Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 14, 2026

Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping
Published on: August 12, 2019
Marr's Levels Revisited: Understanding How Brains Break
Valerie G Hardcastle1, Kiah Hardcastle
1Departments of Philosophy, Psychology, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, Weaver Institute for Law and Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati.
Abstract:
While the research programs in early cognitive science and artificial intelligence aimed to articulate what cognition was in ideal terms, much research in contemporary computational neuroscience looks at how and why brains fail to function as they should ideally. This focus on impairment affects how we understand David Marr's hypothesized three levels of understanding. In this essay, we suggest some refinements to Marr's distinctions using a population activity model of cortico-striatal circuitry exploring impulsivity and behavioral inhibition as a case study. In particular, we urge that Marr's computational level should be redefined to include a description of how systems break down. We also underscore that feed-forward processing, cognition disconnected from behavioral context, and representations do not always drive cognition in the way that Marr originally assumed.
Related Concept Videos
Understanding Memory
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory
High-Level and Low-Level Awareness
Storage
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
System of Memory

