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[[File:Francesco Hayez 028.jpg|thumb|Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–15]]
'''Christopher Eccleston''' (born 16 February 1964) is an English actor, known for his role as the [[Ninth Doctor|ninth incarnation]] of [[Doctor (Doctor Who)|the Doctor]] in the British television series ''[[Doctor Who]]''. In addition to his extensive television work, he has appeared on stage and in films such as ''[[Let Him Have It]]'', ''[[Shallow Grave]]'', ''[[Jude (film)|Jude]]'', ''[[Elizabeth (film)|Elizabeth]]'', ''[[Gone in 60 Seconds (2000 film)|Gone in 60 Seconds]]'', ''[[The Others (2001 film)|The Others]]'', ''[[28 Days Later]]'', ''[[The Seeker (film)|The Seeker]]'', ''[[G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra]]'', and ''[[Thor: The Dark World]]''.
'''Mythology''' refers variously to the collected [[myths]] of a group of people<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', {{nowrap|3rd ed.}} "myth, ''n.'' Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2003.</ref> or to the study of such myths.{{sfn|Kirk|1973|p=8}} Myths are the [[Narrative|stories]] people tell to explain nature, [[history]] and [[Norm (social)|customs]].
Myth is a feature of every [[culture]]. Many sources for myths have been proposed, ranging from personification of nature or [[mythopoeic thought|personification of natural phenomena]], to [[history|truthful]] or [[Hyperbole|hyperbolic]] accounts of [[euhemerism|historical events]] to [[myth and ritual|explanations of existing ritual]]<nowiki/>s. Mythologizing continues, as shown in contemporary [[mythopoeia]] such as [[urban legend]]s and the expansive [[canon (fiction)|fictional mythoi]] created by [[fantasy (genre)|fantasy novels]] and [[comics]]. A culture's collective mythology helps convey [[in-group|belonging]], shared and religious experiences, behavioral models and [[pedagogy|moral and practical lessons]].
== Biografia ==
Nato in una famiglia della [[classe operaia]] a [[Langworthy, Greater Manchester|Langworthy]] nell'area di [[Pendleton, Greater Manchester|Pendleton]], [[County Borough of Salford|Salford]], [[Lancashire]], Eccleston è il più giovane dei tre figli di Elsie e Ronnie Eccleston.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kelly|first=Laura|coauthors=|title=Christopher Eccleston|pages=|publisher=The Big Issue|date=21 June 2010|url=http://www.bigissuescotland.com/features/view/298|accessdate=2010-11-22}}</ref> I suoi fratelli, Alan e Keith, sono gemelli, più grandi di lui di otto anni.<ref>{{en}}[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/screen/story/0,6903,1441529,00.html Alan, uno dei fratelli Eccleston, appears nella scena del party del film ''Heart''] ('Doctor in the house', ''Observer.Guardian.co.uk'', 20 Marzo 2005.)</ref><ref name="G150100">Fanshawe, Simon, [http://film.guardian.co.uk/Feature_Story/interview/0,5365,122551,00.html Home truths: Christopher Eccleston], ''Guardian.co.uk'', 15 gennaio 2000.</ref> La famiglia ha vissuto in una piccola [[casa a schiera|villetta a schiera]] in Blodwell Street fino alla fine degli anni '60, quando si trasferirono a [[Little Hulton]].<ref name="SSB0806">{{cite web|url=http://salfordstar.blogspot.com/2006/08/at-home-with-christopher-eccleston.html|title=At home with Christopher Eccleston|date=11 August 2006|accessdate=2008-12-12|publisher=salfordstar.blogspot.com|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salfordadvertiser.co.uk/news/s/507516_tsunami_victims_spirit_of_salford|publisher=salfordadvertiser.co.uk|date=22 December 2005|accessdate=2008-12-22|title=Tsunami victims’ spirit of Salford|last=Cranna|first=Ailsa|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref> Eccleston studiò al [[Joseph Eastham High School]], dove divenne ''[[head boy]]''{{citazione necessaria|Data=ottobre 2007}}. All'età di 19 anni, venne ispirato alla professione di attore da fiction televisive come'' [[Boys from the Blackstuff]]''.
The study of myth began in [[ancient history]]. Rival classes of the [[Greek myths]] by [[Euhemerus]], [[Plato]] and [[Sallustius]] were developed by the [[Neoplatonists]] and later revived by [[Renaissance]] [[mythographers]]. The nineteenth-century [[comparative mythology]] reinterpreted myth as a primitive and failed counterpart of [[science]] ([[E. B. Tylor|Tylor]]), a "disease of language" ([[Max Müller|Müller]]), or a misinterpretation of [[magic and religion|magical]] [[ritual]] ([[James Frazer|Frazer]]).
Eccleston completò un ''Performance Foundation Course'' di due anni alla [[University of Salford|Salford Tech]]<ref name="BC041096">Jackson, Nick, [http://archive.blackburncitizen.co.uk/1996/10/4/843577.html "Little Hulton's reluctant film star"], ''BlackburnCitizen.co.uk'', 4 Ottobre 1996</ref> prima di passare ad esercitarsi presso la ''[[Central School of Speech and Drama]]''.<ref>[http://www.cssd.ac.uk/pages/famous_alumni.html "Some of Our Famous Alumni…"] ''CSSD.ac.uk''</ref>
Come attore, fu influenzato nei suoi primi anni dal film di [[Ken Loach]] ''[[Kes (film)|Kes]]'' e dalla performance di [[Albert Finney]] in ''[[Sabato sera, domenica mattina]]'', ma ben presto si trovò a svolgere i classici, comprese opere di [[Shakespeare]], [[Anton Cechov|Chekhov]] e [[Molière]]. All'età di 25 anni, Eccleston fece il suo debutto professionale nella produzione della [[Bristol Old Vic]] ''[[Un tram che si chiama Desiderio (teatro)|Un tram che si chiama Desiderio]]''. Sottoccupato come attore per alcuni anni dopo la laurea, Eccleston fece una serie di lavoretti in un supermercato, nei cantieri edili, e come modello per un artista.
Recent approaches often view myths as manifestations of psychological, cultural, or societal truths, rather than as inaccurate historical accounts.
==Career==
===Early work (1991–2005)===
Il primo ruolo di Eccleston noto all'attenzione pubblica è stato quello di [[Derek Bentley]] nel film del 1991 ''[[Let Him Have It]]''; nello stesso periodo egli compare in un episodio dell'[[Ispettore Morse]], "Second Time Around". Un ruolo regolare nella serie televisiva ''[[Cracker (serie televisiva)|Cracker]]'' (1993-1994) lo portò alla notorietà nel Regno Unito, ruolo da cui si tolse volontariamente facendo uccidere il suo personaggio dal serial killer Albie Kinsella, interpretato dal famoso attore [[Robert Carlyle]], nell'ottobre del 1994.
Eccleston first came to public attention as [[Derek Bentley]] in the 1991 film ''[[Let Him Have It]]'' and an episode of [[Inspector Morse (TV series)|Inspector Morse]], "Second Time Around", also in 1991. A regular role in the television series ''[[Cracker (British television)|Cracker]]'' (1993–94) brought him recognition in the UK and, after he told TV bosses of his desire to leave the series, they killed off his character in October 1994, making him a victim of the serial killer Albie Kinsella ([[Robert Carlyle]]). At around the same time, Eccleston appeared in the episode "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" of the ''[[Agatha Christie's Poirot|Poirot]]'' series adapted from mysteries by [[Agatha Christie]].
== Terminologia ==
He appeared in the low-budget [[Danny Boyle]] 1994 film ''[[Shallow Grave]]'', in which he co-starred with actor [[Ewan McGregor]]. The same year, he won the part of Nicky Hutchinson in the epic [[BBC]] drama serial ''[[Our Friends in the North]]'', whose broadcast on [[BBC Two]] in 1996 helped make him a household name in the UK. Eccleston starred in an ensemble cast that included actors [[Mark Strong]] and [[Gina McKee]] as well as [[Daniel Craig]]. In 1996, he took the part of Trevor Hicks - a man who lost both of his daughters in the 1989 [[Hillsborough disaster]] - in the television drama film ''Hillsborough'', penned by [[Jimmy McGovern]]. In real life, he was the best man to Trevor Hicks at his marriage in March 2009.<ref>{{cite web|author=Paddy Shennan |url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2010/11/30/christopher-eccleston-says-jimmy-mcgovern-s-hillsborough-is-most-important-work-he-s-ever-done-100252-27739218/ |title=Christopher Eccleston says Jimmy McGovern’s Hillsborough is most important work he's ever done |publisher=Liverpool Echo |date=2010-11-30 |accessdate=2013-07-20}}</ref>
Il termine "mitologia" può riferirsi sia alla ''studio'' dei miti che a una collezione degli stessi.<ref name="Kirk-p8">Kirk, p.8</ref> Ad esempio, la [[mitologia del territorio]] è lo studio delle caratteristiche di un territorio in termini di mitologia totemica, mentre la [[mitologia ittita]] è invece il complesso dei miti degli [[Ittiti]]. [[Alan Dundes]] definisce il mito come [[racconto]] [[sacro]], che spiega come il mondo e l'umanità si siano evoluti nella loro forma attuale. Il mito è per Dundes "una storia che serve a definire la visione fondamentale di una cultura spiegando gli aspetti del mondo naturale e delineando le pratiche psicologiche e sociali e gli ideali di una società".<ref name=grassie/>
Numerosi studiosi di altri settori usano però il termine "mito" in modi alquanto diversi;<ref name = "madness">Dundes, "Madness", p. 147</ref><ref>Doty, pp. 11–12</ref><ref>Segal, p. 5</ref> in un senso molto ampio, il vocabolo può riferirsi a qualunque [[racconto tradizionale]]<ref name="Kirk-p57,74" /> o, occasionalmente, a un [[preconcetto popolare]] o a un'entità immaginaria.<ref>{{cite book|title=[[Merriam-Webster]]'s Collegiate Dictionary|chapter=myth|page=770|edition=10th|publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]], Inc|___location=[[Springfield, Massachusetts]]|year=1993}}</ref>
Il mito viene spesso nettamente distinto da concetti della letteratura didattica come ad esempio le favole, ma il suo rapporto con altri tipi di letteratura popolare, come ad esempio la [[leggenda]] e il [[folclore]], è più nebuloso.{{sfn|Bascom|1965|p= 7}} I personaggi principali dei miti sono in genere [[divinità|dèi]], [[semidio|semidei]] o superuomini,{{sfn|Bascom|1965|p= 9}}<ref name="mythfolk">"myths", ''A Dictionary of English Folklore''</ref><ref>O'Flaherty, p.78: "I think it can be well argued as a matter of principle that, just as 'biography is about chaps', so mythology is about gods."</ref> mentre i protagonisti delle leggende sono generalmente costituiti da persone normali.{{sfn|Bascom|1965|p= 9}} Esistono però molte eccezioni a questi due caratteri; si possono riscontrare degli esempi di queste eccezioni nell'''[[Iliade]]'', nell<nowiki>'</nowiki>''[[Odissea]]'' e nell<nowiki>'</nowiki>''[[Eneide]]''.{{sfn|Kirk|1973|pp=22, 32}}{{sfn|Kirk|1984|p= 55}} I miti sono generalmente avallati da preti e capi politici e sono legati alla religione e alla spiritualità.{{sfn|Bascom|1965|p= 9}} Molte società raggruppano insieme la loro storia e i loro miti e leggende, considerando i miti come racconti fattuali del loro passato remoto.{{sfn|Bascom|1965|p= 9}}<ref name="mythfolk"/>{{sfn|Eliade|1998|p= 23}}{{sfn|Pettazzoni|1984|p= 102}} I [[Creazione (teologia)|miti sulla creazione]], in particolare, si svolgono sempre in un'epoca primordiale in cui il mondo non ha ancora raggiunto la sua forma attuale.{{sfn|Bascom|1965|p= 9}}{{sfn|Dundes|1984|p= 1}}{{sfn|Eliade|1998|p= 6}} Other myths explain how a society's [[norm (social)|customs]], [[institution]]s and [[taboo]]s were established and sanctified.{{sfn|Bascom|1965|p= 9}}{{sfn|Eliade|1998|p= 6}} A separate space is created for folktales,{{sfn|Bascom|1965|p= 17}}{{sfn|Eliade|1998|p= 10–11}}{{sfn|Pettazzoni|1984|pp= 99–101}} which are not considered true by anyone.{{sfn|Bascom|1965|p= 9}} As stories spread to other cultures or as faiths change, myths can come to be considered folktales.{{sfn|Doty|2004|p=114}}{{sfn|Bascom|1965|p= 13}} Its divine characters are recast as either as humans or demihumans such as [[Giant (mythology)|giant]]s, [[elf|elves]] and [[faerie]]s.<ref name="mythfolk"/>
His film career has since taken off with a variety of high-profile roles, including the title role in ''[[Jude (film)|Jude]]'' (1996), ''[[Elizabeth (film)|Elizabeth]]'' (1998), ''[[eXistenZ]]'' (1999), ''[[Gone in 60 Seconds (2000 film)|Gone in 60 Seconds]]'' (2000), ''[[The Others (2001 film)|The Others]]'' (2001), ''[[24 Hour Party People]]'' (2002), and ''[[28 Days Later]]'' (2002). He played a major role as the protagonist of the 2002 ''[[Revengers Tragedy]]'', adapted from [[Thomas Middleton]]'s [[The Revenger's Tragedy|play of the same name]].<ref name="T030203">Dalton, Stephen, [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article862399.ece "A one-man awkward squad"] ''Timesonline.co.uk'', 3 February 2003</ref> He starred in the independent films ''[[A Price Above Rubies]]'' (1998) and ''[[The Invisible Circus (film)|The Invisible Circus]]'' (2001). He starred in the car-heist film ''Gone in 60 Seconds'', but did not take his driving test until January 2004. He said on BBC's ''[[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]]'' that his licence restricts him to vehicles with [[automatic transmission]].
==Origins==
He has appeared in a variety of television roles, especially in British dramas. These have included ''Hearts and Minds'' (1995) for Channel 4, ''[[Clocking Off]]'' (2000) and ''Flesh and Blood'' (2002) for the BBC and ''[[Hillsborough (TV film)|Hillsborough]]'' (1996), a modern version of ''[[Othello (2001 TV film)|Othello]]'' (2001), playing 'Ben Jago', (the [[Iago]] character); and the religious telefantasy epic ''[[The Second Coming (TV serial)|The Second Coming]]'' (2003) for [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]], in which he played Steve Baxter, the son of God. He has made guest appearances in episodes of the comedy drama ''[[Linda Green]]'' (2001) and macabre sketch show ''[[The League of Gentlemen]]'' (2002). Eccleston appeared in a stage role in ''[[Hamlet]]'' in the 2002 production at [[Leeds]]'s [[West Yorkshire Playhouse]]. March–April 2004 saw him return to the venue in a new play, ''Electricity''.
[[File:Palmyrenian relief Louvre AO2398.jpg|thumb|[[Palmyrenian]] relief [[Louvre]]]]
===Euhemerism===
Eccleston has been twice nominated in the Best Actor category at the [[British Academy Television Awards]]. His first nomination came in 1997 for ''[[Our Friends in the North]]'', but he lost to [[Nigel Hawthorne]] (for ''The Fragile Heart''). He was nominated in 2004 for ''[[The Second Coming (TV)|The Second Coming]]''; [[Bill Nighy]] won for ''[[State of Play (TV serial)|State of Play]]''. Eccleston won the Best Actor category at the 1997 [[Broadcasting Press Guild]] Awards for ''Our Friends in the North''. In 2003 he won the RTS Best Actor award for a second time, for his performance in ''Flesh and Blood''. In July 2004, a poll of industry experts, conducted by ''[[Radio Times]]'' magazine, voted Eccleston the "19th Most Powerful Person in Television Drama."
{{Voce principale|Euhemerism}}
{{vedi anche|Erodoto}}
One theory claims that myths are distorted accounts of historical events.{{sfn|Bulfinch|2004|p= 194}}{{sfn|Honko|1984|p= 45}} According to this theory, storytellers repeatedly elaborate upon historical accounts until the figures in those accounts gain the status of gods.{{sfn|Bulfinch|2004|p= 194}}{{sfn|Honko|1984|p= 45}} For example the myth of the wind-god [[Aeolus]] may have evolved from a historical account of a king who taught his people to use sails and interpret the winds.{{sfn|Bulfinch|2004|p= 194}} [[Herodotus]] (fifth-century BC) and [[Prodicus]] made claims of this kind.{{sfn|Honko|1984|p= 45}} This theory is named ''euhemerism'' after mythologist [[Euhemerus]] (c.320 BC), who suggested that Greek gods developed from legends about human beings.{{sfn|Honko|1984|p= 45}}<ref>"Euhemerism", ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions''</ref>
===''Doctor Who'' Allegory===
Some theories propose that myths began as allegories for natural phenomena: [[Apollo]] represents the sun, [[Poseidon]] represents water, and so on.{{sfn|Honko|1984|p= 45}} According to another theory, myths began as allegories for philosophical or spiritual concepts: [[Athena]] represents wise judgment, [[Aphrodite]] desire, and so on.{{sfn|Honko|1984|p= 45}} [[Max Müller|Müller]] supported an allegorical theory of myth. He believed myths began as allegorical descriptions of nature and gradually came to be interpreted literally. For example, a poetic description of the sea as "raging" was eventually taken literally and the sea was then thought of as a raging god.{{sfn|Segal|2015|p= 20}}
Il 2 aprile 2004 venne annunciato che Eccleston avrebbe interpretato la nona incarnazione del [[Dottore (Doctor Who)|Dottore]] nel rilancio della serie della BBC [[fantascienza|fantascientifica]] ''[[Doctor Who]]'', che iniziò le trasmissioni il 26 marzo 2005. Eccleston è stato il primo attore ad interpretare il ruolo del Dottore nato dopo che la serie di ''Doctor Who'' era già cominciata, anche se per meno di tre mesi. Il 30 marzo 2005 la BBC ha rilasciato una dichiarazione, apparentemente di Eccleston, secondo cui egli aveva deciso di lasciare il ruolo del Dottore dopo una sola serie perché temeva di essere identificato con il ruolo, impedendogli l'assunzione a ruoli diversi (''[[Typecasting]]''). Il 4 aprile 2005, la BBC ha rivelato che la "dichiarazione" di Eccleston era stata falsamente attribuita e rilasciata senza il suo consenso. La BBC ammise di aver rotto un accordo stipulato in gennaio secondo cui essa non avrebbe dovuto divulgare pubblicamente che Eccleston avrebbe partecipato a una sola serie. La dichiarazione venne fatta a seguito delle domande fatte in proposito dai giornalisti per l'ufficio stampa.<ref>{{cite news | title = BBC admits Dr Who actor blunder | work = BBC News | publisher = BBC | date = 4 April 2005 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4410943.stm}}</ref>
===Personification===
L'11 giugno 2005, nel corso di un'intervista alla [[BBC radio]], alla domanda se avesse goduto nel lavorare per ''Doctor Who'', Eccleston rispose dicendo "''Mixed, but that's a long story''" ("Più o meno, ma è una lunga storia"). Le ragioni di Eccleston per lasciare il ruolo continuano ad essere dibattute nei giornali della Gran Bretagna: il 4 ottobre 2005 [[Alan Davies]] disse sul ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' che Eccleston era stato "oberato di lavoro" dalla BBC, e aveva lasciato il ruolo perché "esausto".<ref>{{cite news | last = Leonard | first = Tom | title = Hamlet? Maybe not, but I'm not rubbish | work = The Daily Telegraph | publisher = Sun-Times Media Group | date = 4 October 2005 | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/10/04/bvalan04.xml | ___location=London}}</ref> Dieci giorni dopo, Eccleston disse al ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' che ciò non era vero, e espresse una certa irritazione a Davies per i suoi commenti.<ref name="Mir141005">{{cite news | last = Methven | first = Nicola | coauthors = Polly Hudson | title = Chris'd off with alan | work = The Daily Mirror | date = 14 October 2005 | url = http://www.mirror.co.uk/tvandfilm/tvland/tm_objectid=16247775%26method=full%26siteid=94762-name_page.html}}</ref> In un'intervista del 2010, Eccleston ha rivelato di aver lasciato lo show perché "non godeva l'ambiente e la cultura in cui il cast e la troupe hanno dovuto lavorare", ma che era orgoglioso di aver svolto il ruolo del Dottore.<ref name="Ecclesgone">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment_and_arts/10312426.stm|title=Christopher Eccleston talks about Doctor Who exit|date=15 June 2010|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|accessdate=15 June 2010}}</ref>
{{See also|Mythopoeic thought}}
Some thinkers claimed that myths result from the [[Anthropomorphism|personification]] of inanimate objects and forces. According to these thinkers, the ancients worshiped natural phenomena, such as fire and air, gradually deifying them.{{sfn|Bulfinch|2004|p= 195}} For example, according to this theory, ancients tended to view things as gods, not as mere objects.{{sfn|Frankfort|Frankfort|Wilson|Jacobsen|2013|p= 4}} Thus, they described natural events as acts of personal gods, giving rise to myths.{{sfn|Frankfort|Frankfort|Wilson|Jacobsen|2013|p= 15}}
[[File:Mythology.png|thumb|Most cultures across the globe have some form of mythology]]
===Myth-ritual theory===
Il 7 novembre 2008, presso il [[Royal National Theatre]] dov'era per promuovere il suo libro ''The Writer's Tale'', [[Russell T. Davies]] disse che il contratto di Eccleston era di solo un anno perché non si era certi che lo spettacolo avrebbe continuato oltre una singola serie. Col senno di poi, disse, è stato un enorme successo, ma al tempo vi erano dei dubbi all'interno della BBC. Per la sua interpretazione del Dottore, Eccleston è stato votato come "Attore più popolare" ai [[National Television Awards]] del 2005.
{{See also|Myth and ritual}}
According to the myth-ritual theory, myth is tied to ritual.{{sfn|Segal|2015|p= 61}} In its most extreme form, this theory claims myths arose to explain rituals.{{sfn|Graf|1996|p= 40}} This claim was first put forward by [[William Robertson Smith|Smith]],{{sfn|Meletinsky|2014| pp=19–20}} who claimed that people begin performing rituals for reasons not related to myth. Forgetting the original reason for a ritual, they account for it by inventing a myth and claiming the ritual commemorates the events described in that myth.{{sfn|Segal|2015|p= 63}} [[James Frazer|Frazer]] claimed that humans started out with a belief in magical laws. Later, they began to lose faith in magic and invented myths about gods, claiming that their rituals were religious rituals intended to appease the gods.{{sfn|Frazer|1913|p= 711}}
==Functions==
Nel luglio del 2012, nel corso di una conferenza presso il [[Royal National Theatre]] Eccleston parlò positivamente del suo tempo in ''[[Doctor Who]]''.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 2012 |title=Christopher Eccleston in conversation |url=http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/christopher-eccleston-in-conversation-0 |publisher=National Theatre |accessdate=2013-04-05| deadurl=no}}</ref> Ciò portò alla speculazione secondo cui egli stava pensando di fare ritorno nel ruolo del Nono Dottore per il 50° anniversario dello show (fine 2013). Il Dottore attuale, [[Matt Smith]], ha dichiarato che gli piacerebbe che Eccleston tornasse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/tv/news/Matt+Smith-251021.html |title=Matt Smith: 'Eccleston Could Return to Doctor Who' |publisher=Femalefirst.co.uk |date=3 August 2012 |accessdate=10 October 2012}}</ref> Tuttavia, dopo aver discusso con il produttore esecutivo [[Steven Moffat]], Eccleston ha rifiutato il ruolo.<ref>{{cite web|first=Morgan |last=Jeffery |url=http://www.digitalspy.com.au/british-tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a470766/doctor-who-50th-bbc-denies-christopher-eccleston-quitting-rumors.html |title='Doctor Who' 50th: BBC denies Christopher Eccleston 'quitting' rumors - Doctor Who News - Cult |publisher=Digital Spy |date=5 April 2013 |accessdate=5 April 2013}}</ref>
[[File:Holy Grail digital art.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Holy Grail]] digital art part of [[Christian mythology]].]]
[[Mircea Eliade|Eliade]] argued that one of the foremost functions of myth is to establish models for behavior{{sfn|Eliade|1998|p= 8}}{{sfn|Honko|1984|p= 51}} and that myths may provide a religious experience. By telling or reenacting myths, members of traditional societies detach themselves from the present, returning to the mythical age, thereby coming closer to the divine.{{sfn|Eliade|1998|p= 23}}{{sfn|Honko|1984|p= 51}}{{sfn|Eliade|1998|p= 19}}
[[Lauri Honko|Honko]] asserted that, in some cases, a society reenacts a myth in an attempt to reproduce the conditions of the mythical age. For example, it might reenact the healing performed by a god at the beginning of time in order to heal someone in the present.{{sfn|Honko|1984| p=49}} Similarly, [[Roland Barthes|Barthes]] argued that modern culture explores religious experience. Since it is not the job of science to define human morality, a religious experience is an attempt to connect with a perceived moral past, which is in contrast with the technological present.{{sfn|Barthes|1972}}
===Recent works (2005–present)===
On 30 October 2005, Eccleston appeared on stage at the [[Old Vic]] theatre in London in the one-night play ''[[Night Sky (play)|Night Sky]]'' alongside [[Navin Chowdhry]], [[Bruno Langley]], [[David Warner (actor)|David Warner]], [[Saffron Burrows]] and [[David Baddiel]]. Eccleston sat on the 2nd Amazonas International Film Festival Film Jury in November 2005. The director [[Norman Jewison]] was chairman of the Jury.<ref name="MO 021105">Bourne, Dianne, [http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/entertainment/filmandtv/tv/s/180/180223_eccleston_lends_a_hand.html Eccleston lends a hand] ''ManchesterOnline.co.uk'', 2 November 2005.</ref> In December 2005, Eccleston travelled to [[Indonesia]]'s [[Aceh]] province for the ''[[BBC Breakfast]]'' news programme, examining how survivors of the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake|2004 Boxing Day tsunami]] were rebuilding their lives.<ref>{{cite news | title = Christopher's Tsunami journey | work = BBC News | publisher = BBC | date = 14 December 2005 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/4524226.stm}}</ref>
[[Joseph Campbell|Campbell]] writes:
In March 2006, Eccleston appeared in the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] documentary special ''Best Ever Muppet Moments'' as a commentator. In May 2006, he appeared as the narrator in a production of ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' at [[the Lowry]] theatre in his home city of Salford. The theatre company with which he performed, Celebrity Pig (of which he is patron), is made up of [[Learning disability|learning disabled]] actors. In August 2006, Eccleston filmed ''New Orleans, Mon Amour'' with [[Elisabeth Moss]]. The film was directed by [[Michael Almereyda]] and shot in post-[[Hurricane Katrina]] [[New Orleans]]. It was released in 2008 to film festivals in America and Italy.
:"In the long view of the history of mankind, four essential functions of mythology can be discerned. The first and most distinctive – vitalizing all – is that of eliciting and supporting a sense of awe before the mystery of being."{{sfn|Campbell|1991|p=519}}
Late in 2006 he starred in ''Perfect Parents'', an [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] drama written and directed by [[Joe Ahearne]], who had directed him in ''Doctor Who''.<ref>{{cite news | last = Thomas | first = Liz | title = Eccleston swaps time for crime in first post-Doctor drama | work = The Stage | publisher = The Stage Newspaper Limited | date = 7 April 2006 | url = http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/12208/eccleston-swaps-time-for-crime-in-first}}</ref> Eccleston joined the cast of the [[NBC]] TV series ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' in the episode "[[Godsend (Heroes)|Godsend]]", which was broadcast on 22 January 2007. Eccleston played a character named [[Claude (Heroes)|Claude]] who has the power of [[invisibility]], and helps [[Peter Petrelli]] with his powers.<ref>{{cite news | last = Ausiello | first = Michael | title = Ask Ausiello | publisher = TV Guide Magazine | date = 15 November 2006 | url = http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Columnists/Ask-Ausiello/default.aspx?columndate=15 November 2006}}</ref> Eccleston appeared as [[The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising|the Rider]] in a [[The Seeker (film)|film adaptation]] of [[Susan Cooper]]'s novel ''[[The Dark Is Rising Sequence|The Dark Is Rising]]'', which opened in the USA on 5 October 2007.
:"The second function of mythology is to render a cosmology, an image of the universe that will support and be supported by this sense of awe before the mystery of the presence and the presence of a mystery."{{sfn|Campbell|1991|p=519}}
:"A third function of mythology is to support the current social order, to integrate the individual organically with his group;"{{sfn|Campbell|1991|p=520}}
"The fourth function of mythology is to initiate the individual into the order of realities of his own psyche, guiding him toward his own spiritual enrichment and realization."{{sfn|Campbell|1991|p=521}}
In a later work Campbell explained the relationship of myth to civilization:
Eccleston appeared on the BBC Four World Cinema Award show in February 2008, arguing the merits of five international hits such as ''[[The Lives of Others]]'' and ''[[Pan's Labyrinth]]'' with [[Jonathan Ross]] and [[Archie Panjabi]]. In 2009, Eccleston starred opposite Archie Panjabi in a short film called ''The Happiness Salesman''. Eccleston agreed to do the film because of Panjabi and the fact that it was a winner of the [[British Short Screenplay Competition]]. He also appeared as the villainous [[Destro]] in the [[G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero|G.I. Joe]] film, ''[[G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra]]''.<ref>{{cite news | title =
Eccleston suits up for 'G.I. Joe' | work = [[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date = 12 February 2008 | url = http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3if2a7312d15f5f54fc494b700290364cc | deadurl=yes}} {{Dead link|date=December 2011|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref> Eccleston also appeared in an episode of ''[[The Sarah Silverman Program]]'' as the titular cult favourite science fiction hero in a show-within-the-show called "Dr. Laser Rage", possibly in reference to his stint in ''Doctor Who''.
:The rise and fall of civilisations in the long, broad course of history can be seen largely to be a function of the integrity and cogency of their supporting canons of myth; for not authority but aspiration is the motivator, builder, and transformer of civilisation. A mythological canon is an organisation of symbols, ineffable in import, by which the energies of aspiration are evoked and gathered toward a focus.{{sfn|Campbell|1991|p=5}}
Eccleston was cast as [[John Lennon]] in a [[BBC]] production called ''[[Lennon Naked]]'' which aired in the UK on 23 June 2010,<ref>{{cite web
| title = Dr Who to play Lennon in new TV drama
| date = Sunday 15 November 2009
| url = http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/140443/Dr-Who-to-play-Lennon-in-new-TV-drama
| accessdate = 2009-12-28
| postscript = <!--None-->}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/2010/wk25/wed.shtml#wed_lennon |title=Press Office - Network TV Programme Information BBC Week 25 Wednesday 23 June 2010 |publisher=BBC |date= |accessdate=10 October 2012}}</ref> with Eccleston playing the title role, and [[Naoko Mori]], who had previously appeared with him in ''Doctor Who'', as [[Yoko Ono]]. In November 2010, Eccleston starred in the first episode of [[BBC One]] anthology drama ''[[Accused (TV series)|Accused]]''. He won an International Emmy Award for his role. In May 2011, he starred as Joseph Bede in ''[[The Shadow Line (TV series)|The Shadow Line]]'', a seven-part television drama serial for [[BBC Two]].
Yet the history of civilization is not one of harmony.
On 31 December 2011, Eccleston played the role of Pod Clock in an adaptation of [[Mary Norton (author)|Mary Norton]]'s children's novel ''[[The Borrowers]]'' on BBC One. In July 2012, he starred in the political thriller ''[[Blackout (TV series)|Blackout]]'' on BBC One. In the same month, he starred as [[Creon]] in an adaptation of ''[[Antigone (Sophocles)|Antigone]]'' at the [[Royal National Theatre]]; his performance in the play was called "charismatic" and "intense".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18293335 |title=BBC News - Antigone: Four star reviews for Christopher Eccleston |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=1 June 2012 |accessdate=10 October 2012}}</ref>
:There are two pathologies. One is interpreting myth as pseudo-science, as though it had to do with directing nature instead of putting oneself in accord with nature, and the other is the political interpretation of myths to the advantage of one group within a society, or one society within a group of nations.<ref>{{cite book|last=Boa|first=Fraser|title=The way of myth : talking with Joseph Campbell|year=1994|publisher=Shambhala|___location=Boston|isbn=1-57062-042-3|page=152|edition=1st Shambhala}}</ref>
Campbell answers the question, "''what is the function of myth today''?" in the second episode of [[Bill Moyers]]'s ''[[The Power of Myth]]'' series.
Eccleston will play the villainous [[Malekith the Accursed|Malekith]] in the 2013 ''[[Thor (film)|Thor]]'' sequel, entitled ''[[Thor: The Dark World]]''.<ref name="ThorTDW">{{cite web |last=Fleming |first=Mike |date=1 August 2012 |title=We Have A ‘Thor 2′ Villain: Christopher Eccleston To Play Malekith The Accursed |url=http://www.deadline.com/2012/08/we-have-a-thor-2-villain-christopher-eccleston-to-play-malekith-the-accursed/ |publisher=Deadline.com |accessdate=2012-08-01| archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/69bZnPPHA| archivedate = 1 August 2012| deadurl=no}}</ref>
[[Devdutt Pattanaik|Pattanaik]] defines mythology as "a subjective truth of people that is communicated through stories, symbols and rituals". He adds, "unlike fantasy that is nobody’s truth, and history that seeks to be everybody’s truth, mythology is somebody’s truth."<ref name="PD2016">{{cite web | last=Pattanaik | first=Devdutt| title=Why I Insist On Calling Myself A Mythologist | website=Swarajya | date=14 September 2015 | url=http://swarajyamag.com/culture/why-i-insist-on-calling-myself-a-mythologist | accessdate=24 July 2016}}</ref>
==Personal life==
Eccleston è sposato ed è diventato padre del suo primo figlio, Albert, nel febbraio 2012.<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/film/article3264417.ece | work=The Times | ___location=London | title=Christopher Eccleston tells Michael Odell what makes him angry and why he said no to Hollywood | first=Michael | last=Odell | date= 24 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/christopher-eccleston-in-conversation-0|title=Christopher Eccleston in conversation |work=National Theatre|year=2012|accessdate=8 December 2012 |quote=Question: Who had the most profound effect on your life, and what advice would you give to your son Albert? Christopher Eccleston: My mother and father, definitely, I had an incredibly happy childhood and loving and supportive parents, everything I’ve achieved in life is down to … getting a bit emotional here! - the start they gave me in life, without a doubt. My advice to Albert would be to try and get himself parents like I had. He’s done it, he’s got a mum like my mum.}}</ref> È [[ateismo|ateo]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/10_october/26/accused2.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/10_october/26/accused2.shtml]</ref><ref name="H&E040405">[http://www.celebatheists.com/index.php?title=Christopher_Eccleston "I'm an atheist"], ''Heaven and Earth Show'', 4 April 2005</ref> È tifoso del [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]],<ref name="Obs070402">[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,678199,00.html My team: Christopher Eccleston on Manchester United] ''Observer.Guardian.co.uk'', 7 April 2002</ref> ed è stato un [[maratona|maratoneta]] regolare fino al 2000.<ref name="G150100" /><ref name="bbc240312">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17487480], ''www.bbc.co.uk'', 24 March 2012.</ref> Nel settembre del 2007, come parte del suo piano di costruzione da 9,5 milioni di sterline, il [[Pendleton College]] di [[City of Salford|Salford]] ha nominato il suo nuovo teatro da 260 posti in onore di Eccleston - l'"Eccleston Theatre".<ref>[http://www.pendcoll.ac.uk/Pendleton-Theatres.html Pendleton College: Pendleton Theatres], ''PendColl.ac.uk''.</ref> Eccleston è un accanito sostenitore delle opere di beneficenza, ed è diventato un ambasciatore del [[Mencap]] il 28 aprile 2005;<ref>[http://www.mencap.org.uk/page.asp?id=2964 Celebrity Ambassadors: Christopher Eccleston], ''Mencap.org.uk''</ref> è inoltre un sostenitore della [[Croce Rossa Britannica]].<ref>[http://www.redcross.org.uk/standard.asp?id=80097 Entertainment and Artists Supporters Network: Christopher Eccleston], ''RedCross.org.uk''.</ref>
==History of the academic discipline==
==Filmografia==
[[File:Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (14801987593).jpg|thumb|Myths and legends of [[Babylonia]] and [[Assyria]] (1916).]]
