Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Table of Contents - 2008 - Volume 31, Issue 03  

Open Peer Commentary

It's high time: Cognitive neuroscience lives

Karl Pribrama1

a1 Georgetown University, Psychology Department, Washington, DC 20057. pribramk@georgetown.edu

Abstract

Neuroconstructivism (Mareschal et al. 2007a) heralds a departure from the standard “associationism” that has dominated the English speaking cognitive and neuroscience community for generations. Its central concept is context dependency: encellment, embrainment, embodiment and ensocioment. This reviewer welcomes the breath of fresh air in overcoming the “deconstructions” of postmodernism. The program is carried out with a carefully selected sample of empirical evidence with an emphasis on development. This review points to some of the books' strengths and shortcomings, and adds a few observations that carry the program further.