Lifespan Development and the Brain: The Perspective of Biocultural Co-Constructivism

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Contributors......Page 11
Preface and Acknowledgments......Page 15
part one SETTING THE STAGE ACROSS THE AGES OF THE LIFESPAN......Page 19
1 Prologue: Biocultural Co-Constructivism as a Theoretical Metascript......Page 21
background of the volume......Page 22
on the role of metaphors......Page 24
from interactionism over constructivism to biocultural co-constructivism......Page 25
concept of plasticity as illustration......Page 27
an attempt to formalize the co-construction hypothesis at the level of individual learning......Page 32
the scope of the volume......Page 37
conclusion and further avenues......Page 51
References......Page 53
introduction......Page 58
From Complex Environment Paradigms in Animal Research to Socioculturally Constructed Experiential Contexts in Humans......Page 59
Developmental Plasticity at Different Levels and Recent Co-Constructive Views......Page 61
Behavioral and Cognitive Plasticity......Page 63
Neural Plasticity......Page 64
Cortical Plasticity Across the Lifespan......Page 65
Co-Evolution of Language, Social Group Size, and Brain Encephalization......Page 67
Culture-Specific Language Environment and Cortical Language Processing......Page 68
Expertise and Training-Induced Neural Plasticity......Page 69
future research directions and conclusion......Page 70
References......Page 71
part two NEURONAL PLASTICITY AND BIOCULTURAL CO-CONSTRUCTION: MICROSTRUCTURE MEETS THE EXPERIENTIAL ENVIRONMENT......Page 77
background......Page 79
introduction to brain development......Page 81
influence of experience on brain development......Page 84
Models of Experience–Brain Relations......Page 85
Visual Development......Page 86
Speech and Language Development......Page 88
Cognitive Development......Page 89
Environmental Enrichment for Humans: Early Childhood Education and Enrichment......Page 90
Social-Emotional Development......Page 92
Procedures and Measures......Page 93
conclusion......Page 94
References......Page 96
introduction......Page 100
new neurons in the adult brain......Page 101
stem cells and precursor cells in the adult brain......Page 103
neuronal development in the adult brain......Page 106
nature and nurture: genes and environment......Page 110
brain plasticity......Page 112
adult neurogenesis and learning......Page 117
adult neurogenesis in the aging brain......Page 120
References......Page 122
part three NEURONAL PLASTICITY AND BIOCULTURAL CO-CONSTRUCTION: ATYPICAL BRAIN ARCHITECTURES......Page 127
nature versus nurture: environmental effects on brain plasticity......Page 129
Rearing Conditions......Page 130
Visual Deprivation......Page 132
Eye Misalignment and Central Repercussions......Page 134
Intermodal Plasticity Following Natural Deprivations or Enucleations......Page 136
Studies on Blindness: Perceptual Training-Induced Plasticity......Page 137
beyond the retina: central lesions and the modification of retinofugal projections......Page 139
cortical lesions in humans and monkeys......Page 141
Hemispherectomy in Human Patients......Page 143
conclusion......Page 147
Molecular Basis of Experience-Related Plasticity......Page 148
References......Page 149
introduction......Page 152
development of multisensory processes......Page 153
Spatial Selective Attention......Page 155
Spatial Imagery......Page 158
Spatio-Temporal Discrimination......Page 159
Short-Term Memory Functions......Page 162
Long-Term Memory Functions......Page 164
Levels of Processing......Page 167
Memory for Voices......Page 170
conclusion......Page 171
References......Page 172
part four BIOCULTURAL CO-CONSTRUCTION: SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS AND DOMAINS......Page 177
introduction......Page 179
methods of brain imaging......Page 181
Brain Activation Patterns Across Languages......Page 182
language-related electrophysiological components across languages......Page 187
Brain Activation Patterns in Bilinguals......Page 190
Language-Related Electrophysiological Components in Bilinguals......Page 191
in search of language-specific brain activation patterns......Page 195
References......Page 196
neural specialization for acquired functions......Page 201
modularity......Page 203
reading......Page 205
writing......Page 207
arithmetic......Page 210
general discussion......Page 213
References......Page 214
overview......Page 218
neural mechanisms of fear conditioning: from rats to humans......Page 219
extending the mechanisms of fear conditioning to social learning......Page 222