Historically, the important approaches to the study of mythology have been those of [[Giambattista Vico|Vico]], [[Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling|Schelling]], [[Schiller]], [[Carl Jung|Jung]], [[Freud]], [[Lévy-Bruhl]], [[Lévi-Strauss]], [[Northrop Frye|Frye]], the Soviet school, and the [[Myth and Ritual School]].<ref>Guy Lanoue, Foreword to Meletinsky, p.viii</ref>
===TelevisionePre-modern===
The critical interpretation of myth began with the [[Pre-Socratic philosophy|Presocratics]].{{sfn|Segal|2015|p= 1}} Euhemerus was one of the most important pre-modern mythologists. He interpreted myths as accounts of actual historical events - distorted over many retellings. Sallustius<ref>On the Gods and the World, ch. 5, See Collected Writings on the Gods and the World, The Prometheus Trust, Frome, 1995</ref> divided myths into five categories – theological, physical (or concerning natural laws), animistic (or concerning soul), material, and mixed. Mixed concerns myths that show the interaction between two or more of the previous categories and are particularly used in initiations.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Anno
! Titolo
! Ruolo
! Note
|-
| 1990 || ''Blood Rights'' || Dick ||
|-
| 1990 || ''[[Casualty]]'' || Stephen Hills ||
|-
| 1991 || ''L'[[Ispettore Morse]]'' || Terrence Mitchell ||
|-
| 1991 || ''[[Chancer]]'' || Radio ||
|-
| 1991 || ''[[Boon (serie televisiva)|Boon]]'' || Mark ||
|-
| 1992 || ''Rachel's Dream'' || Man in dream ||
|-
| 1992 || ''[[Poirot (serie televisiva)|Poirot]]'' || Frank Carter || Episodio: "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe"
|-
| 1992 || ''Friday on my Mind'' || Sean Maddox ||
|-
| 1992 || ''[[Business with Friends]]'' || Angel Morris ||
|-
| 1993–1994 || ''[[Cracker]]'' || DCI David Bilborough ||
|-
| 1995 || ''Hearts and Minds'' || Drew Mackenzie ||
|-
| 1996 || ''[[Our Friends in the North]]'' || Nicky Hutchinson ||
|-
| 1996 || ''[[Hillsborough]]'' || Trevor Hicks ||
|-
| 1999 || ''Killing Time – The Millennium Poem'' || Millennium Man ||
|-
| 2000 || ''Wilderness Men'' || Alexander Von Humboldt ||
|-
| 2000 || ''[[Clocking Off]]'' || Jim Calvert ||
|-
| 2001 || ''Strumpet'' || Strayman ||
|-
| 2001 || ''[[Linda Green]]'' || Tom Sherry / Neil Sherry ||
|-
| 2002 || ''[[The League of Gentlemen]]'' || Dougal Siepp || Serie 3, Episodio 6: "How the Elephant Got Its Trunk"
|-
| 2002 || ''Flesh and Blood'' || Joe Broughton ||
|-
| 2002 || ''[[Othello]]'' || [[Iago|Ben Jago]] ||
|-
| 2002 || ''[[Sunday (film 2002)|Sunday]]'' || General Ford ||
|-
| 2002 || ''The King and Us'' || Anthony ||
|-
| 2003 || ''[[The Second Coming (miniserie televisiva)|The Second Coming]]'' || Stephen Baxter ||
|-
| 2005 || ''[[Doctor Who]]'' || [[Dottore (Doctor Who)|Il Dottore]] || Serie 1
|-
| 2005 || ''[[Top Gear]]'' || Se stesso || Serie 6 Ep. 3
|-
| 2006 || ''[[Perfect Parents]]'' || Stuart ||
|-
| 2007 || ''[[Heroes]]'' || [[Claude_Rains_(personaggio)|Claude]] ||
|-
| 2008 || ''[[The Sarah Silverman Program]]'' || Dr. Lazer Rage ||
|-
| 2010 || ''[[Lennon Naked]]'' || [[John Lennon]] ||
|-
| 2010 || ''[[Accused (serie televisiva 2010)|Accused]]'' || Willy Houlihan || Serie 1, Episodio 1
|-
| 2011 || ''[[The Shadow Line (serie televisiva)|The Shadow Line]]'' || Joseph Bede ||
|-
| 2011 || ''[[The Borrowers (film 2011)|The Borrowers]]'' || Pod Clock ||
|-
| 2012 || ''[[Blackout]]'' || Daniel Demoys ||
|-
|2014 || ''[[The Leftovers]]'' || Matt Jamison || Serie in preparazione
|}
Plato famously condemned poetic myth when discussing education in the ''[[The Republic (Plato)|Republic]].'' His critique was primarily on the grounds that the uneducated might take the stories of gods and heroes literally. Nevertheless, he constantly referred to myths throughout his writings. As [[Platonism]] developed in the phases commonly called Middle Platonism and [[neoplatonism]], writers such as [[Plutarch]], [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]], [[Proclus]], [[Olympiodorus the younger|Olympiodorus,]] and [[Damascius]] wrote explicitly about the symbolic interpretation of traditional and Orphic myths.<ref>Perhaps the most extended passage of philosophic interpretation of myth is to be found in the fifth and sixth essays of Proclus’ ''Commentary on the Republic'' (to be found in ''The Works of Plato I'', trans. Thomas Taylor, The Prometheus Trust, Frome, 1996); Porphyry’s analysis of the Homeric Cave of the Nymphs is another important work in this area (''Select Works of Porphyry'', Thomas Taylor The Prometheus Trust, Frome, 1994). See the external links below for a full English translation.</ref>
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Anno
! Titolo
! Ruolo
! Note
|-
| 1991 || ''[[Let Him Have It]]'' || [[Derek Bentley]] ||
|-
| 1992 || ''[[Death and the Compass (film)|Death and the Compass]]'' || Alonso Zunz ||
|-
| 1993 || ''[[Anchoress (film)|Anchoress]]'' || Priest ||
|-
| 1994 || ''[[Shallow Grave]]'' || David ||
|-
| 1996 || ''[[Jude (film)|Jude]]'' || Jude Fawley ||
|-
| 1998 || ''[[Elizabeth (film)|Elizabeth]]'' || [[Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk|Duke of Norfolk]] ||
|-
| 1998 || ''[[A Price Above Rubies]]'' || Sender Horowitz ||
|-
| 1999 || ''Heart'' || Gary Ellis ||
|-
| 1999 || ''[[eXistenZ]]'' || Seminar leader ||
|-
| 1999 || ''With or Without You'' || Vincent Boyd ||
|-
| 2000 || ''[[Gone in 60 Seconds (2000 film)|Gone in 60 Seconds]]'' || Raymond Calitri ||
|-
| 2000 || ''The Tyre'' || Salesman || Short film
|-
| 2001 || ''[[The Others (2001 film)|The Others]]'' || Charles Stewart ||
|-
| 2001 || ''[[The Invisible Circus (film)|The Invisible Circus]]'' || Wolf ||
|-
| 2001 || ''This Little Piggy'' || Cabbie || Short film
|-
| 2002 || ''[[24 Hour Party People]]'' || Boethius ||
|-
| 2002 || ''[[I Am Dina]]'' || Leo Zhukovsky ||
|-
| 2002 || ''[[Revengers Tragedy]]'' || Vindici ||
|-
| 2002 || ''[[28 Days Later]]'' || Major Henry West ||
|-
| 2007 || ''[[The Dark is Rising (film)|The Dark is Rising]]'' || The Rider ||
|-
| 2008 || ''New Orleans, Mon Amour'' || Dr. Henry ||
|-
| 2009 || ''[[G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra]]'' || [[Destro|James McCullen / Destro]] ||
|-
| 2009 || ''[[Amelia (film)|Amelia]]'' || [[Fred Noonan]] ||
|-
| 2009 || ''The Happiness Salesman'' || Salesman || Short film
|-
| 2012 || ''[[Song for Marion]]'' || James||
|-
| 2013 || ''[[Thor: The Dark World]]'' || [[Malekith the Accursed|Malekith]] ||
|}
Interest in polytheistic mythology revived during the [[Renaissance]], with early works on mythography appearing in the sixteenth-century, such as the ''[[Theologia mythologica|Theologia Mythologica]]'' (1532). While myths are not the same as fables, legends, folktales, fairy tales, anecdotes, or fiction, the concepts may overlap. Notably, during the nineteenth century period of Romanticism, folktales and fairy tales were perceived as eroded fragments of earlier mythology (famously by the [[Brothers Grimm]] and [[Elias Lönnrot]]).
== Altre interpretazioni ==
Mythological themes were consciously employed in literature, beginning with [[Homer]]. The resulting work may expressly refer to a mythological background without itself becoming part of a body of myths ([[Cupid and Psyche]]). Medieval romance in particular plays with this process of turning myth into literature. ''Euhemerism'', as stated earlier, refers to the rationalization of myths, putting themes formerly imbued with mythological qualities into pragmatic contexts. An example of this would be following a cultural or religious paradigm shift (notably the re-interpretation of [[Paganism|pagan]] mythology following [[Christianization]]).
===Teatro===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Anno
! Titolo
! Ruolo
! Note
|-
| 1988 || ''[[Un tram che si chiama Desiderio]]'' || Pablo Gonzalez || [[Bristol Old Vic]]
|-
| 1990 || ''Bent'' || || [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]]
|-
| 1990 || ''Abingdon Square'' || || [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]]
|-
| 1990 || ''Aide-Memoire'' || || [[Royal Court Theatre]]
|-
| 1993 || ''Waiting at the Water's Edge'' || Will || [[Bush Theatre]]
|-
| 2000 || ''Miss Julie'' || Jean || [[Haymarket Theatre]]
|-
| 2002 || ''[[Amleto]]'' || Amleto || [[West Yorkshire Playhouse]]
|-
| 2004 || ''Electricity'' || Jakey || [[West Yorkshire Playhouse]]
|-
| 2009 || ''A Doll's House'' || Neil Kelman || [[Donmar Warehouse]]
|-
| 2012 || ''Antigone'' || Creon || [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]]
|}
Conversely, historical and literary material may acquire mythological qualities over time. For example, the [[Matter of Britain]] (the legendary history of Great Britain, especially those focused on [[King Arthur]] and [[Round Table|the knights of the Round Table]]) and the [[Matter of France]], based on historical events of the fifth and eighth-centuries respectively, were first made into [[epic poetry]] and became partly mythological over the following centuries. "Conscious generation" of mythology was termed ''mythopoeia'' by [[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] and was notoriously also suggested, separately, by Nazi ideologist [[Alfred Rosenberg]].
====Interpretazioni con data sconosciuta====
* ''Woyzeck'' – [[Birmingham Rep]]
* ''The Wonder'' – [[Gate Theatre]]
* ''Doña Rosita the Spinster'' – [[Bristol Old Vic]]
* ''Encounters'' – [[National Theatre Studio]]
===Radio and narrationNineteenth-century===
The first scholarly theories of myth appeared during the second half of the nineteenth-century.{{sfn|Segal|2015|p= 1}} In general, these nineteenth-century theories framed myth as a failed or obsolete mode of thought, often by interpreting myth as the primitive counterpart of modern science.{{sfn|Segal|2015|pp= 3–4}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
|-
| 1998 || ''Room of Leaves'' || Frank
|-
| 1998 || ''Pig Paradise'' || Jack
|-
| 2001 || ''[[Some Fantastic Place]]'' || Narrator
|-
| 2001 || ''[[Bayeux Tapestry]]'' || Harold
|-
| 2002 || ''The Importance of Being Morrissey'' || Narrator
|-
| 2002 || ''[[Iliad]]'' || [[Achilles]]
|-
| 2003 || ''Cromwell – Warts and All'' || Narrator
|-
| 2004 || ''Life Half Spent'' || Roger
|-
| 2005 || ''Crossing the Dark Sea'' || Squaddie
|-
| 2005 || ''Sacred Nation'' || Narrator
|-
| 2005 || ''Born to be Different'' || Narrator
|-
| 2005 || ''A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'' || Brian
|-
| 2005 || ''E=mc²'' || Narrator
|-
| 2005 || ''Dubai Dreams'' || Narrator
|-
| 2005 || ''Wanted: New Mum and Dad'' || Narrator
|-
| 2005 || ''[[Children in Need]]'' || Narrator
|-
| 2005 || ''[[This Sceptred Isle]]'' || Various characters
|-
| 2006 || ''The 1970s: That Was The Decade That Was'' || Narrator
|-
| 2008 || ''The Devil's Christmas'' || Narrator
|-
| 2009 || ''Wounded'' || Narrator
|-
| 2011 || ''The Bomb Squad'' || Narrator
|-
| 2012 || ''Timeshift: Wrestling's Golden Age: Grapplers, Grunts & Grannies'' || Narrator
|}
For example, [[Edward Burnett Tylor|Tylor]] interpreted myth as an attempt at a literal explanation for natural phenomena. Unable to conceive impersonal natural laws, early humans tried to explain natural phenomena by attributing souls to inanimate objects, giving rise to [[animism]].{{sfn|Segal|2015|p= 4}} According to Tylor, human thought evolved through stages, starting with mythological ideas and gradually progressing to scientific ideas. Not all scholars, not even all nineteenth-century scholars, accepted this view. [[Lucien Lévy-Bruhl|Lévy-Bruhl]] claimed "the primitive mentality is a condition of the human mind, and not a stage in its historical development."<ref>{{cite book|last=Mâche|title=Music, Myth and Nature, or The Dolphins of Arion| year=1992| pages= 8}}</ref>
===Music videos===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Artist
! Song
|-
| 1998 || [[I Am Kloot]] || "[[Sky at Night (I Am Kloot album)|Northern Skies]]"
|-
| 2003 || [[I Am Kloot]] || "[[Proof (I Am Kloot song)|Proof]]"
|}
[[Max Müller|Müller]] called myth a "disease of language". He speculated that myths arose due to the lack of abstract nouns and neuter gender in ancient languages. Anthropomorphic figures of speech, necessary in such languages, were eventually taken literally, leading to the idea that natural phenomena were in actuality conscious beings or gods.{{sfn|Segal|2015|p= 20}}
==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Work
! Award
! Category
! Result
|-
| 1997 || ''[[Jude (film)|Jude]]'' || [[International Press Academy|Golden Satellite Award]] || Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama || {{nom}}
|-
| 1997 || ''[[Our Friends in the North]]'' || [[Broadcasting Press Guild|Broadcasting Press Guild Award]] || Best Actor || {{won}}
|-
| 1997 || ''[[Our Friends in the North]]'' || [[British Academy Television Awards|BAFTA Television Award]] || Best Actor || {{nom}}
|-
| 2003 || ''Flesh and Blood'' || [[Royal Television Society Award]] || Best Actor || {{won}}
|-
| 2004 || ''[[The Second Coming (TV)|The Second Coming]]'' || [[British Academy Television Awards|BAFTA Television Award]] || Best Actor || {{nom}}
|-
| 2005 || ''[[Doctor Who]]'' || [[TV Choice|TV Choice Award]] || Best Actor || {{won}}
|-
| 2005 || ''[[Doctor Who]]'' || [[National Television Awards]] || Most Popular Actor || {{won}}
|-
| 2005 || ''[[Doctor Who]]'' || [[Broadcasting Press Guild|Broadcasting Press Guild Award]] || Best Actor || {{nom}}
|-
| 2006 || ''[[Doctor Who]]'' || [[BAFTA Cymru]] || Best Actor || {{nom}}
|-
| 2007 || ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' || [[SyFy Genre Awards]] || Best Special Guest || {{nom}} (twice)
|-
| 2011 || ''[[Accused (TV series)|Accused]]'' || [[International Emmy Award]] || Best Actor || {{won}}
|}
[[James George Frazer|Frazer]] saw myths as a misinterpretation of magical rituals, which were themselves based on a mistaken idea of natural law.{{sfn|Segal|2015|pp= 67–68}} According to Frazer, humans begin with an unfounded belief in impersonal magical laws. When they realize applications of these laws do not work, they give up their belief in natural law in favor of a belief in personal gods controlling nature, thus giving rise to religious myths. Meanwhile, humans continue practicing formerly magical rituals through force of habit, reinterpreting them as reenactments of mythical events. Finally humans come to realize nature follows natural laws, and they discover their true nature through science. Here again, science makes myth obsolete as humans progress "from magic through religion to science."{{sfn|Frazer|1913|p= 711}}
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
Segal asserted that by pitting mythical thought against modern scientific thought, such theories imply modern humans must abandon myth.{{sfn|Segal|2015|p= 3}}
==External links==
{{commons category|Christopher Eccleston}}
* {{en}} [http://film.guardian.co.uk/Feature_Story/interview/0,5365,122551,00.html The Guardian Unlimited Interview – Home Truths] (15 January 2000)
* {{en}} [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20021102/ai_n12650558 The Independent Interview – You've got to laugh] (2 November 2002)
* {{en}} [http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/faces/christopher_eccleston.shtml BBC Drama Faces: Christopher Eccleston]
===Twentieth-century===
[[File:Gustave Moreau Prometheus.jpg|thumb|''[[Prometheus]]'' (1868) by [[Gustave Moreau]]. In the mythos of [[Hesiodus]] and possibly [[Aeschylus]] (the [[Greek mythos|Greek]] trilogy ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'', ''[[Prometheus Unbound (Aeschylus)|Prometheus Unbound]]'' and ''[[Prometheus Pyrphoros]]''), Prometheus is bound and tortured for giving fire to humanity.]]
Many twentieth-century theories rejected the nineteenth-century theories' opposition of myth and science. In general, "twentieth-century theories have tended to see myth as almost anything but an outdated counterpart to science […]. Consequently, modern individuals are not obliged to abandon myth for science."{{sfn|Segal|2015|p= 3}}
[[Carl Jung|Jung]] tried to understand the psychology behind world myths. Jung asserted that all humans share certain innate unconscious psychological forces, which he called ''[[archetypes]]''. He believed similarities between the myths of different cultures reveals the existence of these universal archetypes.<ref>Boeree</ref>
{{Authority control|VIAF=54383326}}
Campbell described two orders of mythology: myths that "are metaphorical of spiritual potentiality in the human being," and myths "that have to do with specific societies."{{sfn|Campbell|1976|p=22}} His major work is ''The Masks of God I-IV''. In the first volume, ''Primitive Mythology'', he clearly outlines his intention:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eccleston, Christopher}}
{{quote|Without straining beyond the treasuries of evidence already on hand in these widely scattered departments of our subject, therefore, but simply gathering from them the membra disjuncta of a unitary mythological science, I attempt in the following pages the first sketch of a natural history of the gods and heroes, such as in its final form should include in its purview all divine beings—as zoology includes all animals and botany all plants—not regarding any as sacrosanct or beyond its scientific ___domain. For, as in the visible world of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, so also in the visionary world of the gods: there has been a history, an evolution, a series of mutations, governed by laws; and to show forth such laws is the proper aim of science.{{sfn|Campbell|1976|p=4}}}}
In his fourth volume Campbell coined the phrase, ''[[creative mythology]]'', which he explains as:
=Mycena inclinata=
{{quote|In the context of traditional mythology, the symbols are presented in socially maintained rites, through which the individual is required to experience, or will pretend to have experienced, certain insights, sentiments and commitments. In what I'm calling creative mythology, on the other hand, this order is reversed: the individual has had an experience of his own – of order, horror, beauty, or even mere exhilaration-which he seeks to communicate through signs; and if his realization has been of a certain depth and import, his communication will have the force and value of living myth-for those, that is to say, who receive and respond to it of themselves, with recognition, uncoerced.{{sfn|Campbell|1991|p=4}}}}
{{stack begin}}
{{Taxobox
| image = Mycena inclinata, Clustered Bonnet, UK.jpg
| image_width= 234px
| image_caption =
| regnum = [[Fungi]]
| divisio = [[Basidiomycota]]
| classis = [[Agaricomycetes]]
| ordo = [[Agaricales]]
| familia = [[Mycenaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Mycena]]''
| species = '''''M. inclinata'''''
| binomial = ''Mycena inclinata''
| binomial_authority = ([[Elias Magnus Fries|Fr.]]) [[Lucien Quélet|Quél.]] (1872)
| synonyms_ref = <ref name="urlMycoBank: Mycena inclinata"/>
| synonyms =
''Agaricus inclinatus'' <small>Fr. (1838)</small><br>
''Agaricus galericulatus'' var. ''calopus'' <small>Fr. (1873)</small><br>
''Mycena galericulata'' var. ''calopus'' <small>(Fr.) [[Petter Karsten|P.Karst.]] (1879)</small>
}}
{{mycomorphbox
| name = ''Mycena inclinata''
| hymeniumType = gills
| capShape = conical
| whichGills = adnate
| stipeCharacter = bare
| sporePrintColor = white
| ecologicalType = saprotrophic
| howEdible2 = unknown
| howEdible = inedible
}}
{{stack end}}
[[Claude Lévi-Strauss|Lévi-Strauss]] believed myths reflect patterns in the mind and interpreted those patterns more as fixed mental structures, specifically pairs of opposites (good/evil, compassionate/callous), rather than unconscious feelings or urges.{{sfn|Segal|2015|p= 113}}
'''''Mycena inclinata''''', commonly known as the '''clustered bonnet''' or the '''oak-stump bonnet cap''', is a species of [[mushroom]] in the family [[Mycenaceae]]. The doubtfully edible mushroom has a reddish-brown bell-shaped [[pileus (mycology)|cap]] up to {{convert|4.5|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} in diameter. The thin [[stipe (mycology)|stem]] is up to {{convert|9|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} tall, whitish to yellow-brown at the top but progressively becoming reddish-brown towards the base in maturity, where they are covered by a yellowish [[mycelia|mycelium]] that can be up to a third of the length of the stem. The [[lamella (mycology)|gills]] are pale brown to pinkish, and the [[spore print]] is white. It is a widespread [[saprobic]] fungus, and has been found in Europe, North Africa, Asia, Australasia, and North America, where it grows in small groups or tufts on fallen logs and stumps, especially of [[oak]]. British mycologist [[E.J.H. Corner]] has described two [[variety (botany)|varieties]] of the mushroom from [[Borneo]]. Lookalike species with which ''M. inclinata'' may be confused include ''[[Mycena galericulata|M. galericulata]]'' and ''[[Mycena maculata|M. maculata]]''.
In his appendix to ''Myths, Dreams and Mysteries'', and in ''The Myth of the Eternal Return'', [[Mircea Eliade|Eliade]] attributed modern humans’ anxieties to their rejection of myths and the sense of the sacred.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}}
==Taxonomy, phylogeny, and naming==
First described as ''Agaricus inclinatus'' by Swedish mycologist [[Elias Magnus Fries]] in 1838,<ref name=Fries1838/> it was assigned its current name in 1872 by [[Lucien Quélet]].<ref name=Quelet1872/> ''Mycena galericulata'' var. ''calopus'' (named by [[Petter Karsten|Karsten]] in 1879), and its [[basionym]] ''Agaricus galericulatus'' var. ''calopus'' (named by Fries in 1873), are [[synonym (taxonomy)|synonyms]].<ref name="urlMycoBank: Mycena inclinata"/>
In the 1950s, Barthes published a series of essays examining modern myths and the process of their creation in his book ''[[Mythologies (book)|Mythologies]]''.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}}
In a [[molecular phylogenetics|molecular]] study of the large subunit [[ribosomal DNA]] sequences of [[mycorrhizal]] fungi of the orchid ''[[Gastrodia confusa]]'', ''M. inclinata'' was found to be closely related to ''[[Mycena aurantiomarginata|M. aurantiomarginata]]'', ''[[Mycena crocata|M. crocata]]'', and ''[[Mycena leaiana|M. leaiana]]''.<ref name=OguraTsujita2009/>
Following the Structuralist Era (roughly the 1960s to 1980s), the predominant anthropological and sociological approaches to myth increasingly treated myth as a form of narrative that can be studied, interpreted and analyzed like ideology, history and culture. In other words, myth is a form of understanding and telling stories that is connected to power, political structures, and political and economic interests. These approaches contrast with approaches such as those of Campbell and Eliade that hold that myth has some type of essential connection to ultimate sacred meanings that transcend cultural specifics. In particular, myth was studied in relation to history from diverse social sciences. Most of these studies share the assumption that history and myth are not distinct in the sense that history is factual, real, accurate, and truth, while myth is the opposite.
The [[specific name (botany)|specific epithet]] ''inclinata'' means "bent in".<ref name=Rea1922/> The mushroom is [[common name|commonly]] known as the "clustered bonnet"<ref name=BMS/> or the "oak-stump bonnet cap".<ref name="Pegler 2000"/>
==Comparative mythology==
==Description==
{{Main article|Comparative mythology}}
[[image:Mycena inclinata 60197.jpg|thumb|left|The stems gradually become deep brown near the base.]]
Comparative mythology is the systematic comparison of myths from different cultures. It seeks to discover underlying themes that are common to the myths of multiple cultures. In some cases, comparative mythologists use the similarities between separate mythologies to argue that those mythologies have a common source. This source may inspire myths or provide a common "protomythology" that diverged into the mythologies of each culture.{{sfn|Littleton|1973|p=32}}
The [[pileus (mycology)|cap]] is light reddish-brown, with a diameter typically ranging from {{convert|1|to|4.5|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}. Initially conic to bell-shaped to convex, it flattens during maturity, developing visible surface grooves corresponding to the gills underneath the cap.<ref name=Miller2006/> The margin of the cap has minute but distinct scallops.<ref name=Kibby1994/> The surface is moist and smooth, and [[hygrophanous]]. The cap frequently develops splits in the margin, or cracks in the disc (the central part of the cap). The flesh of the cap is thick in the center but thin elsewhere, grayish to whitish, fragile, and with a slightly mealy odor and taste. The [[lamella (mycology)|gills]] have a decurrent attachment to the stem (that is, running down the length of the stem) and are a pale brownish color with tinges of red. They are broad (between 3 and 6 mm), and have a close to subdistant spacing, with about 26–35 gills reaching the stem.<ref name="Smith p.338-40"/> The fragile [[stipe (mycology)|stem]] is {{convert|3|to|9|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} long by {{convert|0.15|to|0.4|cm|in|2|abbr=on}} thick and yellow to yellow-brown, becoming reddish-brown to orange-brown in the bottom half in maturity. The lower portion of young stems is covered with white flecks. Roughly equal in thickness at the top and bottom, the base of the stem is covered by a yellowish [[mycelia|mycelium]] that can be up to a third of the length of the stem.<ref name=Treu1996/> The [[edible mushroom|edibility]] of the mushroom is "doubtful" and consumption "best avoided".<ref name=Kibby1994/>
Nineteenth-century interpretations of myth were often comparative, seeking a common origin for all myths.{{sfn|Leonard|2007}} Later scholars tend to avoid universal statements about mythology. One exception to this modern trend is Campbell's ''[[The Hero With a Thousand Faces|The Hero with a Thousand Faces]]'' (1949), which claims that all [[hero]] myths follow the same underlying pattern. This theory of a [[monomyth]] later fell out of favor.{{sfn|Northup|2006|p=8}}
===Microscopic characteristics===
The [[spore]]s are 7–9 by 5–6.5 [[micrometre|μm]], broadly [[wikt:ellipsoid|ellipsoid]], smooth, and strongly [[amyloid (mycology)|amyloid]] (it turns black when treated with [[Melzer's reagent]]). The [[basidia]] (spore-bearing cells) are four-spored. The pleurocystidia ([[cystidia]] on the gill face) are not differentiated. The cheilocystidia (cystidia on the gill edge) are embedded in the gill edge and very inconspicuous, club-shaped, 26–36 by 5–10 μm, and have tips that are covered with contorted projections that can be slender or thick. The [[trama (mycology)|flesh]] of the gills is homogeneous, and pale yellowish to dirty brown when [[staining|stained]] in iodine. The flesh of the cap has a distinct [[wikt:pellicle|pellicle]], a well-differentiated hypoderm (a region of tissue immediately under the pellicle), and a filamentous tramal body (gill tissue); it is pale yellowish to sordid brownish in iodine stain.<ref name="Smith p.338-40">Smith, pp. 338–40.</ref>
==Modern mythology==
===Varieties===
[[File:10,000 Belgian francs of 1929 edited.jpg|thumb|1929 [[Belgium|Belgian]] [[banknote]], depicting [[Ceres (Roman mythology)|Ceres]], [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]] and [[caduceus]].]]
[[E.J.H. Corner]] defined the [[variety (botany)|varieties]] ''M. inclinata'' var. ''kinabaluensis'' and var. ''subglobospora'' in his 1994 publication on [[Agaric]] mushrooms of [[Malesia]], a biogeographical region straddling the boundary of the [[Indomalaya ecozone|Indomalaya]] and [[Australasia ecozone]]s. The variety ''kinabaluensis'' (named after its [[type locality (biology)|type locality]], [[Mount Kinabalu|Kinabalu]]) has a cap margin that is not scalloped, little or no odor, and cheilocystidia with shorter processes. It was found growing on the dead wood of ''[[Lithocarpus havilandii]]'', a [[stone oak]] tree in the [[Fagaceae|beech]] family. Variety ''subglobospora'', found in [[Sabah]], has spores that are almost spherical.<ref name=Corner1994/>
In modern society, myth is often regarded as a collection of stories. Scholars in the field of [[cultural studies]] research how myth has worked itself into modern discourses. Mythological discourse can reach greater audiences than ever before via digital media. Various mythic elements appear in [[television]], [[Film|cinema]] and [[video game]]s.
Although myth was traditionally transmitted through the oral tradition on a small scale, the film industry has enabled filmmakers to transmit myths to large audiences via film.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cinematic Mythmaking: Philosophy in Film|last=Singer|first=Irving|publisher=MIT Press|year=2008|isbn=|___location=|pages=3–6}}</ref> In [[Carl Jung|Jung]]<nowiki/>ian psychology myths are the expression of a culture or society’s goals, fears, ambitions and dreams.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Indick|first=William|date=November 18, 2004|title=Classical Heroes in Modern Movies: Mythological Patterns of the Superhero|url=|journal=Journal of Media Psychology|doi=|pmid=|access-date=}}</ref> Film is an expression of the society in which it was produced and reflects the culture of its era and ___location.
===Similar species===
[[image:Mycena galericulata 60303.jpg|thumb|right|''M. galericulata'' is a lookalike species.]]
''[[Mycena maculata]]'' bears some resemblance to ''M. inclinata'', but is only associated with decaying hardwood logs and stumps, and is found in eastern North America, and sometimes on [[oak]] on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]]. In age, it develops reddish spots on the gills that are not seen in ''M. inclinata''.<ref name=Miller2006/> ''M. inclinata'' is often confused with the [[edible mushroom|edible]] ''[[Mycena galericulata|M. galericulata]]'', a common species that is variable in cap color, size and shape. ''M. galericulata'' typically has a bluntly conical cap that is dull gray-brown, and white to grayish veins that have numerous cross-veins.<ref name=Kibby1994/> ''[[Mycena polygramma|M. polygramma]]'' has a ridged stem that is bluish-gray.<ref name="Pegler 2000"/>
The basis of modern visual storytelling is rooted in the mythological tradition. Many contemporary movies rely on ancient myths to construct narratives. [[Disney Corporation]] is well-known among cultural study scholars for "reinventing" traditional childhood myths.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Folklore Studies and Popular Film and Television: A Necessary Critical Survey|last=Koven|first=Michael|publisher=University of Illinois Press|year=2003|isbn=|___location=|pages=176–195}}</ref> While many films are not as obvious as Disney fairy tales, the plots of many films are based on the rough structure of myths. Mythological archetypes, such as the cautionary tale regarding the abuse of technology, battles between gods and creation stories, are often the subject of major film productions. These films are often created under the guise of [[cyberpunk]] [[action movies]], [[fantasy]], [[drama]]s and [[Apocalyptic literature|apocalyptic]] tales.{{sfn|Corner|1999|pp=47–59}}
==Habitat and distribution==
''Mycena inclinata'' is a [[saprobic]] fungus, deriving its nutrients from decomposing organic matter found in [[plant litter]] such as leaves, twigs, bark and branches. It accomplishes this by producing [[enzyme]]s capable of breaking down the three major biochemical components of plant [[cell wall]]s found in litter: [[cellulose]], [[hemicellulose]] and [[lignin]].<ref name=Steffen2007/>
Recent films such as ''[[Clash of the Titans (2010 film)|Clash of the Titans]]'', ''[[Immortals (2011 film)|Immortals]]'' and ''[[Thor (film)|Thor]]'' continue the trend of mining traditional mythology to frame modern plots. Authors use mythology as a basis for their books, such as [[Rick Riordan]], whose [[Percy Jackson & the Olympians|Percy Jackson and the Olympians]] series is situated in a modern-day world where the [[Twelve Olympians|Greek deities]] are manifest, as well as his [[The Kane Chronicles|Kane Chronicles]] with the [[Ancient Egyptian deities|Egyptian pantheon.]]
The fruit bodies of ''Mycena inclinata'' grow in dense groups or clusters on decaying hardwood logs and stumps (especially [[oak]] and [[chestnut]]) during the spring and autumn.<ref name="Smith p.338-40"/><ref name="Pegler 2000"/> The fungus forms a white, woolly mycelium on the surface of decomposing oak leaves.<ref name=Steffen2007/> Occasionally, it can be found growing on a living tree.<ref name=Treu1996/> In eastern North America, it is abundant in the area bounded by [[Nova Scotia]], [[Ontario]], [[Manitoba]], [[Missouri]], [[North Carolina]], and [[New York]]. It has been found in [[Oregon]], but the species appears to be generally rare along the [[Pacific Coast]].<ref name="Smith p.338-40"/> The range of the fungus also includes Europe, the [[Canary Islands]], North Africa, East Siberia, Japan,<ref name=Treu1996/> Malesia,<ref name=Corner1994/> Turkey,<ref name=Hoiland2008/> and New Zealand.<ref name=Stevenson1964/>
Modern myths such as [[urban legends]] shows that myth-making continues. Myth-making is not a collection of stories fixed to a remote time and place, but an ongoing social practice within every society.
==Chemistry==
In a study of the [[trace metal]] concentrations of various mushrooms species found in [[Ordu]] (Turkey), ''M. inclinata'' was found to have comparatively high levels of [[iron]] (628 [[milligram|mg]] per [[kilogram|kg]]) and [[nickel]] (21.6 mg/kg), measured on a [[dry matter|dry weight]] basis.<ref name=Mendil2005/> Laboratory studies have shown that the fungus is resistant to [[aluminum]].<ref name=Hoiland2008/> The fungus has been investigated for its ability to decolorize [[synthetic dyes]] that are used in the textile, plastics, biomedical and foodstuff industries. The dyes are not readily [[biodegradable]], and when discharged into the environment are [[persistent organic pollutant|persistent]] and many are toxic.<ref name=Baldrian2006/>
==See also==
[[File:Anonymous-Fuxi and Nüwa.jpg|thumb|[[Fu Xi]] and [[Nüwa]] represented as half-snake, half-human creatures]]
*[[List of bioluminescent fungi]]
;General
*[[Archetypal literary criticism]]
*[[Artificial mythology]]
*[[Creation myth]]
*[[Flood myth]]
*[[Fairy]]
*[[Fable]]
*[[Geomythology]]
*[[Legendary creature]]
*[[LGBT themes in mythology]]
*[[Mytheme]]
*[[Mythical place]]
{{Portal|Mythology}}
*[[National myth]]
*[[Origin-of-death myth]]
;Mythological archetypes
*[[Culture hero]]
*[[Death deity]]
*[[Earth Mother]]
*[[First man or woman (disambiguation)]]
*[[Hero]]
*[[Life-death-rebirth deity]]
*[[Lunar deity]]
*[[Psychopomp]]
*[[Sky father]]
*[[Solar deity]]
*[[Trickster]]
*[[Underworld]]
;Myth and religion
==References==
*[[Bengali mythology]]
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=
*[[Chinese mythology]]
*[[Christian mythology]]
*[[Greek mythology]]
*[[Hindu mythology]]
*[[Hittite mythology]]
*[[Islamic mythology]]
*[[Japanese mythology]]
*[[Jesus Christ in comparative mythology]]
*[[Jewish mythology]]
*[[Magic and mythology]]
*[[Maya mythology]]
*[[Religion and mythology]]
*[[Roman mythology]]
;Lists
<ref name=Baldrian2006>{{cite journal |author=Baldrian P, Šnajdr J. |title=Production of ligninolytic enzymes by litter-decomposing fungi and their ability to decolorize synthetic dyes |journal=Enzyme and Microbial Technology |volume=39 |issue=5 |pages=1023–9 |year=2006 |doi=10.1016/j.enzmictec.2006.02.011}}</ref>
*[[List of deities]]
*[[List of legendary creatures by type]]
*[[List of legendary creatures]]
*[[List of mythical objects]]
*[[List of mythologies]]
*[[List of women warriors in folklore]]
== Journals about mythology==
<ref name=BMS>{{cite web |url=http://www.fungi4schools.org/Reprints/ENGLISH_NAMES.pdf |title=Recommended English Names for Fungi in the UK |format=PDF |publisher=[[British Mycological Society]]}}</ref>
* [http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/AMAL Amaltea, Journal of Myth Criticism]
* [http://journals.sfu.ca/pgi/index.php/pacificamyth/index Mythological Studies Journal]
* [http://nouvellemythologiecomparee.hautetfort.com/ New Comparative Mythology / Nouvelle Mythologie Comparée]
* [http://www.sbec.be/index.php/publications/ollodagos Ollodagos]
* [http://sms.zrc-sazu.si/ Studia Mythologica Slavica]
* [http://www.jgmf.org/ The Journal of Germanic Mythology and Folklore]
==Notes==
<ref name=Corner1994>{{cite journal |author=Corner EJH. |title=Agarics in Malesia. I. Tricholomatoid. II. Mycenoid |journal=Beihefte zur Nova Hedwigia |volume=109 |year=1994 |pages=227–8}}</ref>
{{Reflist|30em}}
== References==
<ref name=Fries1838>{{cite book |author=Fries EM. |title=Epicrisis Systematis Mycologici |year=1838 |publisher=Typographia Academica |___location=Uppsala, Sweden |page=107 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bYdIAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA107 |language=Latin}}</ref>
*{{cite book|first=Karen |last=Armstrong|authorlink=Karen Armstrong|title=A Short History of Myth (Myths series)|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=QHbE9hRA10gC}}|date=29 October 2010|publisher=Knopf Canada|isbn=978-0-307-36729-7}}
*{{cite book|first=Roland |last=Barthes|authorlink=Roland Barthes|title=Mythologies|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=jP-DBAAAQBAJ}}|date=1 January 1972|publisher=Hill and Wang|isbn=978-0-8090-7193-7|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=William Russell |last=Bascom|authorlink=William Bascom|title=The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=AU0hNAAACAAJ}}|year=1965|publisher=University of California|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|editor-first=Alan |editor-last=Dundes|title=Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of Myth|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=l5Om2ALAFbEC}}|year=1984|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-05192-8|ref=harv}}
**{{cite book|last=Honko |first=Lauri |chapter=The Problem of Defining Myth |chapter-url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=l5Om2ALAFbEC}}|year=1984|ref=harv}}
**{{cite book|last=Kirk |first=G.S |chapter=On Defining Myths |chapter-url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=l5Om2ALAFbEC|page=53}}|pp=53–61|year=1984|ref=harv}}
**{{cite book|last=Pettazzoni |first=Raffaele |chapter=The Truth of Myth|chapter-url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=l5Om2ALAFbEC}}|year=1984|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Thomas |last=Bulfinch|authorlink=Thomas Bulfinch|title=Bulfinch's Mythology|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=OskAy9XOnIsC}}|date=June 2004|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|isbn=978-1-4191-1109-9|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last=Campbell|first=Joseph|title=Occidental Mythology|year=1991|publisher=Arkana|isbn=0-14-019441-X|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|first=Joseph |last=Campbell|title=The Masks of God: Primitive mythology|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=kXUZAQAAMAAJ}}|date=1 June 1976|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-004304-4|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first1=Joseph |last1=Campbell|authorlink1=Joseph Campbell|first2=Bill |last2=Moyers|authorlink2=Bill Moyers|title=The Power of Myth|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=2GOIGuh5GJ4C}}|date=18 May 2011|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-79472-7}}
*{{cite book|first=Joseph |last=Campbell|title=The Masks of God: Creative Mythology|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=XEUTF9fxYSQC}}|year=1991|publisher=Arkana|isbn=978-0-14-019440-1}}
*{{cite book|first=John |last=Corner|title=Critical Ideas in Television Studies|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=Ta9kAAAAMAAJ}}|year=1999|publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-874221-0 |ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=William G. |last=Doty|title=Myth: A Handbook|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=qeI5UC1rmwwC}}|year=2004|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-32696-7|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Christine |last=Downing|title=The Goddess: Mythological Images of the Feminine|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=U7yNnQEACAAJ}}|year=1996|publisher=Continuum}}
*[[Alan Dundes|Dundes, Alan]]. "Binary Opposition in Myth: The Propp/Levi-Strauss Debate in Retrospect". ''Western Folklore'' 56 (Winter, 1997): 39–50.
