Early Experience, the Brain, and Consciousness: An Historical and Interdisciplinary Synthesis

The book consists of eight chapters. Chapter 1 surveys historical and contemporary perspectives in developmental neuroscience, including the transition from dualistic theories of mind to scientific and relational accounts of brain, perception, and knowledge. Chapter 2 proposes a general, nonhierarchical theory of neuropsychological development based on emergence, variation, selection, complexity, and integration. Chapter 3 examines prenatal neural growth, sensory development, fetal movement, and the formation of coherent neurobehavioral states. Chapter 4 analyses postnatal sensorimotor integration and the role of multimodal stimulation in infant development. Chapter 5 reviews animal and infant studies concerning experience-dependent brain reorganisation, synaptic development, attention, and memory. Chapter 6 investigates the neuropsychological mechanisms of infant learning and differences in cognitive outcomes. Chapter 7 discusses language, gesture, self-awareness, intentionality, and social cognition. Chapter 8 considers the possibilities and limits of modifying the human phenotype through education, early intervention, and developmentally informed learning strategies.