Brain Development Part 2

How can understanding childhood brain growth and development help us better understand children's
point of view?
By nurturing the child and understanding their needs.
How does biology and Experience build the brain?
Billions of brain cells called neurons send electrical signals to communicate and connect with each other.
Experiences dictate which circuits and connections get more use.
Describe how baby brain develops:
The brain begins to develop at 5 weeks. By 8 weeks the basic structure develops and the neural networks
are spreading out. At birth nearly all 100 billion neurons of the human brain are already in place. The
brain quadruples in size by the time they finish preschool. By age 6 the brain is 90% of its adult size.
Define Synaptogenesis:
Synaptogenesis the formation of synapses between neurons in the nervous system includes an abundance
of synapse formation occurs during early brain development, increasing brain plasticity

What happens during Neurulation: The nervous system begins to form.

Why should medication be avoided during this time? It interferes with the development.

What happens during Neuronal Proliferation? Neurons are born and multiply at a rapid rate.
Neural migration: Neurons must move to their correct position of the brain.

Synaptogenesis: Synaptogenesis the formation of synapses between neurons in the nervous system
includes an abundance of synapse formation occurs during early brain development, increasing brain
plasticity

Myelination: It protects the nerve cells and sends messages faster.

How does experience shape myelination? Experience shapes myelination by neural connections.

The Babies Brain-Wider than the sky

1. If a baby is born three months early, what are some

challenges it might face?
The brain cells could not be fully developed. The brain could not
function as well.

2. How are brain cells different than other types of body

cells in terms of development and reproduction?
The function is different than most of the cells.

3. What are some ways in which the world influences

the developing brain?
The child’s experience with other people in the world can
influence the brain.

4. What does poet Emily Dickinson mean when she

 says, “The brain is wider than the sky”? In the last
line of this poem, what do you think she means by
“The brain is just the weight of God…
“The brain is wider than the sky” means that the brain has the ability to
range farther than the sky because it is wider.
“The brain is just the weight of God” means that the brain is the same as
God. They are both equal.