Interactive Specialization
Encyclopedia
Interactive Specialization is a theory of brain development proposed by the British cognitive neuroscientist Mark Johnson
, who is head of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, University of London
, London.
In his book Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
, Johnson contrasts two views of development. According to the first, the maturational hypothesis, the relationship between structure and function (i.e. which parts of the brain perform a particular task) is static, and specific cognitive skills come “on-line” as the cortical circuitry intrinsic to a particular task matures. Johnson likens this to a "mosaic" view of development.
According to the second, the Interactive Specialization (IS)
hypothesis, development is
not a unidirectional maturational process, but rather a set of complex, dynamic and back-propagated interactions between genetics, brain, body and environment. Development is not a simple question of a brain being built according to a pre-specified genetic blueprint - rather, the components of the brain are interacting with each other constantly - even prenatally, when patterns of spontaneous firing of cells in the eyes (before they have opened) transmit signals that appear to help develop the layered structure of the lateral geniculate nucleus
.
The hypothesis has attracted increasing attention in recent years as a number of neuroimaging studies on younger children have provided data that appears to fit specific predictions made by Johnson's model
.
, Annette Karmiloff-Smith, Elizabeth Bates
, Domenico Parisi, and Kim Plunkett), the book Rethinking Innateness
, which argues against a strong nativist (innate) view on development. Other key influences include Gilbert Gottlieb's theory of Probabilistic Epigenesis
, a framework that emphasizes the reciprocity and ubiquity of gene-environment interaction in the realization of all phenotypes, and work on developmental disorders by Annette Karmiloff-Smith
.
Mark H. Johnson (professor)
Mark Johnson is a British cognitive neuroscientist who since 1997 is head of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, University of London....
, who is head of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
, London.
In his book Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
, Johnson contrasts two views of development. According to the first, the maturational hypothesis, the relationship between structure and function (i.e. which parts of the brain perform a particular task) is static, and specific cognitive skills come “on-line” as the cortical circuitry intrinsic to a particular task matures. Johnson likens this to a "mosaic" view of development.
According to the second, the Interactive Specialization (IS)
hypothesis, development is
not a unidirectional maturational process, but rather a set of complex, dynamic and back-propagated interactions between genetics, brain, body and environment. Development is not a simple question of a brain being built according to a pre-specified genetic blueprint - rather, the components of the brain are interacting with each other constantly - even prenatally, when patterns of spontaneous firing of cells in the eyes (before they have opened) transmit signals that appear to help develop the layered structure of the lateral geniculate nucleus
Lateral geniculate nucleus
The lateral geniculate nucleus is the primary relay center for visual information received from the retina of the eye. The LGN is found inside the thalamus of the brain....
.
The hypothesis has attracted increasing attention in recent years as a number of neuroimaging studies on younger children have provided data that appears to fit specific predictions made by Johnson's model
.
Influences
In 1996, Johnson co-authored (with Jeffrey ElmanJeffrey Elman
Jeffrey L. Elman is Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of California, San Diego. He is a well-known psycholinguist and pioneer in the field of neural networks.-Biography:...
, Annette Karmiloff-Smith, Elizabeth Bates
Elizabeth Bates
Elizabeth Bates was a Professor of psychology and cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego...
, Domenico Parisi, and Kim Plunkett), the book Rethinking Innateness
Rethinking Innateness
Published in 1996 by Jeffrey Elman, Annette Karmiloff-Smith, Elizabeth Bates, Mark Johnson, Domenico Parisi, and Kim Plunkett, Rethinking Innateness: A connectionist perspective on development is a book regarding gene/environment interaction...
, which argues against a strong nativist (innate) view on development. Other key influences include Gilbert Gottlieb's theory of Probabilistic Epigenesis
, a framework that emphasizes the reciprocity and ubiquity of gene-environment interaction in the realization of all phenotypes, and work on developmental disorders by Annette Karmiloff-Smith
Annette Karmiloff-Smith
Annette Karmiloff-Smith is a professorial research fellow at the Developmental Neurocognition Lab at Birkbeck, University of London. Before moving to Birbeck, she was Head of the Neurocognitive Development Unit at Institute of Child Health, University College, London...
.