The Early Development of the Brain - Research Paper Example

Early Brain Development Course Name: Collage: Date: INTRODUCTION For quite a long time, researchers have been exploring the extraordinary improvement of a human brain amid the initial five years of life. The latest advances in Neuro- science have provided assistance to crystallize prior discoveries, bringing new coherence and understanding to the field of early brain development of a human. Many researches have been conducted on the vast topic of the development of the human brain to discuss different aspects of brain development throughout a lifespan of a human. Early brain development might be influenced by various internal and external factors, and it is impossible to think little of the tremendous significance of the early development of the brain. In this report, we will discuss how human brain complete its development in the early age and how different internal and external factors could influence the early brain development process. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purpose of this study about the early development of the brain is to clear different myths that are popular about brain development as well as to explore the different factors that can influence brain development. The paper will discuss different question: How in the initial five years of life do we form into the complex individuals we are today with the complete brain development? Is it true that a human brain completely develop in early 12 years? How much contribution is their of the genes with which an individual born and the experiences a person have from birth and onward is in the development of the brain? RESEARCH METTHODOLOGY As the topic ‘Early Brain Development’ is not a new topic in the field of research and many researchers have been working on this topic in each and every aspect. Therefore, the research methodology that is being employed in this report is called secondary research methodology. In this type of research, researchers are only analyzing already existing data from different sources such as books, journals and other authentic sources. To access secondary data on this topic online books and journals are used in addition to the print media. BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND AGE GROUP There are a number of popular myths about the brain development age. Some people believe that the first two/three years of growth of a human are important enough for the development of the brain, whereas some others believe that first five years are the most important years for brain development (Bruer, 1999). During the first two/three years the brain is acting in the most adaptable and flexible way by staying ready to learn. At this point everything is new. Different actions and activities of a child does build connections of the brain. At this stage, the five senses of a child are developing and they can touch, talk and watch and smell all forms brain connections if done with progression in an adoring, fair, and predictable way. These connections can easily reach to an end if not kept up. In the event that there are no experiences, the connections are pinched back to keep the brain small (Bruer, 1999). According to some other people, the brain completes its 90% of development by the age of five years, whereas, some others believe that at the age five the brain just start developing or the brain just enters to its development stage because children just start learning things at this age. Indeed, the brain absorbs more things from the time of birth to age five instead of from age five and on. In the brain development of a child, parents and other family members can do various things helping with their learning. The rate and sequence at which the mind develops, predicts the ideal times for a child to learn. By setting milestones that an infant may gain at by a notable age, one can easily measure sequence and rate. . Experiences are having a vital role in promoting brain development and our five senses are the main sources to give us experiences (Gilkerson & Klein, 2008). There are a number of things that influence human brain in different ways. The most essential elements in brain development begin with hereditary qualities (genetic qualities), responsiveness from parents, nutrition, daily experiences, and interactions. Parents need to realize that in their early age, children are learning and tolerating more information and knowledge compared to a fully grown adult. Children need positive and delicate criticism from their family members to improve their learning. Previously, researcher accepted that the human brain development was based on a predetermined biological path (Hart, 2008). In this regard, we can assume that genetics has a strong impact on the brain development, however latest research and advanced technology have demonstrated that the brain is not determined by the genetics. The brain develops through the five senses: touch, smell, vision, hearing and taste. The experiences that are brought by the five senses are extremely critical to help construct the connection that direct brain development. It is very important for the parents to understand the importance of the initial few years of their childs life is amazingly imperative for brain development (Gilkerson & Klein, 2008). At the early age of a human life, persuasion for the brain circuitry is at its best condition. This will push the brain circuitry to develop in a more effective manner. The principle function of the brain in the first three years of life is to make and help correspondence/junction between neurons. Such correspondence is alluded to as synapses. Synapses could be imagined as the branches on the tree. In the example of a tree, the trunk of the tree acts as the main lineage and the main branches could be assumed as families as they develop and have children. In the human brain, neurons are similar to the trunk and the primary limbs of the tree. In the first three years of life the numbers of neurons remain the same as they were at the time of birth of the child. Synapses (every one of those years of lineage on the family tree) are all the little twigs and limbs that fall off the fundamental trunk. In the first three years of life the synapses in our brain expand to many hundreds trillion. Then again, after age three the numbers of synapses starts to slow down by age 10. Amid this period there are a larger number of synapses