Insight on Brain Development
New imaging technologies have allowed neurobiologists to gain a lot of valuable insight into the brains of living adults and children.
Brain fact: Brains are ready for learning from birth.
The human brain grows and develops amazingly fast, starting from day one in the womb. By age 6, your baby's brain will be almost adult-sized. Even at birth, babies' brains contain millions of brain cells, which are called neurons.
Brain fact: Brain connections are strengthened with experience.
Brain connections are called synapses. Thousands and thousands of them are formed with everyday experiences. Synapses are crucial because they transmit brain impulses, which control body functions, thinking, feeling, learning, memory, and language.
Your toddler has a new toy, which he is exploring with lots of energy. His brain cells are firing away, and new synapses may occur. Toddlers' brains will make many more synapses than needed for good brain functioning. Synapses that are used frequently will be strengthened and remain. Those that are not will eventually disappear. So by hugging and reading to your toddler, you can encourage the growth and strengthening of brain connections.
Brain fact: The front part of the brain is involved in goal-oriented behaviors.
An important aspect of early development involves increasing the connections to neurons in the front part of the brain, particularly the area called the prefrontal cortex. These connections start to increase toward the end of the first year-and continue until the end of adolescence. The prefrontal cortex is sometimes called the area of our "Executive Functions" because it is involved in many goal-directed behaviors such as organizing activities, planning, problem-solving, and evaluation of our own behaviors. Toddlers show beginning signs of executive functioning when they slowly and carefully try to match a set of puzzle pieces to a puzzle board.
Read About How Toddlers Learn