Mind/body problem. The issue of how the mind and body relate is one of the perennial underlying questions, not just for psychology, but philosophy, neuroscience and biology also. The essential 'problem' arises because of the division often made in our culture between the 'mind' (or mental processes) and the 'body' (assumed to be physically based). The assumption is often made that mind and body are quite distinct and separate processes (or entities) - a dualism that goes back centuries to Descartes (and, indeed, thousands of years earlier to the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato). Once this 'dualistic' viewpoint is taken, the problem then becomes, 'how can such separate entities/processes influence each other?'. Several approaches retain the 'dualistic' assumption of a separate mind and body. One of these is the philosophy of interactionism. This assumes that mind and body are quite distinct, but interact with each other. So, for example, the mind can instruct the body to raise an arm; similarly, if the body ingests alcohol, this will produce a corresponding affect on the mind. Other solutions involve denying there is any fundamental duality involved, and instead saying that there is only one fundamental entity. This is called monism, and it practice it means either the view that only the physical world is 'real' (materialism), or the view that the fundamental reality is a mental or spiritual one (idealism). An alternative solution sees the mind/body problem as essentially linguistic, stemming from the different ways we label different characteristics of the same entity. 
Neuropsychological basis of the mind/consciousness. Neuropsychology examines how neurological processes in the brain affect both behaviour and the experience of consciousness. This involves studying the brain, for example by examining the structure of the brain and the corresponding neural activity within it. Another approach is to examine damaged brains, looking at the consequences of the damage for behaviour, perception and language. Many cognitive functions have specific centres in the brain, though some cannot be localised in this way, and attention has turned instead to the identification of networks of interacting brain areas.
