6/5/98 -
New Brain Development Research: What this Means to Parents: Beginning at the Beginning

There is now proof that not only do the experiences we give or withhold from the infant and young child impact directly how the brain is wired for life, but we also now know that this wiring is taking place before birth throughout pregnancy. There isn't a hotter topic in child development today than the recent brain research findings presented at a 1996 conference put together by the Families and Work Institute. The reference for much of the information which follows is Rethinking the Brain: New Insights Into Early Development by Rima Shore (1997 Families and Work Institute). The implications are staggering.

Before we thought that genes determined how the brain developed. For example genes play a part in a person's pre-disposition to bashfulness or outgoing personality. Now we know that although there is a relationship between genes and human behavior, it is the environment that has a long-lasting impact on the ability to learn and to regulate emotions. The brain's development is a balance between nature/genes and nurture/environment. The nature part is finished before birth. The brain at birth is largely undeveloped which makes what we as parents and caregivers do and provide in the way of stimulation and responsive care extremely important.

The brain is influenced by environmental conditions before birth. Throughout the pre-natal period the mother's environment and her experiences impact the development of her unborn child's brain. Potential parents need to understand this since often the developing fetus is at risk before a woman has even discovered that she is pregnant. We know that the developing fetus's brain is affected by:

• Maternal nutrition. Check with your medical care provider for ideas on nutrition at various stages of pregnancy.

• Stress. Manage stress. Begin now to identify or create a network of support.

• Exposure to toxins and chemicals. Avoid medications and environmental toxins; use your medical advisor as a resource here.

• Exposure to drugs such as cocaine, nicotine and alcohol. Refrain from use of and exposure to drugs and alcohol, as well as passive smoke from nicotine and cocaine.

Scientists have found that the effects of cocaine and nicotine both in the pre-birth and post-natal periods are more specific and more devastating than known earlier. Information is now available to demonstrate that maternal use of alcohol, nicotine, or cocaine may have a profound impact on fetal brain development. In the case of nicotine and cocaine, even exposure to passive smoke during pregnancy and after birth may be damaging. The impact on children may be grave. Motor and neurological impairment affects the children's ability to learn and to monitor their own emotions and behavior. Research shows behavioral problems in school are at higher rates for children of mothers who drink alcohol or smoke during pregnancy.

For more information see Rethinking the Brain: New Insights Into Early Development by Rima Shore (1997 Families and Work Institute). An excellent video produced as a result of the conference on new research is I Am Your Child and is available through the Family and Work Institute Web site or as a free rental at Blockbuster Videos.

Next in hot topics …
It is amazing how something so gravely important for a human life can be done wonderfully well by literally anyone and with no money. For specific information on how simply and easily parents and caregivers can make a positive difference through the experiences we make available in a child's environment, tune into hot topics again soon.

At birth the infant's brain is largely undeveloped and is effected by nutrition; maternal stress; nicotine and cocaine as passive smoke in the environment; surroundings; and stimulation it receives or does not receive. Among findings presented at a June 1996 on new brain research is that At birth the human brain is largely undeveloped, and experiences and interactions with caregivers from the day of birth determine how the mature brain is wired. This wiring of the brain determines the child's ability to learn and to monitor his or her own emotional behavior throughout life. How this works depends on the kind of care and stimulation the infant and young child receives in his or her environment from the earliest days of life. It is a huge opportunity that parents and caregivers have here to shape a life! The exciting part is that it is not difficult. It doesn't require a degree of any sort, nor money.

Brain wiring in brief…

• connections… Each experience an infant or young child has creates a connection in the brain. These connections are vital to thinking and learning.

• use… Each time an experience is repeated that connection is strengthened and information flow is easier.

• elimination of connections… At two years of age the child's brain has the number of synapses (connections) of an adult brain, and at age three the child's brain is two and one-half times more active (wired) than an adult brain. This is new information! The brain prunes out some of the excess connections over the next years, but at age 12 it begins a massive effort to get rid of the excess connections. How does the brain decide which connections to eliminate? This is a very important question. The brain eliminates connections that are weaker than others. This means that if we want our children to learn to read well, we must provide language experience often. It can be seen in the example of children who don't experience human language in the early years will have a very difficult time learning to speak.

Children learn within the context of important relationships. Children's brains develop depending on the experiences provided or withheld by their environments and caregivers. We have an impact either way. How do we impact positively? We set up the optimum wiring of the brain by providing

• Warm, responsive care