ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the experience-dependent nature of brain development. Old notions of dichotomy between mind versus brain, nature versus nurture, have been supplanted by a rich web of synergistic relations between mind and brain, nature and nurture. The architecture and organisation of the brain is the product of its evolutionary history, which indicates that the human brain has evolved and expanded, while still retaining features of three basic ‘evolutionary ancestors’, reptiles, lower mammals and primates. One half of the entire genome is dedicated to producing the brain, an organ that constitutes only 2 per cent of our body weight. Neuroscientists believe that the functional unit of mental activity is not the single neuron but a circuit of interconnecting neurons all activated at the same time. Brain growth in response to environmental stimulation is not limited to early development or to ‘sensitive’ periods. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.
