Cortical differentiation and neurocognitive development: The parcellation conjecture

Abstract

This paper reviews evidence consistent with the Parcellation Conjecture. Briefly, this conjecture states that in postnatal development cortical parcellation processes result in previously combined information processing pathways or structures becoming segregated into relatively isolated modules. Evidence consistent with the parcellation conjecture from several aspects of behavioral development are reviewed, including the development of binocular vision, cross-modal integration, and interhemispheric transfer. Predictions are made in other domains where existing evidence is unclear such as motion and color sensitivity, and somatosensory perception. Finally, we speculatively extend the notion of parcellation to more cognitive domains such as the development of priming and interference effects.