Re: Clarification about mirror neurons

On 9 Jan 2013, at 22:55, a b <[email protected]> wrote:

> - Does accepting specialized regions for language imply accepting
> condition s related to language impairment (like dyslexia) are
> possibly legitimate?

If there are specialised regions for a computational function in the brain, the unspecialised regions are still universal and can learn to perform the function. 

But the very term "specialized" can be misleading here because it can mean many different things. Because of universality, it is impossible for neurons to be 'specialised' in any computational sense. So a *computationally* "specialised region of the brain" can only be one in which the connections between neurons are genetically preprogrammed to enact a particular algorithm. But understanding human language, and using it, are both creative functions that are not inborn (we are not born able to read, speak etc). And therefore those functions cannot be pre-programmed. So they have to be learned creatively.

A region could be specialised in another sense, e.g. it could have exclusive access to signals coming from the optic nerves. If so, then if that region was damaged, the person might be blind or have difficulty seeing. But that does not prevent the person from performing the *computational* task associated with reading. For instance, they can learn to read Braille, using a different part of the brain. 

It is logically possible for *any* genetic attribute, whether it codes for a defect in a brain region for or a skin colour or whatever, to 'cause' the behaviour that has been called 'dyslexia', via interactions with the environment such as affecting the behaviour of other people, or the person's own ideas via cultural interpretation. What it cannot possibly do is code for the behaviour itself, or make it immutable, because humans choose their behaviour, and their creative ability is universal and can be turned to any task that can be performed at all, including reading.

-- David Deutsch