Milner, P. M. (1999). The Autonomous Brain: A Neural Theory of Attention and Learning.

Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum (155 pp., $27.95, hardcover, ISBN 0-8058-3211-4).

The influential behaviorist formula of stimulus-response fails to give adequate credit, if at all, to the autonomous brain. In this book, the author presents the view that behavior is not always determined by sensory stimulation. A hungry bug presented with a stimulus of food on one side and another simultaneous stimulus of light on the other will attend to the food and disregard the light. Its response to stimuli is guided by its desire to eat, which directs its attention to the most relevant stimulus at that given time and to follow it up with an appropriate action. In our daily life, bombarded with numerous stimuli from the environment, we make conscious and unconscious decisions all the time as to which stimulus to ignore and which to respond to, depending on our specific goals in mind. Without such selective attention, we are likely to be confused by the multitude of sensory inputs to our brain; unable to function effectively.

The book seeks to establish that such sensitization of appropriate sensory pathways is an essential component of any response. Here, "sensitization," "appropriateness," "sensory pathways," and "response" are the key words around which the author centers his explanation of cerebral mechanisms to make his point. Among the topics discussed are behavior model (Chapter 2), sensory inputs (Chapters 3, 4, and 5), memory/amnesia (Chapters 6 and 7), motivation (Chapter 8), and behavioral functions (Chapter 9). Those topics are dealt with at a highly technical level, detailing how stimuli are facilitated or inhibited and what parts of the brain are responsible for a specific function.

This monograph assumes a strong background knowledge of biology or neurology. It is informative reading both in terms of its wealth of experiments and studies cited and of its insightful critiques and evaluations of theories and propositions. Where theories fall short, speculations take over to explain the observed phenomena or data, which is an inevitability in a science where data are still larger than theories.

Besides being highly technical, the book is heavily loaded with information, too. Topics are touched upon with pithy sentences rather than dwelled upon for fuller explanations. The 10 chapters with 96 headings in a mere 125 pages (155 including bibliography and index) speak to the conciseness each topic is treated with. The consequently frequent appearance of headings and subheadings in the text tends to block the flow of the reading, often creating a feeling of disruption on top of lack of saturation.

To an educator, the juxtaposition of the words "brain," "attention," and "learning" in a book title can do the trick of stimulating exciting speculations as to what possible applications to education neuroscience can offer. Regrettably, however, those who expect the author to cast some light on educational application after his scientific discussions of the physiological, chemical, and neural mechanisms of attention, motivation, and learning may be disappointed. Educational application is never touched upon. Perhaps it is a misplaced expectation originated in part from educators' conditioned understanding of the words "attention" and "learning" and in part from the current fascination with neuroscience in the educational community. In its broadest sense, attention means focusing of consciousness or awareness on certain stimuli from the environment (Mirsky, 1978), which is a universal property of any organism possessing a nervous system (Klivington, 1986). Students' paying attention in a classroom to instruction and academic tasks is only one particular operation of that property by a higher organism, which, though of interest to educators, is not to the author. Learning is also used in its most primitive sense. Rather than the advanced cognitive activities of gaining knowledge, understanding, or skills, it refers to an evolutionary development that fine tunes an organism for environmental adaptation. One example of such learning is establishing an association between stimulus and response through conditioning.

Though still in its youth, brain science is being regarded as a new light that can enlighten education and pedagogy as well as inform policy and curriculum. Amid the general enthusiasm, there are cautions (Bruer, 1997). Whichever the point of view, it is evident that insightful and legitimate interpretations of findings in neuroscience and their educational implications require a solid grasp of the domain knowledge in both fields. Many current attempts to apply brain science to education suffer from misconceptions, simplifications, and overgeneralizations (Bruer, 1997). Hopefully, with further advancement in brain science and better understanding across the disciplines, at some time in the future an interdisciplinary expert may revisit the theme of autonomous brain and produce another monograph of attention and learning more relevant to education. It is, after all, a topic of significant interest to education and educators.

REFERENCES

Bruer, J. T. (1997). Education and the brain: A bridge too far. Educational Researcher, 26 (8), 4-16.

Klivington, K. A. (1986). Building bridges among neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and education. In S. L. Friedman, K. A. Klivington, & R. W. Peterson (Eds.), The brain, cognition, and education. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

Mirsky, A. F. (1978). Attention: A neuropsychological perspective. In J. S. Chall & A. F. Mirsky (Eds.), Education and the Brain: The seventy-seventh yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. Chicago, IL: The National Society for the Study of Education.

Reviewed by Li Zuo, who works for the United Nations and holds her doctorate in gifted education.