The destructive competition hypothesis views the brain as a system with finite processing resources, where new cognitive functions compete with evolutionary older ones for cortical space. In contrast, our combined neuroimaging and behavioral evidence points to a different conclusion: The human brain has the remarkable capacity to accommodate new cultural skills, such as reading, while simultaneously enhancing related preexisting abilities, such as face recognition. Rather than impairing older functions, reading acquisition appears to support and refine them.

philosophy of neuroscience, experimental philosophy, philosophy of action, free will, libertarianism, agent-causation, wild coincidence objection, statistical laws, probabilistic models, stochastic models, plasticity

It has been argued that our scientific discoveries support at least one of two distinct forms of causal reduction thereby making the notion that we irreducible agents obsolete. One is the reduction of the manifestation of causal dispositions to stimulated responses. The other is the reduction of kinds of causes of physical change to those studied in the hard sciences. In this chapter, I argue that neither have any scientific support. Rather, whether either form of reduction is viable won’t ultimately be resolved by scientific advancement but by analytic progress. Furthermore, I argue that attempts at the first are misguided as attempts at reducing what is a process (i.e., the manifestation of a causal disposition) to what can be a result of various processes (i.e., a stimulated response); while attempts at the second ultimately involve not fully taking into account how the specificity of any domain of science limits the generalizability of what can be discovered through it.

The best models for certain neural matters underlying the expression of our agency are stochastic or probabilistic. While this fact has been thought to be consistent with the notion that we are irreducible agents who settle matters that aren’t already settled, this consistency has come under dispute. It has been argued that, given probabilistic models apply to the underlying neural matters, for the way we express the ability to settle matters that aren’t already settled to perfectly align with what should be expected would, over the long run, amount to a wild coincidence. I argue that this objection is an empirical objection that goes against empirical findings. Thus, it isn’t credible. Moreover, what we continue to observe through neuroscience is evocative of the idea that we are irreducible agents who do this sort of settling in the midst of disposing and inclining factors.

This chapter offers an in-depth discussion of various nanoelectronic and nanoionic synapses along with the operational mechanisms, capabilities and limitations, and directions for further advancements in this field. We begin with overarching mechanisms to design artificial synapses and learning characteristics for neuromorphic computing. Silicon-based synapses using digital CMOS platforms are described followed by emerging device technologies. Filamentary synapses that utilize nanoscale conducting pathways for forming and breaking current shunting routes within two-terminal devices are then discussed. This is followed by ferroelectric devices wherein polarization states of a switchable ferroelectric layer are responsible for synaptic plasticity and memory. Insulator–metal transition-based synapses are described wherein a sharp change in conductance of a layer due to external stimulus offers a route for compact synapse design. Organic materials, 2D van der Waals, and layered semiconductors are discussed. Ionic liquids and solid gate dielectrics for multistate memory and learning are presented. Photonic and spintronic synapses are then discussed in detail.

This chapter begins with an overview of the major changes in physical size and proportions and the nature of developmental changes in physical growth. We also examine factors that influence growth and discuss the problem of childhood obesity. We then shift our focus to one of the most important and drastic periods of change in the life span—adolescence and the onset of sexual maturity. We next look at aspects of children’s motor development, examining both gross and fine motor changes in children’s abilities to control their bodies. We then devote a relatively large section to the development of perhaps the body’s most important organ—at least from a psychological perspective—the brain, which is expanded in later chapters.

For different types of environmental conditions, the logarithmic changes in each concentration Xj, denoted by δXj(E), are proportional for almost all components, over a wide range of perturbations, where the proportionality coefficient is given by the ratio of change in cell growth rate δμ(E). Then consider the evolution after applied environmental changes. Let the change in log concentration be δXj(G) and the change in growth rate be δμ(G). The theory suggests that δX_j(G)/ δX_j(E)= δμ(G)/ δμ(E), as confirmed experimentally. With evolution, the right hand term gradually moves toward 0, accordingly the change in concentrations does. This is a process similar to the Le Chatelier principle of thermodynamics. The relationships described above arise because phenotypic changes due to environmental perturbations, noise, and genetic changes are constrained to a common low-dimensional manifold as a result of evolution. This is because the adapted state after evolution should be stable against a variety of perturbations, while phenotypes retain plasticity to change, in order to have evolvability. To achieve this dimensional reduction, there is a separation of a few slow modes in the dynamics for phenotypes. The variance of phenotypes due to noise and mutation is proportional over all phenotypes, leading to the possibility of predicting phenotypic evolution.

