Early childhood is a critical time for brain development. This is also a time when the brain is the most vulnerable.
My Curious Brain sparks children’s curiosity about how the brain works. This book provides parents, teachers, and caregivers with tools to support brain health for children.
The different parts of the brain are represented by the instinctual dinosaur, the emotional monkey, and the wise owl. The story offers children and adults a fun and interesting way to gain a greater understanding of how the brain develops, how it processes emotions, and how to deal with those emotions.
Although the brain is a complex system of interconnected parts, the functions of these parts can generally be identified by their location in the brain. Different areas of the brain are responsible for different functions. However, all of these areas interact together to allow the brain to work as a whole system.
Communication within the brain is called neurotransmission. Neurotransmission takes place using neurons (nerve cells) and neural networks (connections between neurons). Neurons communicate with each other through electrical stimulation that passes from one neuron to another. There are over 100 billion neurons in the brain. Many of these are already formed by the time a baby is born, although some are added after birth. However, although many neurons already exist at birth, they are not connected in any meaningful way that allows for “communication”.
Neurons that are stimulated together form connections and these connections develop into networks of interconnected neurons. These networks are developed and reinforced in a “use-dependent” fashion. The repeated stimulation of neural networks through similar experiences reinforces or strengthens them. When neural connections are not reinforced, they “die” off or “fade away”. This process takes place in early childhood and the networks that are strengthened are based on the sorts of repeated experiences the child has (e.g., if a child has frequent positive interactions, their brain will become ‘wired’ to perceive, interpret, and respond to positive interactions).
Consistent caregiving is one of the key forms of repetitive experiences available for very young children. Stimulation through repetitive experiences, such as, listening to their mother’s heartbeat, rocking, caregiving routines, and hearing soothing sounds, all build neural networks.
The brain develops in a sequential and hierarchical fashion, starting from the lower regions and working its way up. Repetitive, consistent, and loving experiences in the early years build the brain.
Both the structure and the function of the brain can be impacted positively and negatively in early childhood.
The answer to this is no and yes.
Brain structures that are underdeveloped in childhood, or with structures that have been impacted by stress-related chemicals, will probably not develop as they would have if they had not been impacted.
However, neural systems have plasticity and can be changed. This can be a lengthy process and some systems are easier to change than others. Change is easiest at an early age but is possible later in life as well.