Epilogue
In this book, I set out to explain how current, diverse islands of knowledge of the mind and the brain could be integrated with one another. The integration draws heavily on the work of Jean Piaget, particularly on his concept of the scheme, and on his stages of cognitive development. Like Piaget, I take a developmental-constructivist approach to my task. In addressing this task, I have put forward the following ideas:
1. Piaget’s schemes are equivalent to activations of various neuronal circuits in the cerebral cortex.
2. To a large extent, schemes are widespread and content-addressable.
3. Complete myelination of three peripheral sensory neural tracts assists two cognitive reorganizations in the child.
4. Major cognitive reorganizations begin at different points of development than Piaget proposed.
5. If one takes a developmental point of view, consciousness may be understood as the waking portion of neuronal circuit activation. This in turn explains how conscious cognition arises from matter — that is, the brain — and how conscious cognition influences matter.
6. Beginning with Stage 3 of the Sensorimotor Period, the schemes that Piaget traced were conscious schemes.
7. Percept schemes and mental image schemes are first differentiated from each other at 18 to 24 months.
8. Emotions — always a part of any scheme — act as guides. They indicate whether the scheme is working — that is, whether the scheme brings satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
9. In order to rest, the brain must shut down one part at a time. Dreams are just cognition during partial shutdown. Nonetheless, dreams offer us a glimpse of the brain’s unconscious cognitive-emotional processing.
10. There are three basic types of cognitive-motivational structure(CMS). These types are formed during the Concrete Operational Period. To some extent, CMS type is determined by whether or not caregiving is focused on the child’s best interests, or by what the child must do to get the caregiving focused on his or her best interests or, at least, to get the caregiving to be more stable.
11. The three CMS types parse a non-clinical population. Although each type differs from the other two, none of the three types is inherently abnormal. Therefore, if they present for treatment, we recommend that the therapist take a different approach to each type and that the goal of treatment is not to attempt to change one CMS type into one of the other two.
Some of these ideas — particularly those regarding construction of awareness and the relationship between myelination of the peripheral sensory tracts and cognitive reorganizations, though reasonable given our state of knowledge, are speculative. It is my hope that these ideas or theories, will hold in the face of further research as we try to explain how we tick — how the brain and the mind work. It should be understood that theories "are not waiting to be discovered when all the facts are known, but are engaged in the process of discovery as covert motivations. A theory is not an outcome but an intuition about the concepts that are quietly guiding the research" (Brown, 1999, p. 196).
< Appendix B | Contents | References >
Do you have a comment or would like to open a discussion? The author would be pleased to hear from you. Contact AJ Malerstein here.
