Illusion - Is Seeing Really Believing?/Illusion - Is Seeing Really Believing (1998)(Marshall Media)[Mac-PC].iso/pc/illusion/hub_fie.cxt/00222_Field_frep112.txt

Text File | 1996-12-30 | 2KB | 54 lines

9

DEPRIVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Up to now we have been
thinking of the brain as a fully
formed, mature machine. We
have been asking how it is
connected, how the parts
function in terms of everyday
situations, and how they serve
the interests of the animal. But
that leaves untouched an
entirely different and most
important question: How did the
machine get there in the first
place?

    The problem has two major
components. Much of the
brain's development has to go
on in the mother's uterus,
before the animal is born. A
glance at the brain of a
newborn human tells us that
although it has fewer creases
and is somewhat smaller than
the adult brain, it is otherwise
not very different. But a glance
can hardly tell us the whole
story, because the baby is
certainly not born knowing the
alphabet or able to play tennis
or the harp. All these
accomplishments take
training, and by training, we
surely mean the molding or
modification of neuronal
circuits by environmental
influences. The ultimate form
of the brain, then, is a result of
both prenatal and postnatal
development. First, it involves
a maturation that takes care of
itself, depends on intrinsic
properties of the organism, and
occurs before or after the time
at which birth happens to
occur; second, it involves
postnatal maturation that
depends on instruction,
training, education, learning,
and experience--all more or
less synonymous terms.