Atypical development and the cultural background underlying neurological maturation

Abstract

Learning, attention, hyperactivity, and autism spectrum disorders have common neurological roots. They are manifested in differences in the development and functioning of the neurological processes involved in neurological maturation. Neurological maturation is a product of the cultural evolution of Homo Sapiens. The transition to an agricultural, ranching lifestyle required behavior and cognitive functions that were markedly different from the previous foraging, nomad lifestyle. The result was a more precise and reliable ability to control and think systematically, which later became the base of literacy. The recent spread of learning difficulties, control disorders, and autism spectrum are due to the vulnerability of brain functions that are very new to human development, most of all executive functions. There are significant changes in culture since the last century, whereby the developing nervous system receives less natural cultural developmental effects but more harmful agents than before. Changes in the environment change the way the brain develops. Atypical neurological development is a consequence and a sign of a new era. It is only considered a disorder if education fails to find an appropriate response to the challenge.