a paper submitted to universalclass.com to satisfy course requirements
Our brain begins to develop two or three weeks after conceptiohis development continues on into young adulthood. Our genetics affect how our brains are wired. Our environment during this time of development is the basic architecture builders of our brain. The things in our enviroment that affect us are nutrition, life experience, and stress. Two key keys related to this development is plasticity and pruning.
Plasticity refers to the brains ability to grow and change as time progresses. The greatest period of plasticity is early childhood. Plasticity actually decreases as we get older. Young children possess the ability to learn and change rapidly. This is why this time in a human's life is so valuable in relation to learning. Because of this rapidity, the brain is also susceptible to problems that may occur, such as trauma, high stress, or enviromental trauma, which can hinder or destroy the necessary progress.
As one becomes older, plasticity decreases. As new things are learned, the brain must make new connections to store it. As one ages, it becomes more difficult for the brain to create these new connections.
Pruning refers to the selection of particular neural circuits. Each time something is learned, new pathways are created to retain those experiences. If these learned experiences are continually used, they are retained. The brain tends to take those connections that are not used and discard them. They literally breakdown and disappear. This pruning primarily takes place in childhood.
It is obvious from the above, that childhood is a very important time for brain development. It is important that we take advantage of this time, protect the brain and provide the essential environment that will act as a stimulus for effective plasticity and pruning.