*{{cite book|editor1-first=Laurie L. |editor1-last=Patton|editor2-first=Wendy |editor2-last=Doniger|title=Myth and Method|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=OgsTmeRHpeUC|page=147}}|year=1996|publisher=University of Virginia Press|isbn=978-0-8139-1657-6|pages=147–|last=Dundes |first=Alan |chapter=Madness in Method Plus a Plea for Projective Inversion in Myth}}
*{{cite book|first=Mircea |last=Eliade|authorlink=Mircea Eliade|title=Myth and Reality|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=CaIUAAAAQBAJ}}|date=22 June 1998|publisher=Waveland Press|isbn=978-1-4786-0861-5|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Mircea |last=Eliade|title=Myths, dreams, and mysteries: the encounter between contemporary faiths and archaic realities|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=XWZSvgAACAAJ}}|year=1960|publisher=Harvill Press|isbn=978-0-06-131320-2|translator-first=Philip |translator-last=Mairet|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=John |last=Bowker|title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=mhF1QgAACAAJ}}|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-861053-3|chapter=Euhemerism|chapter-url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t101.e2315}}
*[http://www.fupress.com/Archivio/pdf/3622.pdf Fabiani, Paolo "The Philosophy of the Imagination in Vico and Malebranche". F.U.P. (Florence UP), English edition 2009.] [[PDF]]
*{{cite book|first1=Henri |last1=Frankfort|authorlink1=Henri Frankfort|first2=H. A. |last2=Frankfort|first3=John A. |last3=Wilson|first4=Thorkild |last4=Jacobsen |first5=William A.|last5= Irwin|title=The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man: An Essay of Speculative Thought in the Ancient Near East|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=tSECAAAAQBAJ}}|date=28 June 2013|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-11256-5|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Sir James George |last=Frazer|authorlink=James George Frazer|title=The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=z3sIAQAAIAAJ&pg=PR10}}|year=1913|publisher=Macmillan and Company, limited|pages=10–|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Fritz |last=Graf|title=Greek Mythology: An Introduction|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=L2yMRI5xML8C}}|date=9 May 1996|publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]]|isbn=978-0-8018-5395-1 |translator-first=Thomas |translator-last=Marier|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|last=Humphrey |first=Sheryl |title=The Haunted Garden: Death and Transfiguration in the Folklore of Plants|___location=New York |publisher=DCA Art Fund Grant from the Council on the Arts and Humanities for Staten Island and public funding from the [[New York City Department of Cultural Affairs]]|isbn= 978-1-300-55364-9 |year=2012}}
*{{cite book|first=Geoffrey Stephen |last=Kirk|title=Myth: Its Meaning and Functions in Ancient and Other Cultures|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=MXtfRwFwGzMC}}|year=1973|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-02389-5|ref=harv}}
*{{cite web|last=Leonard|first= Scott |title=The History of Mythology: Part I|date=August 2007|url=http://www.as.ysu.edu/~saleonard/History%20of%20Mythology%201.html |publisher=Youngstown State University |accessdate=17 November 2009|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=C. Scott |last=Littleton|title=The New Comparative Mythology: An Anthropological Assessment of the Theories of Georges Dumézil|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=KuSy6xW99agC|page=1}}|date=1 January 1973|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-02404-5|pages=1–|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Eleazar M. |last=Meletinsky|title=The Poetics of Myth|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=kzmlAgAAQBAJ}}|date=21 January 2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-135-59913-3|ref=harv}}
*"Myth". ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. [http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9108748 Encyclopædia Britannica Online], 21 March 2009
*"Myths". ''[http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t71.e725 A Dictionary of English Folklore]''. [[Jacqueline Simpson]] and Steve Roud. Oxford University Press, 2000. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. UC – Berkeley Library. 20 March 2009
*{{Cite journal|date=2006-01-01|last=Northup|first=Lesley|title=Myth-Placed Priorities: Religion and the Study of Myth|url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-0922.2006.00018.x/abstract|journal=Religious Studies Review|language=en|volume=32|issue=1|pages=5–10|doi=10.1111/j.1748-0922.2006.00018.x|issn=1748-0922|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Wendy |last=Doniger|title=Hindu Myths: A Sourcebook Translated from the Sanskrit|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=KzlCthJ4SLkC}}|date=24 June 2004|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-0-14-190375-0}}
*{{cite book|first=Robert |last=Segal|title=Myth: A Very Short Introduction|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=wJu9CQAAQBAJ|page=19}}|date=23 July 2015|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-103769-6|pages=19–|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|last=Apollodorus|title=Gods and Heroes of the Greeks: The Library of Apollodorus|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=3cmSa4H_C0oC}}|year=1976|publisher= [[University of Massachusetts Press]]|isbn=0-87023-206-1|translator-last=Simpson |translator-first=Michael|chapter= Introduction|___location= Amherst|ref=harv}}
*{{cite book|first=Irving |last=Singer|title=Cinematic Mythmaking: Philosophy in Film|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=DhrTiQW16-gC|page=1}}|date=24 September 2010|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-26484-6|pages=1–}}
*{{cite book|last=Slattery |first=Dennis Patrick |title=Bridge Work: Essays on Mythology, Literature and Psychology |___location=Carpinteria |publisher=Mandorla Books |year=2015}}
*{{cite journal|last=Indick |first=William |title=Classical Heroes in Modern Movies: Mythological Patterns of the Superhero |journal=Journal of Media Psychology |volume=9 |issue=3 |year=2004 |p=93–95}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Koven|first=Mikel J.|date=2003-05-22|title=Folklore Studies and Popular Film and Television: A Necessary Critical Survey|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/42709|journal=Journal of American Folklore|volume=116|issue=460|pages=176–195|doi=10.1353/jaf.2003.0027|issn=1535-1882|ref=harv}}
*{{cite web |last=Olson |first=Eric L. |title=Great Expectations: the Role of Myth in 1980s Films with Child Heroes |work= Virginia Polytechnic Scholarly Library |publisher=Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University |date=May 3, 2011 |accessdate=October 24, 2011 |url=http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05172011-113805/unrestricted/OLSON_EL_T_2011.pdf|format=PDF }}
*{{cite journal|last=Matira |first=Lopamundra |title=Children's Oral Literature and Modern Mass Media |journal=Indian Folklore Research Journal |volume=5 |issue=8 |year=2008 |pp=55–57}}
==Further reading==
<ref name=Hoiland2008>{{cite journal |author=Høiland K, Dybdahl HG. |title=A micro-well method for estimating fungal response to metal ions. Response to aluminium by some saprophytic basidiomycetes |journal=Nordic Journal of Botany |volume=13 |issue=6 |pages=691–6 |year=1993 |doi=10.1111/j.1756-1051.1993.tb00113.x}}</ref>
* {{cite book|first=Stefan |last=Arvidsson|title=Aryan Idols: Indo-European Mythology as Ideology and Science|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=idTPDI6l0mkC}}|date=15 September 2006|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-02860-6}}
*{{cite book|first=Kees W. |last=Bolle|title=The Freedom of Man in Myth|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=BXRMAwAAQBAJ|page=92}}|date=1 August 2010|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn=978-1-60899-265-2|pages=92–}}
*{{cite book|first=Eric |last=Csapo|title=Theories of Mythology|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=83P3qenuH9EC}}|date=24 January 2005|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-0-631-23248-3}}
*{{cite book|first=Edith |last=Hamilton|authorlink=Edith Hamilton |title=Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=qDi4RwAACAAJ}}|date=1 January 2011|publisher=Grand Central Publishing|isbn=978-0-446-57475-4}} [[Mythology (book)|WP article]] (1998)
*{{cite book|first=Robert |last=Graves|title=Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=ofyHvgAACAAJ}}|year=1959 |chapter=Introduction |translator1-first=Richard |translator1-last=Aldington |translator2-first=Delano |translator2-last=Ames|pp=v–viii}}
*[[Joseph Campbell]]
**{{cite book|first=Joseph |last=Campbell|title=The Hero with a Thousand Faces|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=I1uFuXlvFgMC}}|year=2008|publisher=New World Library|isbn=978-1-57731-593-3}} [[The Hero with a Thousand Faces|WP article]]
**{{cite book|first=Joseph |last=Campbell|title=The Flight of the Wild Gander: Explorations in the Mythological Dimension : Selected Essays, 1944-1968|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=oq-xLPfgvJ4C}}|year=2002|publisher=New World Library|isbn=978-1-57731-210-9}}
**{{cite book|first=Joseph |last=Campbell|title=Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=1Kw5OWibZ0oC}}|date=September 2010|publisher=ReadHowYouWant.com|isbn=978-1-4587-5773-9}} [[Thou Art That (book)|WP article]]
*{{cite book |first1=José Manuel |last1=Losada |author1link=José Manuel Losada |first2=Antonella |last2=Lipscomb |title=Myths in Crisis. The Crisis of Myth |year=2015 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-443-87814-2}}
*[[Mircea Eliade]]
**{{cite book|first=Mircea |last=Eliade|title=The Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=zHjV4WICvSwC}}|year=2005|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-12350-0|ref=harv}}
**{{cite book|title=The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=zBzzv977CLgC}}|year=1959|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=0-15-679201-X |translator-first=Willard R. |translator-last=Trask}}
*[[Louis Herbert Gray]] [ed.], ''[[The Mythology of All Races]]'', in 13 vols., 1916-1932.
*[[Lucien Lévy-Bruhl]]
**''Mental Functions in Primitive Societies'' (1910)
**''Primitive Mentality'' (1922)
**''The Soul of the Primitive'' (1928)
**''The Supernatural and the Nature of the Primitive Mind'' (1931)
**''Primitive Mythology'' (1935)
**''The Mystic Experience and Primitive Symbolism'' (1938)
*{{cite book|first=Maria |last=Petringa|title=Brazzà, A Life for Africa|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=USwXz-prS3wC}}|date=13 January 2006|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4520-7605-8}}
*{{cite book|first=Barry B. |last=Powell|title=Classical Myth|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=dqOSAgAAQBAJ}}|year=2012|publisher=Pearson|isbn=978-0-205-17607-6}}
*{{cite book|first1=Giorgio |last1=De Santillana|first2=Hertha|last2= von Dechend|title=Hamlet's Mill: An Essay on Myth and the Frame of Time|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=ql7ATHGee50C}}|date=January 1977|publisher=David R. Godine Publisher|isbn=978-0-87923-215-3}}
<!--not useful to the modern reader*[[Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling|Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling]]
**''Introduction to the Philosophy of Mythology'', 1856.
**''Philosophy of Mythology'', 1857.
**''Philosophy of Revelation'', 1858.-->
*{{cite book|first1=Isabelle Loring |last1=Wallace|first2=Jennie |last2=Hirsh|title=Contemporary Art and Classical Myth|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=lmTBt5_9AJ0C}}|year=2011|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-7546-6974-6}}
*{{cite book|first=Steven |last=Walker|title=Jung and the Jungians on Myth|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=VNhQAwAAQBAJ}}|date=8 April 2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-135-34767-3}}
*{{cite book|first1=Vanda |last1=Zajko|first2=Miriam |last2=Leonard|title=Laughing with Medusa: Classical Myth and Feminist Thought|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=1kFQNAAACAAJ}}|date=10 January 2008|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-923794-4|ref=harv}}
*Zong, In-Sob. ''Folk Tales from Korea''. 3rd ed. Elizabeth: Hollym, 1989.
==External links==
<ref name=Kibby1994>{{cite book |author=Kibby G. |title=An Illustrated Guide to Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America |publisher=Lubrecht & Cramer Ltd |___location=Italy |year=1994 |page=81 |isbn=0-681-45384-2}}</ref>
*[[:s:The New Student's Reference Work/Mythology|The New Student's Reference Work/Mythology]], ed. Beach (1914), at [[wikisource]].
*[http://www.as.ysu.edu/~saleonard/History%20of%20Mythology%201.html Leonard, Scott. "The History of Mythology: Part I"]. [[Youngstown State University]].
*[http://www.theoi.com/ Greek mythology]
*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/ Sacred texts]
*[http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/FisMyth.html Myths and Myth-Makers] Old Tales and Superstitions Interpreted by comparative mythology by John Fiske.
*[http://www.limc-france.fr/presentation LIMC] [[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae]], a database of ancient objects linked with mythology
*[http://vimeo.com/62378811 Joseph Campbell on Bill Moyers's ''The Power of Myth'']
*[http://ljubincic.com/dreams-visions-myths-making-sense-world/ Dreams, Visions, and Myths: Making Sense of Our World]
== Poteri e abilità ==
<ref name=Mendil2005>{{cite journal |author=Mendil D, Uluözlü ÖD, Tüzen M, Hasdemir E, Sari H. |title=Trace metal levels in mushroom samples from Ordu, Turkey |journal=Food Chemistry |year=2005 |volume=91 |issue=3 |pages=463–7 |doi=10.1016/j.foodchem.2004.06.028}}</ref>
L'abilità mutante di Kitty consiste nell'attraversare qualsiasi oggetto solido si trovi sul suo cammino, riuscendo a "slegare" i propri atomi ed a passare tra gli spazi atomici di qualsiasi oggetto o materiale decida. Può anche estendere questo status d'intangibilità ad una dozzina di persone o di oggetti (aventi la stessa massa) attorno a lei, purché mantengano un contatto fisico. L'uso delle sue abilità interferisce con i sistemi elettrici attraverso cui passa interrompendo il flusso di [[elettrone|elettroni]] da atomo ad atomo; allo stesso modo interferisce anche con i sistemi bio-elettrici degli organismi viventi, quando si concentra nel modo giusto a tal fine.<ref>''X-Men Black Sun'' #1</ref> Ciò fa sì che possa mandare fuori controllo qualsiasi meccanismo elettronico stia attraversando, e causare shock e perdita di conoscenza agli esseri viventi che attraversa.
Kitty è attualmente in grado di decidere quando diventare "intangibile", ma per un periodo (di oltre dieci anni nella storia reale, e di circa due anni nei fumetti) è esistita nello stato intangibile e per ridiventare solida aveva bisogno di deciderlo consapevolmente.<ref>''X-Men True Friends'' #1 (1999)</ref> Mentre intangibile, lei non cammina fisicamente sulle superfici, ma piuttosto interagisce con le molecole d'aria sopra di loro, cosa che le permette di salire e scendere, ovvero di levitare. Sempre nella forma intangibile è immune alla maggior parte degli attacchi fisici ed è particolarmente resistene alla [[telepatia]]. Tuttavia se colpita violentemente o costretta ad attraversare materiali tossici (come l'adamantio), il suo fisico ne risente pesantemente, arrivando a farla disorientare o a provare dolore.<ref>''Wolverine'' vol. 1 #125</ref> La sua capacità di attraversare le sostanze è inoltre influenzata dalla sua capacità di trattenere il respiro. Se non arriva ad ossigenare il suo organismo non riesce ad attraversare correttamente un materiale con il rischio che le sue molecole si fondano e la uccidano.
<ref name=Miller2006>{{cite book |author=Miller HR, Miller OK. |title=North American Mushrooms: a Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi |publisher=Falcon Guide |___location=Guilford, Connecticut |year=2006 |page=171 |isbn=0-7627-3109-5 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zjvXkLpqsEgC&pg=PA171}}</ref>
Se tutto ciò non bastasse a fare di lei un'ottima X-Woman, Kitty è anche dotata di un altissimo quoziente intellettivo, ed è un genio dei computer. Dopo la possessione di Ogun, ha sviluppato un notevole talento nelle arti marziali (nelle quali è stata addestrata dallo stesso Wolverine), e si è allenata a passare dalla forma tangibile a quella intangibile inconsciamente, per essere sempre pronta ad un eventuale pericolo. Come si vede in una delle scene su Astonishing X-Men, quando venne scoperta nei laboratori segreti della Benetech e le spararono contro, il suo organismo passò dalla forma corporea a quella intangibile istantaneamente. Kitty è anche una ballerina professionista.
<ref name=OguraTsujita2009>{{cite journal |author=Ogura-Tsujita Y, Gebauer G, Hashimoto T, Umata H, Yukawa T. |title=Evidence for novel and specialized mycorrhizal parasitism: the orchid ''Gastrodia confusa'' gains carbon from saprotrophic ''Mycena'' |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society |year=2009 |volume=276 |issue=1657 |pmid=19004757 |pages=761–7 |pmc=2660934 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2008.1225 |url=http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/276/1657/761.full.pdf |format=PDF}}</ref>
<ref name="Pegler 2000">{{cite journal |author=Pegler DN, Brand AW. |title=Profiles of Fungi. 110. ''Mycena inclinata'' |journal=Mycologist |year=2000 |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=36–8 |doi=10.1016/S0269-915X(00)80065-8}}</ref>
<ref name=Quelet1872>{{cite journal |author=Quélet L. |year=1872 |title=Les Champignons de Jura et des Vosges |journal=Mémoires de la [[Société d'Émulation de Montbéliard]] |volume=5 |page=105 |language=French}}</ref>
<ref name=Rea1922>{{cite book |title=British Basidiomycetae: A Handbook to the Larger British Fungi |last=Rea C. |year=1922 |publisher=CUP Archive |page=384 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=4tg8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA384}}</ref>
<ref name=Steffen2007>{{cite journal |author=Steffen KT, Cajthaml T, Snajdr J, Baldrian P. |title=Differential degradation of oak (''Quercus petraea'') leaf litter by litter-decomposing basidiomycetes |journal=Research in Microbiology |volume=158 |issue=5 |pages=447–55 |year=2007 |pmid=17537615 |doi=10.1016/j.resmic.2007.04.002}}</ref>
<ref name=Stevenson1964>{{cite journal |author=Stevenson G. |title=The Agaricales of New Zealand: V |journal=Kew Bulletin |year=1964 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=1–59 |jstor=4108283}}</ref>
<!-- [[File:Washoe chimpanzee.jpg|thumb|right|300px|'''[[Washoe (chimpanzee)|Washoe]]''', a female [[common chimpanzee]] who was the first non-human to learn to communicate using [[American Sign Language]], as part of a [[animal research|research experiment]] on [[animal language acquisition]].]]
<ref name=Treu1996>{{cite journal |author=Treu R. |year=1996 |title=''Mycena inclinata'' |journal=IMI Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria |volume=128 |issue= |pages=sheet 1278}}</ref>
'''Animal cognition''' is the study of the mental capacities of [[animal]]s. It has developed out of [[comparative psychology]], including the study of animal conditioning and learning, but has also been strongly influenced by research in [[ethology]], [[behavioral ecology]], and [[evolutionary psychology]]. The alternative name [[cognitive ethology]] is therefore sometimes used; much of what used to be considered under the title of ''animal intelligence'' is now thought of under this heading.<ref name ="Shettleworth">{{cite book|author=Shettleworth, S.J.|year=2010|title=Cognition, Evolution and Behavior|edition=2|publisher=Oxford Press, New York}}</ref>
<ref name="urlMycoBank: Mycena inclinata">{{cite web |url=http://www.mycobank.org/MycoTaxo.aspx?Link=T&Rec=194409 |title=''Mycena inclinata'' (Fr.) Quél. 1872 |publisher=[[MycoBank]]. International Mycological Association |accessdate=2011-11-04}}</ref>
Research has examined animal cognition in [[mammals]] (especially [[primate intelligence|primates]], [[Cetacean intelligence|cetaceans]], [[elephant intelligence|elephants]], [[Dog intelligence|dogs]], [[Cat intelligence|cats]], [[horse]]s,<ref name=Krueger_heinze_2008>{{cite journal|author=Krueger, K. and Heinze, J.|year=2008|title=Horse sense: social status of horses (Equus caballus) affects their likelihood of copying other horses` behavior|journal=Animal Cognition|volume=11|issue=3|pages=431–439|DOI=10.1007/s10071-007-0133-0|url=http://epub.uni-regensburg.de/19384/3/Krueger_Heinze_2007_Horse_sense.pdf}}</ref><ref name=Krueger_farmer_heinze_2008>{{cite journal|author=Krueger, K., Farmer, K. and Heinze, J.|year=2013|title=The effects of age, rank and neophobia on social learning in horses|journal=Animal Cognition|volume=|pages=|url=http://epub.uni-regensburg.de/29424/1/Krueger_2013.pdf}}</ref> [[raccoons]] and [[rodents]]), [[bird intelligence|birds]] (including [[Parrots#Intelligence and learning|parrots]], [[Corvidae#Intelligence|corvids]] and [[Pigeon intelligence|pigeons]]), [[reptiles]] ([[Monitor lizard#Intelligence|lizards]] and [[snakes]]), [[fish]] and [[invertebrates]] (including [[cephalopod intelligence|cephalopods]], [[Pain in invertebrates#Cognitive abilities|spiders]] and [[Pain in invertebrates#Cognitive abilities|insects]]).<ref name ="Shettleworth" />
}}
== Sfondo storico ==
===Cited text===
*{{cite book |title=North American species of ''Mycena'' |last=Smith AH. |year=1947 |___location=Ann Arbor, Michigan |publisher=University of Michigan Press}}
=== La cognizione animale dagli annedoti al laboratorio ===
==External links==
Il comportamento degli animali non umani ha catturato l'immaginazione umana fin dall'antichità, e nel corso dei secoli, molti scrittori hanno speculato sulla mente degli animali o sulla sua assenza, come ha creduto [[Cartesio]].<ref>Descartes, R. (1649), ''Passions of the Soul''</ref> La speculazione sull'intelligenza animale ha gradualmente ceduto il passo allo studio scientifico dopo che [[Charles Darwin|Darwin]] mise esseri umani ed animali in un continuum, anche se l'approccio in gran parte aneddotico di Darwin sull'argomento non sarebbe passato al vaglio scientifico successivo.<ref>Darwin, C. 1871, ''The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex''</ref> Insoddisfatto con il metodo aneddotico di Darwin e del suo protetto J.G. Romanes,<ref>Romanes, J. G. 1883, ''Animal Intelligence''</ref> [[Edward Lee Thorndike|E. L. Thorndike]] portò gli animali in laboratorio al fine di condurre un esame obiettivo del loro comportamento. Le attente osservazioni di Thorndike della fuga di gatti, cani e pulcini da scatole-puzzle lo hanno portato a concludere che il comportamento intelligente può essere composto da associazioni semplici e che le inferenze sulla ragione, o sull'intuizione o sulla coscienza degli animali sono inutili e fuorvianti.<ref>Thorndike, E. L. 1911, ''Animal intelligence''.</ref> All'incirca nello stesso periodo, [[Ivan Pavlov|I. P. Pavlov]] iniziò i suoi studi seminali sui riflessi condizionati nei cani. Pavlov presto abbandonò i tentativi di dedurre i processi mentali canini; tali tentativi, disse, hanno portato solo a disaccordo e confusione. Era, però, disposto a proporre processi fisiologici invisibili che avrebbero potuto spiegare le sue osservazioni.<ref>Pavlov, I.P. 1928, ''Lectures on conditioned reflexes''</ref>
*{{IndexFungorum|194409}}
=== Il mezzo secolo comportamentista ===
=Plasticità cerebrale=
Il lavoro di Thorndike, Pavlov e poco più tardi dello schietto comportamentista [[John B. Watson]]<ref>Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it. ''Psychological Review, 20'', 158-177</ref> impostò la direzione di molte ricerche sul comportamento degli animali per più di mezzo secolo. Durante questo periodo ci fu un notevole progresso nella comprensione delle associazioni semplici; in particolare, intorno al 1930 furono chiarite le differenze tra il [[condizionamento operante]] di Thorndike e il [[condizionamento classico]] di Pavlov, prima da Miller e Kanorski e poi da [[B. F. Skinner]].<ref>Miller, S. & Konorski, J. (1928) Sur une forme particulière des reflexes conditionels. ''Comptes Rendus des Seances de la Societe de Biologie et de ses Filiales'', 99, 1155-1157</ref><ref>Skinner, B. F. (1932) ''The Behavior of Organisms''</ref> Seguirono molti esperimenti sul condizionamento, che generarono alcune teorie complesse,<ref>Hull, C. L. (1943) ''The Principles of Behavior''</ref> ma che fecero poco o nessun riferimento all'intervento di processi mentali. Probabilmente il licenziamento più esplicito dell'idea che il comportamento sia controllato da processi mentali è il [[comportamentismo radicale]] di Skinner. Questo punto di vista cerca di spiegare il comportamento, comprendente "eventi privati" come le immagini mentali, esclusivamente con riferimento alle contingenze ambientali che influiscono sull'essere umano o animale.<ref>Skinner, B. F. ''About Behaviorism'' 1976</ref>
{{T|inglese|neuroscienze|luglio 2013}}
<!-- [[File:Brain 2.jpg|right|thumb|320px|Contrary to common ideas as expressed in this diagram, brain functions are not confined to certain fixed locations.]]
'''Neuroplasticity''', also known as '''brain plasticity''', refers to changes in neural pathways and synapses which are due to changes in behavior, environment and neural processes, as well as changes resulting from bodily injury.<ref name="Pascual-Leone et al. 2011"/> Neuroplasticity has replaced the formerly-held position that the brain is a physiologically static organ, and explores how - and in which ways - the brain changes throughout life.<ref name="Pascual-Leone et al. 2005"/>
Nonostante l'orientamento prevalentemente comportamentista della ricerca avvenuta prima del 1960, il rifiuto dell'idea che gli animali presentino processi mentali in quegli anni non fu comunque universale. Influenti eccezioni includono, per esempio, [[Wolfgang Köhler]]<ref>Köhler, W. (1917) ''The Mentality of Apes''</ref> e [[Edward Tolman]]. Le [[mappa cognitiva|mappe cognitive]] di quest'ultimo diedero un contributo significativo alla successiva ricerca sulla [[cognizione]] in esseri umani e animali.<ref>Tolman, E. C. (1948) ''Cognitive maps in rats and men'' Psychological Review, 55, 189-208</ref>
Neuroplasticity occurs on a variety of levels, ranging from cellular changes due to learning, to large-scale changes involved in ''cortical remapping'' in response to injury. The role of neuroplasticity is widely recognized in healthy development, learning, memory, and recovery from brain damage. During most of the 20th century, the consensus among neuroscientists was that brain structure is relatively immutable after a [[critical period]] during early childhood. This belief has been challenged by findings revealing that many aspects of the brain remain plastic even into adulthood.<ref name="Rakic 2002" />
[[Hubel]] and [[Torsten Wiesel|Wiesel]] had demonstrated that ocular dominance columns in the lowest neocortical visual area, V1, were largely immutable after the [[critical period]] in development.<ref name="Hubel et al 1970" /> Critical periods also were studied with respect to language; the resulting data suggested that sensory pathways were fixed after the critical period. However, studies determined that environmental changes could alter behavior and cognition by modifying connections between existing neurons and via neurogenesis in the hippocampus and other parts of the brain, including the [[cerebellum]].<ref name="Ponti et al 2008" />
=== La rivoluzione cognitiva ===
Decades of research<ref>Chaney, Warren, Dynamic Mind, 2007, Las Vegas, Houghton-Brace Publishing, pp 33-35, ISBN 0-9793392-0-0 [http://openlibrary.org/works/OL15675542W/Dynamic_Mind]</ref> have now shown that substantial changes occur in the lowest neocortical processing areas, and that these changes can profoundly alter the pattern of neuronal activation in response to experience. Neuroscientific research indicates that experience can actually change both the brain's physical structure ([[anatomy]]) and functional organization ([[physiology]]). Neuroscientists are currently engaged in a reconciliation of critical period studies demonstrating the immutability of the brain after development with the more recent research showing how the brain can, and does, change.<ref>Chaney, Warren, Workbook for a Dynamic Mind, 2006, Las Vegas, Houghton-Brace Publishing, page 44, ISBN 00979339219{{Please check ISBN|reason=Invalid length.}} [http://openlibrary.org/works/OL15675542W/Dynamic_Mind]</ref>
A partire dal periodo intorno al 1960, la "[[psicologia cognitiva|rivoluzione cognitiva]]" della ricerca sugli esseri umani<ref>Niesser, U. (1967) ‘’Cognitive Psychology’’</ref> a poco a poco ha stimolato una simile trasformazione della ricerca con gli animali. Le inferenze su processi non direttamente osservabili diventarono prima accettabili e poi all'ordine del giorno. Un importante fautore di questo cambiamento nel modo di pensare fu [[Donald Olding Hebb|Donald O. Hebb]], il quale sostenne che "mente" è semplicemente un nome per i processi nella testa che controllano il comportamento complesso, e che è necessario e possibile dedurre tali processi dal comportamento.<ref>p. 3, Hebb, D. O. 1958 ‘’ A Textbook of Psychology’’</ref> Gli animali cominciarono ad essere visti come "agenti che cercano di raggiungere degli obiettivi e che acquisiscono, archiviano, recuperano, e processano internamente informazioni a vari livelli di complessità cognitiva".<ref name="Menzel">p. 2 , Menzel, R. & Fischer, J. (2010) ‘’Animal Thinking: Contemporary Issues in Comparative Cognition’’: "''goal seeking agents that acquire, store, retrieve, and internally process information at many levels of cognitive complexity''".</ref> Tuttavia è interessante notare che molti esperimenti cognitivi con gli animali hanno usato, e usano tuttora in modo ingegnoso i metodi di condizionamento iniziati da Thorndike e Pavlov.<ref name="Wass">Wasserman & Zentall (eds) (2006) ‘’Comparative Cognition’’</ref>
Lo statuto scientifico della "coscienza" negli animali continua ad essere dibattuto. Una seria considerazione del pensiero cosciente negli animali è stata difesa da alcuni ([[Donald Griffin]], ad esempio<ref>Griffin, D.(1985) ‘’Animal Thinking’’</ref>), ma la maggioranza della [[comunità scientifica]] è stata notevolmente fredda a riguardo di tali suggerimenti.<ref>p.8 ff, Wasserman & Zentall (eds) (2006) ‘’Comparative Cognition’’</ref>
== Neurobiology ==
One of the fundamental principles of how neuroplasticity functions is linked to the concept of [[synaptic pruning]], the idea that individual [[synapse|connections]] within the [[brain]] are constantly being removed or recreated, largely dependent upon how they are used. This concept is captured in the aphorism, "neurons that fire together, wire together"/"neurons that fire apart, wire apart." If there are two nearby neurons that often produce an impulse simultaneously, their [[cortical map]]s may become one. This idea also works in the opposite way, i.e. that neurons which do not regularly produce simultaneous impulses will form different maps.
=== CorticalMetodi maps ===
L'accelerazione della ricerca sulla cognizione animale degli ultimi 50 anni ha portato ad una rapida espansione nella varietà delle specie studiate e dei metodi impiegati. Il comportamento notevole degli animali con cervello di grandi dimensioni come [[primati]] e [[cetacei]] ha rivendicato una particolare attenzione, ma tutte le specie di mammiferi grandi e piccoli, di uccelli, pesci, formiche, api e altri sono state portate in laboratorio o osservate in studi sul campo attentamente controllati. In laboratorio gli animali spingono leve, tirano stringhe, scavano per il cibo, nuotano in labirinti d'acqua, o rispondono a immagini su schermi di computer negli esperimenti sulla discriminazione, l'[[attenzione]], la [[memoria]] e la [[classificazione]].<ref name="Wass"/> Accurati studi sul campo esplorano la memoria dei nascondigli per il cibo, l'orientamento tramite le stelle<ref>[http://www.lescienze.it/news/2013/01/25/news/orientamento_scarabeo_via_lattea_cielo_stellato-1475604/ ''La danza dello scarabeo astronomo''], [[Le Scienze]].</ref>, la comunicazione, l'utilizzo di strumenti, l'identificazione di conspecifici e molte altre questioni. Gli studi spesso si concentrano sul comportamento degli animali nel loro ambiente naturale e servono alla discussione sulla funzione putativa del comportamento per la propagazione e la sopravvivenza delle specie. Questi sviluppi riflettono un aumento della "fertilizzazione incrociata" tra diversi campi di studio come l'[[etologia]] e la biologia comportamentale. Inoltre, i contributi delle [[psicobiologia|neuroscienze comportamentali]] stanno cominciando a chiarire il substrato fisiologico di qualcuno dei processi mentali derivati.
Cortical organization, especially for the [[sensory system]]s, is often described in terms of [[cortical map|maps]].<ref name="Buonomano et al 1998" /> For example, sensory information from the foot projects to one cortical site and the projections from the hand target in another site. As the result of this somatotopic organization of sensory inputs to the cortex, cortical representation of the body resembles a map (or [[homunculus]]).
Diversi progetti di ricerca a lungo termine hanno catturato una buona dose di attenzione. Questi includono esperimenti sul [[linguaggio]] nelle scimmie, come quelli condotti su [[Washoe (scimpanzé)|Washoe]] e quelli su [[Nim Chimpsky]]. Altri progetti di ricerca comprendono la lunga serie di studi effettuata da [[Irene Pepperberg]] con il [[Pappagallo africano grigio]] [[Alex (pappagallo)|Alex]], il lavoro di [[Louis Herman]] sui [[tursiops|tursiopi]], e gli studi sulla memoria a lungo termine nei piccioni, in cui gli uccelli ricordavano delle foto dopo periodi di diversi anni.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, several groups began exploring the impacts of removing portions of the [[wikt:sensation|sensory inputs]]. [[Michael Merzenich]], [[Jon Kaas]] and [[Doug Rasmusson]] used the cortical map as their [[dependent variable]]. They found—and this has been since corroborated by a wide range of labs—that if the cortical map is deprived of its input it will become activated at a later time in response to other, usually adjacent inputs. Merzenich’s (1984) study involved the mapping of [[owl monkey]] hands before and after [[amputation]] of the third digit. Before amputation, there were five distinct areas, one corresponding to each digit of the experimental hand. Sixty-two days following amputation of the third [[Digit (anatomy)|digit]], the area in the [[cortical map]] formerly occupied by that digit had been invaded by the previously adjacent second and fourth digit zones. The areas representing digit one and five are not located directly beside the area representing digit three, so these regions remained, for the most part, unchanged following amputation.<ref name="Merzenich et al 1984" /> This study demonstrates that only those regions bordering a certain area will invade it to alter the cortical map. In the somatic sensory system, in which this phenomenon has been most thoroughly investigated, JT Wall and J Xu have traced the mechanisms underlying this plasticity. Re-organization is not cortically [[emergence|emergent]], but occurs at every level in the processing hierarchy; this produces the map changes observed in the cerebral cortex.<ref name="Wall et al 2002" />
Alcuni ricercatori hanno fatto un uso efficace di una metodologia [[Jean Piaget|Piagetiana]]: hanno preso alcuni compiti che i bambini riescono a risolvere a differenti stadi di sviluppo, e hanno indagato quali specie erano in grado di svolgere i diversi compiti. Altri sono stati ispirati da preoccupazioni [[animalismo|animalistiche]] e sulla gestione delle specie domestiche: ad esempio [[Temple Grandin]] ha sfruttato la sua esperienza unica nel campo del benessere animale e del trattamento etico degli animali da fattoria per evidenziare le similitudini sottostanti tra gli esseri umani e gli altri animali.<ref>Grandin, Temple (2009) ''Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best life for Animals'' (con Catherine Johnson)</ref> Da un punto di vista metodologico, uno dei principali rischi di questo tipo di lavoro è però l'[[antropomorfismo]], la tendenza ad interpretare il comportamento di un animale in termini di [[sensazione|sensazioni]], pensieri e motivazioni umane.<ref name="Shettleworth"/>
Merzenich and William Jenkins (1990) initiated studies relating [[sensory experience]], without pathological perturbation, to cortically observed plasticity in the [[primate]] [[somatosensory system]], with the finding that sensory sites activated in an attended [[operant behavior]] increase in their [[cortical representation]]. Shortly thereafter, Ford Ebner and colleagues (1994) made similar efforts in the [[rodent]] [[whisker]] [[barrel cortex]] (also somatic sensory system). These two groups largely diverged over the years. The rodent whisker barrel efforts became a focus for Ebner, Matthew Diamond, Michael Armstrong-James, Robert Sachdev, Kevin Fox and great inroads were made in identifying the locus of change as being at cortical [[synapse]]s [[gene expression|expressing]] [[NMDA receptor]]s, and in implicating [[cholinergic]] inputs as necessary for normal expression. However, the rodent studies were poorly focused on the [[behavioral]] end, and Ron Frostig and Daniel Polley (1999, 2004) identified behavioral manipulations as causing a substantial impact on the cortical plasticity in that system.
== Questioni di ricerca ==
[[Michael Merzenich|Merzenich]] and DT Blake (2002, 2005, 2006) went on to use [[cortical implant]]s to study the evolution of plasticity in both the [[somatosensory]] and [[auditory system]]s. Both systems show similar changes with respect to [[behavior]]. When a stimulus is cognitively associated with [[reinforcement]], its cortical representation is strengthened and enlarged. In some cases, cortical representations can increase two to threefold in 1–2 days at the time at which a new sensory motor behavior is first acquired, and changes are largely finished within at most a few weeks. Control studies show that these changes are not caused by sensory experience alone: they require learning about the sensory experience, and are strongest for the stimuli that are associated with reward, and occur with equal ease in operant and classical conditioning behaviors.
[[Image:Chimpanzee and stick.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Lo scimpanzé comune è in grado di usare degli strumenti. Quest'individuo sta usando un bastone per procurarsi del cibo.]]
La [[cognizione]] umana e quella animale hanno molto in comune, e questo si riflette nei temi di ricerca di seguito riassunti: la maggior parte delle voci che si trovano qui appaiono anche negli articoli sulla cognizione umana. Naturalmente, la ricerca nei due settori differisce sotto aspetti importanti. In particolare, gran parte della ricerca con gli esseri umani studia o coinvolge il linguaggio, e gran parte della ricerca con gli animali è invece legata direttamente o indirettamente ai comportamenti importanti per la sopravvivenza di quei particolari animali negli ambienti naturali. Di seguito sono riassunte alcune delle principali aree di ricerca nella cognizione animale.
