Is misused neuroscience defining early years?

Here’s the thing: what if it’s over-baked? What if the claims made for neuroscience are so extreme that most neuroscientists would disown them? What if the constant references to “brain scans of neglected children” actually just meant one brain scan, from one highly contested study? What if synaptic development were a bit more complicated than “the more synapses the better”, and what if MRI scans tell us much less than we think? Jan Macvarish, author of Biologising Parenting: Neuroscience Discourse, says: “There’s a wow factor to the images that the substance of the research doesn’t merit. We’re not actually seeing inside brains. We’re certainly not seeing emotions written on to the brain that we can then draw conclusions from into how parents should love their children.”