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Neuroconstructivism: Evidence for later maturation of prefrontally mediated executive functioning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 June 2008

Jonathan Foster ,
Anke van Eekelen  and
Eugen Mattes
Jonathan Foster
Affiliation:
Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027
Anke van Eekelen
Affiliation:
University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009
Eugen Mattes
Affiliation:
Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, WA 6008, Australia. j.foster@ecu.edu.auankev@ichr.uwa.edu.aueugenm@ichr.uwa.edu.au
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Abstract

The authors of this commentary concur with the viewpoint presented by Mareschal et al. (2007a; 2007b) concerning the relevance of neurological data when theorizing about cognitive development. However, we argue here that Mareschal et al. fail to consider adequately the relevance of reorganizational brain events occurring through adolescence and early adulthood, especially regarding the prefrontal cortex and the ontogeny of executive functioning. In addition, evidence from the lifespan neurodevelopmental literature indicates that increased activity of neural networks may signify less efficient processing. This observation is of potential relevance when considering the neurological changes associated with cognitive development during childhood and adolescence.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , June 2008 , pp. 338 - 339
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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