Editorial: Mind over brain, brain over mind: cognitive causes and consequences of controlling brain activity - volume II.

One of the central neuroscientific questions we have been trying to answer for years is that of the causal relationships between mental activity (i.e., cognitive processes), brain signals (i.e., their physical correlate), and the ability to control a brain-computer interface (BCI) or benefit from neurofeedback (NF) interventions. To get closer to an answer, this question was divided into smaller and more manageable challenges: can a person's ability to modulate brain signals provide information about how the brain implements cognitive processes? In turn, can these processes determine how well one can control one's own brain signals? Does the ability to switch rapidly between mental activities or brain states (i.e., to increase/decrease signal amplitudes in a specific frequency band over a particular brain area) lead to lasting changes in cognitive abilities?