=== Percezione ===
An interesting phenomenon involving cortical maps is the incidence of [[phantom limb]]s. Phantom limbs are experienced by people that have undergone [[amputation]]s in hands, arms, and legs, but it is not limited to extremities. Although the neurological basis of phantom limbs is still not entirely understood it is believed that cortical reorganization plays an important role.<ref name="Doidge 2007" />
Come gli esseri umani, gli animali non umani elaborano le informazioni provenienti da occhi, orecchie e altri organi sensoriali per la percezione dell'ambiente. I processi percettivi sono stati studiati in molte specie, con risultati che sono spesso simili a quelli per gli umani. Altrettanto interessanti sono quei processi percettivi che differiscono da, o vanno oltre quelli che si trovano negli esseri umani, come ad esempio l'[[ecolocalizzazione]] di pipistrelli e delfini, il rilevamento di movimenti attuata dai [[Linea laterale|recettori della pelle]] dei pesci, e la straordinaria acuità visiva, sensibilità al movimento, e capacità di vedere la luce ultravioletta di alcuni [[visione negli uccelli|uccelli]].<ref>Stebbins, W. C. & M. A. Berkley (1990) ''Comparative Perception,Vol. I, Basic Mechanisms; Vol. II, Complex Signals'' New York: Wiley.</ref>
=== Attenzione ===
Norman Doidge, following the lead of Michael Merzenich, separates manifestations of neuroplasticity into adaptations that have positive or negative behavioral consequences. For example, if an organism can recover after a stroke to normal levels of performance, that adaptiveness could be considered an example of "positive plasticity". Changes such as an excessive level of [[neuronal growth]] leading to [[spasticity]] or [[tonic paralysis]], or an excessive release of [[neurotransmitter]]s in response to injury which could kill nerve cells, would have to be considered "negative" plasticity. In addition, drug addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder are deemed examples of "negative plasticity" by Dr. Doidge, as the synaptic rewiring resulting in these behaviors is also highly maladaptive.<ref name="Doidge 2007"/><ref>[http://www.childrenofthecode.org/interviews/merzenich.htm Interview with Merzenich], 2004</ref>
In qualsiasi momento, molto di ciò che sta accadendo nel mondo è irrilevante per il proprio comportamento attuale. L'[[attenzione]] è quell'insieme di processi mentali che selezionano le informazioni pertinenti, inibiscono le informazioni irrilevanti, e passano tra le informazioni in base a quanto la situazione richiede.<ref>Smith, E. E., and Kosslyn, S. M. (2007) "Cognitive Psychology: Mind and Brain" Pearson Prentice Hall.</ref> Spesso il processo selettivo è sintonizzato da prima che appaiano informazioni pertinenti; tale aspettativa rende rapida la selezione degli stimoli fondamentali quando questi diventano disponibili. Un ampio corpo di ricerca ha esplorato il modo in cui l'attenzione e le aspettative influenzano il comportamento degli animali non umani, e molto di questo lavoro suggerisce che l'attenzione opera negli uccelli, nei mammiferi e nei rettili più o meno allo stesso modo in cui lo fa negli esseri umani.<ref>Blough, D. S. (2006) Reaction-time explorations of visual attention, perception, and decision in pigeons. In E. A. Wasserman & T. R. Zentall (Eds) ''Comparative Cognition: Experimental Explorations of Animal Intelligence’’ pp. 89-105. New York: Oxford.</ref>
I paragrafi seguenti contengono brevi descrizioni di diversi esperimenti. Queste hanno lo scopo di dare un po' l'idea della ricerca sull'attenzione, sebbene in realtà ne graffino appena la superficie; il lettore può consultare i riferimenti (in [[lingua inglese|inglese]]) per le descrizioni di molti altri esperimenti. Inoltre, si deve interpretare effetti putativi "di attenzione" con cautela, perché possono spesso essere contabilizzati in diversi modi. Ad esempio, la mancanza di risposta ad uno stimolo attuale potrebbe riflettere disattenzione, ma potrebbe anche riflettere la mancanza di motivazione, o il risultato di apprendimento passato che sopprime la risposta a tale stimolo o promuova una risposta alternativa. La maggior parte degli esperimenti includono condizioni di controllo destinati a escludere quante interpretazioni alternative possibili.
A 2005 study found that the effects of neuroplasticity occur even more rapidly than previously expected. Medical students' brains were imaged during the period when they were studying for their exams. In a matter of months, the students' gray matter increased significantly in the posterior and lateral parietal cortex.<ref>Draganski et al. "[http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/23/6314 Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Brain Structure Changes during Extensive Learning]" The Journal of Neuroscience, June 7, 2006, 26(23):6314-6317</ref>
The following paragraphs contain brief accounts of several experiments. These are intended to give the reader a bit of the flavor of research on attention, but they barely scratch the surface, and readers should consult the references for descriptions of many other experiments. Also, one must interpret putative "attentional" effects with caution, because they can often be accounted for in several different ways. For example, lack of response to a current stimulus might reflect inattention, but it might also reflect lack of motivation, or result from past learning that suppresses response to that stimulus or promotes an alternative response. Most experiments include control conditions intended to exclude as many alternative interpretations as possible.
== Applications and example ==
==== TreatmentSelective of brain damagelearning ====
Animals trained to discriminate between two stimuli, say black versus white, can be said to attend to the "brightness dimension," but this says little about whether this dimension is selected in preference to others. More enlightenment comes from experiments that allow the animal to choose from several alternatives. For example, several studies have shown that performance is better on, for example, a color discrimination (e.g. blue vs green) after the animal has learned another color discrimination (e.g. red vs orange) than it is after training on a different dimension such as an X shape versus and O shape. The reverse effect happens after training on forms. Thus, the earlier learning appears to affect which dimension, color or form, the animal will attend to.<ref>N. J. Mackintosh (1983) ''Conditioning and Associative Learning’’ New York: Oxford</ref>
A surprising consequence of neuroplasticity is that the brain activity associated with a given function can move to a different ___location; this can result from normal experience and also occurs in the process of recovery from brain injury. Neuroplasticity is the fundamental issue that supports the scientific basis for treatment of [[acquired brain injury]] with goal-directed experiential therapeutic programs in the context of [[Rehabilitation (neuropsychology)|rehabilitation]] approaches to the functional consequences of the injury.
Other experiments have shown that after animals have learned to respond to one aspect of the environment responsiveness to other aspects is suppressed. In "blocking", for example, an animal is conditioned to respond to one stimulus ("A") by pairing that stimulus with reward or punishment. After the animal responds consistently to A, a second stimulus ("B") accompanies A on additional training trials. Later tests with the B stimulus alone elicit little response, suggesting that learning about B has been blocked by prior learning about A .<ref>Kamin, L. J. (1969) Predictability, surprise, attention, and conditioning. In Campbell and Church (eds.) ‘’Punishment and aversive behavior’’, New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts pp. 279-296</ref> This result supports the hypothesis that stimuli are neglected if they fail to provide new information. Thus, in the experiment just cited, the animal failed to attend to B because B added no information to that supplied by A. If true, this interpretation is an important insight into attentional processing, but this conclusion remains uncertain because blocking and several related phenomena can be explained by models of conditioning that do not invoke attention.<ref>Mackintosh, N. J. (1994) ‘’Animal Learning and Cognition’’ San Diego: Academic Press</ref>
The adult brain is not entirely "[[hard-wired]]" with fixed [[neuronal circuit]]s. There are many instances of cortical and subcortical rewiring of neuronal circuits in response to training as well as in response to injury. There is solid evidence that [[neurogenesis]] (birth of brain cells) occurs in the adult, mammalian brain—and such changes can persist well into old age.<ref name="Rakic 2002"/> The evidence for neurogenesis is mainly restricted to the [[hippocampus]] and [[olfactory bulb]], but current research has revealed that other parts of the brain, including the cerebellum, may be involved as well.<ref name="Ponti et al 2008"/>
==== Divided attention ====
In the rest of the brain, neurons can die, but they cannot be created. However, there is now ample evidence for the active, experience-dependent re-organization of the synaptic networks of the brain involving multiple inter-related structures including the cerebral cortex. The specific details of how this process occurs at the molecular and ultrastructural levels are topics of active neuroscience research. The manner in which experience can influence the synaptic organization of the brain is also the basis for a number of theories of brain function including the general theory of mind and epistemology referred to as [[Neural Darwinism]] and developed by immunologist Nobel laureate [[Gerald Edelman]]. The concept of neuroplasticity is also central to theories of memory and learning that are associated with experience-driven alteration of synaptic structure and function in studies of [[classical conditioning]] in invertebrate animal models such as [[Aplysia]]. This latter program of neuroscience research has emanated from the ground-breaking work of another Nobel laureate, [[Eric Kandel]], and his colleagues at [[Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons]].
Casual observation suggests that attention is a limited resource and is not all-or-none: the more attention is devoted to one aspect or dimension of the environment, the less is available for others.<ref>Zentall, T. R. (2004) Selective and divided attention in animals. ‘’Behavioural Processes’’ 69, 1-16</ref> In preparing a meal you may divide your attention among a number of things, but a sudden spill may distract you from a falling souffle. A number of experiments have studied this sort of thing in animals. For example, in one experiment, a tone and a light came on simultaneously. The pigeon subjects gained reward only by choosing the correct combination of the two dimensions (a high pitch together with a yellow light). The birds did fairly well at this task, presumably by dividing attention between the two dimensions. When only one of the stimulus dimensions varied, while the other was held at its rewarded value, discrimination improved on the variable stimulus, and later tests showed that discrimination had also gotten worse on the alternative stimulus dimension.<ref>Blough, D. S. (1969) Attention shifts in a maintained discrimination. ‘’[[Science (journal)|Science]]’’,166, 125-126</ref> These outcomes are consistent with the idea that attention is a limited resource that can be more or less focused among incoming stimuli.
==== Visual search and attentional priming ====
[[Paul Bach-y-Rita]], deceased in 2006, was the "father of sensory substitution and brain plasticity."<ref>"[http://www.salus.edu/nclvi/honoring/bach_y_rita.htm Remembering Leaders in the Field of Blindness and Visual Impairment]." National Center for Leadership in Visual Impairment. Salus University. 20 Nov. 2008</ref> In working with a patient whose vestibular system had been damaged he developed BrainPort,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mindstates.tribe.net/thread/a8b9f33f-7a6f-4af8-9c0c-588719606271 |title=BrainPort, Dr. Paul Bach-y-Rita, and ... - Mind States - tribe.net |publisher=Mindstates.tribe.net |date=2005-03-30 |accessdate=2010-06-12}}</ref> a machine that "replaces her vestibular apparatus and [will] send balance signals to her brain from her tongue."<ref name="Doidge 2007" /> After she had used this machine for some time it was no longer necessary, as she regained the ability to function normally. Her balancing act days were over.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uwalumni.com/home/onwisconsin/archives/spring2007/balancingact.aspx |title=Wisconsin Alumni Association - Balancing Act |publisher=Uwalumni.com |date= |accessdate=2010-06-12}}</ref>
As noted above, attention functions to select information that is of special use to the animal. Visual search typically calls for this sort of selection, and search tasks have been used extensively in both humans and animals to determine the characteristics of attentional selection and the factors that control it.
Experimental research on visual search in animals was initially prompted by field observations published by Luc Tinbergen (1960).<ref>Tinbergen, L. (1960) The natural control of insects in pine woods: I. Factors influencing the intensity of predation by songbirds. ‘’Archives Néerlandasises de Zoologie’’ 13, 265-343.</ref> Tinbergen observed that birds are selective when foraging for insects. For example, he found that birds tended to catch the same type of insect repeatedly even though several types were available. Tinbergen suggested that this prey selection was caused by an attentional bias that improved detection of one type of insect while suppressing detection of others. This "attentional priming" is commonly said to result from a pretrial activation of a mental representation of the attended object, which Tinbergen called a "searching image."
Plasticity is the major explanation for the phenomenon. Because her vestibular system was "disorganized" and sending random rather than coherent signals, the apparatus found new pathways around the damaged or blocked neural pathways, helping to reinforce the signals that were sent by remaining healthy tissues. Bach-y-Rita explained plasticity by saying, "If you are driving from here to Milwaukee and the main bridge goes out, first you are paralyzed. Then you take old secondary roads through the farmland. Then you use these roads more; you find shorter paths to use to get where you want to go, and you start to get there faster. These "secondary" neural pathways are "unmasked" or exposed and strengthened as they are used. The "unmasking" process is generally thought to be one of the principal ways in which the plastic brain reorganizes itself."<ref name="Doidge 2007" />
Tinbergen’s field observations on priming have been supported by a number of experiments. For example, Pietrewicz and Kamil (1977, 1979)<ref>Pietrewicz, A. T. & Kamil, A. C. (1977) Visual detection of crypic prey by blue jays ‘’(Cyanocitta cristata). Science,’’ 195,580-582.</ref><ref>Pietrewicz, A. T. Kamil, A. C. (1979) Search image formation in the blue jay ‘’(Cyanocitta cristata). Science,’’ 204, 1332-1333)</ref> presented blue jays with pictures of tree trunks upon which rested either a moth of species A, a moth of species B, or no moth at all. The birds were rewarded for pecks at a picture showing a moth. Crucially, the probability with which a particular species of moth was detected was higher after repeated trials with that species (e.g. A, A, A,...) than it was after a mixture of trials (e.g. A, B, B, A, B, A, A...). These results suggest again that sequential encounters with an object can establish an attentional predisposition to see the object.
[[Randy Nudo]]'s group found that if a small stroke (an infarction) is induced by obstruction of blood flow to a portion of a monkey’s motor cortex, the part of the body that responds by movement will move when areas adjacent to the damaged brain area are stimulated. In one study, intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) mapping techniques were used in nine normal monkeys. Some underwent ischemic infarction procedures and the others, ICMS procedures. The monkeys with ischemic infarctions retained more finger flexion during food retrieval and after several months this deficit returned to preoperative levels.<ref name="Frost et al 2003" /> With respect to the distal forelimb representation, "postinfarction mapping procedures revealed that movement representations underwent reorganization throughout the adjacent, undamaged cortex."<ref name="Frost et al 2003">{{cite journal |last1=Frost |first1=S.B. |last2=Barbay |first2=S. |last3=Friel |first3=K.M. |last4=Plautz |first4=E.J. |last5=Nudo |first5=R.J. |year=2003 |title=Reorganization of Remote Cortical Regions After Ischemic Brain Injury: A Potential Substrate for Stroke Recovery |journal=[[Journal of Neurophysiology]] |volume=89 |issue= 6|pages=3205–3214 |url=http://jn.physiology.org/cgi/reprint/89/6/3205.pdf |doi=10.1152/jn.01143.2002 |pmid=12783955}}</ref> Understanding of interaction between the damaged and undamaged areas provides a basis for better treatment plans in stroke patients. Current research includes the tracking of changes that occur in the motor areas of the cerebral cortex as a result of a stroke. Thus, events that occur in the reorganization process of the brain can be ascertained. Nudo is also involved in studying the treatment plans that may enhance recovery from strokes, such as physiotherapy, pharmacotherapy and electrical stimulation therapy.
Another way to produce attentional priming in search is to provide an advance signal that is associated with the target. For example, if you hear a song sparrow you may be predisposed to detect a song sparrow in a shrub, or among other birds. A number of experiments have reproduced this effect in animal subjects.<ref>Blough, P. M. (1989). Attentional priming and visual search in pigeons. ‘’Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,’’ 17, 292-298.</ref><ref>Kamil, A.C. & Bond, A. B. (2006) Selective attention, priming, and foraging behavior. In E. A. Wasserman and T. R. Zentall(eds) ‘’Comparative Cognition: Experimental Exploration of Animal Intelligence’’ New York: Oxford</ref>
Neuroplasticity is gaining popularity as a theory that, at least in part, explains improvements in functional outcomes with physical therapy post stroke. Rehabilitation techniques that have evidence to suggest cortical reorganization as the mechanism of change include [[Constraint-induced movement therapy]], [[functional electrical stimulation]], treadmill training with body weight support, and [[virtual reality therapy]]. [[Robot#Healthcare|Robot assisted therapy]] is an emerging technique, which is also hypothesized to work by way of neuroplasticity, though there is currently insufficient evidence to determine the exact mechanisms of change when using this method.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Young J. A., Tolentino M. | year = 2011 | title = Neuroplasticity and its Applications for Rehabilitation | url = | journal = American Journal of Therapeutics | volume = 18 | issue = | pages = 70–80 }}</ref>
Still other experiments have explored nature of stimulus factors that affect the speed and accuracy of visual search. For example, the time taken to find a single target increases as the number of items in the visual field increases. This rise in RT is steep if the distracters are similar to the target, less steep if they are dissimilar, and may not occur if the distracters are very different in from the target in form or color.<ref>Blough, D. S. & Blough, P. M. (1990) Reaction-time assessments of visual processes in pigeons. In M. Berkley & W. Stebbins (Eds.) ‘’Comparative perception (pp. 245-276). New York:Wiley.</ref>
[[Jon Kaas]], a professor at [[Vanderbilt University]], has been able to show "how somatosensory area 3b and ventroposterior (VP) nucleus of the thalamus are affected by long standing unilateral dorsal column lesions at cervical levels in macaque monkeys."<ref name="Jain et al 2008" /> Adult brains have the ability to change as a result of injury but the extent of the reorganization depends on the extent of the injury. His recent research focuses on the somatosensory system, which involves a sense of the body and its movements using many senses. Usually when people damage the somatosensory cortex, impairment of the body perceptions are experienced. He is trying to see how these systems (somatosensory, cognitive, motor systems) are plastic as a result of injury.<ref name="Jain et al 2008">{{cite journal |last=Jain |first=Neeraj |date=October 22, 2008 |title=Large-Scale Reorganization in the Somatosensory Cortex and Thalamus after Sensory Loss in Macaque Monkeys |journal=The Journal of Neuroscience |volume=28 |issue=43 |pages=11042–11060 |publisher= |___location= |pmid= 18945912|pmc= 2613515|doi=10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2334-08.2008 |url= |last2=Qi |first2=HX |last3=Collins |first3=CE |last4=Kaas |first4=JH }}</ref>
=== Concepts and categories ===
One of the most recent applications of neuroplasticity involves work done by a team of doctors and researchers at [[Emory University]], specifically Dr. [[Donald Stein]] (who has been in the field for over three decades)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bme.gatech.edu/facultystaff/faculty_record.php?id=31 |title=Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering: BME Faculty |publisher=Bme.gatech.edu |date= |accessdate=2010-06-12}}</ref> and Dr. David Wright. This is the first treatment in 40 years that has significant results in treating traumatic brain injuries while also incurring no known side effects and being cheap to administer.<ref name="stein_interview" /> Dr. Stein noticed that female mice seemed to recover from brain injuries better than male mice. Also in females, he noticed that at certain points in the estrus cycle females recovered even more. After lots of research, they attributed this difference due to the levels of progesterone. The highest level of progesterone present led to the fastest recovery of brain injury in these mice.
Fundamental but difficult to define, the [[concept]] of "concept" was discussed for hundreds of years by philosophers before it became a focus of psychological study. Concepts enable humans and animals to organize the world into functional groups; the groups may be composed of perceptually similar objects or events, diverse things that have a common function, relationships such as same versus different, or relations among relations such as analogies.<ref name =Cats>E. E. Smith & D. L. Medin (1981) ‘’Categories and Concepts’’ Harvard Univ. Press</ref> Extensive discussions on these matters together with many references may be found in Shettleworth (2010)<ref name ="Shettleworth" /> Wasserman and Zentall (2006)<ref name="Wass"/> and in Zentall ''et al.'' (2008). The latter is freely available online<ref name = Zentall>Zentall, T. R., Wasserman, E. A., Lazareva, O. F., Thompson, R. R. K., Ratterman, M. J. (2008). Concept Learning in Animals. ‘’Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews’’, 3 , 13-45. Retrieved from http://psyc.queensu.ca/ccbr/index.html {{doi|10.3819/ccbr.2008.30002}}</ref>
==== Methods ====
They developed a treatment that includes increased levels of progesterone injections to give to brain injured patients. "Administration of progesterone after traumatic brain injury<ref>[http://whsc.emory.edu/press_releases_video.cfm?id=brain_trauma Traumatic Brain Injury] (a story of TBI and the results of ProTECT using progesterone treatments) Emory University News Archives</ref> (TBI) and stroke reduces edema, inflammation, and neuronal cell death, and enhance spatial reference memory and sensory motor recovery."<ref name="Cutler et al 2005">{{cite journal |last1=Cutler |first1=Sarah M. |last2=Hoffman |first2=Stuart W. |last3=Pettus |first3=Edward H. |last4=Stein |first4=Donald G. |year=2005 |month=October |title=Tapered progesterone withdrawal enhances behavioral and molecular recovery after traumatic brain injury |journal=Experimental Neurology |volume=195 |issue=2 |page= |pages=423–429 |publisher=Elsevier |doi=10.1016/j.expneurol.2005.06.003 |url= |language= |pmid=16039652}}</ref> In their clinical trials, they had a group of severely injured patients that after the three days of progesterone injections had a 60% reduction in mortality.<ref name="stein_interview" /> Sam* was in a horrific car accident that left him with marginal brain activity; according to the doctors, he was one point away from being brain dead. His parents decided to have him participate in Dr. Stein’s clinical trial and he was given the three-day progesterone treatment. Three years after the accident, he had achieved an inspiring recovery with no brain complications and the ability to live a healthy, normal life.<ref name="stein_interview">Stein, Donald. "Plasticity." Personal interview. Alyssa Walz. 19 Nov. 2008.</ref>
Most work on animal concepts has been done with visual stimuli, which can easily be constructed and presented in great variety, but auditory and other stimuli have been used as well.<ref>Dooling, R. J., & Okanoya, K. (1995). Psychophysical methods for assessing perceptual categories. In G. M.Klump, R. J.Dooling, R. R.Fay, & W. C.Stebbins (Eds.),’’ Methods in Comparative Psychoacoustics’’ (pp. 307–318). Basel, Switzerland: Birkhäuser Verlag.</ref> Pigeons have been widely used, for they have excellent vision and are readily conditioned to respond to visual targets; other birds and a number of other animals have been studied as well.<ref name="Shettleworth" />
In a typical experiment, a bird or other animal confronts a computer monitor on which a large number of pictures appear one by one, and the subject gets a reward for pecking or touching a picture of a category item and no reward for non-category items. Alternatively, a subject may be offered a choice between two or more pictures. Many experiments end with the presentation of items never seen before; successful sorting of these items shows that the animal has not simply learned many specific stimulus-response associations. A related method, sometimes used to study relational concepts, is matching-to-sample. In this task an animal sees one stimulus and then chooses between two or more alternatives, one of which is the same as the first; the animal is then rewarded for choosing the matching stimulus.<ref name = "Shettleworth"/><ref name=Wass/><ref name =Zentall/>
==== Perceptual categories ====
Stein has done some studies in which beneficial effects have been seen to be similar in aged rats to those seen in youthful rats. As there are physiological differences in the two age groups, the model was tweaked for the elderly animals by reducing their stress levels with increased physical contact. During surgery, anesthesia was kept at a higher oxygen level with lower overall isoflurane percentage and "the aged animals were given subcutaneous [[Lactated Ringer's solution|lactated ringers solution]] post-surgery to replace fluids lost through increased bleeding."<ref name="Cutler et al 2007">{{cite journal |last1=Cutler |first1=Sarah M. |last2=Cekic |first2=Milos |last3=Miller |first3=Darren M. |last4=Wali |first4=Bushra |last5=VanLandingham |first5=Jacob W. |last6=Stein |first6=Donald G. |date=September 24, 2007 |title=Progesterone Improves Acute Recovery after Traumatic Brain Injury in the Aged Rats |journal=Journal of Neurotrauma |volume=24 |issue=9 |pages=1475–1486 |url= |doi=10.1089/neu.2007.0294 |pmid=17892409}}</ref> The promising results of progesterone treatments "could have a significant impact on the clinical management of TBI."<ref name="Cutler et al 2007" /> These treatments have been shown to work on human patients who receive treatment soon after the TBI. However, Dr. Stein now focuses his research on those persons who have longstanding traumatic brain injury in order to determine if progesterone treatments will assist them in the recovery of lost functions as well.
Perceptual categorization is said to occur when a person or animal responds in a similar way to a range of stimuli that share common features. For example, a squirrel climbs a tree when it sees Rex, Shep, or Trixie, which suggests that it categorizes all three as something to avoid. This sorting of instances into groups is crucial to survival. Among other things, an animal must categorize if it is to apply learning about one object (e.g. Rex bit me) to new instances of that category (dogs may bite).<ref name = "Shettleworth"/><ref name=Wass/><ref name = Zentall/>
===== Natural categories =====
=== Treatment of learning difficulties ===
Many animals readily classify objects by perceived differences in form or color. For example, bees or pigeons quickly learn to choose any red object and reject any green object if red leads to reward and green does not. Seemingly much more difficult is an animal’s ability to categorize natural objects that vary a great deal in color and form even while belonging to the same group. In a classic study, [[Richard J. Herrnstein]] trained pigeons to respond to the presence or absence of human beings in photographs.<ref>R. J. Herrnstein (1964) ‘’Complex Visual Concept in the Pigeon’’ Science, 146, 549-551</ref> The birds readily learned to peck photos that contained partial or full views of humans and to avoid pecking photos with no human, despite great differences in the form, size, and color of both the humans displayed and in the non-human pictures. In follow-up studies, pigeons categorized other natural objects (e.g. trees) and after training they were able without reward to sort photos they had not seen before .<ref>R. J. Herrnstein (1979) ‘’Acquisition, Generalization, and Discrimination Reversal of a Natural Concept’’ J. of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 5, 116-129</ref><ref>R. S. Bhatt, E. A. Wasserman, W.F.J. Reynolds, & K. S.. Knauss (1988) ‘’Conceptual behavior in pigeons: Categorization of both familiar and novel examples from four classes of natural and articifial stimuli.’’ J. of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 14, 219-234</ref> Similar work has been done with natural auditory categories, for example, bird songs <ref>H-W Tu, E. Smith & R. J. Dooling, (2011). Acoustic and perceptual categories of vocal elements in the warble song of budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulates) ‘’J. of Comparative Psychology, 125, 420-430)’’</ref>
[[Michael Merzenich]] developed a series of "plasticity-based computer programs known as [[Fast ForWord]]." FastForWord offers seven brain exercises to help with the language and learning deficits of dyslexia. In a recent study, experimental training was done in adults to see if it would help to counteract the negative plasticity that results from age-related cognitive decline (ARCD). The ET design included six exercises designed to reverse the dysfunctions caused by ARCD in cognition, memory, motor control, and so on [9]. After use of the ET program for 8–10 weeks, there was a "significant increase in task-specific performance."[9] The data collected from the study indicated that a neuroplasticity-based program could notably improve cognitive function and memory in adults with ARCD.
==== Functional or associative categories ====
=== Neuroplasticity during operation of brain-machine interfaces ===
Perceptually unrelated stimuli may come to be responded to as members of a class if they have a common use or lead to common consequences. An oft-cited study by Vaughan (1988) provides an example.<ref>W. Vaughan, Jr. (1988) Formation of equivalence sets in pigeons. ‘’Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Process 14, 36-42</ref> Vaughan divided a large set of unrelated pictures into two arbitrary sets, A and B. Pigeons got food for pecking at pictures in set A but not for pecks at pictures in set B. After they had learned this task fairly well, the outcome was reversed: items in set B led to food and items in set A did not. Then the outcome was reversed again, and then again, and so on. Vaughan found that after 20 or more reversals, associating reward with a few pictures in one set caused the birds to respond to the other pictures in that set without further reward, as if they were thinking "if these pictures in set A bring food, the others in set A must also bring food." That is, the birds now categorized the pictures in each set as functionally equivalent. Several other procedures have yielded similar results.<ref name = "Shettleworth"/><ref name = Zentall/>
[[Brain-machine interface]] (BMI) is a rapidly developing field of [[neuroscience]]. According to the results obtained by Mikhail Lebedev, [[Miguel Nicolelis]] and their colleagues,<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Mikhail A. |last1=Lebedev |first2=Jose M. |last2=Carmena |first3=Joseph E. |last3=O'Doherty |first4=Miriam |last4=Zacksenhouse |first5=Craig S. |last5=Henriquez |first6=Jose C. |last6=Principe |first7=Miguel A. L. |last7=Nicolelis |date=May 11, 2005 |title=Cortical Ensemble Adaptation to Represent Velocity of an Artificial Actuator Controlled by a Brain-Machine Interface |journal=The Journal of Neuroscience |volume= 25|series= |issue=19 |pages=4681–4693 |publisher= |___location= |doi=10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4088-04.2005 |url=http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/full/25/19/4681 |accessdate=2010-01-31 |pmid=15888644}}</ref> operation of BMIs results in incorporation of artificial actuators into brain representations. The scientists showed that modifications in neuronal representation of the monkey's hand and the actuator that was controlled by the monkey brain occurred in multiple cortical areas while the monkey operated a BMI. In these single day experiments, monkeys initially moved the actuator by pushing a joystick. After mapping out the motor neuron ensembles, control of the actuator was switched to the model of the ensembles so that the brain activity, and not the hand, directly controlled the actuator. The activity of individual neurons and neuronal populations became less representative of the animal's hand movements while representing the movements of the actuator. Presumably as a result of this adaptation, the animals could eventually stop moving their hands yet continue to operate the actuator. Thus, during BMI control, cortical ensembles plastically adapt, within tens of minutes, to represent behaviorally significant motor parameters, even if these are not associated with movements of the animal's own limb.
==== Relational or abstract categories ====
Active laboratory groups include those of [[John Donoghue (neuroscientist)|John Donoghue]] at Brown, [[Richard Andersen]] at Caltech, [[Krishna Shenoy]] at Stanford, [[Nicholas Hatsopoulos]] of University of Chicago, [[Andy Schwartz]] at [[University of Pittsburgh]], [[Sandro Mussa-Ivaldi]] at Northwestern and [[Miguel Nicolelis]] at Duke. Donoghue and Nicolelis' groups have independently shown that animals can control external interfaces in tasks requiring feedback, with models based on activity of cortical neurons, and that animals can adaptively change their minds to make the models work better. Donoghue's group took the implants from Richard Normann's lab at Utah (the "Utah" array), and improved it by changing the insulation from polyimide to parylene-c, and commercialized it through the company [[Cyberkinetics]]. These efforts are the leading candidate for the first human trials on a broad scale for motor cortical implants to help [[quadriplegic]] or [[Locked-in syndrome|locked-in]] patients communicate with the outside world.
When tested in a simple stimulus matching-to-sample task (described above) many animals readily learn specific item combinations, such as "touch red if the sample is red, touch green if the sample is green." But this does not demonstrate that they distinguish between "same" and "different" as general concepts. Better evidence is provided if, after training, an animal successfully makes a choice that matches a novel sample that it has never seen before. Monkeys and chimpanzees do learn to do this, as do pigeons if they are given a great deal of practice with many different stimuli. However, because the sample is presented first, successful matching might mean that the animal is simply choosing the most recently seen "familiar" item rather than the conceptually "same" item. A number of studies have attempted to distinguish these possibilities, with mixed results.<ref name = "Shettleworth"/><ref name=Zentall/>
===Sensory= prosthesesRule learning ====
The use of rules has sometimes been considered an ability restricted to humans, but a number of experiments have shown evidence of simple rule learning in primates<ref>See, e.g., D’Amato, M., & M. Columbo (1988). Representation of serial order in monkeys (‘’Cebus apella’’). ‘’Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,’’ 14, 11-139</ref> and also in other animals. Much of the evidence has come from studies of sequence learning in which the "rule" consists of the order in which a series of events occurs. Rule use is shown if the animal learns to discriminate different orders of events and transfers this discrimination to new events arranged in the same order. For example, Murphy ''et al.'' (2008)<ref>Murphy, R. A., E. Mondragon & V. A. Murphy (2008) Rule learning by rats. ‘’Science’’, 319, 1849-1851.[http://www.cal-r.org/mondragon/home/Papers/MurphyMondragonMurphy-08.pdf]</ref> trained rats to discriminate between visual sequences. For one group ABA and BAB were rewarded, where A="bright light" and B="dim light." Other stimulus triplets were not rewarded. The rats learned the visual sequence, although both bright and dim lights were equally associated with reward. More importantly, in a second experiment with auditory stimuli, rats responded correctly to sequences of novel stimuli that were arranged in the same order as those previously learned. Similar sequence learning has been demonstrated in birds and other animals as well.<ref>Kundrey, S. M. A., B Strandell, H. Mathis & J. D. Rowan (2010) Learning of monotonic and nonmonotonic sequences in domesticated horses (‘’Equus callabus’’) and chickens (‘’Gallus domesticus’’). ‘’Learning and Motivation,’’ 14, 213-223.</ref>
Neuroplasticity is involved in the development of sensory function. The brain is born immature and it adapts to sensory inputs after birth. In the auditory system, congenital hearing impairment, a rather frequent inborn condition affecting 1 of 1000 newborns, has been shown to affect auditory development, and implantation of a sensory prostheses activating the auditory system has prevented the deficits and induced functional maturation of the auditory system <ref>{{cite journal | author = Kral A, Sharma A | year = 2012 | title = Developmental Neuroplasticity after Cochlear Implantation | url = | journal = Trends Neurosci | volume = 35 | issue = 2| pages = 111–122 }}</ref> Due to a sensitive period for plasticity, there is also a sensitive period for such intervention within the first 2–4 years of life. Consequently, in prelingually deaf children, early cochlear implantation as a rule allows to learn mother language and acquire acoustic communication.<ref>Kral A, O'Donoghue GM. Profound Deafness in Childhood. New England J Medicine 2010: 363; 1438-50</ref>
===Phantom limbsMemory ===
The categories that have been developed to analyze [[memory|human memory]] ([[short term memory]], [[long term memory]], [[working memory]]) have been applied to the study of animal memory, and some of the phenomena characteristic of human short term memory (e.g. the [[serial position effect]]) have been detected in animals, particularly [[monkey]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Wright |last2 = Santiago |last3 = Sands |last4 = Kendrick |last5 = Cook |year = 1985 |title = Memory processing of serial lists by pigeons, monkeys, and people |journal = Science |volume = 229 |pages = 287–289 |bibcode = 1985Sci...229..287W |first2 = Hector C. |first3 = Stephen F. |first4 = Donald F. |first5 = Robert G. |doi = 10.1126/science.9304205 |pmid = 9304205 |first1 = AA |issue = 4710 }}</ref> However most progress has been made in the analysis of [[spatial memory]]; some of this work has sought to clarify the physiological basis of spatial memory and the role of the [[hippocampus]]; other work has explored the spatial memory of [[scatter-hoarder]] animals such as [[Clark's Nutcracker]], certain [[jay]]s, [[tit (bird)|tits]] and certain [[squirrel]]s, whose ecological niches require them to remember the locations of thousands of caches,<ref name = "Shettleworth"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Balda |first1 = R. |last2 = Kamil |first2 = A. C. |year = 1992 |title = Long-term spatial memory in Clark's nutcracker, ''Nucifraga columbiana'' |journal = Animal Behaviour |volume = 44 |pages = 761–769 |doi = 10.1016/S0003-3472(05)80302-1 |issue = 4 }}</ref> often following radical changes in the environment.
[[File:Mirror-box-comic.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A diagrammatic explanation of the mirror box. The patient places the good limb into one side of the box (in this case the right hand) and the amputated limb into the other side. Due to the mirror, the patient sees a reflection of the good hand where the missing limb would be (indicated in lower contrast). The patient thus receives artificial visual feedback that the "resurrected" limb is now moving when they move the good hand.]]
{{Main|Phantom limb|Mirror box}}
The experience of [[Phantom limb]]s is a phenomenon in which a person continues to feel pain or sensation within a part of their body which has been amputated. This is strangely common, occurring in 60-80% of amputees.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Beaumont|first=Geneviève|coauthors=Mercier, Pierre-Emmanuel, Malouin, Jackson|title=Decreasing phantom limb pain through observation of action and imagery: A case series|journal=Pain Medicine|year=2011|volume=12|issue=2|pages=289–299|doi=10.1111/j.1526-4637.2010.01048.x|accessdate=2/6/2012}}</ref> An [[Phantom limb#Neurological basis|explanation]] for this refers to the concept of neuroplasticity, as the cortical maps of the removed limbs are believed to have become engaged with the area around them in the [[postcentral gyrus]]. This results in activity within the surrounding area of the cortex being misinterpreted by the area of the cortex formerly responsible for the amputated limb.
Memory has been widely investigated in foraging honeybees, ''Apis mellifera'', which use both transient short-term working memory that is non-feeder specific and a feeder specific
The relationship between phantom limbs and neuroplasticity is a complex one. In the early 1990s V.S. Ramachandran theorized that phantom limbs were the result of cortical remapping. However, in 1995 Herta Flor and her colleagues demonstrated that cortical remapping occurs only in patients who have phantom pain.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Flor H, Elbert T, Knecht S, Wienbruch C, Pantev C, Birbaumer N ''et al.'' | year = 1995 | title = Phantom-limb pain as a perceptual correlate of cortical reorganization following arm amputation | url = | journal = Nature | volume = 375 | issue = | pages = 482–484 }}</ref> Her research showed that phantom limb pain (rather than referred sensations) was the perceptual correlate of cortical reorganization.<ref>Flor H, Cortical Reorganization And Chronic Pain: Implications For Rehabilitation, J Rehabil Med, 2003, Suppl.41:66-72</ref> This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as maladaptive plasticity.
long-term reference memory.<ref name="Greggers and Menzel, (1993)">{{cite journal |last1 = Greggers |first1 = U. |last2 = Menzel |first2 = R. |year = 1993 |title = Memory dynamics and foraging strategies of honeybees |journal = [[Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology]] |volume = 32 |pages = 17–29 |doi = 10.1007/BF00172219 }}</ref><ref name="Menzel, (1993)">{{cite journal |last1 = Menzel |first1 = R. |year = 1993 |title = Associative learning in honey-bees |journal = Apidologie |volume = 24 |pages = 157–168 |doi = 10.1051/apido:19930301 |issue = 3 }}</ref><ref name="Wustenberg et al., (1998)">Wustenberg, D., Gerber, B. and Menzel, R. (1998). Long- but not medium-term retention of olfactory memory in honeybees is impaired by actinomycin D and anisomycin. ''European Journal of Neuroscience'', '''10'''': 2742-2745</ref> Memory induced in a free-flying honeybee by a single learning trial lasts for days and, by three learning trials, for a lifetime.<ref name="Hammer and Menzel, (1995)">{{cite journal |last1 = Hammer |first1 = M. |last2 = Menzel |first2 = R. |year = 1995 |title = Learning and memory in the honeybee |journal = Journal of Neuroscience |volume = 15 |pages = 1617–1630 |pmid = 7891123 |issue = 3 Pt 1 }}</ref> Slugs, ''Limax flavus'', have a short-term memory of approximately 1 min and long-term memory of 1 month.<ref name="Yamada et al., (1992)">{{cite journal |last1 = Yamada |first1 = A. |last2 = Sekiguchi |first2 = T. |last3 = Suzuki |first3 = H. |last4 = Mizukami |first4 = A. et al. |year = 1992 |title = Behavioral analysis of internal memory states using cooling-induced retrograde anmesia in Limax flavus |journal = The Journal of Neuroscience |volume = 12 |pages = 729–735 |pmid = 1545237 |issue = 3 }}</ref>
====Methods====
In 2009 Lorimer Moseley and Peter Brugger carried out a remarkable experiment in which they encouraged arm amputee subjects to use visual imagery to contort their phantom limbs into impossible configurations. Four of the seven subjects succeeded in performing impossible movements of the phantom limb. This experiment suggests that the subjects had modified the neural representation of their phantom limbs and generated the motor commands needed to execute impossible movements in the absence of feedback from the body.<ref>Moseley, Brugger, Interdependence of movement and anatomy persists when amputees learn a physiologically impossible movement of their phantom limb, PNAS, Sept 16, 2009,[http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/10/23/0907151106]</ref> The authors stated that:"In fact, this finding extends our understanding of the brain's plasticity because it is evidence that profound changes in the mental representation of the body can be induced purely by internal brain mechanisms--the brain truly does change itself."
As in humans, research with animals distinguishes between “working” or “short-term” memory from “reference” or long-term memory. Tests of working memory evaluate memory for events that happened in the recent past, usually within the last few seconds or minutes. Tests of reference memory evaluate memory for regularities such as “pressing a lever brings food” or “children give me peanuts.”
