Are all brain functions computable?

BACKGROUND

Whether the human brain is nothing but an advanced computer is a matter of inconclusive debate. This paper contributes to that debate.

METHOD: Critical reasoning based on evidence provided by the history of a woman who complained of amnesia after each of two separate acts of attempted suicide.

FINDINGS: A life-threatening tendency (suicidal impulses) may be countered by a functional imperfection (selective amnesia) or a feigned malfunction (malingering).

INTERPRETATION: Some aspects of brain function may depend on operations that no hitherto invented computer can duplicate.