Summary
Our brain was assembled during childhood by a combination of genetic and environmental influences. Genes dictated that our brain was a human one and that our synaptic connections, though similar to other members of our family, were distinct to us. Then, through experiences with the world, our synaptic connections were adjusted (by selection and/or instruction and construction), further distinguishing us from everyone else. Synaptic connections are adjusted by environmentally driven neural activity in specific neural systems. The manner in which these connections are made can by explained in terms of the following seven principles.

Principle 1
Just as people flying in the same plane have similar environmental influences (same cabin temperature, lighting levels and noises), within the brain, a shared culture develops between various systems exposed to similar environmental circumstances. The sounds, sights, and smells that occur during an experience are different pieces of information, but are all part of the same experience from the point of view of the brain and person.

Principle 2
Information processing across different interconnected regions is coordinated when cells in the individual regions fire action potentials at the same time. Form and color, for example, may be brought together for an immediately present object, by way of the synaptic interconnection of the related brain cells. Hebbian plasticity thus binds these simultaneously active cells together.

Principle 3
There are different neurotransmitter molecules (i.e. dopamine, serotonin) present in different groups of neurons.
Parallel processing is coordinated by these “modulators” from cells located primarily in the brain stem, but with axons extending to many regions of the brain.
This is done by bathing active neurons simultaneously during significant events (with monomines). Active cells thus bathed will “store” information about the event by having a strong response

Principle 4
A convergence zone (CZ) is a region that receives inputs from other brain regions and integrates them. This allows integrated information to be used to influence the activity of input regions.
Small sets of connected cells, called ensembles, receive convergent inputs from lower levels and can then represent faces, complex scenes, or buildings and other objects of perception.
One of the key convergence zone is the parahippocampal region (where recent studies have identified building responses.

Principle 5
Thoughts and memories placed in working memory can influence what we attend to, the way we see things, and the way we act. By activating the right axons, working memory can direct traffic in the areas with which it is connected.
If a thought is a pattern of neural activity in a network, not only can it cause another network to be active, it can also cause other networks to change, to be plastic.

Principle 6
The synapses that are actively involved in processing the external world (releasing their modulatory chemicals), in thinking about the world, in forming memories about it, in receiving feedback from the amygdala are enhanced, and plasticity will be facilitated at these synapses.
When many brain systems are active at one time, they become coordinated in their response to the current situation. This promotes the development and unification of the self.

Principle 7
Our brain has not evolved to the point where the new systems that make complex thinking possible can easily control the old systems that give rise to our base needs and motives, and emotional reactions. This doesn't mean that we are simply victims of our brains and should give in to our urges. Doing the right thing doesn’t always flow naturally from knowing what the right thing to do is.
In the end, the self is maintained by systems that function both explicitly and implicitly. Whether that "self" is you or Einstein.