===Chronic Pain==Habituation=====
{{Mainmain|Chronic painHabituation}}
This is one of the simplest tests for memory spanning a short time interval. The test compares an animal’s response to a stimulus or event on one occasion to its response on a previous occasion. If the second response differs consistently from the first, the animal must have remembered something about the first, unless some other factor such as motivation, sensory sensitivity, or the test stimulus has changed.
Individuals who suffer from chronic pain experience prolonged pain at sites that may have been previously injured, yet are otherwise currently healthy. This phenomenon is related to neuroplasticity due to a maladaptive reorganization of nervous system, both peripherally and centrally. During the period of tissue damage, [[Noxious stimulus|noxious stimuli]] and [[inflammation]] cause an elevation of nociceptive input from the periphery to the central nervous system. Prolonged [[nociception]] from periphery will then elicit a neuroplastic response at the cortical level to change its [[Somatotopic arrangement|somatotopic organization]] for the painful site, inducing [[central sensitization]].<ref>Seifert, F. & Maihöfner, C. Functional and structural imaging of pain-induced neuroplasticity. Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology 2011; 24: 515–523.</ref> For instance, individuals experiencing [[complex regional pain syndrome]] demonstrate a diminished cortical somatotopic representation of the hand contralaterally as well as a decreased spacing between the hand and the mouth.<ref>Maihöfner C., Handwerker H.O., Neundorfer B., Birklein F. Patterns of cortical reorganization in complex regional pain syndrome" ''Neurology'' 2003; 61:1707–1715.</ref> Additionally, chronic pain has been reported to significantly reduce the volume of [[grey matter]] in the brain globally, and more specifically at the [[prefrontal cortex]] and right [[thalamus]].<ref>{{cite journal | author = Apkarian A.V., Sosa Y., Sonty S ''et al.'' | year = 2004 | title = Chronic back pain is associated with decreased prefrontal and thalamic gray matter density | url = | journal = J Neurosci | volume = 24 | issue = | pages = 10410–10415 }}</ref> However, following treatment, these abnormalities in cortical reorganization and grey matter volume are resolved, as well as their symptoms. Similar results have been reported for phantom limb pain,<ref>{{cite journal | author = Karl A., Birbaumer N., Lutzenberger W. ''et al.'' | year = 2001 | title = Reorganization of motor and somatosensory cortex in upper extremity amputees with phantom limb pain | url = | journal = J Neurosci | volume = 21 | issue = | pages = 3609–18 }}</ref> [[Low back pain#Chronic pain|chronic low back pain]]<ref>Flor H., Braun C., Elbert T., ''et al.'' Extensive reorganization of primary somatosensory cortex in chronic back pain patients. Neurosci Lett 1997;224:5–8.</ref> and [[carpal tunnel syndrome]].<ref>{{cite journal | author = Napadow V., Kettner N., Ryan A. ''et al.'' | year = 2006 | title = Somatosensory cortical plasticity in carpal tunnel syndrome: a cross-sectional fMRI evaluation | url = | journal = Neuroimage | volume = 31 | issue = | pages = 520–530 }}</ref>
===Meditation==Delayed response=====
Delayed response tasks are among the most useful methods used to study short-term memory in animals. Dating from research by Hunter (1913), the animal was shown a stimulus, such as a picture or a colored light, and a few seconds or minutes later the animal had to choose among alternative stimuli. In Hunter's studies, for example, a light appeared briefly in one of three goal boxes and then later the animal was allowed to choose among the boxes, finding food behind the one that had been lighted.<ref>Hunter, W. S. (1913) "The delayed reaction in animals and children" Behavior Monographs, 2</ref> Most research has been done with some variation of the "delayed matching-to-sample" task. For example, in the initial study with this task, a pigeon was presented with a flickering or steady light. Then, a few seconds later, two pecking keys were illuminated, one with a steady light and one with a flickering light. The bird got food if it pecked the key that matched the original stimulus.<ref>Blough, D. S. (1958) "Delayed matching in the pigeon", Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 2, 151-160.</ref>
{{Main|Research on meditation}}
A number of studies have linked meditation practice to differences in cortical thickness or density of gray matter. One of the most well-known studies to demonstrate this was led by [[Sara Lazar]], from Harvard University, in 2000.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lazar |first1= S. |last2=Kerr |first2=C. |last3=Wasserman |first3=R. |last4=Gray |first4 = J.| last5 = Greve| first5 = D. | date = 2005-11-28| title = Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness| journal = NeuroReport| volume = 16 | pages = 1893–97 | issue = 17 | pmc=1361002 | pmid=16272874 | doi=10.1097/01.wnr.0000186598.66243.19 |last6=Treadway |first6=Michael T. |last7=McGarvey |first7=Metta |last8=Quinn |first8=Brian T. |last9=Dusek |first9=Jeffery A.}}</ref> [[Richard Davidson]], a neuroscientist at the [[University of Wisconsin]], has led experiments in cooperation with the [[Dalai Lama]] on effects of meditation on the brain. His results suggest that long-term, or short-term practice of meditation results in different levels of activity in brain regions associated with such qualities as [[attention]], [[anxiety]], [[Depression (mood)|depression]], [[fear]], [[anger]], the ability of the body to heal itself, and so on. These functional changes may be caused by changes in the physical structure of the brain.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lutz |first1= A. |last2=Greischar |first2=L.L. |last3=Rawlings |first3=N.B. |last4=Ricard |first4 = M.| last5 = Davidson| first5 = R. J.| date = 2004-11-16| title = Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice| journal = PNAS| volume = 101| pages = 16369–73 |url=http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/101/46/16369 |accessdate=2007-07-08 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0407401101| issue = 46 |pmid=15534199 |pmc=526201 |postscript= }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=20 Jan 2007 |author=Sharon Begley |publisher=Wall Street Journal |url=http://www.dalailama.com/news.112.htm |title=How Thinking Can Change the Brain}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Davidson |first1=Richard |last2=Lutz |first2=Antoine |title=Buddha's Brain: Neuroplasticity and Meditation |journal=IEEE Signal Processing Magazine| month=January |year=2008 |url=http://brainimaging.waisman.wisc.edu/publications/2008/DavidsonBuddhaIEEE.pdf |postscript=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Stop meditating, start interacting |author=Chris Frith |newspaper=''[[New Scientist]]'' |date=17 February 2007 |url=http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19325912.400-stop-meditating-start-interacting.html }}</ref>
A commonly-used variation of the matching-to-sample task requires the animal to use the initial stimulus to control a later choice between different stimuli. For example, if the initial stimulus is a black circle, the animal learns to choose "red" after the delay; if it is a black square, the correct choice is "green". Ingenious variations of this method have been used to explore many aspects of memory, including forgetting due to interference and memory for multiple items.<ref name="Shettleworth"/>
===Fitness and exercise===
In a 2009 study, scientists made two groups of mice swim a water maze, and then in a separate trial subjected them to an unpleasant stimulus to see how quickly they would learn to move away from it. Then, over the next four weeks they allowed one group of mice to run inside their rodent wheels, an activity most mice enjoy, while they forced the other group to work harder on minitreadmills at a speed and duration controlled by the scientists. They then tested both groups again to track their learning skills and memory. Both groups of mice improved their performances in the water maze from the earlier trial. But only the extra-worked treadmill runners were better in the avoidance task, a skill that, according to neuroscientists, demands a more complicated cognitive response.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Liu Yu-Fan, Chen Hsuin-ing, Wul Chao-Liang, Kuol Yu-Min, Yu Lung, Huang A-Min, Wu Fong-Sen, Chuang Jih-Ing, Jen Chauying J. ''et al.'' | year = 2009 | title = Differential effects of treadmill running and wheel running on spatial or aversive learning and memory: Roles of amygdalar brain-derived neurotrophic factor and synaptotagmin I. | url = | journal = Journal of Physiology | volume = 587 | issue = 13| pages = 3221–3231 | doi = 10.1113/jphysiol.2009.173088 }}</ref>
=====Radial arm maze=====
The mice who were forced to run on the treadmills showed evidence of molecular changes in several portions of their brains when viewed under a microscope, while the voluntary wheel-runners had changes in only one area. "Our results support the notion that different forms of exercise induce neuroplasticity changes in different brain regions," Chauying J. Jen, a professor of physiology and an author of the study, said.<ref name="Reynolds 2009"/>
{{main|Radial arm maze}}
The [[radial arm maze]] is used to test memory for spatial ___location and to determine the mental processes by which ___location is determined. In a radial maze test, an animal is placed on a small platform from which paths lead in various directions to goal boxes; the animal finds food in one or more goal boxes. Having found food in a box, the animal must return to the central platform. The maze may be used to test both reference and working memory. Suppose, for example, that over a number of sessions the same 4 arms of an 8-arm maze always lead to food. If in a later test session the animal goes to a box that has never been baited, this indicates a failure of reference memory. On the other hand, if the animal goes to a box that it has already emptied during the same test session, this indicates a failure of working memory. Various confounding factors, such as odor cues, are carefully controlled in such experiments.<ref>Shettleworth, S. J. (2010) "Cognition, Evolution, and Behavior" New York: Oxford</ref>
===Human==Water echolocationmaze=====
{{main|Morris water navigation task}}
The [[water maze]] is used to test an animal's memory for spatial ___location and to discover how an animal is able to determine locations. Typically the maze is circular tank filled with water that has been made milky so that it is opaque. Located somewhere in the maze is small platform placed just below the surface of the water. When placed in the tank, the animal swims around until it finds and climbs up on the platform. With practice the animal finds the platform more and more quickly. Reference memory is assessed by removing the platform and observing the relative amount of time the animal spends swimming in the area where the platform had been located. Visual and other cues in and around the tank may be varied to assess the animal's reliance on landmarks and the geometric relations among them.<ref>Vorhees, C. V. & Williams, M. T. (2006) "Morris water maze: procedures for assessing spatial and related forms of learning and memory", Nature Protocols 1, - 848 - 858 Published online: 27 July 2006 {{DOI|10.1038/nprot.2006.116}}</ref>
=== Spatial cognition ===
[[Human echolocation]] is a learned ability for humans to sense their environment from echoes. This ability is used by some [[blindness|blind]] people to navigate their environment and sense their surroundings in detail. Studies in 2010 <ref>Human Echolocation, Journal of Vision August 13, 2010 vol. 10 no. 7 article 1050 http://www.journalofvision.org/content/10/7/1050.abstract</ref> and 2011 <ref>Neural Correlates of Natural Human Echolocation in Early and Late Blind Echolocation Experts,PLoS One, May 25, 2011, {{doi|10.1371/journal.pone.0020162}}, http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0020162</ref> using [[Functional magnetic resonance imaging]] techniques have shown that parts of the brain associated with visual processing are adapted for the new skill of echolocation. Studies with blind patients, for example, suggest that the click-echoes heard by these patients were processed by brain regions devoted to vision rather than audition. <ref>{{cite journal|last=Thaler|first=L|coauthors=Arnot, S.R., Goodale, M.A|title=Neural correlates of natural human echolocation in early and late blind echolocation experts|journal=Public Library of Science|year=2011|volume=6|issue=5|accessdate=22 May 2013}}</ref>
Whether an animal ranges over a territory of measured in square kilometers or square meters, its survival typically depends on its ability to do such things as find a food source and then return to its nest. Sometimes such a task can be performed rather simply, for example by following a chemical trail. Typically, however, the animal must somehow acquire and use information about locations, directions, and distances. Following paragraphs outline some of the ways that animals do this.<ref name="Shettleworth"/><ref name="pigeon.psy.tufts.edu">[http://pigeon.psy.tufts.edu/asc/toc.htm Animal Spatial Cognition:Comparative, Neural & Computational Approaches]</ref>
*'''Beacons''' Animals often learn what their nest or other goal looks like, and if it is within sight they may simply move toward it; it is said to serve as a "beacon".
*'''Landmarks''' When an animal is unable to see its goal, it may learn the appearance of nearby objects and use these landmarks as guides. Researchers working with birds and bees have demonstrated this by moving prominent objects in the vicinity of nest sites, causing returning foragers to hunt for their nest in a new ___location.<ref name="Shettleworth"/>
*'''Dead reckoning''' [[Dead reckoning]], also known as "path integration," is the process of computing one's position by starting from a known ___location and keeping track of the distances and directions subsequently traveled. Classic experiments have shown that the desert ant keeps track of its position in this way as it wanders for many meters searching for food. Though it travels in a randomly twisted path, it heads straight home when it finds food. However, if the ant is picked up and released some meters to the east, for example, it heads for a ___location displaced by the same amount to the east of its home nest.
*'''Cognitive maps''' Some animals appear to construct a [[cognitive map]] of their surroundings, meaning that they acquire and use information that enables them to compute how far and in what direction to go to get from one ___location to another. Such a map-like representation is thought to be used, for example, when an animal goes directly from one food source to another even though its previous experience has involved only travel between each source and home.<ref name="Shettleworth"/><ref>{{cite book |author = Lund, Nick |title = Animal cognition |publisher = Psychology Press |year = 2002 |isbn = 978-0-415-25298-0 |page = 4 |url = http://books.google.com/books?id=Ti4cgStf6q8C&pg=PA4 }}</ref> Research in this area <ref name="pigeon.psy.tufts.edu"/> has also explored such topics as the use of geometric properties of the environment by rats and pigeons, and the ability of [[rat]]s to represent a spatial pattern in either [[radial arm maze]]s or [[Morris water navigation task|water mazes]]. Spatial cognition is sometimes explored in [[visual search]] experiments in which a human or animal searches the environment for a particular object.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}
====Long-distance navigation; homing====
==Etymology==
Plasticity was first applied to behavior in 1890 by [[William James]] in ''[[The Principles of Psychology]]'',<ref name="James 1890" /> though the idea was largely neglected for the next fifty years{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}. The first person to use the term ''neural plasticity'' appears to have been the Polish neuroscientist [[Jerzy Konorski]].<ref name="LeDoux 2002" />
{{main|Animal navigation}}
{{quote|Given the central importance of neuroplasticity, an outsider would be forgiven for assuming that it was well defined and that a basic and universal framework served to direct current and future hypotheses and experimentation. Sadly, however, this is not the case. While many neuroscientists use the word neuroplasticity as an umbrella term it means different things to different researchers in different subfields ... In brief, a mutually agreed upon framework does not appear to exist.<ref name="Shaw 2001" />
Many animals travel hundreds or thousands of miles in seasonal migrations or returns to breeding grounds. They may be guided by the sun, the stars, the polarization of light, magnetic cues, olfactory cues, winds, or a combination of these.
}}
It has been hypothesized that animals such as apes and wolves are good at spatial cognition because this skill is necessary for survival. This ability may have eroded somewhat in dogs because humans have provided necessities such as food and shelter during some 15,000 years of domestication.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Savolainen|first=Peter|coauthors=Ya-ping Zhang, Jing Luo, Joakim Lundeberg, Thomas Leitner|title=Genetic Evidence for an East Asian Origin of Domestic Dogs|date=22 November 2002|volume=298|pages=1060–1062|url=http://www.sciencemag.org/content/298/5598/1610.full.pdf|bibcode=2002Sci...298.1610S|last2=Zhang|last3=Luo|last4=Lundeberg|last5=Leitner|journal=Science|doi=10.1126/science.1073906|issue=5598|pmid=12446907}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Fiset|first=Sylvain|author2=Vickie Plourde|title=Object Permanence in Domestic Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and Gray Wolves (Canis lupus)|journal=Journal of Comparative Psychology|date=29 October 2012|pages=2|doi=10.1037/a0030595}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Brauer|first=Juliane|coauthors=Juliane Kaminski, Julia Riedel, Josep Call, Michael Tomasello|title=Making Inferences About the Location of Hidden Food: Social Dog, Causal Ape|journal=Journal of Comparative Psychology|year=2006|volume=120|issue=1|pages=38–47|doi=10.1037/0735-7036.120.1.38|pmid=16551163}}</ref>
== History ==
=== ProposalTiming ===
{{further|Time perception}}
Until around the 1970s, an accepted idea across neuroscience was that the nervous system was essentially fixed throughout adulthood, both in terms of brain functions, as well as the idea that it was impossible for new [[neuron]]s to develop after birth.<ref name="Train your brain">Meghan O'Rourke [http://www.slate.com/id/2165040/pagenum/all/#p2 Train Your Brain] April 25, 2007</ref>
==== Time of day: Circadian rhythms ====
In 1793, Italian anatomist Michele Vicenzo Malacarne described experiments in which he paired animals, trained one of the pair extensively for years, and then dissected both. He discovered that the cerebellums of the trained animals were substantially larger. But, these findings were eventually forgotten.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rosenzweig |first1=Mark R.|year=1996 |title=Aspects of the search for neural mechanisms of memory |journal=Annual Review of Psychology |volume=47 |pages=1–32 |doi=10.1146/annurev.psych.47.1.1 |pmid=8624134 }}</ref> The idea that the brain and its functions are not fixed throughout adulthood was proposed in 1890 by [[William James]] in ''[[The Principles of Psychology]]'', though the idea was largely neglected.<ref name="James 1890" />
{{main|Circadian rhythms}}
The behavior of most animals is synchronized with the earth's daily light-dark cycle. Thus, many animals are active during the day, others are active at night, still others near dawn and dusk. Though one might think that these "circadian rhythms" are controlled simply by the presence or absence of light, nearly every animal that has been studied has been shown to have a "biological clock" that yields cycles of activity even when the animal is in constant illumination or darkness.<ref name = "Shettleworth" /> Circadian rhythms are so automatic and fundamental to living things — they occur even in plants<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Webb |first1 = Alex A.R. |year = 2003 |title = The physiology of circadian rhythms in plants |journal = New Phytologist |volume = 160 |pages = 281–303 |doi = 10.1046/j.1469-8137.2003.00895.x |issue = 2 }}</ref> - that they are usually discussed separately from cognitive processes, and the reader is referred to the main article ([[Circadian rhythms]]) for further information.
==== ResearchInterval and discoverytiming ====
Survival often depends on an animal's ability to time intervals. For example, rufous hummingbirds feed on the nectar of flowers, and they often return to the same flower, but only after the flower had had enough time to replenish its supply of nectar. In one experiment hummingbirds fed on artificial flowers that quickly emptied of nectar but were refilled at some fixed time (e.g. twenty minutes) later. The birds learned to come back to the flowers at about the right time, learning the refill rates of up to eight separate flowers and remembering how long ago they had visited each one.<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Henderson |first1 = et al. |year = 2006 |title = Timing in free-living rufous hummingbirds, ''Selasphorus rufus'' |journal = Current Biology |volume = 16 |pages = 512–515 |doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2006.01.054 |pmid = 16527747 |last2 = Hurly |first2 = TA |last3 = Bateson |first3 = M |last4 = Healy |first4 = SD |issue = 5 }}</ref>
The details of interval timing have been studied in a number of species. One of the most common methods is the "peak procedure". In a typical experiment, a rat in an [[operant chamber]] presses a lever for food. A light comes on, a lever-press brings a food pellet at a fixed later time, say 10 seconds, and then the light goes off. Timing is measured during occasional test trials on which no food is presented and the light stays on. On these test trials the rat presses the lever more and more until about 10 sec and then, when no food comes, gradually stops pressing. The time at which the rat presses most on these test trials is taken to be its estimate of the payoff time.
In 1923, [[Karl Lashley]] conducted experiments on [[rhesus monkey]]s which demonstrated changes in neuronal pathways, which he concluded to be evidence of plasticity, although despite this, as well as further examples of research suggesting this, the idea of neuroplasticity was not widely accepted by neuroscientists. However, more significant evidence began to be produced in the 1960s and after, notably from scientists including [[Paul Bach-y-Rita]], [[Michael Merzenich]] along with [[Jon Kaas]], as well as several others.<ref name="Train your brain"/><ref>''Brain Science Podcast'' Episode #10, "Neuroplasticity"</ref>
Experiments using the peak procedure and other methods have shown that animals can time short intervals quite exactly, can time more than one event at once, and can integrate time with spatial and other cues. Such tests have also been used for quantitative tests of theories of animal timing, though no one theory has yet gained unanimous agreement.<ref name="Shettleworth"/>
In the 1960s, [[Paul Bach-y-Rita]] invented a device that allowed blind people to read, perceive shadows, and distinguish between close and distant objects. This "machine was one of the first and boldest applications of neuroplasticity."<ref name="Doidge 2007" /> The patient sat in an electrically stimulated chair that had a large camera behind it which scanned the area, sending electrical signals of the image to four hundred vibrating stimulators on the chair against the patient’s skin. The six subjects of the experiment were eventually able to recognize a picture of the supermodel Twiggy.<ref name="Doidge 2007" />
=== Tool and weapon use ===
It must be emphasized that these people were congenitally blind and had previously not been able to see. Bach-y-Rita believed in [[sensory substitution]]; if one sense is damaged, your other senses can sometimes take over. He thought skin and its touch receptors could act as a retina (using one sense for another<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/video/286-mixed_feelings.html |title=Wired Science . Video: Mixed Feelings |publisher=PBS |date= |accessdate=2010-06-12}}</ref>). In order for the brain to interpret tactile information and convert it into visual information, it has to learn something new and adapt to the new signals. The brain's capacity to adapt implied that it possessed plasticity. He thought, "We see with our brains, not with our eyes."<ref name="Doidge 2007" />
{{Main|Tool use by animals}}
Because tool use is traditionally assumed to be a uniquely human trait, discussion of the cognitive underpinnings of animal tool use very often includes consideration of insight and comparisons of the overall intelligence and brain size. There is also considerable debate about what constitutes a "tool". A wide range of animals is considered to use tools including mammals, birds, fish, cephalopods and insects.
====Mammals====
A tragic stroke that left his father paralyzed inspired Bach-y-Rita to study brain rehabilitation. His brother, a physician, worked tirelessly to develop therapeutic measures which were so successful that the father recovered complete functionality by age 68 and was able to live a normal, active life which even included mountain climbing. "His father’s story was firsthand evidence that a ‘late recovery’ could occur even with a massive lesion in an elderly person."<ref name="Doidge 2007" /> He found more evidence of this possible brain reorganization with [[Shepherd Ivory Franz]]'s work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rkthomas.myweb.uga.edu/Franz.htm |title=Shepherd Ivory Franz |publisher=Rkthomas.myweb.uga.edu |date= |accessdate=2010-06-12}}</ref> One study involved stroke patients who were able to recover through the use of brain stimulating exercises after having been paralyzed for years. "Franz understood the importance of interesting, motivating rehabilitation: ‘Under conditions of interest, such as that of competition, the resulting movement may be much more efficiently carried out than in the dull, routine training in the laboratory’(Franz, 1921, pg.93)."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Colotla |first1=Victor A. |last2=Bach-y-Rita |first2=Paul |year=2002 |title=Shepherd Ivory Franz: His contributions to neuropsychology and rehabilitation |journal=Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=141–148 |url=http://htpprints.yorku.ca/archive/00000236/01/Colotla_Bach-y-Rita_2002.pdf |doi=10.3758/CABN.2.2.141 }}</ref> This notion has led to motivational rehabilitation programs that are used today.
Tool use has been reported many times in both wild and captive [[primate]]s, particularly the great apes. The use of tools by primates is varied and includes hunting (mammals, invertebrates, fish), collecting honey, processing food (nuts, fruits, vegetables and seeds), collecting water, weapons and shelter. Research in 2007 shows that chimpanzees in the [[Fongoli]] [[savannah]] sharpen sticks to use as [[spear]]s when hunting, considered the first evidence of systematic use of weapons in a species other than humans.<ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070222-chimps-spears.html Chimps Use "Spears" to Hunt Mammals, Study Says] John Roach for National Geographic News (February 22, 2007) (accessed on June 12, 2010)</ref> Other mammals that spontaneously use tools in the wild and captive include [[elephant]]s, [[bear]]s, [[cetacean]]s, [[sea otter]]s and [[mongoose]]s.
====Birds====
[[Michael Merzenich]] is a neuroscientist who has been one of the pioneers of neuroplasticity for over three decades. He has made some of "the most ambitious claims for the field - that brain exercises may be as useful as drugs to treat diseases as severe as schizophrenia - that plasticity exists from cradle to the grave, and that radical improvements in cognitive functioning - how we learn, think, perceive, and remember are possible even in the elderly."<ref name="Doidge 2007" /> Merzenich’s work was affected by a crucial discovery made by [[David Hubel]] and [[Torsten Wiesel]] in their work with kittens. The experiment involved sewing one eye shut and recording the cortical brain maps. Hubel and Wiesel saw that the portion of the kitten’s brain associated with the shut eye was not idle, as expected. Instead, it processed visual information from the open eye. It was"… as though the brain didn’t want to waste any ‘cortical real estate’ and had found a way to rewire itself."<ref name="Doidge 2007" />
Several species of birds have been recorded as using tools in the wild including Warblers, Parrots, Egyptian Vultures, Brown-headed Nuthatches, Gulls and Owls. One species examined extensively under laboratory conditions is the New Caledonian crow. One individual called “Betty”, spontaneously made a wire tool to solve a novel problem in the laboratory and attracted considerable attention. She was being tested to see whether she would select a wire hook rather than a straight wire to pull a little bucket of meat out of a well. Betty tried poking the straight wire at the meat. After a series of failures with this direct approach, she withdrew the wire and began directing it at the bottom of the well, which was secured to its base with duct tape. The wire soon became stuck, whereupon Betty pulled it sideways, bending it and unsticking it. She then inserted the hook into the well and extracted the meat. In all but one of 10 subsequent trials with only straight wire provided, she also made and used a hook in the same manner, but not before trying the straight wire first.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hunt|first=G.R|title=Manufacture and use of hook-tools by New Caledonian crows|journal=Nature|volume=379|pages=249–251|doi=10.1038/379249a0|year=1996|issue=6562|bibcode = 1996Natur.379..249H }}</ref><ref name="psycnet">{{cite journal|last=Shettleworth|first=Sara J.|title=Do Animals Have Insight, and What Is Insight Anyway?|journal=Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology|year=2012|volume=66|issue=4|pages=217–226|doi=10.1037/a0030674|url=http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/cep/66/4/217.pdf}}</ref> Some other species of birds, such as the [[Woodpecker Finch]] of the [[Galapagos Islands]], use particular tools as an essential part of their [[foraging]] behavior. However, these behaviors are often quite inflexible and cannot be applied effectively in new situations.
Several species of [[corvid]]s have also been trained to use tools in controlled experiments, or use bread crumbs for bait-fishing.<ref>[http://www.orenhasson.com/EN/bait-fishing.htm]{{Verify credibility|date=January 2012}}</ref>{{Verify credibility|date=January 2012}}
====Fish====
This implied neuroplasticity during the critical period. However, Merzenich argued that neuroplasticity could occur beyond the critical period. His first encounter with adult plasticity came when he was engaged in a postdoctoral study with Clinton Woosley. The experiment was based on observation of what occurred in the brain when one peripheral nerve was cut and subsequently regenerated. The two scientists micromapped the hand maps of monkey brains before and after cutting a peripheral nerve and sewing the ends together. Afterwards, the hand map in the brain that was expected to be jumbled was nearly normal. This was a substantial breakthrough. Merzenich asserted that "if the brain map could normalize its structure in response to abnormal input, the prevailing view that we are born with a hardwired system had to be wrong. The brain had to be plastic."<ref name="Doidge 2007" />
Several species of [[wrasses]] have been observed using rocks as anvils to crack [[bivalve]] (scallops, urchins and clams) shells. It was first filmed [http://scienceblog.com/48078/video-show-tool-use-by-a-fish/] in an orange-dotted tuskfish (''Choerodon anchorago'') in 2009 by Giacomo Bernardi. The fish fans sand to unearth the bivalve, takes it into its mouth, swims several metres to a rock which it uses as an anvil by smashing the mollusc apart with sideward thrashes of the head. This behaviour has been recorded in a [[blackspot tuskfish]] (''Choerodon schoenleinii'') on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, yellowhead wrasse (''[[Halichoeres garnoti]]'') in Florida and a six-bar wrasse (''[[Thalassoma hardwicke]]'') in an aquarium setting. These species are at opposite ends of the phylogenetic tree in this [[Family (biology)|family]], so this behaviour may be a deep-seated trait in all wrasses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bio.research.ucsc.edu/people/bernardi/Bernardi/Publications/2011Tools.pdf|title=The use of tools by wrasses (Labridae). DOI=10.1007/s00338-011-0823-6|author=Bernardi, G.|year=2011|accessdate=July 7, 2013}}</ref>
====Invertebrates====
== See also ==
Some [[cephalopod]]s are known to use [[coconut]] shells for protection or [[camouflage]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last = Finn |first = J. K. |author2=Tregenza, T.|author3=Tregenza, N. |title = Defensive tool use in a coconut-carrying octopus |journal = Current Biology |volume = 19 |issue = 23 |pages = R1069–R1070 |year = 2009 |doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2009.10.052 |pmid = 20064403 }}</ref>
* [[Activity-dependent plasticity]]
* [[Arrowsmith School]]
* [[Brain fitness]]
* [[Edward Taub]]
* [[Environmental enrichment (neural)]]
* [[Hebbian theory]]
* [[Malleable intelligence]]
* [[Metaplasticity]]
* [[Michael M. Merzenich]]
* [[Neuroconstructivism]]
* [[Neuroplastic effects of pollution]]
* [[Sensory substitution]]
* [[Synaptic plasticity]]
*[[Non-synaptic plasticity]]
* [[Vision restoration therapy]]
Ants of the species ''[[Conomyrma bicolor]]'' pick up stones and other small objects with their mandibles and drop them down the vertical entrances of rival colonies, allowing workers to forage for food without competition.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Michael H.J. Möglich & Gary D. Alpert |year=1979 |title=Stone dropping by Conomyrma bicolor (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): A new technique of interference competition |journal=[[Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology]] |volume=2 |issue=6 |pages=105–113 |jstor=4599265}}</ref>
'''Trauma:'''
* [[Psychological trauma]]
* [[Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing]] (treatment)
=== Reasoning and problem solving ===
==References==
Closely related to tool use is the study of reasoning and problem solving. It has been observed that the manner in which chimpanzees solve problems, such as that of retrieving bananas positioned out of reach, is not through [[trial-and-error]]. Instead, they were observed to proceed in a manner that was "unwaveringly purposeful."<ref>Wolfgang Köhler ''The Mentality of Apes'' (1917)</ref>
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em
|refs =
<ref name="Pascual-Leone et al. 2011">Pascual-Leone, A., Freitas, C., Oberman, L., Horvath, J. C., Halko, M., Eldaief, M. et al. (2011). Characterizing brain cortical plasticity and network dynamics across the age-span in health and disease with TMS-EEG and TMS-fMRI. Brain Topography, 24, 302-315. doi 10.1007/s10548-011-0196-8</ref>
<ref name="Pascual-Leone et al. 2005">Pascual-Leone, A., Amedi, A., Fregni, F., & Merabet, L. B. (2005). The plastic human brain cortex. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 28, 377-401. doi 10.1146/annurev.neuro.27.070203.144216</ref>
<ref name="Shaw 2001">{{cite book |title=[[Toward a theory of neuroplasticity]] |editor1-last=Shaw|editor1-first=Christopher| editor2-first=Jill| editor2-last=McEachern|authorlink= |year=2001 |publisher=Psychology Press |___location=London, England |isbn=978-1-84169-021-6}}</ref>
<ref name="James 1890">"[http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/James/Principles/prin4.htm The Principles of Psychology]", William James 1890, Chapter IV, Habits</ref>
<ref name="LeDoux 2002">{{cite book |title=Synaptic self: how our brains become who we are |last=LeDoux |first=Joseph E. |year=2002 |publisher=Viking |___location=New York, United States |isbn=0-670-03028-7 |page=137}}</ref>
<ref name="Rakic 2002">{{cite journal|last = Rakic|first = P.|title = Neurogenesis in adult primate neocortex: an evaluation of the evidence|journal = Nature Reviews Neuroscience|volume = 3|pages =65–71|date= January 2002|doi = 10.1038/nrn700|pmid = 11823806|issue = 1}}</ref>
<ref name="Hubel et al 1970">{{cite journal |last1=Hubel |first1=D.H. |last2=Wiesel |first2=T.N. |date=February 1, 1970 |title=The period of susceptibility to the physiological effects of unilateral eye closure in kittens |journal=The Journal of Physiology |volume=206 |issue=2 |pages=419–436 |publisher= |doi= |pmid=5498493 |pmc=1348655}}</ref>
<ref name="Ponti et al 2008">{{cite journal |last1=Ponti |first1=Giovanna |last2=Peretto |first2=Paolo |last3=Bonfanti |first3=Luca |year=2008 |title=Genesis of Neuronal and Glial Progenitors in the Cerebellar Cortex of Peripuberal and Adult Rabbits |journal=PLoS ONE |volume=3 |issue=6 |page= |pages= e2366|publisher= |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0002366 |pmid=18523645 |pmc=2396292 |last4=Reh |first4=Thomas A. |editor1-last=Reh |editor1-first=Thomas A.}}</ref>
<ref name="Buonomano et al 1998">{{cite journal |last1=Buonomano |first1=Dean V. |authorlink1= |last2=Merzenich |first2=Michael M. |authorlink2=Michael Merzenich |year=1998 |month=March |title=CORTICAL PLASTICITY: From Synapses to Maps |journal=Annual Review of Neuroscience |volume=21 |series= |issue= |pages=149–186 |at= |publisher= |___location= |pmid= 9530495|pmc= |doi=10.1146/annurev.neuro.21.1.149}}</ref>
<ref name="Wall et al 2002">{{cite journal |last1=Wall |first1=J.T. |last2=Xu |first2=J. |last3=Wang |first3=X. |year=2002 |month=September |title=Human brain plasticity: an emerging view of the multiple substrates and mechanisms that cause cortical changes and related sensory dysfunctions after injuries of sensory inputs from the body |journal=Brain Research Reviews |volume=39 |issue=2–3 |pages=181–215 |publisher=Elsevier Science B.V. |pmid=12423766 |doi=10.1016/S0165-0173(02)00192-3}}</ref>
<ref name="Doidge 2007">{{cite book |title=[[The Brain That Changes Itself|The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the frontiers of brain science]] |last=Doidge |first=Norman |authorlink= |year=2007 |publisher=Viking |___location=New York |isbn=978-0-670-03830-5}}</ref>
<ref name="Reynolds 2009">{{cite news |title=Phys Ed: What Sort of Exercise Can Make You Smarter? |author=Gretchen Reynolds |newspaper=''[[New York Times]]'' |date=16 September 2009 |url=http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/what-sort-of-exercise-can-make-you-smarter/ }}</ref>
<ref name="Merzenich et al 1984">{{cite journal |last1=Merzenich |first1=M.M. |last2=Nelson |first2=R.J. |last3=Stryker |first3=M.P. |last4=[[Max Cynader|Cynader]] |first4=M.S. |last5=Schoppmann |first5=A. |last6=Zook |first6=J.M. |year=1984 |title=Somatosensory Cortical Map Changes Following Digit Amputation in Adult Monkeys |journal=Journal of Comparative Neurology |volume=224 |pages=591–605}}</ref>
}}
It is clear that animals of quite a range of species are capable of solving a range of problems that are argued to involve abstract reasoning;<ref>For Chimpanzees, see for example [[David Premack]] (1983) ''[[The Mind of an Ape#Other concepts|The Mind of an Ape]]''</ref> modern research has tended to show that the performances of [[Wolfgang Köhler]]'s chimpanzees, who could achieve spontaneous solutions to problems without training, were by no means unique to that species, and that apparently similar behavior can be found in animals usually thought of as much less intelligent, if appropriate training is given.<ref>Pepperberg, I. M. (1999). The Alex Studies: Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.</ref> [[Causal Reasoning (Psychology)|Causal reasoning]] has also been observed in rooks and New Caledonian crows.<ref>{{cite journal |pmid = 17171360 |doi = 10.1007/s10071-006-0061-4 |volume = 10 |issue = 2 |title = Non-tool-using rooks, Corvus frugilegus, solve the trap-tube problem |date=April 2007 |journal = Anim Cogn |pages = 225–31 |last1 = Tebbich |first1 = Sabine |last2 = Seed |first2 = Amanda M. |last3 = Emery |first3 = Nathan J. |last4 = Clayton |first4 = Nicola S. }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi = 10.1098/rspb.2008.1107 |volume = 276 |issue = 1655 |title = Do New Caledonian crows solve physical problems through causal reasoning? |date=January 2009 |journal = Proc. R. Soc. B |pages = 247–254 |last1 = Taylor |first1 = A.H |last2 = Hunt |first2 = G.R |last3 = Medina |first3 = F.S |last4 = Gray |first4 = R.D |pmid = 18796393 |pmc = 2674354 }}</ref>
==Further reading==
*{{Cite book |editor1-first=Raphael |editor1-last=Pinaud |editor2-first=Liisa A. |editor2-last=Tremere |editor3-first=Peter |editor3-last=De Weerd |title=Plasticity in the visual system: from genes to circuits |url= |edition= |series= |volume= |year=2006 |publisher=Springer |___location=New York |isbn=978-0-387-28190-2 |doi=}}
*{{Cite book |editor1-first=Raphael |editor1-last=Pinaud |editor2-first=Liisa A. |editor2-last=Tremere |title=Immediate early genes in sensory processing, cognitive performance and neurological disorders |url= |edition= |series= |volume= |year=2006 |publisher=Springer |___location=New York |isbn=978-0-387-33603-9 |doi=}}
*{{Cite news |title=Scans of Monks' Brains Show Meditation Alters Structure, Functioning |first=Sharon |last=Begley |authorlink= |url=http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/web/News/Meditation_Alters_Brain_WSJ_11-04.htm |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |publisher= |___location=Washington D.C. |isbn= |issn= |oclc= |pmid= |pmd= |bibcode= |doi= |id= |date=November 5, 2004 |page=B1 |accessdate=}}
*{{Cite journal |last=Donoghue |first=John P. |authorlink= |year=2002 |title=Connecting cortex to machines: recent advances in brain interfaces |journal=Nature Neuroscience |volume=5 |pages=1085–1088 |publisher= |___location= |pmc= |doi=10.1038/nn947 |url=http://www.smpp.northwestern.edu/savedLiterature/Donoghue2002NatureNeurosci5p1085.pdf |accessdate=2010-02-01 |pmid=12403992}}
*{{Cite journal |last=Flor |first=H. |year=2002 |month=luglio |title=Phantom-limb pain: characteristics, causes, and treatment
|journal=The Lancet Neurology |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=182–189 |publisher=Elsevier |doi=10.1016/S1474-4422(02)00074-1}}
*{{Cite journal |last1=Ramachandran |first1=Vilayanur S. |authorlink1=Vilayanur S. Ramachandran |last2=Hirstein |first2=William |year=1998 |title=The perception of phantom limbs. The D. O. Hebb lecture |journal=Brain |volume=121 |issue= 9|pages=1603–1630 |url=http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/121/9/1603.pdf |format=PDF |pmid=9762952 |doi= 10.1093/brain/121.9.1603|accessdate=2010-01-31}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Cohen |first1=Wendy |last2=Hodson |first2=Ann |last3=O'Hare |first3=Anne |last4=Boyle |first4=James |last5=Durrani |first5=Tariq |last6=McCartney |first6=Elspeth |last7=Mattey |first7=Mike |last8=Naftalin |first8=Lionel |last9=Watson |first9=Jocelynne |month=June |year=2005 |title=Effects of Computer-Based Intervention Through Acoustically Modified Speech (Fast ForWord) in Severe Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Impairment: Outcomes From a Randomized Controlled Trial |journal=Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research |volume=48 |issue= 3|pages=715–729 |url= |doi=10.1044/1092-4388(2005/049)}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Giszter |first=Simon F. |year=2008 |month=January |title=SCI: Present and Future Therapeutic Devices and Prostheses |journal=Neurotherapeutics |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=147–162 |publisher=Elsevier |doi=10.1016/j.nurt.2007.10.062 |url= |language= |pmid=18164494 |pmc=2390875}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Mahncke |first1=Henry W. |last2=Connor |first2=Bonnie B. |last3=Appelman |first3=Jed |last4=Ahsanuddin |first4=Omar N. |last5=Hardy |first5=Joseph L. |last6=Wood |first6=Richard A. |last7=Joyce |first7=Nicholas M. |last8=Boniske |first8=Tania |last9=Atkins |first9=Sharona M. |date=August 15, 2006 |title=Memory enhancement in healthy older adults using a brain plasticity-based training program: A randomized, controlled study |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA |volume=103 |issue=33 |pages=12523–12528 |publisher= |___location= |pmid=16888038 |pmc=1526649 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0605194103 |url= |accessdate=}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Stein |first1=Donald G. |last2=Hoffman |first2=Stuart W. |year=2003 |month=July/August |title=Concepts of CNS Plasticity in the Context of Brain Damage and Repair |journal=Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=317–341 |publisher= |___location= |pmid= 16222128|pmc= |doi= 10.1097/00001199-200307000-00004|url=http://journals.lww.com/headtraumarehab/Fulltext/2003/07000/Concepts_of_CNS_Plasticity_in_the_Context_of_Brain.4.aspx |accessdate=}}
* {{Cite journal|last1= Nudo|first1= Randolph J.|first2= Garrett W.|last2= Milliken|title = Reorganization of Movement Representations in Primary Motor Cortex Following Focal Ischemic Infarct in Adult Squirrel Monkeys|journal =Journal of Neurophysiology|volume= 75 |year = 1996|pages= 2144–149|pmid=8734610|issue=5}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Wieloch |first1=Tadeusz |last2=Nikolich |first2=Karoly |year=2006 |month=June |title=Mechanisms of neural plasticity following brain injury |journal=Current Opinion in Neurobiology |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=258–264 |pmid=16713245 |doi=10.1016/j.conb.2006.05.011 |url= }}
=== Language ===
;Videos
{{main|Animal language}}
{{further|Talking animal}}
The modeling of human language in animals is known as [[animal language]] research. In addition to the ape-language experiments mentioned above, there have also been more or less successful attempts to teach language or language-like behavior to some non-primate species, including [[parrots]] and [[Great Spotted Woodpecker]]s. Arguing from his own results with the animal [[Nim Chimpsky]] and his analysis of others results, Herbert Terrace criticized the idea that chimps can produce new sentences.<ref>Terrace, H., L.A. Petitto, R.J. Sanders, T.G. Bever(1979)Science 206 (4421): 891–902</ref> Shortly thereafter [[Louis Herman]] published research on artificial language comprehension in the bottlenosed dolphin. (Herman, Richards, & Wolz, 1984). Though this sort of research has been controversial, especially among [[cognitive linguistics|cognitive linguists]], many researchers agree that many animals can understand the meaning of individual words, and some may understand simple sentences and syntactic variations, but there is little evidence that any animal can produce new strings of symbols that correspond to new sentences.<ref name = "Shettleworth"/>
=== Consciousness ===
*{{Cite video|url = http://neurophilosophy.wordpress.com/2006/10/05/ramachandran-on-concsiousness-mirror-neurons-phantom-limb-sydrome/|title = Phantom Limb Syndrome|author = Ramachandran}} about consciousness, mirror neurons, and phantom limb syndrome
[[File:Mirror test with a Baboon.JPG|thumb|Mirror test with a baboon]]
The sense in which animals can be said to have [[consciousness]] or a [[self-concept]] has been hotly debated; it is often referred to as the debate over animal minds. The best known research technique in this area is the [[mirror test]] devised by [[Gordon G. Gallup]], in which an animal's skin is marked in some way while it is asleep or sedated, and it is then allowed to see its reflection in a mirror; if the animal spontaneously directs grooming behavior towards the mark, that is taken as an indication that it is aware of itself. Self-awareness, by this criterion, has been reported for chimpanzees and also for other great apes, the [[European Magpie]],<ref>{{cite journal |first = Helmut, Ariane, and Onur |last = Prior, Schwarz, and Güntürkün |title = Mirror-Induced Behavior in the Magpie (Pica pica): Evidence of Self-Recognition |journal = PLoS Biology |publisher = Public Library of Science |year = 2008 |doi = 10.1371/journal.pbio.0060202 |accessdate = 2008-08-21 |url = http://biology.plosjournals.org/archive/1545-7885/6/8/pdf/10.1371_journal.pbio.0060202-L.pdf |volume = 6 |pages = e202 |pmid = 18715117 |last2 = Schwarz |first2 = A |last3 = Güntürkün |first3 = O |issue = 8 |pmc = 2517622 |last4 = De Waal |first4 = Frans | editor1-last=De Waal | editor1-first=Frans }}</ref> some [[cetaceans]] and a solitary [[elephant]], but not for monkeys. The mirror test has attracted controversy among some researchers because it is entirely focused on vision, the primary sense in humans, while other species rely more heavily on other senses such as the [[olfactory]] sense in dogs.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}
;Other readings
It has been suggested that [[metacognition]] in some animals provides some evidence for cognitive self-awareness.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1037/a0020129 |last = Couchman |first = Justin J. |author2=Coutinho, M. V. C.|author3=Beran, M. J.|author4=Smith, J. D. |title = Beyond Stimulus Cues and Reinforcement Signals: A New Approach to Animal Metacognition |journal = Journal of Comparative Psychology |volume = 124 |issue = 4 |pages = , 356 –368 |year = 2010 |url = http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/com-124-4-356.pdf |pmid = 20836592 |pmc = 2991470 }}</ref> The great apes, dolphins, and [[rhesus monkeys]] have demonstrated the ability to monitor their own mental states and use an "I don't know" response to avoid answering difficult questions. These species might also be aware of the strength of their memories. Unlike the mirror test, which relies primarily on body images and bodily self-awareness, uncertainty monitoring paradigms are focused on the kinds of mental states that might be linked to mental self-awareness.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}
*{{Cite book |title=Rebuilt: how becoming part computer made me more human |last=Chorost |first=Michael |year=2005 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |___location=Boston |isbn=0-618-37829-4}}
A different approach to determine whether a non-human animal is conscious derives from passive speech research with a macaw (see [[Talking Birds#Arielle|Arielle]]). Some researchers propose that by passively listening to an animal's voluntary speech, it is possible to learn about the thoughts of another creature and to determine that the speaker is conscious. This type of research was originally used to investigate a child's [[crib talk|crib speech]] by Weir (1962) and in investigations of early speech in children by Greenfield and others (1976). With speech-capable birds, the methods of passive-speech research open a new avenue for investigation.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}
==External links==
In July, 2012 during the "Consciousness in Human and Nonhuman Animals" conference in Cambridge a group of scientists announced and signed a declaration with the following conclusions:
* {{MeshName|Neuroplasticity}} -->
{{quotation|Convergent evidence indicates that non-human animals have the neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological substrates of conscious states along with the capacity to exhibit intentional behaviors. Consequently, the weight of evidence indicates that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness. Non-human animals, including all mammals and birds, and many other creatures, including octopuses, also possess these neurological substrates.<ref name=cdeclaration>{{cite web|title=The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness|url=http://fcmconference.org/img/CambridgeDeclarationOnConsciousness.pdf|accessdate=12 August 2012}}</ref>}}
=== Animal insight ===
==Biography==
{{See also|Reason}}
While there he became an avid comic-book fan, developing a strong interest in the innovative superheroes being published by [[Marvel Comics]].<ref>Rutkoff, Aaron. [http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/07/08/garden-state-tolkien-qa-with-george-r-r-martin/ "Garden State Tolkien: Q&A With George R.R. Martin"], ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', July 8, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2011. "Mr. Martin, 62 years old, says that he grew up in a federal housing project in Bayonne, which is situated on a peninsula.... My four years at Marist High School were not the happiest of my life,” the author admits, although his growing enthusiasm for writing comics and superhero stories first emerged during this period."</ref> ''[[Fantastic Four]]'' No. 20 (Nov 1963) printed a letter Martin wrote to the editor, the first of many sent, e.g., ''FF'' #32, #34, and others from his family's home at 35 E. First Street, Bayonne, NJ. Other fans wrote him letters, and through such contacts Martin joined the fledgling comics [[fandom]] of the era, writing fiction for various [[fanzines]].<ref name="dent20120612">{{cite video | url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdSPFJcxCNM | title=Game Of Thrones – Interview with George R.R. Martin | publisher=YouTube | date=2012-06-12 | people=Dent, Grace (interviewer); Martin, George R. R.}}</ref> In 1965 Martin won comic fandom's [[Alley Award]] for his prose superhero story "Powerman vs. The Blue Barrier," the first of many awards he would go on to win for his fiction.
