Towards a Biologically Coherent Account of the Brain and How It Develops

Different conceptualizations of brain function have different implications for understanding the relation of neuroscience to the study of human development. In one view, the brain is an isolated computational device that passively processes stimuli delivered from an external world and then mediates a response. An alternative view, which is more consistent with the evolutionary history of brains, moves away from simple causal linkages between stimulus and response and instead emphasizes the inherent, ongoing activity of the individual. Here the individual is not directly instructed by information from its environment but instead shapes its own sensory inputs through its goal-directed activity. Related conceptual confusions around instructions and information can be found in accounts of brain development that either fall back on a genetic blueprint or that elevate the role of extrinsic experience. A more coherent approach brings together aspects of developmental and evolutionary biology while drawing on developmental systems theory and particular themes in embodied cognitive science. Such an approach spans qualitatively different frames of explanation across a range of spatiotemporal scales, necessitating a reconsideration of disciplinary boundaries. Fully engaging in this effort can yield a more integrative science of brain, mind, and behavior and an enriched understanding of human development.