brain, Decision-Making, and Mental Health

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Brain, Decision Making and Mental Health

Part of the book series: Integrated Science ((IS,volume 12))

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Summary

Brain, Decision-Making, and Mental Health supports the notion that the brain’s homeostasis is crucial for both mental health and decision-making. An introduction to the content of this volume is presented in this Chapter. It begins with acknowledging that thinking is not a constant phenomenon but varies considerably across cultures. It is followed by critical thinking and its importance in bridging divisions in thinking and its applicability across sciences, particularly medical sciences. We see critical thinking as educable, and the arts can help achieve this purpose. Then, the multidimensional relationship between thinking and health and related mechanisms and implications are discussed. Thinking mainly affects emotion regulation and executive function; in other words, both mental and physical health are related as a function of thoughts. Cortisol is a stress marker behind this complex relation. By considering the thinking‐feeling‐emotion regulation /executive function pathway, it would be reasonable to propose thinking capacities‐based interventions to impact emotion regulation and executive function, such as mindfulness and psychotherapy. The overview of decision-making takes place in integrated and social contexts, along with a discussion of the decision-making styles-decision outcomes relation. Finally, artificial thinking and intelligence come to prepare us for decision-making outside of the human mind.

Graphical Abstract/Art Performance

Brain, decision-making, and mental health

(Adapted with permission from the Association of Science and Art (ASA), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN); Made by Fatemeh Bahrami).

As brain functioning becomes more and more integrated, consciousness— the mind— becomes more and more invincible, and then any dictate of the mind is immediately followed by the body.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

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Notes

  1. 1.

    https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-65273-9.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Integrated Science Association (ISA), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran

    Nima Rezaei & Amene Saghazadeh

  2. Research Center for Immunodeficiencies, Children’s Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Nima Rezaei & Amene Saghazadeh

  3. Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Nima Rezaei

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  1. Nima Rezaei
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Correspondence to Nima Rezaei .

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    Nima Rezaei

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Rezaei, N., Saghazadeh, A. (2023). Introduction to Brain, Decision-Making, and Mental Health. In: Rezaei, N. (eds) Brain, Decision Making and Mental Health. Integrated Science, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15959-6_1

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