extending the mechanisms of fear conditioning to cultural bias......Page 226
conclusion......Page 230
References......Page 231
a human universal......Page 235
prelude: on evolution......Page 236
evolutionary theories of human musicality......Page 238
Music Performance......Page 240
Music Perception......Page 242
Early Plasticity: The Case of Absolute Pitch......Page 244
Scale Systems: Likings in Major and Minor......Page 245
the aesthetic experience......Page 247
postlude: a beautiful mind......Page 250
References......Page 251
part five PLASTICITY AND BIOCULTURAL CO-CONSTRUCTION IN LATER LIFE......Page 255
introduction......Page 257
Genetics......Page 259
Neurotransmission......Page 260
Structural Brain Changes......Page 261
Cognitive Compensation......Page 262
Lifestyle Factors......Page 264
outstanding issues......Page 266
References......Page 268
overview......Page 273
reality of neural and cognitive declines......Page 275
plasticity in aging......Page 278
interactionist and co-constructivist views of soc and sst......Page 281
crunch......Page 283
empirical bases of crunch......Page 284
implications for environmental–cultural change......Page 288
References......Page 291
part six BIOCULTURAL CO-CONSTRUCTION: FROM MICRO-TO MACROENVIRONMENTS IN LARGER CULTURAL CONTEXTS......Page 295
introduction......Page 297
Study Population of Southern Portugal......Page 300
Phonological Processing, Short-Term Working Memory, and Literacy......Page 301
Short-Term Memory – Digit and Spatial Span......Page 304
Word and Pseudoword Processing......Page 305
Awareness of Phonological Form and the Intrusion of Lexical Semantics in Illiterates......Page 306
Awareness of Words in Sentence Context......Page 307
Semantic Fluency – An Example of the Importance
of Ecological Relevance......Page 311
The Corpus Callosum and Hemispheric Differences Between Literacy Groups......Page 317
functional and neuroanatomical differences between literacy groups......Page 313
References......Page 320
introduction......Page 324
Development and the Brain......Page 325
lifespan development framework for occupations......Page 326
Principles for Successful Development......Page 327
Brain Development......Page 328
Occupational Environments and the Brain......Page 329
occupational demands......Page 330
Occupational Complexity and General Intellectual Performance......Page 331
Effects of Specific Occupations on Specific Brain Regions......Page 333
Lifespan Development: Age and Acquired Knowledge......Page 336
Protective Effects of Occupations on the Brain During Dementia......Page 337
co-evolution of brains and cultures......Page 338
new directions to consider......Page 339
References......Page 340
introduction......Page 344
experience shapes the brain: neural adaptation and plasticity......Page 346
posttraumatic stress disorder as a model of traumatic stress effects on the brain......Page 348
stress-induced tilt of neurohumoral axes......Page 351
abnormal brain waves indicate plastic changes in architecture and function of neural networks......Page 353
structural cerebral changes associated with ptsd......Page 357
violence breeds violence: consequences of stress effects on behavior and culture......Page 358
culture of organized violence: a breeding ground for trauma spectrum disorders......Page 360
cycle of organized violence......Page 362
outlook......Page 363
References......Page 364
introduction......Page 368
selection, optimization, and compensation as an evaluative framework......Page 369
Net Resource Release (Marginal Resource Gain)......Page 371
Proximal Versus Distal Frames of Evaluation......Page 372
Cognitive Control......Page 373
Binding......Page 375
Posture and Gait......Page 377
Interactions Between Sensory/Sensorimotor and Cognitive Aging......Page 378
Strategies for Human Engineering Technologies in Old Age: A Preliminary Resum´e......Page 379
Enhancing Cognition by Providing Sensorimotor Support: Sample Case of Spatial Navigation......Page 381
Intelligent Human Engineering Technology as Adaptive and Personalized Cuing Structures......Page 382
Mnemonic Devices and Expert Knowledge......Page 383
Determinants of Cue Effectiveness: Compatibilityand Distinctiveness......Page 384
Toward the Design of Person-Oriented Assistive Technology......Page 385
Individualized IHET: An Imaginary Case Study......Page 386
conclusion and outlook......Page 388
References......Page 389
part seven EPILOGUE......Page 395
prelude......Page 397
the dialogue......Page 398
References......Page 413
Author Index......Page 417
Subject Index......Page 434