Along with consciousness comes insight. Do animals have that “outside-the-box” or the “Aha! experience", sometimes called the [[Eureka effect]]? That thinking process that helps them solve everyday problems and help them to adapt in the outside world. Some may argue that this is called instinct, but insight is different. [[Wolfgang Köhler]] is usually credited with introducing the concept of insight into the psychological world.<ref name="psycnet" /> Köhler worked with apes that became masters of solving puzzles he gave them. Köhler followed [[Edward Thorndike]]’s theory that animals solve problems gradually, first finding success through a process of trial and error and slowly becoming more skillful. Köhler came to disagree with this theory saying, “Thorndike’s animals could only escape by chance at first because their structure did not permit other kinds of situations.”<ref name="psycnet" /> More recently, it has been shown that Asian elephants (''Elephas maximus'') may exhibit insightful problem solving. A male was observed moving a box to a position where it could be stood upon to reach food that had been deliberately hung out of reach.<ref>{{cite doi|10.1371/journal.pone.0023251}}</ref>
Contemporary studies of human insight address the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying problem-solving behavior that fit this definition. In the case of animals, this usually means associative learning. Because we cannot simply ask animals about their “aha” experiences we should define insightful behavior in terms of processes such as mental trial and error or casual understanding.<ref name="psycnet" />
In 1970 Martin earned a B. S. in Journalism from [[Northwestern University]], [[Evanston, Illinois]], graduating ''[[summa cum laude]]''; he went on to complete his M. S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern. Eligible for the draft during the [[Vietnam War]], to which he objected, Martin applied for and obtained [[conscientious objector | conscientious-objector]] status;<ref>{{cite news|title=George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, interview with Martin|url= http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Shows/George_Stroumboulopoulos_Tonight/1595682788/ID=2209994735 |accessdate=March 15, 2012|newspaper=[[George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight]]|publisher=[[CBC.ca]]|date=March 14, 2012}},</ref> he instead did alternative service work for two years (1972–1974) as a [[Volunteers in Service to America|VISTA]] volunteer, attached to the [[Cook County]] Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973 to 1976. Then from 1976 to 1978 he was an English and journalism instructor at Clarke University (then Clarke College) in Dubuque, IA, becoming Writer In Residence at the college from 1978 to 1979.
=== Numeracy ===
Martin began selling science-fiction [[short stories]] professionally in 1970, at age 21. His first story, "The Hero", sold to ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction|Galaxy]]'' magazine and was published in its February 1971 issue; other sales soon followed. The first story of his nominated for the [[Hugo Award]]<ref>{{cite web|title=With Morning Comes Mistfall|url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1974-hugo-awards/|publisher=Hugo Awards|accessdate=May 22, 2012}}</ref> and the [[Nebula Award]] was ''[[With Morning Comes Mistfall]]'', published in 1973 by ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Analog]]'' magazine. A member of the [[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America]] (SFWA), Martin became the organization's Southwest Regional Director from 1977 to 1979; from 1996 to 1998 he served as its vice-president.
Some animals are capable of distinguishing between different amounts and rudimentary counting. Elephants have been known to perform simple arithmetic, and rhesus monkeys and pigeons, in some sense, can count.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4660924.ece Elephants show flair for arithmetic]</ref><ref>[http://www.columbia.edu/cu/psychology/primatecognitionlab/References/BrannonTerrace2000.pdf Representation of the Numerosities 1-9 by Rhesus Macaques (Macaca) mulatto]</ref><ref>[https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxkYW1pYW5zY2FyZnBoZHxneDoyODc0NzAwNTQzMThiNjg2 Pigeons on Par with Primates in Numerical Competence]</ref> Ants are able to use quantitative values and transmit this information.<ref>Zhanna Reznikova, Boris Ryabko, "A Study of Ants' Numerical Competence". ''[[Electronic Transactions on Artificial Intelligence]]'', Issue: Vol. 5(2001): Section B: pp. 111-126</ref><ref>Reznikova, Zh. I. (2007). ''Animal Intelligence: From Individual to Social Cognition''. Cambridge University Press</ref> For instance, ants of several species are able to estimate quite precisely numbers of encounters with members of other colonies on their feeding territories.<ref>Reznikova, Zh. I. (1999). Ethological mechanisms of population dynamic in species ant communities. Russian Journal of Ecology, 30, 3, 187–197</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Brown |first1 = M. J. F. |last2 = Gordon |first2 = D. M. |year = 2000 |title = How resources and encounters affect the distribution of foraging activity in a seed-harvesting ants |journal = Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume = 47 |pages = 195–203 |doi = 10.1007/s002650050011 |issue = 3 }}</ref> Numeracy has been described in the yellow mealworm beetle, ''[[Tenebrio molitor]]'',<ref name="Carazo et al., 2009">{{cite journal |last1 = Carazo |first1 = P. |last2 = Font |first2 = E. |last3 = Forteza-Behrendt |first3 = E. |last4 = Desfilis |first4 = E. et al. | author-separator =, | author-name-separator= |year = 2009 |title = Quantity discrimination in Tenebrio molitor: evidence of numerosity discrimination in an invertebrate? |journal = Animal Cognition |volume = 12 |pages = 463–470 |doi = 10.1007/s10071-008-0207-7 |issue = 3 |pmid = 19118405 }}</ref> and the honeybee.<ref name="Dacke and Srinivasan, 2008">{{cite journal |last1 = Dacke |first1 = M. |last2 = Srinivasan |first2 = M.V. |year = 2008 |title = Evidence for counting in insects |journal = Animal Cognition |volume = 11 |pages = 683–689 |doi = 10.1007/s10071-008-0159-y |pmid = 18504627 |issue = 4 }}</ref>
[[Western lowland gorilla]]s given the choice between two food trays demonstrated the ability to choose the tray with more food items at a rate higher than chance after training.<ref>Anderson, U.S., Stoinski, T.S., Bloomsmith, M.A., Marr, M.J., Smith, A.D., & Maple, T.L. (2005). Relative numerousness judgment and summation in young and old western lowland gorillas" ''Journal of Comparative Psychology'' 119, 285–295.</ref> In a similar task, [[chimpanzee]]s chose the option with larger amount of food.<ref>Boysen S.T., Berntson G.G., Mukobi K.L. (2001) Size matters: impact of item size and quantity on array choice by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) J. Comp. Psychol, 115, 106–110.</ref> [[Salamander]]s given a choice between two displays with differing amounts of fruit flies, used as a food reward, reliably choose the display with more flies, as shown in a particular experiment.<ref>Uller C., Jaeger R., Guidry G., Martin C. (2003) Salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) go for more: rudiments of number in an amphibian. Anim Cogn, 6, 105-112.</ref>
In 1976, for Kansas City's [[MidAmeriCon]], the 34th World Science Fiction Convention ([[Worldcon]]), Martin and his friend and fellow writer-editor [[Gardner Dozois]] conceived of and organized the first Hugo Losers Party for the benefit of all past and present Hugo-losing writers, their friends and families the evening following the convention's Hugo Awards ceremony. Martin was nominated for two Hugos that year but ultimately wound up losing both awards, for the novelette "...and Seven Times Never Kill Man" and the novella ''The Storms of Windhaven'', co-written with [[Lisa Tuttle]].<ref name="Locusmag">[http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/LocusNomList.html The Locus Index to SF Awards]. Retrieved Aug 14, 2012</ref> The Hugo Losers Party became an annual Worldcon event thereafter, its formal title eventually evolving into something a little more politically correct as both its size and prestige grew.
Other experiments have been conducted that show animals’ abilities to differentiate between non-food quantities. [[American black bear]]s demonstrated quantity differentiation abilities in a task with a computer screen. The bears were trained to touch a computer monitor with a paw or nose to choose a quantity of dots in one of two boxes on the screen. Each bear was trained with [[reinforcement]] to pick a larger or smaller amount. During training, the bears were rewarded with food for a correct response. All bears performed better than what random error predicted on the trials with static, non-moving dots, indicating that they could differentiate between the two quantities. The bears choosing correctly in congruent (number of dots coincided with area of the dots) and incongruent (number of dots did not coincide with area of the dots) trials suggests that they were indeed choosing between quantities that appeared on the screen, not just a larger or smaller [[retina|retinal image]], which would indicate they are only judging size.<ref>Vonk J., Beran M.J. (2012) Bears ‘count’ too: quantity estimation and comparison in black bears, Ursus americanus, Animal Behaviour, 84, 1, 231-238.</ref>
Although Martin often writes fantasy or horror, a number of his earlier works tell science-fiction tales occurring in a loosely defined [[future history]], known informally as "The Thousand Worlds" or "The Manrealm". He has also written at least one piece of political-military fiction, "Night of the Vampyres", collected in [[Harry Turtledove]]'s anthology ''The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century''.<ref>Turtledove, Harry, ed., with Martin H. Greenberg. ''The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century.'' New York: Ballantine, May 2001, p. 279–306.</ref>
[[Bottlenose dolphin]]s have shown the ability to choose an array with fewer dots compared to one with more dots. Experimenters set up two boards showing various numbers of dots in a poolside setup. The dolphins were initially trained to choose the board with the fewer number of dots. This was done by rewarding the dolphin when it chose the board with the fewer number of dots. In the experimental trials, two boards were set up, and the dolphin would emerge from the water and point to one board. The dolphins chose the arrays with fewer dots at a rate much larger than chance, indicating they can differentiate between quantities.<ref>Jaakkola K., Fellner W., Erb L., Rodriguez M., Guarino E. (2005) Understanding of the concept of numerically "less" by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Journal of Comparative Psychology, 119, 286–303.</ref>
The unexpected commercial failure of Martin's fourth book, ''[[The Armageddon Rag]]'' (1983), "essentially destroyed my career as a novelist at the time", he recalled. It began his career in television, however,<ref name="berwick20120601">{{cite news | url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/bd1e2638-a8b7-11e1-a747-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1wYzURCl0 | title=Lunch with the FT: George RR Martin | work=Financial Times | date=2012-06-01 | accessdate=June 1, 2012 | author=Berwick, Isabel}}
A particular [[African Grey Parrot|grey parrot]], after training, has shown the ability to differentiate between the numbers zero through six using [[Talking bird|vocalizations]]. After number and vocalization training, this was done by asking the parrot how many objects there were in a display. The parrot was able to identify the correct amount at a rate higher than chance.<ref>Pepperberg I. (2006) Grey parrot numerical competence: a review. Anim Cogn, 9, 377–391.</ref>
</ref> as a result of a Hollywood option on that novel that then led to him being hired, first as a staff writer and then as an Executive Story Consultant, for the revival of the ''[[The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series)|Twilight Zone]]''. When the [[CBS]] series ran its course, Martin and other ''Twilight Zone'' staff writers migrated over to the already underway satirical science fiction series [[Max Headroom (TV series)|''Max Headroom'']]. While there he wrote scripts and created the show's Ped Xing character, the president of the Zic Zak corporation, Network 23's primary sponsor. Before his completed scripts could go into production, the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] show was canceled in the middle of its second season. Martin then became a producer on the dramatic fantasy series ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1987 TV series)|Beauty and the Beast]]''; in 1989 he became the show's co-supervising producer. He also wrote 14 episodes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092319/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast}}</ref> During this same period, he also worked in print media as a book-series editor, overseeing the development of the lengthy and still on-going ''[[Wild Cards]]'' series, which takes place in a [[shared universe]] in which a small slice of post–[[World War II]] humanity gains superpowers after the release of an alien-engineered virus. In ''Second Person'' Martin "gives a personal account of the close-knit [[role-playing game]] (RPG) culture that gave rise to his ''Wild Cards'' shared-world anthologies".<ref>Kerr, John Finlay. 2009. Second person: Role-playing and story in games and playable media, edited by Pat Harrigan and Noah Wardrip-Fruin [book review]. Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 2. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2009.0095.</ref> Martin's own contributions to the multiple-author series often feature Thomas Tudbury, "[[The Great and Powerful Turtle]]", a powerful [[psychokinetic]] whose flying "shell" consisted of an armored [[VW Beetle]]. As of June 2011, 21 ''Wild Cards'' volumes had been published in the series; earlier that same year, Martin signed the contract for the 22nd volume, ''Low Ball'', which has since been completed and will be published by [[Tor Books]] in mid-summer of 2014. In early 2012 Martin signed another Tor contract for the 23rd ''Wild Cards'' volume, ''High Stakes''.
[[Pterophyllum|Angelfish]], when put in an unfamiliar environment will group together with conspecifics, an action named [[Shoaling and schooling|shoaling]]. Given the choice between two groups of differing size, the angelfish will choose the larger of the two groups. This can be seen with a discrimination ratio of 2:1 or greater, such that, as long as one group has at least twice the fish as another group, it will join the larger one.<ref>Gómez-Laplaza, L.M. & Gerlai, R. (2010). Can angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) count? Discrimination between different shoal sizes follows Weber’s law. Anim. Cogn, 14, 1-9.</ref>
[[Monitor lizard]]s have been shown to be capable of numeracy, and some species can distinguish among numbers up to six.<ref>King, Dennis & Green, Brian. 1999. ''Goannas: The Biology of Varanid Lizards''. University of New South Wales Press. ISBN 0-86840-456-X, p. 43.</ref>
Martin's novella, ''[[Nightflyers]]'', was adapted into a 1987 feature film of the same title; he was not happy about having to cut plot elements for the screenplay's scenario in order to accommodate the film's small budget.<ref name="NPR2012">{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/2012/09/15/161142894/thrones-author-george-r-r-martin-plays-not-my-job?ps=view&ec=mostpopular | title='Thrones' Author George R.R. Martin Plays Not My Job | publisher=NPR | date=September 15, 2012 | accessdate=September 16, 2012 | author=Peter Sagal}}
</ref>
==Biological constraints==
[[File:GeorgeRRMartinCW98 wb.jpg|thumb|Teaching at [[Clarion West]], 1998.]]
[[File:AB003 Hedgehog from Rajasthan.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Hedgehogs instinctively roll into a ball when threatened, making them unsuitable for studies on aversion avoidance]]
Instinctive tendencies should be considered during interpretation of results from experiments on animal cognition. For example, dogs and rats easily learn to avoid an electric shock from the floor by moving to another part of the experimental chamber when they hear a tone preceding the shock. However, [[hedgehog]]s fail to learn this avoidance behavior. Whilst this might seem to show an inability to learn, the hedgehog's instinctive reaction to a threat is to curl up into a ball, a response that interferes with possible escape behavior in this situation.
[[Instinctive drift]] is another biological constraint that can influence interpretation of animal cognition studies. Instinctive drift is the tendency of an animal to revert to [[instinctive behavior]]s that can interfere with learned responses. The concept originated with [[Keller Breland|Keller]] and [[Marian Breland|Marian]] Breland when they taught a [[raccoon]] to put coins into a box. The raccoon drifted to its instinctive behavior of rubbing the coins with its paws, as it would do when forging for food.<ref name="Breland and Breland, (1961)">Breland, K. and Breland, M. (1961). The misbehavior of organisms" ''American Psychologist'' 16: 681-684</ref>
== Cognitive faculty by species ==
A common image is the ''[[Great chain of being|scala naturae]]'', the ladder of nature on which animals of different species occupy successively higher rungs, with humans typically at the top.<ref name=campbell1991snr>Campbell, C.B.G., & Hodos, W. (1991). The Scala Naturae revisited: Evolutionary scales and anagenesis in comparative psychology. J. Comp. Psychol. 105:211-221</ref>
A more fruitful approach has been to recognize that different animals may have different kinds of cognitive processes, which are better understood in terms of the ways in which they are cognitively adapted to their different ecological niches, than by positing any kind of hierarchy. (See [[Sara Shettleworth|Shettleworth]] (1998), Reznikova (2007).)
==Relationship with fans==
[[File:GRRM Ljubljana.jpg|right|thumb|230px|GRRM signing books in a bookstore in [[Ljubljana|Ljubljana, Slovenia]] (June 2011)]]
Martin is known for his regular attendance through the decades at [[science fiction convention]]s and comics conventions and his accessibility to fans. In the early 1980s, critic and writer [[Thomas Disch]] identified Martin as a member of the "Labor Day Group", writers who regularly congregated at the annual [[Worldcon]],<ref>http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472068968-17.pdf</ref> usually held on or around the Labor Day weekend. Since the early 1970s he has also attended regional science fiction conventions, and since 1986 Martin has participated annually in [[Albuquerque]]'s smaller regional convention [[Bubonicon]], near his [[New Mexico]] home.<ref>http://georgerrmartin.com/appearances.html</ref>
One question that can be asked coherently is how far different species are intelligent in the same ways as humans are, i.e., are their cognitive processes similar to ours. Not surprisingly, our closest biological relatives, the [[great ape]]s, tend to do best on such an assessment. Among the birds, [[corvid]]s and parrots have typically been found to perform well. [[Octopod]]es have also been shown to exhibit a number of higher-level skills such as tool use,<ref>{{cite journal |doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2009.10.052 |title = Defensive tool use in a coconut-carrying octopus |year = 2009 |last1 = Finn |first1 = Julian K. |last2 = Tregenza |first2 = Tom |last3 = Norman |first3 = Mark D. |journal = Current Biology |volume = 19 |issue = 23 |pages = R1069–70 |pmid = 20064403 }}</ref> but the amount of research on [[cephalopod intelligence]] is still limited.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}
Martin's official fan club is the "Brotherhood Without Banners," who have a regular posting board at the Forum of the large website, westeros.org, which is focused on his ''Song of Ice and Fire'' fantasy series. At the annual World Science Fiction Convention every year, the ''BWB'' hosts a large, on-going hospitality suite that is open to all members of the Worldcon;<ref>http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/346732.George_R_R_Martin/blog</ref> their suite frequently wins by popular vote the convention's best party award.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}}
[[Baboon]]s have been shown to be capable of recognizing words.<ref>[http://www.nature.com/news/baboons-can-learn-to-recognize-words-1.10432 Baboons can learn to recognize words; Monkeys' ability suggests that reading taps into general systems of pattern recognition] 12 April 2012 [[Nature (journal)|Nature]]</ref><ref>[http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-word-recognition-20120413,0,5510844.story Baboons can recognize written words, study finds; The monkeys don't assign meaning to them, but learn what letter combinations are common to real words, the study authors say] April 12, 2012 [[Los Angeles Times]]</ref><ref>[http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/339869/title/Baboons_show_their_word_skills Baboons show their word skills; Reading may stem from a visual aptitude shared by all primates] May 5, 2012</ref>
Martin has been criticized by some of his readers for the long periods between books in the Ice and Fire series, notably the six-year gap between the fourth volume, ''A Feast for Crows'' (2005), and the fifth volume, ''A Dance with Dragons'' (2011).<ref>{{Cite web | last = Miller | first = Laura | title = Onward and Upward with the Arts: Just Write It!: A fantasy author and his impatient fans. |work=The New Yorker | date = April 11, 2011 | url = http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/04/11/110411fa_fact_miller | accessdate = 2012-02-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | last = Kay | first = Guy Gavriel | title = Restless readers go bonkers |work=Globe and Mail |___location=Canada | date = April 10, 2009 | url = http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/article8003.ece | accessdate = 2010-05-13}}</ref> In 2010 Martin responded to these criticisms by saying he was unwilling to write only his Ice and Fire series, noting that working on other [[prose]] and compiling and editing different book projects has always been part of his working process.<ref>{{Cite web | last = Flood | first = Alison | url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/alisonflood | title = Excitement as George RR Martin announces he's 1,200 pages into new book |work = The Guardian | date = February 16, 2010 | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/16/george-rr-martin-new-book | accessdate = 2010-05-13}}</ref>
== See also ==
Martin is strongly opposed to [[fan fiction]], believing it to be copyright infringement and a bad exercise for aspiring writers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://georgerrmartin.com/faq.html|title=Frequently Asked Questions - George R. R. Martin's Official Website|last=Martin|first=George R R|accessdate=January 16, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://grrm.livejournal.com/151914.html|title=Not A Blog - Someone Is Angry On the Internet|last=Martin|first=George R R|date=May 7, 2010|publisher=[[LiveJournal]]|accessdate=January 16, 2013}}</ref>
{{Portal|Thinking|Animals|Animal rights}}
* [[Anthropomorphism]]
* [[Cetacean intelligence]]
* [[Deception in animals]]
* [[Dog intelligence]]
* [[Pain in invertebrates#Cognitive abilities|Cognitive abilities]]
{{-}}
==Personal lifeReferences==
{{reflist|35em}}
== Further reading ==
In the early 1970s Martin was in a relationship with fellow science-fiction/fantasy author [[Lisa Tuttle]],<ref>{{cite web|title=In Love With Lisa|url=http://georgerrmartin.com/life/chicago.html|work=Life & Times|publisher=George R.R. Martin Official Website|accessdate= 8 luglio 2012}}</ref> with whom he co-wrote ''[[Windhaven]]''.
* Brown, M.F., & Cook, R.G. (Eds.). (2006). Animal Spatial Cognition: Comparative, Neural, and Computational Approaches. [On-line]. Available: www.pigeon.psy.tufts.edu/asc/
* Goodall, J. (1991). ''Through a window''. London: Penguin.
* Griffin, D. R. (1992). ''Animal minds''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
* Hilgard, E. R. (1958). ''Theories of learning'', 2nd edn. London: Methuen.
* Neisser, U. (1967). ''Cognitive psychology''. New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts.
* Romanes, G. J. (1886). ''Animal intelligence'', 4th edn. London: Kegan Paul, Trench.
* Shettleworth, S. J. (1998) (2010,2nd ed). ''Cognition, evolution and behavior''. New York: Oxford University Press.
* Skinner, B. F. (1969). ''Contingencies of reinforcement: a theoretical analysis''. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
* Narby, Jeremy. (2005) ''Intelligence In Nature''. New York: Penguin.
* Lurz, Robert W. (2009) [http://www.themontrealreview.com/2009/Mindreading-animals.php ''Mindreading Animals: The Debate over What Animals Know about Other Minds'']. The MIT Press.
== External links ==
While attending an east coast science fiction convention he met his first wife Gale Burnick; they were married in 1975, but the marriage ended in divorce, without children, in 1979.
* [http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-limits-of-intelligence The limits of intelligence] Douglas Fox, ''[[Scientific American]]'', 14 June 2011.
* {{Sep entry|cognition-animal|Animal Cognition|Kristin Andrews}}
* {{Sep entry|consciousness-animal|Animal Consciousness|Colin Allen}}
* [http://www.animalcognition.net/home.html Animal Cognition Network]
* {{IEP|ani-mind|Animal Minds}}
* [http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/biosciaviancog/ Center for Avian Cognition] University of Nebraska ([[Alan Kamil]], Alan Bond)
{{animal cognition|state=expanded}}
Since 1979 Martin has made [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]] his home; in 2013 he purchased the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe, which had been closed since 2006, in order to restore and upgrade this landmark Santa Fe cinema to full operation as a general and special events theater. <ref> and special events ://grrm.livejournal.com/321014.html</ref><ref>http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/article_11f41778-724e-5d42-9fbe-40e5b56ae400.html</ref>
{{Animal communication}}
{{Great ape language}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Animal Cognition}} -->
On February 15, 2011, Martin married his longtime [[Intimate relationship|paramour]] Parris McBride during a small ceremony at their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home; the couple exchanged [[Celtic art|Celtic]]-inspired wedding rings custom-made for them by local artisans. Area friends were in attendance and helped them celebrate the occasion.<ref>{{cite web|title=Big, Big, BIG News|url=http://grrm.livejournal.com/196160.html|work=Not A Blog|publisher=LiveJournal|accessdate=July 8, 2012|date=17|month=February|year=2011}}</ref> On August 19, 2011, they held a larger wedding ceremony and reception at Renovation, the [[69th World Science Fiction Convention]], in [[Reno, Nevada]] for their larger circle of friends within the fantasy and science fiction fields.<ref>http://www.paulcornell.com/2011/09/worldcon-love-story.html</ref>
=Comparazioni con la neurobiologia=
Martin maintains a [[LiveJournal]] account called "Not A Blog" where he posts about his works and various unrelated topics such as politics and the [[NFL]]: he is a lifelong supporter of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] and claimed [[Jimmy Carter]], during an interview with [[Authors@Google]], to be "clearly the best human being to be president during my lifetime". He has recently expressed admiration for [[Barack Obama]] and strongly condemned attempts at voter suppression, likening it to the behavior of Democrats of the [[Solid South]] and citing the pro-voting rights [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]s of his youth as a far better rolemodel for the conservative movement, citing youthful admiration for specifically [[Everett Dirksen]], [[Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.]], [[Clifford Case]], [[William Scranton]] and [[Barry Goldwater]].<ref>http://grrm.livejournal.com/287215.html</ref> Martin is an avid, lifelong fan of both the [[New York Jets]] and [[New York Giants]]. His ''LJ'' "Not a Blog" posts have been reposted at times by someone else to a ''George R. R. Martin'' [[Facebook]] page, but Martin has never been a member of that online community or a reader of its posts; he also does not use [[Twitter]].
Il sistema sensoriale e di risposta di una pianta è stato comparato con i processi [[neurobiologia|neurobiologici]] degli [[animalia|Animali]]. La neurobiologia delle piante riguarda soprattutto il [[comportamento adattativo (ecologia)|comportamento adattativo]] sensoriale dell'[[elettrofisiologia]] di piante e vegetali. Lo scienziato indiano [[J. C. Bose]] è accreditato come la prima persona ad aver parlato di neurobiologia delle piante. Molti scienziati dei vegetali e neuroscienziati, tuttavia, ritengono che questo termine sia inesatto, in quanto le piante non hanno [[neuroni]].<ref name="NoBrain">Plant neurobiology: no brain, no gain? Alpi A, Amrhein N, Bertl A, Blatt MR, Blumwald E, Cervone F, Dainty J, De Michelis MI, Epstein E, Galston AW, Goldsmith MH, Hawes C, Hell R, Hetherington A, Hofte H, Juergens G, Leaver CJ, Moroni A, Murphy A, Oparka K, Perata P, Quader H, Rausch T, Ritzenthaler C, Rivetta A, Robinson DG, Sanders D, Scheres B, Schumacher K, Sentenac H, Slayman CL, Soave C, Somerville C, Taiz L, Thiel G, Wagner R. (2007). Trends Plant Sci. Apr;12(4):135-6. PMID 17368081</ref>
Le idee dietro la neurobiologia vegetale sono state criticate in un articolo del 2007<ref name="NoBrain" /> pubblicato in ''[[Trends in Plant Science]]'' da Amedeo Alpi e 35 altri scienziati, comprendenti eminenti biologi delle piante come [[Gerd Jürgens]], Ben Scheres, e Chris Sommerville. L'ampiezza dei campi della scienza delle piante rappresentata da questi ricercatori riflette il fatto che la stragrande maggioranza della [[comunità scientifica]] di [[ricerca scientifica|ricerca]] sulle piante rifiuta la neurobiologia vegetale. I loro argomenti principali sono<ref name="NoBrain" />:
Martin spends his spare time reading voraciously on a variety of topics, collecting medieval-themed [[miniature figure (gaming)|miniatures]], watching professional football on television (in season), reading and collecting science fiction, fantasy, and horror books, and treasuring his large comics collection, which includes the first issues of Marvel's "silver age" ''[[Spider-Man]]'' and ''[[Fantastic Four]]''.
* "La neurobiologia vegetale non aggiunge nulla alla nostra comprensione della fisiologia vegetale, della biologia cellulare vegetale o della segnalazione".
* "Nelle piante non c'è evidenza di strutture assimilabili a [[neurone|neuroni]], [[sinapsi]] o cervelli".
* Il verificarsi comune di [[plasmodesmata]] nelle piante, che "pone un problema per la segnalazione da un punto di vista elettrofisiologico" dato l'ampio accoppiamento elettrico precluderebbe la necessità di qualsiasi trasporto cellula-cellula di composti simili a [[neurotrasmettitore|neurotrasmettitori]].
Se il concetto di "neurobiologia delle piante" è a beneficio della comunità di ricerca gli autori chiedono la fine di "analogie superficiali e estrapolazioni discutibili".<ref name="NoBrain" />
Ci sono state diverse risposte alla critica per chiarire che il termine "neurobiologia vegetale" è una metafora e che le metafore si sono rivelate utili in diverse occasioni.<ref>{{cite pmid|17499006}}</ref><ref>{{cite pmid|17591455}}</ref>
He and his wife Parris are supporters of the [[Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary]] in New Mexico.<ref>http://grrm.livejournal.com/tag/wolves</ref> Martin has noted his admiration for wolves not only in his books but also through fundraising.<ref>http://grrm.livejournal.com/282994.html</ref><ref>http://grrm.livejournal.com/284608.html</ref>
In response to a question regarding his religious views, Martin replied, "I suppose I’m a lapsed Catholic. You would consider me an atheist or agnostic. I find religion and spirituality fascinating. I would like to believe this isn’t the end and there’s something more, but I can’t convince the rational part of me that makes any sense whatsoever. That’s what [[Tolkien]] left out — there’s no priesthood, there’s no temples; nobody is worshiping anything in the ''Rings''." <ref>http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/07/12/george-martin-talks-a-dance-with-dragons/</ref>
Viene detta intelligenza la capacità [[cognizione|cognitiva]] che permette ad un soggetto (individuo o animale) di comprendere l'ambiente e la propria interiorità, di adattarsi e di fronteggiare con successo nuove situazioni. In altre parole l'intelligenza è la capacità [[psiche|psichica]] e [[mente|mentale]] che permette - sulla base di informazioni e di [[memoria (psicologia)|ricordi]] già posseduti - di formulare autonomamente le informazioni e le idee necessarie per raggiungere i propri obiettivi (i quali non dovranno essere necessariamente consci o esplicitati) e prevenire/evitare il verificarsi di situazioni future negative, quando le informazioni e le idee in questione sono ''nuove'' per il soggetto.
