Corticocentric myopia: old bias in new cognitive sciences

Traditionally, the cerebral cortex is seen to have the most important role in ‘higher’ functions of the brain, such as cognition and behavioral regulation, whereas subcortical structures are considered to have subservient or no roles in these functions. This article highlights the conceptual bias at the root of this corticocentric view of the human brain, and emphasizes its negative implications in current practices in the cognitive neurosciences. The aim of this article is to suggest that the ‘corticocentric’ view of the human brain is also a myopic view because it does not let us see that the ‘higher’ functions of the brain might in fact depend on the integrity of its ‘lower’ structures.