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First Years (0-2)
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 In any case, you’re astounded at how fast your child is growing and how his behavior changes from day to day. It’s not a figment of your imagination: Activity and development in your baby’s brain is growing exponentially minute-by-minute. The mechanisms behind all this, “neurons,” are the nerve cells that control the neuroelectrical impulses in our bodies. “The number of neurons grows rapidly during fetal development,” says Dr. Johnson Lee Moon, a neurologist in La Habra. “At birth, there are about 100 billion. By age 2, the number of neurons in the brain has reached adult levels.” Synapses, the connectors between the neurons, continue to develop throughout life and are constantly building and rebuilding. “These connections are strengthened and weakened by a complex system of excitation and inhibition,” Moon says. “When a child interacts with the environment, she learns through this very system.” By the time your child is 8 months old, she may have around 1,000 trillion synapses in her brain. The activity between neurons and synapses controls all of a person’s skills and actions – from nail-biting to becoming the world’s most skilled concert pianist. “The brain is the most complex organ in the human body,” Moon says. “It is made up of many specialized cells that begin development just four weeks after conception.” In the womb, boys’ brains develop from the back of the head to the front, from the “doing” part of the brain to the “thinking” part, while girls’ brains develop from the front of the brain to the rear. Supposedly this means that boys’ motor skills develop first while their language skills are last.  “A strong sensory environment is essential to strengthening the connections between synapses – it’s what shapes our senses,” says Moon. “For example, a newborn’s vision is so poor, she is basically blind. Without adequate visual stimulation, vision cannot develop.” Environmental stimulation is influential in establishing the degree of development of your child’s eyes and visual cortex. Probably the most beautiful part of sensory stimulation can all happen in a mother’s arms: holding and kissing (touch); feeding (taste); exposing baby to your natural scent (smell); singing or talking (hearing); and introducing her to the outside world (sight). “The environment plays an essential role in sculpting a child’s brain and senses,” Moon says. “A proper amount of stimulation will help her reach full neurologic potential.” Tamirra Stewart is a contributing writer to OC Family magazine.  INSIDE THE MIND> Cerebral Cortex The layer on the brain’s surface that contains the sections of the brain, or its “lobes” > Occipital lobe Processes vision; located at the base of the back of the head > Temporal lobe Processes hearing, speech, language development > Prefrontal lobe Allows us to plan future actions; connected to the limbic area to help regulate emotions > Frontal lobe The area where critical thinking and problem solving occur > Limbic system Controls emotions and long-term memory > Cerebellum Controls automatic movements and balance Source: pregnancyandbaby.com  NEUROLOGICAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT> 5 weeks Brain and spinal cord start to develop. > 7 weeks Both of the brain’s hemispheres are developing. > 8 weeks Neural pathways are forming. > 12 weeks Synapses are firing. > 14 weeks Brain impulses cause facial muscles to twitch. > 19 weeks The brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision and touch > 24 weeks The brain is growing quickly, and taste buds are developing. > 27 weeks As more tissue develops, the brain grows accordingly. > 29 weeks Baby’s head is growing larger in order to accommodate brain growth. > 33 weeks Bones in the head do not fuse together, to ease birth and allow continued brain growth once baby is born. Source: mayoclinic.com |
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