==Human intelligence==
===Psychometrics===
{{Main|Intelligence quotient|Psychometrics}}
[[File:IQ curve.svg|thumb|350px|right|The IQs of a large enough population are calculated so that they conform<ref>S.E. Embretson & S.P.Reise: Item response theory for psychologists, 2000. "...for many other psychological tests, normal distributions are achieved by normalizing procedures. For example, intelligence tests..." Found on: [http://books.google.se/books?id=rYU7rsi53gQC&pg=PA29&lpg=PA29&dq=%22intelligence+tests%22+normalize&source=bl&ots=ZAIQEgaa6Q&sig=q-amDaZqx7Ix6mMkvIDMnj9M9O0&hl=sv&ei=lEEJTNqSIYWMOPqLuRE&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false books.google.se]</ref> to a [[normal distribution]].]]
The approach to understanding intelligence with the most supporters and published research over the longest period of time is based on psychometric testing. It is also by far the most widely used in practical settings. [[Intelligence quotient]] (IQ) tests include the [[Stanford-Binet]], [[Raven's Progressive Matrices]], the [[Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale]] and the [[Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children]]. There are also psychometric tests that are not intended to measure intelligence itself but some closely related construct such as scholastic aptitude. In the United States examples include the [[Secondary School Admission Test|SSAT]], the [[SAT]], the [[ACT (test)|ACT]], the [[GRE]], the [[MCAT]], the [[LSAT]], and the [[GMAT]].<ref name=APA1995/>
Intelligence tests are widely used in educational,<ref>Ritter, N., Kilinc, E., Navruz, B., Bae, Y. (2011). Test Review: Test of Nonverbal Intelligence-4 (TONI-4). Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 29(5), 384-388. doi: 10.1177/0734282911400400</ref> business, and military settings because of their efficacy in predicting behavior. IQ and ''g'' (discussed in the next section) are correlated with many important social outcomes—individuals with low IQs are more likely to be divorced, have a child out of marriage, be incarcerated, and need long-term welfare support, while individuals with high IQs are associated with more years of education, higher status jobs and higher income.<ref name="isbn1591471818">{{Cite book |author=Geary, David M. |title=The Origin of the Mind: Evolution of Brain, Cognition, and General Intelligence |publisher=American Psychological Association (APA) |year=2004 |isbn=1-59147-181-8 |oclc=217494183 222186498 224277260 224979556 54906982 56659187 57354730 80049339}}</ref> Intelligence is significantly correlated with successful training and performance outcomes, and IQ/''g'' is the single best predictor of successful job performance.<ref name=APA1995/><ref name=Ree1992>{{Cite journal |author=Ree, M.J. |coauthor=Earles, J.A. |year=1992 |title=Intelligence Is the Best Predictor of Job Performance |journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=86–89 |doi=10.1111/1467-8721.ep10768746}}</ref>
====General intelligence factor or ''g''====
{{Main|g factor (psychometrics)}}
There are many different kinds of IQ tests using a wide variety of test tasks. Some tests consist of a single type of task, others rely on a broad collection of tasks with different contents (visual-spatial,<ref>Delen, E., Kaya, F., and Ritter, N. (2012). Test review: Test of Comprehensive Nonverbal Intelligence-2 (CTONI-2). Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 30(2) 209-213. doi: 10.1177/0734282911415614</ref> verbal, numerical) and asking for different cognitive processes (e.g., reasoning, memory, rapid decisions, visual comparisons, spatial imagery, reading, and retrieval of [[general knowledge]]). The psychologist [[Charles Spearman]] early in the 20th century carried out the first formal [[factor analysis]] of [[correlation]]s between various test tasks. He found a trend for all such tests to correlate positively with each other, which is called a ''positive manifold''. Spearman found that a single common factor explained the positive correlations among tests. Spearman named it ''g'' for "[[general intelligence factor]]". He interpreted it as the core of human intelligence that, to a larger or smaller degree, influences success in all cognitive tasks and thereby creates the positive manifold. This interpretation of ''g'' as a common cause of test performance is still dominant in psychometrics. An alternative interpretation was recently advanced by van der Maas and colleagues.<ref>{{cite journal|last=van der Maas|first=H. L. J.|coauthors=Dolan, C. V.; Grasman, R. P. P. P.; Wicherts, J. M.; Huizenga, H. M.; Raijmakers, M. E. J.|title=A dynamical model of general intelligence: The positive manifold of intelligence by mutualism|journal=Psychological Review|year=2006|volume=113|pages=842–861|doi=10.1037/0033-295X.113.4.842|pmid=17014305|issue=4}}</ref> Their ''mutualism model'' assumes that intelligence depends on several independent mechanisms, none of which influences performance on all cognitive tests. These mechanisms support each other so that efficient operation of one of them makes efficient operation of the others more likely, thereby creating the positive manifold.
IQ tasks and tests can be ranked by how highly they load on the ''g'' factor. Tests with high ''g''-loadings are those that correlate highly with most other tests. One comprehensive study investigating the correlations between a large collection of tests and tasks<ref>{{cite journal|last=Marshalek|first=B.|coauthors=Lohman, D. F. Snow, R. E.|title=The complexity continuum in the radex and hierarchical models of intelligence|journal=Intelligence|year=1983|volume=7|pages=107–127|doi=10.1016/0160-2896(83)90023-5|issue=2}}</ref> has found that the [[Raven's Progressive Matrices]] have a particularly high correlation with most other tests and tasks. The ''Raven's'' is a test of inductive reasoning with abstract visual material. It consists of a series of problems, sorted approximately by increasing difficulty. Each problem presents a 3 x 3 matrix of abstract designs with one empty cell; the matrix is constructed according to a rule, and the person must find out the rule to determine which of 8 alternatives fits into the empty cell. Because of its high correlation with other tests, the Raven's Progressive Matrices are generally acknowledged as a good indicator of general intelligence. This is problematic, however, because there are substantial gender differences on the ''Raven's'',<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lynnn|first=R.|coauthors=Irving, P.|title=Sex differences on the progressive matrices: A meta-analysis|journal=Intelligence|year=2004|volume=32|pages=481–498|doi=10.1016/j.intell.2004.06.008|issue=5}}</ref> which are not found when ''g'' is measured directly by computing the general factor from a broad collection of tests.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Halpern|first=D. F.|coauthors=LaMay, M. L.|title=The smarter sex: A critical review of sex differences in intelligence|journal=Educational Psychology Review|year=2000|volume=12|pages=229–246|doi=10.1023/A:1009027516424|issue=2}}</ref>
Attualmente non vi sono definizioni accademiche, ovvero prodotte dalla comunità dei [[ricerca scientifica|ricercatori]], di intelligenza che godano dell'accordo universale della [[comunità scientifica]] stessa. Tra i molti enunciati proposti si segnala quello riportato in una dichiarazione editoriale del 1994 firmata da cinquantadue ricercatori, ''Mainstream Science on Intelligence'':
====Historical psychometric theories====
{{Main|Intelligence quotient#History}}
Several different theories of intelligence have historically been important. Often they emphasized more factors than a single one like in ''[[g factor (psychometrics)|g factor]]''.
====Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory====
{{Main|Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory}}
Many of the broad, recent IQ tests have been greatly influenced by the [[Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory]]. It is argued to reflect much of what is known about intelligence from research. A hierarchy of factors is used. ''g'' is at the top. Under it there are 10 broad abilities that in turn are subdivided into 70 narrow abilities. The broad abilities are:<ref name=Kaufman2009>IQ Testing 101, Alan S. Kaufman, 2009, Springer Publishing Company, ISBN 978-0-8261-0629-2</ref>
*Fluid Intelligence (Gf): includes the broad ability to reason, form concepts, and solve problems using unfamiliar information or novel procedures.
*Crystallized Intelligence (Gc): includes the breadth and depth of a person's acquired knowledge, the ability to communicate one's knowledge, and the ability to reason using previously learned experiences or procedures.
*Quantitative Reasoning (Gq): the ability to comprehend quantitative concepts and relationships and to manipulate numerical symbols.
*Reading & Writing Ability (Grw): includes basic reading and writing skills.
*Short-Term Memory (Gsm): is the ability to apprehend and hold information in immediate awareness and then use it within a few seconds.
*Long-Term Storage and Retrieval (Glr): is the ability to store information and fluently retrieve it later in the process of thinking.
*Visual Processing (Gv): is the ability to perceive, analyze, synthesize, and think with visual patterns, including the ability to store and recall visual representations.
*Auditory Processing (Ga): is the ability to analyze, synthesize, and discriminate auditory stimuli, including the ability to process and discriminate speech sounds that may be presented under distorted conditions.
*Processing Speed (Gs): is the ability to perform automatic cognitive tasks, particularly when measured under pressure to maintain focused attention.
*Decision/Reaction Time/Speed (Gt): reflect the immediacy with which an individual can react to stimuli or a task (typically measured in seconds or fractions of seconds; not to be confused with Gs, which typically is measured in intervals of 2–3 minutes). See [[Mental chronometry]].
Modern tests do not necessarily measure of all of these broad abilities. For example, Gq and Grw may be seen as measures of school achievement and not IQ.<ref name=Kaufman2009/> Gt may be difficult to measure without special equipment.
L'intelligenza è l'insieme di tutte le [[funzioni psichiche]] e [[mente|mentali]] che permettono ad un soggetto (individuo o animale) di capire cose ed eventi, scoprendo le relazioni che intercorrono tra di essi ed arrivando ad una conoscenza [[concetto|concettuale]] e razionale (ovvero non [[sensazione|percettiva]] o [[intuizione|intuitiva]]).
''g'' was earlier often subdivided into only Gf and Gc which were thought to correspond to the Nonverbal or Performance subtests and Verbal subtests in earlier versions of the popular Wechsler IQ test. More recent research has shown the situation to be more complex.<ref name=Kaufman2009/>
Essa si percepisce nella capacità di comprendere, adattarsi e fronteggiare con successo nuove situazioni e può dunque essere concepita come una capacità di [[adattamento]] all'ambiente.
In particolare, l'intelligenza permette di rilevare o cogliere relazioni problematiche, contrasti e di risolvere autonomamente i problemi nuovi (effettivi, potenziali); comporta inoltre la capacità di prevedere e scongiurare il verificarsi di situazioni future negative, o di evitarlo (non necessariamente in maniera conscia), per merito delle proprie elaborazioni di informazioni, [[memoria (psicologia)|ricordi]] e/o [[sensazione|dati percettivi]], invece che unicamente per merito di un richiamo/riapplicazione automatico/a di informazioni o comportamenti pregressi.
====Controversies====
While not necessarily a dispute about the psychometric approach itself, there are several controversies regarding the results from psychometric research. Examples are the role of genetics vs. environment, the causes of average group differences, or the [[Flynn effect]].
L'[[Homo sapiens|Uomo]] è dotato di intelligenza concettuale: la [[comprensione]] per ''[[Homo Sapiens]]'' passa attraverso l'uso dei [[concetto|concetti]], ovvero di [[parola|parole]] a cui associare dei significati. La capacità di [[linguaggio]] è dunque un aspetto fondamentale dell'intelligenza umana, che permette, tra l'altro, il ragionamento complesso e astratto.<ref>Sorgenti: ↑ : Dictionnaire Encyclopédique Alpha, dictionnaires Larousse et Robert. Pour le raisonnement, dictionnaire en ligne TLFI ↑ Prolégomènes, tome II, page 323 http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/Ibn_Khaldoun/Prolegomenes_t2/ibn_pro_II.pdf [archive] ↑ Jean Piaget, La Construction du Réel, 1936 ↑ A formal definition of intelligence based on an intensional variant of Kolmogorov complexity, Jose Hernandez-orallo, Proceedings of the International Symposium of Engineering of Intelligent Systems (EIS'98). ↑ Marcus Hutter, « A Theory of Universal Artificial Intelligence based on Algorithmic Complexity », dans cs/0004001, 2000-04-03 [texte intégral [archive] (page consultée le 2010-03-11)] ↑ (en) Marcus Hutter, Universal Artificial Intelligence: Sequential Decisions Based On Algorithmic Probability, Berlin, SpringerVerlag, 2005 (ISBN 978-3-540-22139-5) (LCCN 2004112980) [lire en ligne [archive] (page consultée le 2010-04-30)] ↑ R. J Solomonoff, « A Formal Theory of Inductive Inference. Part I », dans Information and Control, vol. 7, no 1, 1964, p. 1-22 ↑ J. Veness, « A Monte Carlo AIXI Approximation », dans Arxiv preprint arXiv:0909.0801, 2009 ↑ a et b Aljoscha Neubauer, Les mille facettes de l'intelligence, Pour la Science, Cerveau & psycho, n°1, page 49.</ref>
One criticism has been against the early research such as [[craniometry]].<ref name=mom>''The Mismeasure of Man'', Stephen Jay Gould, Norton, 1996</ref> A reply has been that drawing conclusions from early intelligence research is like condemning the auto industry by criticizing the performance of the [[Model T]].<ref name=Jensen1982>{{Cite journal |authorlink=Arthur Jensen |author=Jensen, A.R. |year=1942 |title=The debunking of scientific fossils and straw persons |journal=Contemporary Education Review |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=121–135 |url= http://www.debunker.com/texts/jensen.html |accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref>
Comportamenti assimilabili a quelli indotti dall'intelligenza animale sono riscontrabili anche nelle [[Plantæ|piante]], mentre i settori di [[ricerca scientifica|ricerca]] legati al campo dell'[[intelligenza artificiale]] tentano di creare delle [[macchina|macchine]] che siano in grado di riprodurre tali comportamenti.
Several critics, such as [[Stephen Jay Gould]], have been critical of ''g'', seeing it as a statistical artifact, and that IQ tests instead measure a number of unrelated abilities.<ref name=mom/><ref name=Schlinger2003>{{Cite journal |author=Schlinger, H.D. |year=2003 |title=The Myth of Intelligence |journal=The Psychological Record |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=15–33 |url=http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5001903843 |accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref> The American Psychological Association's report "[[Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns]]" stated that IQ tests do correlate and that the view that ''g'' is a statistical artifact is a minority one.
===Other theories===
There are critics of IQ, who do not dispute the stability of IQ test scores or the fact that they predict certain forms of achievement rather effectively. They do argue, however, that to base a concept of intelligence on IQ test scores alone is to ignore many important aspects of mental ability.<ref name=APA1995/>
La varietà dei comportamenti umani e animali cosiddetti "intelligenti" è estremamente ampia; ciò rende problematico il raggiungimento di una definizione accademica di intelligenza che risulti sintetica, onnicomprensiva e al contempo universalmente condivisa. Si riscontra pertanto all'interno della [[comunità scientifica]] degli [[psicologo|psicologi]] una diversità di definizioni, ciascuna delle quali risente dell'orientamento di pensiero di chi l'ha formulata.
On the other hand, [[Linda S. Gottfredson]] (2006) has argued that the results of thousands of studies support the importance of IQ for school and job performance (see also the work of Schmidt & Hunter, 2004). IQ also predicts or correlates with numerous other life outcomes. In contrast, empirical support for non-''g'' intelligences is lacking or very poor. She argued that despite this the ideas of multiple non-''g'' intelligences are very attractive to many because they suggest that everyone can be smart in some way.<ref>Gottfredson, L. S. (2006). Social consequences of group differences in cognitive ability (Consequencias sociais das diferencas de grupo em habilidade cognitiva). In C. E. Flores-Mendoza & R. Colom (Eds.), Introducau a psicologia das diferencas individuais (pp. 433-456). Porto Allegre, Brazil: ArtMed Publishers.</ref>
La varietà dei comportamenti umani e animali "intelligenti" è estremamente ampia; ciò, rende problematico il raggiungimento di una definizione accademica di intelligenza che risulti al contempo sintetica, onnicomprensiva e universalmente condivisa. Si riscontrano pertanto all'interno della [[comunità scientifica]] degli [[psicologo|psicologi]] definizioni diverse, ciascuna delle quali risentente dell'orientamento di pensiero di chi l'ha formulata.
====Multiple intelligences====
{{Main|Theory of multiple intelligences}}
[[Howard Gardner]]'s [[theory of multiple intelligences]] is based on studies not only of normal children and adults but also by studies of gifted individuals (including so-called "[[Savant syndrome|savant]]s"), of persons who have suffered brain damage, of experts and [[virtuoso]]s, and of individuals from diverse cultures. This led Gardner to break intelligence down into at least a number of different components. In the first edition of his book "Frames of Mind" (1983), he described seven distinct types of intelligence - [[logical-mathematical]], [[natural language|linguistic]], [[Spatial intelligence (psychology)|spatial]], [[music]]al, [[kinesthetic]], [[interpersonal]], and [[intrapersonal]]. In a second edition of this book, he added two more types of intelligence - [[naturalist]] and [[existential]] intelligences. He argues that psychometric tests address only linguistic and logical plus some aspects of spatial intelligence.<ref name=APA1995/> A major criticism of Gardner's theory is that it has never been tested, or subjected to peer review, by Gardner or anyone else, and indeed that it is [[falsifiability|unfalsifiable]].<ref>[http://www.cortland.edu/psych/mi/critique.html]{{Dead link|date=February 2011}}</ref> Others (e.g. Locke, 2005) have suggested that recognizing many specific forms of intelligence (specific aptitude theory) implies a political—rather than scientific—agenda, intended to appreciate the uniqueness in all individuals, rather than recognizing potentially true and meaningful differences in individual capacities. Schmidt and Hunter (2004) suggest that the predictive validity of specific aptitudes over and above that of general mental ability, or "g", has not received empirical support.
La varietà dei comportamenti umani e animali "intelligenti" è estremamente ampia; ciò, rende problematico il raggiungimento di una definizione accademica di intelligenza che possa essere sintetica, onnicomprensiva e al contempo universalmente condivisa. All'interno della [[comunità scientifica]] degli [[psicologo|psicologi]] vi è pertanto una pluralità di definizioni.
Howard Gardner mentions in his Multiple Intelligences The Theory in Practice<ref name= "isbn046501822">{{Cite book |title=Multiple Intelligence: The theory in practice |publisher=Basic Books |___location=New York |year=1993 |isbn=046501822|authormask=Gardner, Howard}}</ref> book, briefly about his main seven intelligences he introduced. In his book, he starts off describing Linguistic and Logical Intelligence because he believed that in society, we have put these two intelligences on a pedestal. However, Gardner believes all of the intelligences he found are equal. Note: At the time of the publication of Gardner's book Multiple Intelligences The Theory in Practice, naturalist and existential intelligences were not mentioned.
[[Linguistic Intelligence]]: People high in linguistic Intelligence have an affinity for words, both spoken and written.
La definizione di intelligenza è in realtà controversa: la varietà delle manifestazioni comportamentali umane e animali ad essa associabili è difatti estremamente ampia, rendendo problematico il raggiungimento di una definizione di intelligenza che risulti sintetica, completa, universalmente condivisa dalla [[comunità scientifica]] in primo luogo.
[[Reason|Logical-Mathematics Intelligence]]: Is logical and mathematical ability, as well as scientific ability. Howard Gardner believed Jean Piaget may have thought he was studying all intelligence, but in truth, Piaget was really only focusing on the logical mathematical intelligence.
Le definizioni date sono pertanto plurime, dipendenti dall'orientamento di pensiero di chi le ha formulate. Tra le più importanti si segnala quella fornita in una dichiarazione editoriale del 1994, ''Mainstream Science on Intelligence'', firmato da cinquantadue ricercatori:
[[Spatial intelligence (psychology)|Spatial intelligence]]: The ability to form a mental model of a spatial world and to be able to maneuver and operate using that model.
[[Muscle_memory#Music_memory|Musical Intelligence]]: Those with musical Intelligence have excellent pitch, and may even be [[absolute pitch]].
<del>Una definizione di intelligenza dotata delle qualità di sintesi, completezza e condivisione universale da parte della [[comunità scientifica]] è in verità ancora lontana dall'essere raggiungibile: la varietà delle manifestazioni comportamentali umane e animali associabili all'intelligenza è infatti estremamente ampia, dando adito, piuttosto, ad una pluralità di definizioni anche in seno [[Università|accademico]].</del>
[[Muscle memory|Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence]]: The ability to solve problems or to fashion products using one's whole body, or parts of the body. For example, dancers, athletes, surgeons, craftspeople, etc.
<del>Tra i molti enunciati forniti, si segnala per importanza quello pubblicato su ''Mainstream Science on Intelligence'', una dichiarazione editoriale del 1994 firmata da cinquantadue ricercatori:</del>
[[Interpersonal intelligence]]: The ability to see things from the perspective of others, or to understand people in the sense of empathy. Strong interpersonal intelligence would be an asset in those who are teachers, politicians, clinicians, religious leaders, etc.
[[Intrapersonal intelligence]]: A correlative ability, turned inward. It is a capacity to form an accurate, [[wikt:veridical|veridical]] model of oneself and to be able to use that model to operate effectively in life.
====Triarchic theory of intelligence====
{{Main|Triarchic theory of intelligence}}
[[Robert Sternberg]] proposed the [[triarchic theory of intelligence]] to provide a more comprehensive description of intellectual competence than traditional differential or cognitive theories of human ability.<ref name=Sternberg1985>{{Cite book |author=Sternberg, R.J. |year=1985 |title=Beyond IQ: A triarchic theory of human intelligence |publisher=Cambridge University Press |___location=New York |isbn=0-521-26254-2}}</ref> The triarchic theory describes three fundamental aspects of intelligence. Analytic intelligence comprises the mental processes through which intelligence is expressed. Creative intelligence is necessary when an individual is confronted with a challenge that is nearly, but not entirely, novel or when an individual is engaged in automatizing the performance of a task. Practical intelligence is bound in a sociocultural milieu and involves adaptation to, selection of, and shaping of the environment to maximize fit in the context. The triarchic theory does not argue against the validity of a general intelligence factor; instead, the theory posits that general intelligence is part of analytic intelligence, and only by considering all three aspects of intelligence can the full range of intellectual functioning be fully understood.
Il raggiungimento di una definizione di intelligenza singola e universalmente condivisa dalla [[comunità scientifica]] è da sempre questione estremamente complessa: l'intelligenza si manifesta in una varietà pressoché infinita di aspetti e comportamenti umani e animali, varietà che risulta ardua da sintetizzare in un enunciato breve e al contempo rigoroso.
More recently, the triarchic theory has been updated and renamed the Theory of Successful Intelligence by Sternberg.<ref name=Sternberg1999>{{Cite journal |author=Sternberg, R.J. |year=1978 |title=The theory of successful intelligence |journal=Review of General Psychology |volume=3 |pages=292–316 |doi=10.1037/1089-2680.3.4.292 |issue=4}}</ref><ref name=Sternberg2003>{{Cite journal |author=Sternberg, R.J. |year=2003 |title=A broad view of intelligence: The theory of successful intelligence |journal=Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice & Research |volume=55 |pages=139–154 |doi=10.1037/1061-4087.55.3.139 |issue=3}}</ref> Intelligence is defined as an individual's assessment of success in life by the individual's own ([[nomothetic and idiographic|idiographic]]) standards and within the individual's sociocultural context. Success is achieved by using combinations of analytical, creative, and practical intelligence. The three aspects of intelligence are referred to as processing skills. The processing skills are applied to the pursuit of success through what were the three elements of practical intelligence: adapting to, shaping of, and selecting of one's environments. The mechanisms that employ the processing skills to achieve success include utilizing one's strengths and compensating or correcting for one's weaknesses.
Le proposte di definizione per l'intelligenza sono pertanto molteplici. Tra esse si segnala quella riportata su ''Mainstream Science on Intelligence'', una dichiarazione editoriale firmata da cinquantadue [[ricercatore|ricercatori]]:
Sternberg's theories and research on intelligence remain contentious within the scientific community.<ref name=Brody2003a>{{Cite journal |author=Brody, N. |year=2003 |title=Construct validation of the Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Test: Comment and reanalysis |journal=Intelligence |volume=31 |pages=319–329 |doi=10.1016/S0160-2896(01)00087-3 |issue=4}}</ref><ref name=Brody2003b>{{Cite journal |author=Brody, N. |year=2003 |title =What Sternberg should have concluded |journal=Intelligence |volume=31 |pages=339–342 |doi=10.1016/S0160-2896(02)00190-3 |issue=4}}</ref><ref name=Gottfredson2003a>{{Cite journal |author=Gottfredson, L.S. |year=2003 |title=Dissecting practical intelligence theory: Its claims and evidence |journal=Intelligence |volume=31 |pages=343–397 |doi=10.1016/S0160-2896(02)00085-5 |issue=4}}</ref><ref name=Gottfredson2003b>{{Cite journal |author=Gottfredson, L.S. |year=2003 |title=On Sternberg's 'Reply to Gottfredson{{'-}} |journal=Intelligence |volume=31 |pages=415–424 |doi=10.1016/S0160-2896(03)00024-2 |issue=4}}</ref>
{{Citazione|[Dicesi intelligenza] Una generale funzione mentale che, tra l'altro, comporta la capacità di ragionare, pianificare, risolvere problemi, pensare in maniera astratta, comprendere idee complesse, apprendere rapidamente e apprendere dall'esperienza. Non riguarda solo l'apprendimento dai libri, un'abilità accademica limitata, o l'astuzia nei test. Piuttosto, riflette una capacità più ampia e profonda di capire ciò che ci circonda – "afferrare" le cose, attribuirgli un significato, o "scoprire" il da farsi.|Da ''Mainstream Science on Intelligence'', 1994|A very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings—"catching on", "making sense" of things, or "figuring out" what to do.<ref name=Gottfredson1997>{{Cita pubblicazione |autore=Gottfredson, L.S. |anno=1997 |titolo=Foreword to "intelligence and social policy" |rivista=''Intelligence'', |volume=volume 24 |numero=fascicolo 1 |pagine=pagine 1–12 |doi=10.1016/S0160-2896(97)90010-6 |url:http://www.udel.edu/educ/gottfredson/reprints/1997specialissue.pdf |format=pdf |accesso=18 marzo 2008}}</ref>|lingua=en}}
Altre definizioni comprendono: "la capacità o disposizione ad utilizzare in modo adeguato allo scopo tutti gli elementi del pensiero necessari per riconoscere, impostare e risolvere nuovi problemi" ([[William Louis Stern|William L. Stern]])<ref>[http://www.psicolife.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=188:intelligenza&catid=10009:saggie-e-articoli&Itemid=226 Intelligenza<!-- Titolo generato automaticamente -->]</ref>; "la capacità generale di adattare il proprio pensiero e condotta di fronte a condizioni e situazioni nuove" ([[Daniel Stern (psicoanalista)|Daniel N. Stern]])<ref>[http://www.opsonline.it/printable-16916-intelligenza.html Psicologia e psicologi on line. Corsi di formazione, risorse gratuite e servizi per formare e promuovere la professione di psicologo<!-- Titolo generato automaticamente -->]</ref>; "... l'anticipazione utile [...] si misura ''a posteriori'' dal grado di soddisfazione raggiunto dal soggetto".
====PASS Theory of Intelligence====
{{Main|PASS Theory of Intelligence}}
Based on [[A. R. Luria]]’s (1966)<ref name=luria-1966>Luria, A. R. (1966). Higher cortical functions in man. New York: Basic Books.</ref> seminal work on the modularization of brain function, and supported by decades of neuroimaging research, the [[PASS Theory of Intelligence]]<ref name=das-naglieri-kirby-1994>Das, J. P., Naglieri, J. A., & Kirby, J. R. (1994). Assessment of cognitive processes. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.</ref> proposes that cognition is organized in three systems and four processes. The first is the Planning, which involves executive functions responsible for controlling and organizing behavior, selecting and constructing strategies, and monitoring performance. The second is the Attention process, which is responsible for maintaining arousal levels and alertness, and ensuring focus on relevant stimuli. The next two are called Simultaneous and Successive processing and they involve encoding, transforming, and retaining information. Simultaneous processing is engaged when the relationship between items and their integration into whole units of information is required. Examples of this include recognizing figures, such as a triangle within a circle vs. a circle within a triangle, or the difference between ‘he had a shower before breakfast’ and ‘he had breakfast before a shower.’ Successive processing is required for organizing separate items in a sequence such as remembering a sequence of words or actions exactly in the order in which they had just been presented. These four processes are functions of four areas of the brain. Planning is broadly located in the front part of our brains, the frontal lobe. Attention and arousal are combined functions of the frontal lobe and the lower parts of the cortex, although the parietal lobes are also involved in attention as well. Simultaneous processing and Successive processing occur in the posterior region or the back of the brain. Simultaneous processing is broadly associated with the occipital and the parietal lobes while Successive processing is broadly associated with the frontal-temporal lobes. The PASS (Planning/Attention/Simultaneous/Successive) theory is heavily indebted to both Luria (1966,<ref name=luria-1966 /> 1973<ref name=luria-1973>Luria, A. R. (1973). The working brain: An introduction to neuropsychology. New York.</ref>), and studies in cognitive psychology involved in promoting a better look at intelligence.<ref>Das,J.P.(2002) A Better look at Intelligence. Current Directions in Psychology, 11(1), 28-32.</ref>
A partire dal diffondersi di strumenti validi e attendibili per la misura dell'intelligenza, si è successivamente focalizzata l'attenzione sulle differenze individuali legate alla funzione intellettiva. L'intelligenza infatti è stato un significativo campo di discussione tra coloro che ne identificano le cause all'aspetto genetico e coloro che invece assegnano una maggiore importanza ai fattori ambientali. Alcuni studi mostrano come la presenza di alcune patologie psichiatriche, come la depressione, influisca sulla performance al test d'intelligenza WAIS-R: più è severa la patologia più la performance al test è deficitaria.<ref>Mandelli Laura, Serretti Alessandro, Colombo Cristina, Marcello Florita, Alessia Santoro, David Rossini, Raffaella Zanardi, Enrico Smeraldi, (2006). "Improvement of cognitive functioning in mood disorder patients with depressive symptomatic recovery during treatment: an exploratory analysis". Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 60 (5): 598–604. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1440-1819.2006.01564.x</ref> Il che non significa che chi soffre di depressione è meno intelligente di un soggetto non affetto, ma ci suggerisce che, durante l'episodio depressivo, le performance ai test d'intelligenza sono altamente inficiate.
====Piaget's theory and Neo-Piagetian theories====
{{Main|Piaget's theory of cognitive development|Neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development}}
In [[Piaget's theory of cognitive development]] the focus is not on mental abilities but rather on a child's mental models of the world. As a child develops, increasingly more accurate models of the world are developed which enable the child to interact with the world better. One example being [[object permanence]] where the child develops a model where objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched.
Gli studi differenziali sull'intelligenza evidenziano una forte correlazione tra QI ([[quoziente intellettivo]]) di [[gemelli monovulari]]. Si evidenzia inoltre una fortissima incidenza dei fattori ambientali sullo sviluppo delle capacità cognitive (si pensi agli studi portati avanti sulla differenza di intelligenza tra bianchi e neri, ricondotti non a differenze cognitive, ma piuttosto al fattore interveniente del livello socio-demografico). La psicologia risolve la dialettica tra componenti innate e ambientali nello sviluppo dell'intelligenza evidenziando come la componente genetica sembra rappresentare una disponibilità, mentre la componente educativa rappresenta un fattore di innesco per tradurre un potenziale in una funzionalità effettiva. Per quanto riguarda l'avanzare dell'età, il rendimento su alcune scale del WAIS tende a diminuire, mentre su altre rimane stabile o aumenta. Riprendendo la distinzione proposta da [[Raymond Cattell]] tra [[intelligenza fluida e cristallizzata]], caratteristiche legate all'[[Intelligenza fluida e cristallizzata|intelligenza fluida]] (acquisizione di nuovi stimoli e autocorrezione) tendono a diminuire dopo i 60 anni, mentre l'[[Intelligenza fluida e cristallizzata|intelligenza cristallizzata]] (uso ottimale del proprio patrimonio di strategie, conoscenze, competenze) aumenta in maniera costante per tutta la vita.
Piaget's theory described four main stages and many sub-stages in the development. These four main stages are:
* sensory motor stage (birth-2yrs);
* pre-operational stage (2yrs-7rs);
* concrete operational stage (7rs-11yrs); and
* formal operations stage (11yrs-16yrs)<ref name="Piaget, J. 2001">Piaget, J. (2001). Psychology of intelligence. Routledge.</ref>
Degree of progress through these stages are correlated, but not identical with psychometric IQ.<ref name="Elkind, D. 1969">Elkind, D., & Flavell, J. (1969). ''Studies in cognitive development: Essays in honor of Jean Piaget''. New York: Oxford University Press</ref><ref>Intelligence and IQ, Landmark Issues and Great Debates, Richard A. Weinberg AmericanVol. 44, No. 2, 98-104</ref> Piaget conceptualizes intelligence as an activity more than a capacity.
One of Piaget's most famous studies focused purely on the discriminative abilities of children between the ages of two and a half years old, and four and a half years old. He began the study by taking children of different ages and placing two lines of sweets, one with the sweets in a line spread further apart, and one with the same number of sweets in a line placed more closely together. He found that, "Children between 2 years, 6 months old and 3 years, 2 months old correctly discriminate the relative number of objects in two rows; between 3 years, 2 months and 4 years, 6 months they indicate a longer row with fewer objects to have "more"; after 4 years, 6 months they again discriminate correctly".<ref>Piaget, J. (1953). The origin of intelligence in the child. New Fetter Lane, New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul.</ref> Initially younger children were not studied, because if at four years old a child could not conserve quantity, then a younger child presumably could not either. The results show however that children that are younger than three years and two months have quantity conservation, but as they get older they lose this quality, and do not recover it until four and a half years old. This attribute may be lost temporarily because of an overdependence on perceptual strategies, which correlates more candy with a longer line of candy, or because of the inability for a four-year-old to reverse situations.<ref name="Piaget, J. 2001"/>
By the end of this experiment several results were found. First, younger children have a discriminative ability that shows the logical capacity for cognitive operations exists earlier than acknowledged. This study also reveals that young children can be equipped with certain qualities for cognitive operations, depending on how logical the structure of the task is. Research also shows that children develop explicit understanding at age 5 and as a result, the child will count the sweets to decide which has more. Finally the study found that overall quantity conservation is not a basic characteristic of humans' native inheritance.<ref name="Piaget, J. 2001"/>
Con il termine intelligenza si fa riferimento all'insieme di tutte le [[funzioni psichiche]]/[[mente|mentali]] che permettono ad un soggetto (individuo o animale) di capire cose ed eventi, scoprendo le relazioni che intercorrono tra di essi ed arrivando ad una conoscenza [[concetto|concettuale]] e razionale (ovvero non [[sensazione|percettiva]] o [[intuizione|intuitiva]]).
Piaget's theory has been criticized for the age of appearance of a new model of the world, such as object permanence, being dependent on how the testing is done (see the article on [[object permanence]]). More generally, the theory may be very difficult to test empirically because of the difficulty of proving or disproving that a mental model is the explanation for the results of the testing.<ref>{{cite doi|10.1007/BF00592203}}</ref>
Essa si percepisce nella capacità di comprendere, adattarsi e fronteggiare con successo nuove situazioni e può dunque essere concepita come una capacità di [[adattamento]] all'ambiente. L'intelligenza permette in particolare di rilevare o cogliere relazioni problematiche e contrasti, di identificare i problemi nuovi, di risolverli autonomamente, e di risolverli nel modo più appropriato alle situazioni in cui sono immersi. Comporta inoltre la capacità del soggetto di prevedere e scongiurare, o di evitare (non necessariamente in maniera conscia), il verificarsi di situazioni future negative per merito delle proprie elaborazioni di informazioni, [[memoria (psicologia)|ricordi]] e/o [[sensazione|dati percettivi]] (ovvero, non unicamente per merito di un/una richiamo/riapplicazione automatico/a di informazioni o comportamenti pregressi).
Comportamenti assimilabili a quelli indotti dall'intelligenza animale sono riscontrabili anche nelle [[Plantæ|piante]], mentre i settori di [[ricerca scientifica|ricerca]] legati al campo dell'[[intelligenza artificiale]] tentano di creare delle [[macchina|macchine]] in grado di produrre anch'esse comportamenti intelligenti.
[[Neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development]] expand Piaget's theory in various ways such as also considering psychometric-like factors such as processing speed and working memory, "hypercognitive" factors like self-monitoring, more stages, and more consideration on how progress may vary in different domains such as spatial or social.<ref>Demetriou, A. (1998). Cognitive development. In A. Demetriou, W. Doise, K.F.M. van Lieshout (Eds.), Life-span developmental psychology (pp. 179-269). London: Wiley.</ref><ref>Demetriou, A., Mouyi, A., & Spanoudis, G. (2010). The development of mental processing. Nesselroade, J.R. (2011). Methods in the study of life-span human development: Issues and answers. In W.F. Overton (Ed.), ''Biology, cognition and methods across the life-span. Volume 1 of the Handbook of life-span development'' (pp. 36-35), Editor-in-chief: R.M. Lerner. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.</ref>
<nowiki>== Etimologia ==</nowiki>
====Latent inhibition====
<br>La parola ''intelligenza'' deriva dal [[sostantivo]] [[lingua latina|latino]] ''intelligenzĭa'', a sua volta derivante dal [[verbo]] ''intelligĕre'', "capire". La genesi di ''intelligĕre'' è incerta: secondo alcuni, sarebbe una contrazione del [[verbo]] ''legĕre'' (= "scegliere", "leggere") con l'[[avverbio]] ''intus'' (= "dentro"), mentre secondo altri lo sarebbe con l'avverbio ''inter'' (= "tra"). Nel primo caso, il termine latino significherebbe "leggere-dentro", suggerendo una capacità di "leggere oltre la superficie", di comprendere davvero, comprendere le reali intenzioni. Nel secondo, ''intelligĕre'' starebbe per "leggere-tra", suggerendo forse una capacità di "leggere tra le righe", di stabilire delle correlazioni tra elementi.
{{main|Latent inhibition}}
[[Latent inhibition]] has been related to elements of intelligence, namely creativity and genius.
