![]() The neurobiological substrate of the tinkering process could be found in a hierarchical model of the brain characterized by a multiplicity of functional modules (FMs) that can be assembled according to different spatial and temporal scales. Hence it is related to his self-awareness. ![]() As far as imagination is concerned we speculate that it can be the result of a “tinkering” that combines and modifies stored perceptual information and concepts leading to the creation of novel “mental objects” that are shaped by the subject peculiar inner world. As far as imagery is concerned it is proposed that neural structures originally implicated in performing certain functions, e.g., motor actions, can be reused for the imagery of the virtual execution of that function. In this proposal, we argue that exaptation and redeployment, two basic concepts capturing important aspects of the evolution of biological structures and functions ( Anderson, 2007), could also be useful in explaining imagery and imagination. The two processes appear intimately related and imagery can arguably be considered as one of the main components of imagination. For the present purposes, we will define imagery as the production of mental images associated with previous percepts, and imagination as the faculty of forming mental images of a novel character relating to something that has never been actually experienced by the subject but at a great extent emerges from his inner world. This work aims at presenting some hypotheses about the potential neurobiological substrate of imagery and imagination. 4Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.3Department of Biomedical Sciences and Neuroscience, University of Modena, Modena, Italy.2Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
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