  The cognitive frame in which most neuropsychological research on the neural
basis of behavior is conducted contains the assumption that brain mechanisms
per se fully suffice to explain all psychologically described phenomena. This
assumption stems from the idea that the brain is made up entirely of material
particles and fields, and that all causal mechanisms must therefore be
formulated solely in terms of properties of these elements. One consequence of
this stance is that psychological terms having intrinsic mentalistic and/or
experiential content (terms such as "feeling," "knowing," and "effort") have
not been included as primary causal factors in neuropsychological research:
insofar as properties are not described in material terms they are deemed
irrelevant to the causal mechanisms underlying brain function. However, the
origin of this demand that experiential realities be excluded from the causal
base is a theory of nature that has been known for more that three quarters of
a century to be fundamentally incorrect. It is explained here why it is
consequently scientifically unwarranted to assume that material factors alone
can in principle explain all causal mechanisms relevant to neuroscience. More
importantly, it is explained how a key quantum effect can be introduced into
brain dynamics in a simple and practical way that provides a rationally
coherent, causally formulated, physics-based way of understanding and using the
psychological and physical data derived from the growing set of studies of the
capacity of directed attention and mental effort to systematically alter brain
function.
