The human brain is extremely susceptible to epigenetic modifications of its functional architecture because its development extends over two decades. This developmental process is characterized by a continuous making and breaking of neuronal connections. Which of the newly formed connections are removed and which eventually become consolidated is determined by the patterns of neuronal activity. Hence the developmental remodelling of the basic, genetically specified architecture is critically influenced by interactions with the environment. As all cognitive and executive functions of the brain are determined by its architecture this implies that experiences made during the first two decades of life have a strong impact on behavioural dispositions. Different networks are susceptible to epigenetic modifications during different critical periods of development. Thus there are distinct windows of opportunity for the shaping of specific functions but once these windows close, induced modifications become irreversible. I shall discuss how it is conceivable that widely differing behavioural dispositions coexist in a single system as highly integrated as the brain and review educational and societal attempts to bias the expression of these dispositions.
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↑ https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-47130-3_16