The other facet of adaptation, immutability or homeostasis, is discussed. Dynamical system models that buffer external changes in a few variables to suppress changes in other variables are presented. In this case, some variable makes a transient change depending on the environmental change before returning to the original state. This transient response is shown to obey fold-change detection (or Weber–Fechner law), in which the response rate by environmental changes depends only on how many times the environmental change is to the original value. As for the multicomponent cell model, a critical state in which the abundances of each component are inversely proportional to its rank is maintained as a homeostatic state even when the environmental condition is changed. In biological circadian clocks, the period of oscillation remains almost unchanged against changes in temperature (temperature compensation) or other environmental conditions. When several reactions involved in the cyclic change use a common enzyme, enzyme-limited competition results. This competition among substrates explains the temperature compensation mentioned above. In this case, the reciprocity between the period and the plasticity of biological clocks results.

This chapter presents an overview of the goals of universal biology. It is noted that biological systems are generally hierarchical as molecules-cells-organisms, where the components of each level are quite diverse. How such diversity arises and is maintained is discussed. We then discuss the possibility of understanding such biological systems with diverse components, and explore the possibility of macroscopic theory to reveal and formulate universal properties in living states, noting that robustness, plasticity, and activity are essential to life. Recalling the spirit (not the formulation) of thermodynamics, we explore the possibility of formulating a theory for characterizing universal properties in life, emphasizing macroscopic robustness at each level of the hierarchy and the importance of macro-micro consistency.

In this chapter, we focus on the neuronal networks underlying the socio-affective capacities empathy and compassion. We first provide definitions of empathy and compassion and give an overview of the historical development in social neuroscience related to empathy and compassion research, with a focus on differentiating between empathy, empathic distress, compassion, and related concepts of social understanding like Theory of Mind. We then examine the neuronal networks underlying these distinct social capacities and discuss the latest discoveries in this field. Next, we turn to the plasticity of the social brain and compare training approaches in their efficacy in improving socio-affective and socio-cognitive capacities. This is followed by the exploration of how psychopathological symptoms are differentially related to empathy, compassion, and socio-cognitive skills. Lastly, we conclude the main findings of this chapter and provide questions for future neuroscientific and psychological research on empathy and compassion.

James’s modernism is based directly on the psychology he founded, and specifically on his recognition that the self is malleable (or “plastic”), aggregate, distributed, and capable of mental reform. Yet James’s outspoken critique of US imperialism and the lynching of African Americans reflected his understanding of the dangerous potential of conversion – namely, that revolutions in belief carry a measure of uncertainty and risk, not just to individual believers but to the very fabric of democratic thought. Jamesean conversion therefore dramatizes the processes by which consent is staged from within and from without. The self enacts the drama in the form of an internal dialogue in which one imagines one’s “self” inhabiting a particular temporo-spatial location, as if fulfilling the role of a protagonist in a work of fiction. Against that background, Henry James’s What Maisie Knew and Harold Frederic’s The Damnation of Theron Ware dramatize the processes through which individuals become plastically transformed under the manipulations of powerful “pattern-setters” of public opinion. By fracturing and fragmenting imperial forms of selfhood, these psychological Bildungsromane inaugurate a reform modernism that registers dissent from the imperial sway of groups, demonstrating the strenuous effort required by individuals to transform oppressive systems from within.

Describe some important features of infant–caregiver relationships; evaluate the role of early life experiences on later development; understand what emotions are for and how they develop.

Describe the challenges children face in learning language; understand key features of child language development; explain the strategies children use to learn sounds, words, and grammar.

This chapter addresses the premodern history of maternal impressions, the enduring belief that the emotions and experiences of a pregnant woman could leave permanent marks on her unborn child. The idea of the reactive womb has been present across multiple cultures, geographies, and centuries; however, it contrasts starkly against the recent view of the womb as boundaried. While we are not suggesting that maternal impression is a direct predecessor of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD), with this overview we are reminding of the ubiquitous interest in pregnancy as ’an active project requiring self-discipline and work on the part of expectant mothers’ (1) in multiple medical systems. We focus on Greek, Roman, Latin Mediaeval, Jewish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Ayurvedic sources before and alongside the rise of modern biomedicine and analyse their view of the pregnant female body. We locate our reading in the wider context of a cross-cultural perception of body porosity and the power of environmental factors to shape the physical and moral traits of people. By delving into historical examples and engaging a longue durée perspective, this chapter aims to situate the current postgenomic claims linked with DOHaD findings that ‘soft inheritance has now been reborn’ (2).

This chapter offers a thorough examination of the processes and outcomes of brain plasticity. We begin by unraveling the historical milestones and breakthroughs that initiated the study of brain plasticity. Exploring the intricate world of cellular mechanisms, we outline the core processes underpinning brain plasticity, making this complex topic accessible. We then delve into the three primary types of brain plasticity: experience-independent, experience-expectant, and experience-dependent, showcasing how they depend on environmental inputs to varying degrees. The concept of critical periods emerges as a central theme. We explore the regulatory mechanisms governing the opening and closing of critical periods and why this adaptive feature is essential for brain development. Further, we outline the expansion-normalization hypothesis, providing evidence that sheds light on how brain plasticity evolves over the course of development. Finally, we explore the profound impact of early life adversity on shaping the developing brain, offering insights into the lifelong consequences of such experiences