made than the actual amount that is required. An individual makes a larger number of synapses than required and at this point we can apply the theory of "use it or lose it" the unused synapses (Bruer, 1999). The synapses being significantly utilized get to be lasting to the brain. The synapses not utilized are lost within a methodology called pruning. Indeed, the capability to see light is lost if the eyes are not laid open to light during the first three weeks after birth, thus the theory "use it or lose it" is justified (Hawley, 2000). The synapses that can see the light will be lost because that they wont have been utilized. That is the reason we need to give our children much experience of different actions right after their birth that are gradually expanding to social interactions so that they learn and adapt as more as possible from their surroundings. With such sort of experience these synapses will become lasting. The brain receive different experiences through our five senses. According to Gable & Huntington (2000) "a kids social, enthusiastic, cognitive, physical and dialect improvement are invigorated during multi-sensory experiences" (para.12). During these first few years of life the brain growth and development is quite quick. A child born with 25% of the brain, after six months it is half created, after 30 months it is 75% developed and at age five a child now has 90% of brain development. It has been observed that during the first few months the child has a very low potency to learn new things as well as to remember them that grows with the passage of time (Lucassen, Boekhoorn & Francis, n.d.). FACTORS AFFECTING BRAIN DEVELOPMENT Environment: Environment has a great impact on the early development of the brain. If a child has a healthy and full of life environment in his/her surroundings, the brain develops effectively compared to those who have a dull and less healthy environment. Studies have shown that children who have born in a place where they are exposed to fewer sights, sounds and colors, their brains will less develop during the first few years compared to those living in a rich environment (Stiles, 2008). Socioeconomic Factors: As indicated by many researches that relentless poverty has more adverse effects on IQ levels, school accomplishments, and socio-emotional functioning than impermanent poverty, with childrens experiences both sorts of poverty usually performing less well compared to richer children. It has been observed that children living in a rich society have more opportunities to nourish their brain as they are more exposed to people, other societies, schools and other activities. They have less chances to suffer from hunger, illness and social stress (Stiles, 2008). Relationships: Researches further showed that relationships have significant impact on brain development of a child. This happens not just amid the first couple of months of life, additionally in the first couple of years. The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child stated that, "We have long realized that cooperation with parents, guardians, and different adults are paramount in a childs life, yet no proof demonstrates that these relationships really shape brain circuits and establish the framework for later developmental results, from academic performance to intellectual well being and interpersonal abilities" (Boyce et al., n.d.). Researches further showed that relationships have significant impact on brain development of a child. This happens not just amid the first couple of months of life, additionally in the first couple of years. The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child stated that, "We have long realized that cooperation with parents, guardians, and different adults are paramount in a childs life, yet new proofs demonstrated that these relationships really shape brain circuits and establish the framework for later developmental results, from academic performance to intellectual well being and interpersonal abilities" (Boyce et al., n.d.). The Council further stated that numerous U.S. policies, for example, Child protection and parental leave, dont consider such relationships and their consequences. Genes: Genes are accountable for the outline or hardwiring of the brain. While the environment is accountable of the better angles. For instance, everybody born with the hardwiring to learn language. Our brains are modified to identify human speech, to differentiate the quality of sounds between different individuals, to assemble words and its meanings, and to understand the grammar rules for word order in sentences. However, the particular speech that every child has a hold on it, the measure of the vocabulary and the definite tongue is reliant upon the environment in which the child is raised. Aside from genes and the nature there are ten things a child needs to help in the development of the brain to its fullest capacity. The Quality of Child Care: The quality of care that is provided to a child has a great impact on early time adolescence development. One study found that children who received quality care from child care centers had only few behavioral issues, and higher dialect learning and school readiness scores. Besides, look into by the U.S. Division of Health and human Services states that: "The nature of child consideration amid the initial 3 years was related to child school status, expressive dialect, and responsive language at 3 years." The research suggested that higher wages and better training for a child care staff, with enhanced ratios of child-to-caregiver, that could make a critical contrast in the early advancement of children. Early Experiences of Child from Parents and Surroundings: During the first few years of life, the brain holds the capability to re-learn sounds it has disposed of, so the children of a couple of few years usually learn new languages effectively and without a stress. However, after about age 10, flexibility for this capacity is extraordinarily reduced; thus, most individuals find it hard to figure out how to speak a strange as well as a native speaker if they start to learn it in teenage or adulthood. Moreover, early life experiences can also decide how capable a child gets to be in his or her native dialect. Researchers also explored that when parents, especially mothers habitually speak to their babies, their children adapted just about 300 different words by age 2 compared to those