<nowiki>== Definizioni accademiche ==</nowiki>
===Evolution of intelligence===
<br>La [[comunità scientifica]] non ha ad oggi raggiunto un accordo universale su una definizione universitaria unica e condivisa di intelligenza. Tra le molte definizioni proposte dai [[ricerca scientifica|ricercatori]] si segnala quella riportata su ''Mainstream Science on Intelligence'', una dichiarazione editoriale del 1994 firmata da cinquantadue di essi:
{{Main|Evolution of human intelligence}}
{{quote|[Dicesi intelligenza] Una generale funzione mentale che, tra l'altro, comporta la capacità di ragionare, pianificare, risolvere problemi, pensare in maniera astratta, comprendere idee complesse, apprendere rapidamente e apprendere dall'esperienza. Non riguarda solo l'apprendimento dai libri, un'abilità accademica limitata, o l'astuzia nei test. Piuttosto, riflette una capacità più ampia e profonda di capire ciò che ci circonda – "afferrare" le cose, attribuirgli un significato, o "scoprire" il da farsi.|Da ''Mainstream Science on Intelligence'', 1994|A very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings—"catching on", "making sense" of things, or "figuring out" what to do.<ref name=Gottfredson1997>{{Cita pubblicazione |autore=Gottfredson, L.S. |anno=1997 |titolo=Foreword to "intelligence and social policy" |rivista=''Intelligence'', |volume=volume 24 |numero=fascicolo 1 |pagine=pagine 1–12 |doi=10.1016/S0160-2896(97)90010-6 |url:http://www.udel.edu/educ/gottfredson/reprints/1997specialissue.pdf |format=pdf |accesso=18 marzo 2008}}</ref>|lingua=en}}
The ancestors of [[modern humans]] evolved large and complex brains exhibiting an ever-increasing intelligence through a long evolutionary process (see [[Homininae]]). Different explanations have been proposed.
Altre definizioni date sono: "la capacità o disposizione ad utilizzare in modo adeguato allo scopo tutti gli elementi del pensiero necessari per riconoscere, impostare e risolvere nuovi problemi" ([[William Louis Stern|William L. Stern]])<ref>http://www.psicolife.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=188:intelligenza&catid=10009:saggie-e-articoli&Itemid=226</ref>; "la capacità generale di adattare il proprio pensiero e condotta di fronte a condizioni e situazioni nuove" ([[Daniel Stern (psicoanalista)|Daniel N. Stern]])<ref>http://www.opsonline.it/printable-16916-intelligenza.html</ref>; "... l'anticipazione utile [...] si misura ''a posteriori'' dal grado di soddisfazione raggiunto dal soggetto".
===Improving intelligence===
[[Eugenics]] is a social philosophy which advocates the improvement of human hereditary traits through various forms of intervention.<ref name="Osborn1937">{{Cite journal |author=Osborn, F. |authorlink=Frederick Osborn |year=1937 |title=Development of a Eugenic Philosophy |journal=[[American Sociological Review]] |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=389–397 |doi=10.2307/2084871 |jstor=2084871}}</ref> Conscious efforts to influence intelligence raise ethical issues. Eugenics has variously been regarded as meritorious or deplorable in different periods of history, falling greatly into disrepute after the defeat of [[Nazi Germany]] in [[World War II]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}
[[Neuroethics]] considers the ethical, legal and social implications of neuroscience, and deals with issues such as the difference between treating a human [[neurological]] disease and enhancing the human brain, and how wealth impacts access to neurotechnology. Neuroethical issues interact with the ethics of [[human genetic engineering]].
Una definizione di intelligenza che risulti universalmente condivisibile dalla [[comunità scientifica]], è difficile da raggiungere per via della varietà amplissima e dunque difficilmente sintetizzabile di manifestazioni comportamentali umane e animali in cui l'intelligenza si manifesta. Tra le numerose definizioni proposte si segnala quella pubblicata su una dichiarazione editoriale del 1994 firmata da cinquantadue ricercatori, ''Mainstream Science on Intelligence'':
Because intelligence appears to be at least partly dependent on brain structure and the genes shaping brain development, it has been proposed that [[genetic engineering]] could be used to enhance the intelligence, a process sometimes called [[biological uplift]] in [[science fiction]]. Experiments on mice have demonstrated superior ability in learning and memory in various behavioral tasks.<ref name="pmid10485705">{{Cite journal |author=Tang YP, Shimizu E, Dube GR, ''et al.'' |title=Genetic enhancement of learning and memory in mice |journal=Nature |volume=401 |issue=6748 |pages=63–9 |year=1999 |pmid= 10485705 |doi=10.1038/43432|bibcode = 1999Natur.401...63T }}</ref>
{{Citazione|[Dicesi intelligenza] Una generale funzione mentale che, tra l'altro, comporta la capacità di ragionare, pianificare, risolvere problemi, pensare in maniera astratta, comprendere idee complesse, apprendere rapidamente e apprendere dall'esperienza. Non riguarda solo l'apprendimento dai libri, un'abilità accademica limitata, o l'astuzia nei test. Piuttosto, riflette una capacità più ampia e profonda di capire ciò che ci circonda – "afferrare" le cose, attribuirgli un significato, o "scoprire" il da farsi.|Da ''Mainstream Science on Intelligence'', 1994|A very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings—"catching on", "making sense" of things, or "figuring out" what to do.<ref name=Gottfredson1997>{{Cita pubblicazione |autore=Gottfredson, L.S. |anno=1997 |titolo=Foreword to "intelligence and social policy" |rivista=''Intelligence'', |volume=volume 24 |numero=fascicolo 1 |pagine=pagine 1–12 |doi=10.1016/S0160-2896(97)90010-6 |url:http://www.udel.edu/educ/gottfredson/reprints/1997specialissue.pdf |format=pdf |accesso=18 marzo 2008}}</ref>|lingua=en}}
Altre definizioni comprendono: "la capacità o disposizione ad utilizzare in modo adeguato allo scopo tutti gli elementi del pensiero necessari per riconoscere, impostare e risolvere nuovi problemi" ([[William Louis Stern|William L. Stern]])<ref>[http://www.psicolife.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=188:intelligenza&catid=10009:saggie-e-articoli&Itemid=226 Intelligenza<!-- Titolo generato automaticamente -->]</ref>; "la capacità generale di adattare il proprio pensiero e condotta di fronte a condizioni e situazioni nuove" ([[Daniel Stern (psicoanalista)|Daniel N. Stern]])<ref>[http://www.opsonline.it/printable-16916-intelligenza.html Psicologia e psicologi on line. Corsi di formazione, risorse gratuite e servizi per formare e promuovere la professione di psicologo<!-- Titolo generato automaticamente -->]</ref>; "... l'anticipazione utile [...] si misura ''a posteriori'' dal grado di soddisfazione raggiunto dal soggetto".
IQ leads to greater success in education,<ref>W. Johnson, C. E. Brett and I. J. Deary. (2010). The pivotal role of education in the association between ability and social class attainment: A look across three generations. ''Intelligence'', '''38''', [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2009.11.008 55-65]</ref> but independently education raises IQ scores.<ref>C. N. Brinch and T. A. Galloway. (2012). Schooling in adolescence raises IQ scores. ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA'', '''109''', [http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1106077109 425-30]</ref> Attempts to raise IQ with brain training have led to increases on the training tasks – for instance [[working memory]] – but it is as yet unclear if these generalise to increased intelligence per se.<ref>{{cite journal | first = Zach | last1 = Shipstead | first2 = Thomas S. | last2 = Redick | first3 = Randall W. | last3 = Engle | year = 2010 | title = Does Working Memory Training Generalize? | journal = [[Psychologica Belgica]] | volume = 50 | issue = 3–4 | pages = 245–276 | url = http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/acad/psyb/2010/00000050/f0020003/art00007}}</ref>
{{nota disambigua|altri significati|[[Intelligenza (disambigua)]]}}
[[Transhumanist]] theorists study the possibilities and consequences of developing and using techniques to enhance human abilities and aptitudes, and individuals ameliorating what they regard as undesirable and unnecessary aspects of the human condition.
L''''intelligenza''' è l'insieme di tutte le [[funzioni psichiche]]/[[mente|mentali]] che permettono ad un soggetto (individuo o animale) di capire cose ed eventi, scoprendo le relazioni che intercorrono tra di essi ed arrivando ad una conoscenza [[concetto|concettuale]] e razionale (ovvero non [[sensazione|percettiva]] o [[intuizione|intuitiva]]).
Essa si percepisce nella capacità di comprendere, adattarsi e fronteggiare con successo nuove situazioni, e può dunque essere concepita anche come una capacità di [[adattamento]] all'ambiente. In particolare, l'intelligenza permette di rilevare o cogliere relazioni problematiche e contrasti, di identificare i problemi nuovi, di risolverli autonomamente e di risolverli nel modo più appropriato alle situazioni in cui sono immersi; da essa consegue inoltre la capacità di un soggetto di prevedere e scongiurare, o evitare (non necessariamente in maniera conscia), il verificarsi di situazioni future negative, per merito delle proprie elaborazioni di informazioni, [[memoria (psicologia)|ricordi]] e/o [[sensazione|dati percettivi]] (ovvero, non unicamente per merito di un/una richiamo/riapplicazione automatico/a di informazioni o comportamenti pregressi).
Le [[Plantæ|piante]] presentano comportamenti che sono assimilabili a quelli indotti dall'intelligenza animale; i settori di [[ricerca scientifica|ricerca]] legati al campo dell'[[intelligenza artificiale]] tentano di creare delle [[macchina|macchine]] in grado di produrre anch'esse comportamenti intelligenti.
Substances which actually or purportedly improve intelligence or other mental functions are called [[nootropic]]s.
A 2008 research paper claimed that practicing a dual [[n-back]] task can increase [[fluid intelligence]] (Gf), as measured in several different standard tests.<ref>Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Jonides, J., Perrig, W. J. (2008),
Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory, [[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]], vol. 105 no. 19</ref> This finding received some attention from popular media, including an article in ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]''.<ref>Alexis Madrigal, [http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/04/smart_software ''Forget ''Brain Age:'' Researchers Develop Software That Makes You Smarter''], [[Wired News|Wired]], April 2008</ref> However, a subsequent criticism of the paper's methodology questioned the experiment's validity and took issue with the lack of uniformity in the tests used to evaluate the control and test groups.<ref>Moody, D. E. (2009), [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6W4M-4W99NNR-1/2/fafbc063eb66abf5080936053ef2a7f3 ''Can intelligence be increased by training on a task of working memory?''] Intelligence, Volume 37, Issue 4, July–August 2009, Pages 327-328, {{doi|10.1016/j.intell.2009.04.005}}</ref> For example, the progressive nature of [[Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices]] (APM) test may have been compromised by modifications of time restrictions (i.e., 10 minutes were allowed to complete a normally 45-minute test).
===Correlates===
According to Rosemary Hopcroft, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, intelligence is inversely linked with sexual frequency (people with higher levels of education often report lower numbers of sexual partners).<ref>Friedman, L.F. (2011, July).Intellegent Intercourse. Psychology Today. 44, 41.</ref> In parallel, self-reported intelligence has been linked to [[Kink (sexual)|unconventional sexual practices]] and frequent sexual activity, thoughts and [[Sexual fantasy|fantasies]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Thompson |first= Mark |title=Who Should You Have Sex With |date= 1 |year= 2010 |month= October |publisher= Sourcebooks Casablanca |isbn= 978-1402242045 |page=78 |chapter=3 | quote=In my studies, men and women who described themselves as smart, intelligent, logical and imaginative reported thinking about sex more often, fantasizing about sex, and having sex more often than people who did not see themselves as smart or intellectual. They also usually had a wider scope of sexual experiences, including experience with role-playing and other Kinky activities.}}</ref>
Some studies have shown a direct link between an increased birth weight and an increased [[intelligence quotient]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Matte TD, Bresnahan M, Begg MD, Susser E |title=Influence of variation in birth weight within normal range and within sibships on IQ at age 7 years: cohort study |journal=BMJ |volume=323 |issue=7308 |pages=310–4 |year=2001 |month= August|pmid=11498487 |pmc=37317 |url=http://bmj.com/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=11498487 |doi=10.1136/bmj.323.7308.310}}</ref><ref name="titleThe Future of Children - Sub-Sections">{{cite web |url=http://www.futureofchildren.org/information2827/information_show.htm?doc_id=256519 |title=The Future of Children - Sub-Sections |accessdate=2007-11-28 |format= |work= |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20071022213938/http://futureofchildren.org/information2827/information_show.htm?doc_id=256519 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2007-10-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1483134.stm |title=HEALTH | Intelligence linked to birthweight |accessdate=2007-11-28 |work=BBC News | date=2001-08-09}}</ref>
<del>L''intelligenza'' è l'insieme di tutte le funzioni e facoltà [[funzioni psichiche|psichiche]] e [[mente|mentali]] che permettono ad un soggetto (individuo o animale) di avere un rapporto ottimale con l'ambiente, ovvero di essere o di divenire adattato ad esso. </del>
=Comparazioni con la neurobiologia=
Il sistema sensoriale e di risposta di una pianta è stato comparato con i processi [[neurobiologia|neurobiologici]] degli [[animalia|Animali]]. La neurobiologia delle piante riguarda soprattutto il [[comportamento adattativo (ecologia)|comportamento adattativo]] sensoriale dell'[[elettrofisiologia]] di piante e vegetali. Lo scienziato indiano [[J. C. Bose]] è accreditato come la prima persona ad aver parlato di neurobiologia delle piante. Molti scienziati dei vegetali e neuroscienziati, tuttavia, ritengono che questo termine sia inesatto, in quanto le piante non hanno [[neuroni]].<ref name="NoBrain">Plant neurobiology: no brain, no gain? Alpi A, Amrhein N, Bertl A, Blatt MR, Blumwald E, Cervone F, Dainty J, De Michelis MI, Epstein E, Galston AW, Goldsmith MH, Hawes C, Hell R, Hetherington A, Hofte H, Juergens G, Leaver CJ, Moroni A, Murphy A, Oparka K, Perata P, Quader H, Rausch T, Ritzenthaler C, Rivetta A, Robinson DG, Sanders D, Scheres B, Schumacher K, Sentenac H, Slayman CL, Soave C, Somerville C, Taiz L, Thiel G, Wagner R. (2007). Trends Plant Sci. Apr;12(4):135-6. PMID 17368081</ref>
<del>L'intelligenza si percepisce nella capacità di capire, scoprendo le relazioni intercorrenti tra elementi ed arrivando ad una conoscenza [[concetto|concettuale]] e razionale (ovvero non [[sensazione|percettiva]] o [[intuizione|intuitiva]]), consente di rilevare o cogliere relazioni problematiche e contrasti, di risolvere autonomamente i problemi nuovi e di risolverli nel modo più appropriato alle situazioni in cui sono immersi, e in base al suo grado di evoluzione può esprimersi anche nelle capacità di ragionare, di pensare in maniera astratta, di pianificare, di generare la previsione e prevenzione, o evitamento (non necessariamente conscio), del verificarsi di situazioni future negative sulla base di proprie elaborazioni di informazioni, [[memoria (psicologia)|ricordi]] e/o [[sensazione|dati percettivi]], piuttosto che unicamente tramite richiami/riapplicazioni automatici/automatiche di informazioni o comportamenti pregressi.</del>
Le idee dietro la neurobiologia vegetale sono state criticate in un articolo del 2007<ref name="NoBrain" /> pubblicato in ''[[Trends in Plant Science]]'' da Amedeo Alpi e 35 altri scienziati, comprendenti eminenti biologi delle piante come [[Gerd Jürgens]], Ben Scheres, e Chris Sommerville. L'ampiezza dei campi della scienza delle piante rappresentata da questi ricercatori riflette il fatto che la stragrande maggioranza della [[comunità scientifica]] di [[ricerca scientifica|ricerca]] sulle piante rifiuta la neurobiologia vegetale. I loro argomenti principali sono<ref name="NoBrain" />:
* "La neurobiologia vegetale non aggiunge nulla alla nostra comprensione della fisiologia vegetale, della biologia cellulare vegetale o della segnalazione".
* "Nelle piante non c'è evidenza di strutture assimilabili a [[neurone|neuroni]], [[sinapsi]] o cervelli".
* Il verificarsi comune di [[plasmodesmata]] nelle piante, che "pone un problema per la segnalazione da un punto di vista elettrofisiologico" dato l'ampio accoppiamento elettrico precluderebbe la necessità di qualsiasi trasporto cellula-cellula di composti simili a [[neurotrasmettitore|neurotrasmettitori]].
Se il concetto di "neurobiologia delle piante" è a beneficio della comunità di ricerca gli autori chiedono la fine di "analogie superficiali e estrapolazioni discutibili".<ref name="NoBrain" />
<del>Si è riscontrato che anche le [[Plantæ|piante]] presentano comportamenti che sono assimilabili ad alcuni di quelli indotti dall'intelligenza animale, mentre i settori di [[ricerca scientifica|ricerca]] legati al campo dell'[[intelligenza artificiale]] tentano di creare delle [[macchina|macchine]] che siano in grado di produrre anch'esse comportamenti intelligenti.</del>
Ci sono state diverse risposte alla critica per chiarire che il termine "neurobiologia vegetale" è una metafora e che le metafore si sono rivelate utili in diverse occasioni.<ref>{{cite pmid|17499006}}</ref><ref>{{cite pmid|17591455}}</ref>
Attualmente non vi sono definizioni accademiche, ovvero prodotte dalla comunità dei [[ricerca scientifica|ricercatori]], di intelligenza che godano dell'accordo universale della [[comunità scientifica]] stessa. Tra i molti enunciati proposti si segnala quello riportato in una dichiarazione editoriale del 1994 firmata da cinquantadue ricercatori, ''Mainstream Science on Intelligence'':
L'intelligenza è l'insieme di tutte le [[funzioni psichiche]]/[[mente|mentali]] che permettono ad un soggetto (individuo o animale) di capire cose ed eventi, scoprendo le relazioni che intercorrono tra di essi ed arrivando ad una conoscenza [[concetto|concettuale]] e razionale (ovvero non [[sensazione|percettiva]] o [[intuizione|intuitiva]]).
Essa si percepisce nella capacità di comprendere, adattarsi e fronteggiare con successo nuove situazioni e può dunque essere concepita come una capacità di [[adattamento]] all'ambiente.
In particolare, l'intelligenza permette di rilevare o cogliere relazioni problematiche, contrasti e di risolvere autonomamente i problemi nuovi (effettivi, potenziali); comporta inoltre la capacità di prevedere e scongiurare il verificarsi di situazioni future negative, o di evitarlo (non necessariamente in maniera conscia), per merito delle proprie elaborazioni di informazioni, [[memoria (psicologia)|ricordi]] e/o [[sensazione|dati percettivi]], invece che unicamente per merito di un richiamo/riapplicazione automatico/a di informazioni o comportamenti pregressi.
L'[[Homo sapiens|Uomo]] è dotato di intelligenza concettuale: la [[comprensione]] per ''[[Homo Sapiens]]'' passa attraverso l'uso dei [[concetto|concetti]], ovvero di [[parola|parole]] a cui associare dei significati. La capacità di [[linguaggio]] è dunque un aspetto fondamentale dell'intelligenza umana, che permette tra l'altro il ragionamento complesso e astratto.<ref>Sorgenti: ↑ : Dictionnaire Encyclopédique Alpha, dictionnaires Larousse et Robert. Pour le raisonnement, dictionnaire en ligne TLFI ↑ Prolégomènes, tome II, page 323 http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/Ibn_Khaldoun/Prolegomenes_t2/ibn_pro_II.pdf [archive] ↑ Jean Piaget, La Construction du Réel, 1936 ↑ A formal definition of intelligence based on an intensional variant of Kolmogorov complexity, Jose Hernandez-orallo, Proceedings of the International Symposium of Engineering of Intelligent Systems (EIS'98). ↑ Marcus Hutter, « A Theory of Universal Artificial Intelligence based on Algorithmic Complexity », dans cs/0004001, 2000-04-03 [texte intégral [archive] (page consultée le 2010-03-11)] ↑ (en) Marcus Hutter, Universal Artificial Intelligence: Sequential Decisions Based On Algorithmic Probability, Berlin, SpringerVerlag, 2005 (ISBN 978-3-540-22139-5) (LCCN 2004112980) [lire en ligne [archive] (page consultée le 2010-04-30)] ↑ R. J Solomonoff, « A Formal Theory of Inductive Inference. Part I », dans Information and Control, vol. 7, no 1, 1964, p. 1-22 ↑ J. Veness, « A Monte Carlo AIXI Approximation », dans Arxiv preprint arXiv:0909.0801, 2009 ↑ a et b Aljoscha Neubauer, Les mille facettes de l'intelligence, Pour la Science, Cerveau & psycho, n°1, page 49.</ref>
Comportamenti assimilabili a quelli indotti dall'intelligenza animale sono riscontrabili anche nelle [[Plantæ|piante]], mentre i settori di [[ricerca scientifica|ricerca]] legati al campo dell'[[intelligenza artificiale]] tentano di creare delle [[macchina|macchine]] in grado di riprodurre tali comportamenti.
{{nota disambigua}}
L''''intelligenza''' attualmente non è [[#Definizioni scientifiche|ufficialmente]] definita; attenendosi al [[#Etimologia|significato etimologico del termine]] è però possibile identificarla come:
* Quel complesso di funzionalità e abilità [[psiche|psichiche]] e [[mente|mentali]] che consente ad un soggetto in primo luogo di ''capire'', ovvero di giungere autonomamente a delle [[conoscenza|conoscenze]] reali (che possono riguardare anche il modo di raggiungere degli obiettivi) grazie a propri trattamenti delle informazioni;
O come:
* La capacità generale di capire in sé.
Si tratta, in ogni caso, di quella proprietà [[cognizione|cognitiva]] che sottende alla ''buona'' esecuzione di tutte quelle attività del [[pensiero]] che implichino un "lavorare sulle informazioni che si possiede per ''andare oltre''"<ref name=generale>''[http://books.google.it/books?id=GpW9Le42bysC&pg=PA215&lpg=PA215&dq=%22di+pensare+bene%22+%26+%22intelligenza%22&source=bl&ots=nxn_INV_eh&sig=am-nOxlKN-dgQAa0tDNxt8yfYAo&hl=it&sa=X&ei=gzeXUt2UCcPDyQO_ooCwBQ&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22di%20pensare%20bene%22%20%26%20%22intelligenza%22&f=false Manuale di psicologia generale]'', p. 215.</ref> (attività del pensiero di cui degli esempi comprendono trarre delle conclusioni a partire da ciò che è noto, fare previsioni riguardo al futuro, elaborare giudizi, risolvere problemi in precedenza mai incontrati, scoprire nelle situazioni vissute aspetti prima non considerati, inventare prodotti nuovi<ref name=generale></ref> che risultino soddisfacenti). Funzione che si percepisce nella capacità di comprendere, adattarsi e fronteggiare con successo nuove situazioni, l'intelligenza può inoltre essere concepita anche come una capacità di adattamento attivo all'ambiente.
L'intelligenza è, inoltre, caratteristica propria in primo luogo dell'[[homo sapiens|uomo]] e delle specie animali; studi recenti testimoniano, tuttavia, che le [[Plantæ|piante]] presentano anch'esse dei comportamenti che sembrano rinviabili a forme di "capacità di capire"; e il termine "intelligenza" è oggi usato anche in riferimento alle [[macchina|macchine]], [[#L.27intelligenza_artificiale|il campo di ricerca dell'"intelligenza artificiale"]] tentante, infatti, di creare delle macchine che siano in grado di riprodurre l'intelligenza biologica almeno in alcuni aspetti.
La varietà dei comportamenti umani e animali cosiddetti "intelligenti" è estremamente ampia; ciò rende problematico il raggiungimento di una definizione accademica di intelligenza che risulti sintetica, onnicomprensiva e al contempo universalmente condivisa. Si riscontra pertanto all'interno della [[comunità scientifica]] degli [[psicologo|psicologi]] una diversità di definizioni, ciascuna delle quali risente dell'orientamento di pensiero di chi l'ha formulata.
La varietà dei comportamenti umani e animali "intelligenti" è estremamente ampia; ciò, rende problematico il raggiungimento di una definizione accademica di intelligenza che risulti al contempo sintetica, onnicomprensiva e universalmente condivisa. Si riscontrano pertanto all'interno della [[comunità scientifica]] degli [[psicologo|psicologi]] definizioni diverse, ciascuna delle quali risentente dell'orientamento di pensiero di chi l'ha formulata.
La varietà dei comportamenti umani e animali "intelligenti" è estremamente ampia; ciò, rende problematico il raggiungimento di una definizione accademica di intelligenza che possa essere sintetica, onnicomprensiva e al contempo universalmente condivisa. All'interno della [[comunità scientifica]] degli [[psicologo|psicologi]] vi è pertanto una pluralità di definizioni.
La definizione di intelligenza è in realtà controversa: la varietà delle manifestazioni comportamentali umane e animali ad essa associabili è difatti estremamente ampia, rendendo problematico il raggiungimento di una definizione di intelligenza che risulti sintetica, completa, universalmente condivisa dalla [[comunità scientifica]] in primo luogo.
Le definizioni date sono pertanto plurime, dipendenti dall'orientamento di pensiero di chi le ha formulate. Tra le più importanti si segnala quella fornita in una dichiarazione editoriale del 1994, ''Mainstream Science on Intelligence'', firmato da cinquantadue ricercatori:
L'''intelligenza'' è in generale definibile come ''la capacità'', caratterizzante individui e [[specie]], e riconducibile unicamente a delle facoltà mentali, ''di adattarsi all'[[ambiente]]''.
Una definizione di intelligenza dotata delle qualità di sintesi, completezza e condivisione universale da parte della [[comunità scientifica]] è in verità ancora lontana dall'essere raggiungibile: la varietà delle manifestazioni comportamentali umane e animali associabili all'intelligenza è infatti estremamente ampia, dando adito, piuttosto, ad una pluralità di definizioni anche in seno [[Università|accademico]].
<br>La [[locuzione]] "adattarsi all'ambiente" è intesa in un senso ben preciso e peculiare: data una certa situazione, e un determinato insieme di circostanze esterne ed interiori, un individuo può reagire alle stesse in uno qualunque tra una varietà pressoché infinita di modi diversi (un esempio banale: se si è avuto un litigio con qualcuno a cui si tiene, per far finire le proprie sofferenze si può decidere di parlare con la persona amata per sistemare le cose ma anche, eventualmente, di buttarsi giù da un ponte). Il soggetto riconosciuto come più ''intelligente'' è quello che, mediante la sua peculiare risposta, meglio riesce nell'''assicurare'', nel presente e nel futuro, l'ottenimento e/o il mantenimento della propria sussistenza, del proprio equilibrio (biologico e mentale), della propria soddisfazione, in maniera diversa concordemente con la propria scala di priorità. Si parla quindi di "adattamento all'ambiente" come adozione (da parte di un soggetto) di comportamenti in primo luogo psichici/mentali, e conseguentemente fisici, comunicativi, operativi favorevoli nei propri confronti, in interazione con l'ambiente, ma anche in risposta al proprio stato interiore, alle proprie esigenze e ai propri desideri.
L'intelligenza quale è stata definita necessita delle capacità di comprensione della realtà, delle [[idea|idee]] e del [[linguaggio]], di ragionamento, di [[apprendimento]], di apprendimento dall'esperienza, di pianificazione e di [[problem solving]], al punto che in prima approssimazione (adottando un punto di vista cosiddetto "ingenuo") essa è identificabile con la capacità di esercitare le facoltà citate, in tutti gli ambiti e i campi conoscibili dal soggetto che sta esercitando l'intelligenza secondo le teorie che riconoscono un'intelligenza "unica", o di volta in volta in taluni ambiti specifici (come quello pratico, quello linguistico, quello sociale, quello logico-matematico...) secondo il costrutto delle [[#La_teoria_delle_intelligenze_multiple|intelligenze multiple]].
Tra i molti enunciati forniti, si segnala per importanza quello pubblicato su ''Mainstream Science on Intelligence'', una dichiarazione editoriale del 1994 firmata da cinquantadue ricercatori:
<br>Le capacità citate di comprensione ecc. sono quelle che vengono comunemente prese in considerazione nei [[#La valutazione dell'intelligenza|test sull'intelligenza]], sebbene con tutte le limitazioni del caso.
In ambito tecnico-accademico il termine "intelligenza" viene usato nel suo senso più intuitivo associandolo però a dei termini dal significato invece tecnico per designare varie facoltà che sottintendono (o sottinderebbero) all'esercizio dell'intelligenza vera e propria quale la si è definita.
Con il termine intelligenza si fa riferimento all'insieme di tutte le [[funzioni psichiche]]/[[mente|mentali]] che permettono ad un soggetto (individuo o animale) di capire cose ed eventi, scoprendo le relazioni che intercorrono tra di essi ed arrivando ad una conoscenza [[concetto|concettuale]] e razionale (ovvero non [[sensazione|percettiva]] o [[intuizione|intuitiva]]).
Essa si percepisce nella capacità di comprendere, adattarsi e fronteggiare con successo nuove situazioni e può dunque essere concepita come una capacità di [[adattamento]] all'ambiente. L'intelligenza permette in particolare di rilevare o cogliere relazioni problematiche e contrasti, di identificare i problemi nuovi, di risolverli autonomamente, e di risolverli nel modo più appropriato alle situazioni in cui sono immersi. Comporta inoltre la capacità del soggetto di prevedere e scongiurare, o di evitare (non necessariamente in maniera conscia), il verificarsi di situazioni future negative per merito delle proprie elaborazioni di informazioni, [[memoria (psicologia)|ricordi]] e/o [[sensazione|dati percettivi]] (ovvero, non unicamente per merito di un/una richiamo/riapplicazione automatico/a di informazioni o comportamenti pregressi).
{{nota disambigua|altri significati|[[Intelligenza (disambigua)]]}}
Comportamenti assimilabili a quelli indotti dall'intelligenza animale sono riscontrabili anche nelle [[Plantæ|piante]], mentre i settori di [[ricerca scientifica|ricerca]] legati al campo dell'[[intelligenza artificiale]] tentano di creare delle [[macchina|macchine]] in grado di produrre anch'esse comportamenti intelligenti.
L''''intelligenza''' è l'insieme di tutte le funzioni e facoltà [[funzioni psichiche|psichiche]]/[[mente|mentali]] che permettono ad un soggetto (individuo o animale) di capire cose ed eventi, scoprendo le relazioni che intercorrono tra di essi ed arrivando ad una conoscenza [[concetto|concettuale]] e razionale (ovvero non [[sensazione|percettiva]] o [[intuizione|intuitiva]]).
Essa si percepisce nella capacità di comprendere, adattarsi e fronteggiare con successo nuove situazioni e può dunque essere concepita come una capacità di [[adattamento]] all'ambiente. In particolare, l'intelligenza permette di rilevare o cogliere relazioni problematiche e contrasti tra elementi, di identificare i problemi nuovi, di risolverli autonomamente e di risolverli nel modo più appropriato alle situazioni contingenti; comporta inoltre la capacità del soggetto di prevedere e scongiurare, o evitare (non necessariamente in maniera conscia) il verificarsi di situazioni future negative utilizzando le proprie elaborazioni di informazioni, [[memoria (psicologia)|ricordi]] e/o [[sensazione|dati percettivi]], andando così oltre l'uso di richiami o riapplicazioni automatici/automatiche di informazioni o comportamenti pregressi.
L'intelligenza come è stata definita e descritta è una caratteristica comune a esseri umani e animali. Comportamenti assimilabili ad alcuni di quelli generalmente ascrivibili all'intelligenza animale sono però riscontrabili anche nelle [[Plantæ|piante]]; alcuni studiosi credono perciò che si debba attribuire una forma di intelligenza anche ad alcuni membri del [[Plantæ|regno vegetale]].
L'[[intelligenza artificiale]] è la capacità (attuale e parziale o teorica) di alcune [[macchina|macchine]] create dall'uomo (ad esempio [[computer]] e [[robot]]) di [[simulazione|simulare]] l'intelligenza umana o animale.
<nowiki>== Etimologia ==</nowiki>
<br>La parola ''intelligenza'' deriva dal [[sostantivo]] [[lingua latina|latino]] ''intelligenzĭa'', a sua volta derivante dal [[verbo]] ''intelligĕre'', "capire". La genesi di ''intelligĕre'' è incerta: secondo alcuni, sarebbe una contrazione del [[verbo]] ''legĕre'' (= "scegliere", "leggere") con l'[[avverbio]] ''intus'' (= "dentro"), mentre secondo altri lo sarebbe con l'avverbio ''inter'' (= "tra"). Nel primo caso, il termine latino significherebbe "leggere-dentro", suggerendo una capacità di "leggere oltre la superficie", di comprendere davvero, comprendere le reali intenzioni. Nel secondo, ''intelligĕre'' starebbe per "leggere-tra", suggerendo forse una capacità di "leggere tra le righe", di stabilire delle correlazioni tra elementi.
<nowiki>== Definizioni accademiche ==</nowiki>
<br>La [[comunità scientifica]] non ha ad oggi raggiunto un accordo universale su una definizione universitaria unica e condivisa di intelligenza. Tra le molte definizioni proposte dai [[ricerca scientifica|ricercatori]] si segnala quella riportata su ''Mainstream Science on Intelligence'', una dichiarazione editoriale del 1994 firmata da cinquantadue di essi:
{{quote|[Dicesi intelligenza] Una generale funzione mentale che, tra l'altro, comporta la capacità di ragionare, pianificare, risolvere problemi, pensare in maniera astratta, comprendere idee complesse, apprendere rapidamente e apprendere dall'esperienza. Non riguarda solo l'apprendimento dai libri, un'abilità accademica limitata, o l'astuzia nei test. Piuttosto, riflette una capacità più ampia e profonda di capire ciò che ci circonda – "afferrare" le cose, attribuirgli un significato, o "scoprire" il da farsi.|Da ''Mainstream Science on Intelligence'', 1994|A very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings—"catching on", "making sense" of things, or "figuring out" what to do.<ref name=Gottfredson1997>{{Cita pubblicazione |autore=Gottfredson, L.S. |anno=1997 |titolo=Foreword to "intelligence and social policy" |rivista=''Intelligence'', |volume=volume 24 |numero=fascicolo 1 |pagine=pagine 1–12 |doi=10.1016/S0160-2896(97)90010-6 |url:http://www.udel.edu/educ/gottfredson/reprints/1997specialissue.pdf |format=pdf |accesso=18 marzo 2008}}</ref>|lingua=en}}
Altre definizioni date sono: "la capacità o disposizione ad utilizzare in modo adeguato allo scopo tutti gli elementi del pensiero necessari per riconoscere, impostare e risolvere nuovi problemi" ([[William Louis Stern|William L. Stern]])<ref>http://www.psicolife.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=188:intelligenza&catid=10009:saggie-e-articoli&Itemid=226</ref>; "la capacità generale di adattare il proprio pensiero e condotta di fronte a condizioni e situazioni nuove" ([[Daniel Stern (psicoanalista)|Daniel N. Stern]])<ref>http://www.opsonline.it/printable-16916-intelligenza.html</ref>; "... l'anticipazione utile [...] si misura ''a posteriori'' dal grado di soddisfazione raggiunto dal soggetto".
{{nota disambigua|altri significati|[[Intelligenza (disambigua)]]}}
Il concetto di '''intelligenza''' è un concetto che emerge, o è emerso nel corso della storia, per denotare ciò che "sta sotto" ad alcune classi di comportamenti umani, ovvero ad alcuni modi di comportarsi di individui specifici (si veda [[#Etimologia|Etimologia]]). Con l'evolvere delle [[scienza|conoscenze scientifiche]] in primo luogo, e della [[filosofia]] e dell'[[etica]] in secondo, si è esteso l'utilizzo del concetto anche in riferimento a ciò che soggiace i comportamenti di altre [[specie]] animali, quelli di alcune macchine ipotetiche o reali ([[intelligenza artificiale]]), e, recentemente, quelli delle piante.
L''''intelligenza''' è l'insieme di tutte le [[funzioni psichiche]]/[[mente|mentali]] che permettono ad un soggetto (individuo o animale) di capire cose ed eventi, scoprendo le relazioni che intercorrono tra di essi ed arrivando ad una conoscenza [[concetto|concettuale]] e razionale (ovvero non [[sensazione|percettiva]] o [[intuizione|intuitiva]]).
Essa si percepisce nella capacità di comprendere, adattarsi e fronteggiare con successo nuove situazioni e può dunque essere concepita come una capacità di [[adattamento]] all'ambiente. In particolare, l'intelligenza permette di rilevare o cogliere relazioni problematiche e contrasti, di identificare i problemi nuovi, di risolverli autonomamente e di risolverli nel modo più appropriato alle situazioni in cui sono immersi; da essa consegue inoltre la capacità di un soggetto di prevedere e scongiurare, o evitare (non necessariamente in maniera conscia), il verificarsi di situazioni future negative, per merito delle proprie elaborazioni di informazioni, [[memoria (psicologia)|ricordi]] e/o [[sensazione|dati percettivi]] (ovvero, non unicamente per merito di un/una richiamo/riapplicazione automatico/a di informazioni o comportamenti pregressi).
Il concetto di intelligenza è un concetto di utilizzo estremamente ampio, utilizzo difficile da sintetizzare in maniera rigorosa e al contempo sintetica; da ciò la pluralità delle definizioni di intelligenza esistenti (-->[[#Definizioni|Definizioni]]). Nel caso di esseri umani e animali, si può asserire però che il concetto è afferente, e l'intelligenza soggiace a, tutte le attività del [[pensiero]] che implichino un "'lavorare' sulle informazioni che si possiede per 'andare oltre' ".<ref name=generale>[http://books.google.it/books?id=GpW9Le42bysC&pg=PA215&lpg=PA215&dq=%22di+pensare+bene%22+%26+%22intelligenza%22&source=bl&ots=nxn_INV_eh&sig=am-nOxlKN-dgQAa0tDNxt8yfYAo&hl=it&sa=X&ei=gzeXUt2UCcPDyQO_ooCwBQ&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22di%20pensare%20bene%22%20%26%20%22intelligenza%22&f=false Manuale di psicologia generale - Intelligenza e pensiero], pag. 215.</ref> Esempi di queste attività possono essere "trarre delle conclusioni a partire da ciò che è noto, fare previsioni riguardo al futuro, esprimere un giudizio, risolvere un problema mai incontrato in precedenza, scoprire in una situazione aspetti prima non considerati, inventare qualcosa che non esiste ancora".<ref name=generale></ref> L'intelligenza umana e animale è allora una capacità, un insieme di facoltà psichiche e/o mentali, che permettono di compiere attività del pensiero come quelle menzionate, e di farlo bene<ref name=generale></ref>.
Le [[Plantæ|piante]] presentano comportamenti che sono assimilabili a quelli indotti dall'intelligenza animale; i settori di [[ricerca scientifica|ricerca]] legati al campo dell'[[intelligenza artificiale]] tentano di creare delle [[macchina|macchine]] in grado di produrre anch'esse comportamenti intelligenti.
In che senso è possibile estendere l'utilizzo del concetto di intelligenza anche in riferimento alle piante? è emerso che analizzando i comportamenti delle forme di vita principali del [[Regno vegetale]] sulle lunghe durate, essi sono spesso assimilabili ad alcuni di quelli tipicamente indotti dalla presenza di intelligenza animale. L'attribuzione di una forma di intelligenza anche alle piante è attualmente oggetto di dibattito all'interno della [[comunità scientifica]] (--> si veda sezione [[#L'intelligenza nelle piante|L'intelligenza nelle piante]]).
Si parla di intelligenza delle [[macchina|macchine]], o [[intelligenza artificiale]], quando esse, teoricamente o in pratica, sono in grado di imitare alcuni o tutti gli aspetti del pensiero intelligente umano o animale.
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