ABSTRACT
Over the past twenty or so years, there has been an explosion of research into the brain and its workings supported by the development of sophisticated technology such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET)1 and Magnetic Resonance Imaging/functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI/fMRI)2 scans. Such innovations have allowed researchers to see the living brain ‘at work’, providing great insights into function and maturation even with the reservations that imaging is undertaken in ‘artificial’ circumstances. Nevertheless, in combination with more traditional forms of research into brain structure and function, such as electroencephalograms (EEGs) which measure the electrical activity of the brain, a much more comprehensive understanding is emerging. This greater understanding of brain function and maturation has served to lend weight to the reality of the impact of experience, especially so in the first years of life. While there may be argument and debate regarding the nature of these long-term effects, the fact that there is an effect seems to be generally accepted. Teasing out the roots of adult behaviour can be difficult as ongoing experiences and overall brain maturation can add to the complex mix of why someone behaves as they do. Nevertheless, even in studies of dementia, Stokes (2009, p.106) notes ‘our earliest years, of which we have little or no memory, are a time rich in promise, but also a time of learning, decisions and discoveries that make us who we are today’. He goes on to say:
What happens prior to our earliest accessible memories is laid down as personal truth. It is just what we know about ourselves, the way we are. The question is can we forget that which is not remembered? Can we lose that which has not been laid down as an accessible memory trace? The answer is, in all likelihood, no. Hence these early experiences and lessons remain part of who we are, exercising their infl uence but forever inaccessible.
