April 8th, 2020

EQ: How does the infant brain structure work?

On the first days of my project, I thought I’d spend some time understanding the significance of neuroscience in the modern-day world before jumping right into my online course. I watched a film on Youtube called “The Believing Brain: Evolution, Neuroscience, and Spiritual Instinct.” It gave me an insight into how religion and spirituality can oftentimes play a role in the very practice of observing the mind, especially in Buddhism. I learned that physiologically, brains are not wired to react to things in the world, but to predict. Watching this film then inspired me to do some more readings from psycho-analysts, including Freud’s “Therapy and Technique,” as well as some modern articles on the developing brain. After doing some research, I learned that neuroscience helps us learn exactly how experiences affect children.

I began my independent research by learning about the basic functions of the brain (the three major parts) which include the brainstem, cerebellum, and cerebrum. I have attached some photos of my research that I have documented in my binder journal. I learned that concluding every note-taking session with a “Stuff to Remember” section has really helped me stay organized during study sessions. I learned about the four lobes, neurons and synapses as well as brain development in the first three years of a child’s life. I became intrigued by the neuroscience of synapses during the “blooming and pruning” stage. This process alludes to the interplay of genetic and environmental factors in brain development. Though genes provide a blueprint for the brain, it is really through a child’s environment and experiences that carry out the construction of the brain. A child’s experiences serve as the “input” that then stimulates neural activity. For example, speech stimulates activity in language-related brain regions. If the input increases, (in this case, if more speech is heard) synapses between neurons will be activated more often. Repeated use is what strengthens a synapse! Synapses that are rarely used are more likely to be eliminated during the pruning process. Because experiences have such great potential to affect brain development, children are extremely vulnerable to negative as well as positive influences. Understanding why the first three years are more critical and vulnerable than others allows neuroscientists to develop intervention methods and patterns that may prevent early adversity in children. Doing this research has inspired me to look at the ways in which neuroscientists use social experiments as a way to activate synapses in children, and what sorts of negative influences can get in the way of development. It has also helped me ease my way into my online course which has both been incredibly fascinating and strenuous.