Over the weekend, I became fascinated with the work of Pepperdine psychology professor Louis Cozolino.
His books include The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Building and Rebuilding the Human Brain, The Neuroscience of Human Relationships: Attachment And the Developing Social Brain, The Making of a Therapist: A Practical Guide for the Inner Journey, and The Healthy Aging Brain: Sustaining Attachment, Attaining Wisdom. He is currently writing a book on the neuroscience of education.
Richard G. Petty, MD, author of Healing, Meaning and Purpose: The Magical Power of the Emerging Laws of Life writes about the human relationships book:
Louis Cozolino is professor of psychology at Pepperdine University, and in this book he pushes the envelop of the idea that brains are social organisms that develop and grow from their interactions with each other and with the material, maternal, familial and social environments. The important point is that the brain is not a static structure. It continues to grow and develop throughout life, and experiences sculpt the physical and functional landscape of our minds and bodies. Not just traumatic or adverse experiences, but also the positive ones. Hence the idea that psychotherapy and meditation may help reverse or re-fashion the maldevelopment and faulty wiring created by events earlier in life.
The basic concept is important. There are still people embroiled in the sterile nature vs. nurture debate. I recently heard some family members of people with a neuropsychiatric problem criticizing research that suggested a role for the environment in the genesis of the disease. They felt that it was a waste of time to look at anything other than the neurology of the illness. Yet the genes expressed in the brain do not determine behavior. Instead they help to condition the ways in which we respond to the environment. One mother was incensed, saying that her son had enjoyed a perfect childhood, so the illness was not her "fault." Chances are that it was nobody’s "fault," but a delicate interplay of susceptibility genes with subtle environmental factors.
The Midwest Book Review said about Dr. Cozolino’s aging book: "Any who would desire to live to a ripe old age will find this survey of aging issues a key to understanding the groundbreaking brain research taking place. Longevity brings with it challenges in health and brain health: especially as our brains continue to grow and change throughout our lives. Discussions of how to get the brain to age optimally are explored in an account of how individual health and longevity are linked to choices in daily lives."
