The neural basis of cognitive development: a constructivist manifesto

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Biology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• The origin of representational features in the cortex remains a key question in neuroscience.
• Existing selectionist models often emphasize regressive mechanisms in neural development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present and support the theory of neural constructivism.
• To contrast neural constructivism with selectionist models.
• To explore the implications of neural constructivism for understanding cortical evolution and development.

Main Methods:

• Review of neurobiological evidence.
• Theoretical analysis of learning mechanisms.
• Comparison with classical learnability theory.

Main Results:

• Neurobiological evidence supports a progressive increase in cortical representational properties.
• Constructive learning, driven by environmental interaction, minimizes prespecification.
• The developing cerebral cortex largely lacks domain-specific structure, with properties shaped by the problem domain.

Conclusions:

• Neural constructivism offers a framework for understanding how minds emerge from developing brains.
• Cortical evolution represents a move towards flexible representational structures, not just specialized circuits.
• Extended human cortical development maximizes environmental influence through constructive learning.