Annette Karmiloff-Smith
Encyclopedia
Annette Karmiloff-Smith is a professorial research fellow at the Developmental Neurocognition Lab at Birkbeck, University of London
. Before moving to Birbeck, she was Head of the Neurocognitive Development Unit at Institute of Child Health, University College, London. She is an expert in developmental disorders, with a particular interest in Williams syndrome
.
Professor Karmiloff-Smith argues against
approaches that take a modality-specific approach to developmental disorders - approaches that state, for example, that autism
arises because of a failure of the "theory of mind
" module, or that children with specific language impairment
lack a genetically determined "language module".
Karmiloff-Smith has argued that these approaches assume a "mosaic-like" approach to cognitive development - according to which different systems within the brain develop separately from each other, based purely on information coded in the genes. The real picture of development is, she argues, much more complicated (see Interactive Specialization
). Development comes about as a result of back-propagating interactions between gene, brain, behavior, and the environment; "modules" (those parts of the brain that are, for example, specialized at processing language) appear relatively late in development. Since developmental disorders arise from problems during development (as opposed to damage to a mature system) it follows that we should expect to find performance deficits that are not linked to one particular domain, but rather spread across a whole range of different performance impairments.
Karmiloff-Smith has supported her theories by her research work into Williams syndrome
. This rare syndrome was originally thought to manifest itself as abnormally low IQ, accompanied by "normal" ability to process social cues. In a series of papers (e.g.), Karmiloff-Smith and colleagues have discovered that impairments in Williams syndrome are far more widespread than had previously been appreciated. Her theories have been further supported by work in other fields. For example, autistic children have been found to be impaired not just at Theory of Mind but also at a variety of tasks including motion perception, visual search and multi-tasking (e.g.), a finding that domain-specific theories have difficulty accounting for.
Karmiloff-Smith has authored a number of books and academic articles, most notably Beyond Modularity in 1992 and Rethinking Innateness
with Jeffrey Elman
, Mark Johnson
, Elizabeth Bates
, Domenico Parisi, and Kim Plunkett in 1996.
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
. Before moving to Birbeck, she was Head of the Neurocognitive Development Unit at Institute of Child Health, University College, London. She is an expert in developmental disorders, with a particular interest in Williams syndrome
Williams syndrome
Williams syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a distinctive, "elfin" facial appearance, along with a low nasal bridge; an unusually cheerful demeanor and ease with strangers; developmental delay coupled with strong language skills; and cardiovascular problems, such as...
.
Professor Karmiloff-Smith argues against
approaches that take a modality-specific approach to developmental disorders - approaches that state, for example, that autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
arises because of a failure of the "theory of mind
Theory of mind
Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states—beliefs, intents, desires, pretending, knowledge, etc.—to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires and intentions that are different from one's own...
" module, or that children with specific language impairment
Specific language impairment
Specific language impairment is diagnosed when a child's language does not develop normally and the difficulties cannot be accounted for by generally slow development , physical abnormality of the speech apparatus, autistic disorder, acquired brain damage or hearing loss.-Overview:Specific...
lack a genetically determined "language module".
Karmiloff-Smith has argued that these approaches assume a "mosaic-like" approach to cognitive development - according to which different systems within the brain develop separately from each other, based purely on information coded in the genes. The real picture of development is, she argues, much more complicated (see Interactive Specialization
Interactive Specialization
Interactive Specialization is a theory of brain development proposed by the British cognitive neuroscientist Mark Johnson, who is head of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, University of London, London....
). Development comes about as a result of back-propagating interactions between gene, brain, behavior, and the environment; "modules" (those parts of the brain that are, for example, specialized at processing language) appear relatively late in development. Since developmental disorders arise from problems during development (as opposed to damage to a mature system) it follows that we should expect to find performance deficits that are not linked to one particular domain, but rather spread across a whole range of different performance impairments.
Karmiloff-Smith has supported her theories by her research work into Williams syndrome
Williams syndrome
Williams syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a distinctive, "elfin" facial appearance, along with a low nasal bridge; an unusually cheerful demeanor and ease with strangers; developmental delay coupled with strong language skills; and cardiovascular problems, such as...
. This rare syndrome was originally thought to manifest itself as abnormally low IQ, accompanied by "normal" ability to process social cues. In a series of papers (e.g.), Karmiloff-Smith and colleagues have discovered that impairments in Williams syndrome are far more widespread than had previously been appreciated. Her theories have been further supported by work in other fields. For example, autistic children have been found to be impaired not just at Theory of Mind but also at a variety of tasks including motion perception, visual search and multi-tasking (e.g.), a finding that domain-specific theories have difficulty accounting for.
Karmiloff-Smith has authored a number of books and academic articles, most notably Beyond Modularity in 1992 and Rethinking Innateness
Rethinking Innateness
Published in 1996 by Jeffrey Elman, Annette Karmiloff-Smith, Elizabeth Bates, Mark Johnson, Domenico Parisi, and Kim Plunkett, Rethinking Innateness: A connectionist perspective on development is a book regarding gene/environment interaction...
with Jeffrey Elman
Jeffrey Elman
Jeffrey L. Elman is Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of California, San Diego. He is a well-known psycholinguist and pioneer in the field of neural networks.-Biography:...
, Mark Johnson
Mark H. Johnson (professor)
Mark Johnson is a British cognitive neuroscientist who since 1997 is head of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, University of London....
, Elizabeth Bates
Elizabeth Bates
Elizabeth Bates was a Professor of psychology and cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego...
, Domenico Parisi, and Kim Plunkett in 1996.
External links
- Annette Karmiloff-Smith at Developmental Neurocognition Lab
- Developmental Neurocognition Lab