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297Consciousness: Mapping the theoretical landscapeTrends in Cognitive Sciences 4 (10): 372-382. 2000.What makes us conscious? Many theories that attempt to answer this question have appeared recently in the context of widespread interest about consciousness in the cognitive neurosciences. Most of these proposals are formulated in terms of the information processing conducted by the brain. In this overview, we survey and contrast these models. We first delineate several notions of consciousness, addressing what it is that the various models are attempting to explain. Next, we describe a conceptu…Read more
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55Studying development in the 21st centuryBehavioral and Brain Sciences 31 (3): 345-356. 2008.In this response, we consider four main issues arising from the commentaries to the target article. These include further details of the theory of interactive specialization, the relationship between neuroconstructivism and selectionism, the implications of neuroconstructivism for the notion of representation, and the role of genetics in theories of development. We conclude by stressing the importance of multidisciplinary approaches in the future study of cognitive development and by identifying…Read more
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51Précis of neuroconstructivism: How the brain constructs cognitionBehavioral and Brain Sciences 31 (3): 321-331. 2008.Neuroconstructivism: How the Brain Constructs Cognition proposes a unifying framework for the study of cognitive development that brings together (1) constructivism (which views development as the progressive elaboration of increasingly complex structures), (2) cognitive neuroscience (which aims to understand the neural mechanisms underlying behavior), and (3) computational modeling (which proposes formal and explicit specifications of information processing). The guiding principle of our approa…Read more
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45Is the Mystery of Thought Demystified by Context‐Dependent Categorisation? Towards a New Relation Between Language and ThoughtMind and Language 27 (5): 595-618. 2012.We argue that are no such things as literal categories in human cognition. Instead, we argue that there are merely temporary coalescences of dimensions of similarity, which are brought together by context in order to create the similarity structure in mental representations appropriate for the task at hand. Fodor contends that context‐sensitive cognition cannot be realised by current computational theories of mind. We address this challenge by describing a simple computational implementation tha…Read more
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41Multiscale Modeling of Gene–Behavior Associations in an Artificial Neural Network Model of Cognitive DevelopmentCognitive Science 40 (1): 51-99. 2016.In the multidisciplinary field of developmental cognitive neuroscience, statistical associations between levels of description play an increasingly important role. One example of such associations is the observation of correlations between relatively common gene variants and individual differences in behavior. It is perhaps surprising that such associations can be detected despite the remoteness of these levels of description, and the fact that behavior is the outcome of an extended developmenta…Read more
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19Modeling language acquisition in atypical phenotypesPsychological Review 110 (4): 647-682. 2003.
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17Computational modeling of interventions for developmental disordersPsychological Review 126 (5): 693-726. 2019.
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17Resisting the Habit of Tlön: Whitehead, Borges, and the Fictional Nature of ConceptsPhilosophy and Literature 42 (1): 81-96. 2018.Our interpretations of experience determine the limits of what we can do with the world.Jorge Luis Borges's short stories act as narrative experiments with the potential to alter the reader's experience. They provide momentary glimpses into a remixed reality that, through their vivacity, allow us to wonder at the immanent possibilities that emerge when we acknowledge the irreality of language. This function of Borges's writing follows from his understanding of fictions as imaginative verbal cons…Read more
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17Quantities of qualiaBehavioral and Brain Sciences 22 (1): 169-170. 1999.We address two points in this commentary. First, we question the extent to which O'Brien & Opie have established that the classical approach is unable to support a viable vehicle theory of consciousness. Second, assuming that connectionism does have the resources to support a vehicle theory, we explore how the activity of the units of a PDP network might sum together to form phenomenal experience (PE).
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16Differences in socioeconomic status (SES) correlate both with differences in cognitive development and in brain structure. Associations between SES and brain measures such as cortical surface area and cortical thickness mediate differences in cognitive skills such as executive function and language. However, causal accounts that link SES, brain, and behavior are challenging because SES is a multidimensional construct: correlated environmental factors, such as family income and parental education…Read more
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14Neuroconstructivism - I: How the Brain Constructs CognitionOxford University Press. 2007.What are the processes, from conception to adulthood, that enable a single cell to grow into a sentient adult? Neuroconstructivism is a pioneering 2 volume work that sets out a whole new framework for considering the complex topic of development, integrating data from cognitive studies, computational work, and neuroimaging.
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9Mechanisms of developmental regression in autism and the broader phenotype: A neural network modeling approachPsychological Review 118 (4): 637-654. 2011.
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9Neuroconstructivism: Volume 1: How the Brain Constructs CognitionOxford University Press UK. 2007.What are the processes, from conception to adulthood, that enable a single cell to grow into a sentient adult? The processes that occur along the way are so complex that any attempt to understand development necessitates a multi-disciplinary approach, integrating data from cognitive studies, computational work, and neuroimaging - an approach till now seldom taken in the study of child development. Neuroconstructivism is a major new 2 volume publication that seeks to redress this balance, present…Read more
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5Women and Men Differ in Relative Strengths in Wisdom Profiles: A Study of 659 Adults Across the LifespanFrontiers in Psychology 12. 2022.Wisdom is a multi-component trait that is important for mental health and well-being. In this study, we sought to understand gender differences in relative strengths in wisdom. A total of 659 individuals aged 27–103 years completed surveys including the 3-Dimensional Wisdom Scale and the San Diego Wisdom Scale. Analyses assessed gender differences in wisdom and gender’s moderating effect on the relationship between wisdom and associated constructs including depression, loneliness, well-being, op…Read more
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5The principles and practices of educational neuroscience: Comment on Bowers (2016)Psychological Review 123 (5): 620-627. 2016.
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49. Mead, Whitehead, and the Sociality of NatureIn Hans Joas & Daniel R. Huebner (eds.), The Timeliness of George Herbert Mead, University of Chicago Press. pp. 185-206. 2016.
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1The Philippine Rural Development ProgramSocial Research: An International Quarterly. forthcoming.
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Centralism in the philippines: Past and present causesSocial Research: An International Quarterly. forthcoming.
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University of ChicagoGraduate student
Chicago, Illinois, United States of America