Brain complexity: learning new tasks (Introduction)

by David Turell , Sunday, December 24, 2017, 19:11 (2526 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: The adolescent brain is not a complete adult brain. That takes to about age 26. As a result adolescents are reward satisfied and risk takers:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171221122925.htm

DAVID’s comment: The obvious conclusion is the soul/self/consciousness can only use the brain that it is given to work with. This applies to all animals and to all pre-humans. The size of the pre-frontal cortex and its complexity is the only tool that can be used at a given evolutionary development level. At every level are there limits to how broadly concepts can be developed and actions started based on the size and quality of the pre-frontal cortex. I still believe ours is an endpoint with its neuroplasticity mechanisms.

dhw: What do you mean by “how broadly concepts can be developed”?

The pre-frontal cortex is where thought and concepts take place. Much of our brain is simply running various systems of sensation and autonomic function, coordination of movements, etc.

dhw:The major question is how concepts arise in the first place. If they depend on the size and quality of the pre-frontal cortex, the obvious conclusion is that the pre-frontal cortex is the source of concepts, which you reject.

I don't reject it. Consciousness/soul/self use that specific cortex for ideation.

dhw: In sapiens, it is not the size of the cortex that determines our ability to implement new concepts, but the plasticity. And for the last time today, the changes occur when we implement new concepts and not beforehand.

The sapiens brain as an endpoint does not mean that every other organism came into existence for the sake of the sapiens brain.

We are the endpoint of brain evolution. Without our newly attained size of frontal and prefrontal cortex we would still be at the erectus level. We are at a top level of plasticity because of all the complexity of neurons and axon connections we have to work with. We can do alterations they didn't have the neurons to do. Bony skulls are had to expand so the brain has to have the plasticity ability.