mothers who are not speaking to their infants (Kuhl, Tsao & Liu, 2003). Moreover, researchers have recommended that more exposure to dialect, for example, listening to the TV or to adults talking with each other also provide benefit. Newborn children need to interact directly with other individuals, to hear individuals discussing what they are seeing and experiencing, allow them to create ideal dialect skills. There are many parents who have a misconception about talking to infants and they believe that it is not ameliorated because they are too young to understand anything said to them. FINDINGS OF THE STUDY After analyzing different theories and researches that have been done on the topic of early brain development, it seems that just like other body parts and height human brain also grows in the first couple of years. Researchers have a consent on the presumption that human brain develops during the first couple of years, for example, from birth to age five. A child can buy birth recognize his mother and just wait a few months he/she can identify those adults who care them and treat them with love. It is also clear that additional to internal factors, external factors have a great contribution in the brain development in the early age. The research clearly discarded the myth that brain development is something genetic and has also shown that environment, the quality of care, socioeconomic status and the quality of the relationship has a great impact on the development of the brain (Raizada & Kishiyama, 2010). Studies have shown that if a child’s parents are very intelligent, but they cannot provide a healthy environment and required attention to their kid, the kid may experience some qualities that are not genetically to him/her. There are a number of well known and well reputed people who have grown up in a very poor family with poor quality of life and access to healthy food and activities, but today they are known for their accomplishments. The limitation of this study is that it was a small project and most of the research for this study has been completed using secondary sources. Therefore, being a human it is not possible for us to review all the research work done on this topic to date. Another limitation of the study was that there is very little consent between different researchers on the exact age at which a human brain complete its development process. RECOMMENDATIONS As it has been explored that the first few years have greatly contribution in the brain development of a child therefore, parents and other family members should try to concentrate on the child’s learning capabilities to allow him/her to adapt more things. Though, many researches have been conducted in the field of early brain development, but still there is confusion that if genetics, environment, early life experiences and relationships are effecting a child’s brain development then how a child learn to speak whose parents are unable to speak? How children from poor families and from families that are not providing great attention and quality of care to their kids become socially active and best achievers in their life? Apart from these few questions, there are a number of questions that still needs to be answered (Bond & Joffe, 1982). Researchers should answer these questions in the light of medical science because still it is not clear that at which age the brain complete its development process. There is a need to conduct a research to find different consequences of society and community on a child’s brain development while he/she has a different and healthy environment at home. CONCLUSION In this report, we have endeavored to outline how the developmental neurosciences can reveal insight on the early brain development. After conception the development of the brain of the baby can be determined by generic qualities, a large number of which are touchy to the biochemical composition of the mothers body, however are highly controlled by genetic setting. By experience, we dont mean different events/circumstances that takes place throughout the life of an individual rather, we characterize experiences as the interactions between an individual and his/her environment. The individual is an operator that can shape his/her experiences at different levels. This research explored that the brain development of a child cannot be done in isolation and a child needs to have full support and care from family, community, neighbors, society, socioeconomic status and public policies (Sullivan et al., 2006). REFERENCES Bond, L., & Joffe, J. (1982). Facilitating infant and early childhood development (1st ed.). Hanover, NH: Published for the Vermont Conference on the Primary Prevention of Psychopathology by University Press of New England. Boyce, W., Cameron, J., Duncan, G., Fox, N., Greenough, W., & Gunnar, M. et al. (n.d.). NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL ON THE DEVELOPING CHILD. Bruer, J. (1999). The myth of the first three years (1st ed.). New York: Free Press. Gable, S., & Hunting, M. (2000). Nature, nurture and early brain development. Missouri: University Of Missouri-Columbia. Gilkerson, L., & Klein, R. (2008). Early development and the brain (1st ed.). Washington, DC: Zero To Three. Hart, S. (2008). Brain, attachment, personality (1st ed.). London: Karnac. Hawley, T. (2000). Starting smart (1st ed.). Washington, DC: Zero to Three. Lucassen, P., Boekhoorn, K., & Francis, F. (n.d.). Early Brain Development. Springer. Raizada, R., & Kishiyama, M. (2010). Effects of socioeconomic status on brain development, and how cognitive neuroscience may contribute to levelling the playing field. Frontiers In Human Neuroscience, 4(3). Stiles, J. (2008). The fundamentals of brain development (1st ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Sullivan, R., Wilson, D., Feldon, J., Yee, B., Meyer, U., & Richter-Levin, G. et al. (2006). The International Society for Developmental Psychobiology annual meeting symposium: Impact of early life experiences on brain and behavioral development. Developmental Psychobiology, 48(7), 583--602. Kuhl, P., Tsao, F., & Liu, H. (2003). Foreign-language experience in infancy: Effects of short-term exposure and social interaction on phonetic learning. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences, 100(15), 9096--9101. Clarke, A. and Moss, P. (2001). Listening to young children: the mosaic approach. London: The National Children’s Bureau. Read More