April 29th
EQ: How does the infant brain structure work?
As I’ve continued to conduct research these past couple weeks, it has become easier for me to answer my essential question “How does the infant brain structure work?” I can give someone the cut and dry answer at the basic level which encapsulates neurons and how brain connections are built. What I’ve come to realize is that through answering my essential question, the answer truly lies within yet another question: What affects the infant brain structure, and how does it develop?
Science is something that is constantly changing and evolving. I have learned that the act of trying to memorize every function of the brain and its properties isn’t necessarily the most productive way to go about understanding neuroscience. Neuroscientists are constantly learning more and more about the infant’s brain through questioning: why it works the way it does, what are some efforts to make development more “productive,” when has science proved itself wrong?
The truth is, human brain development is an incredibly complex yet fundamental process that is necessary for the establishment of cognitive and behavioral function. In order to see how the brain works, it is important for scientists to see how it develops over time. Neurodevelopmental processes such as synaptogenesis, myelination, and neuronal pruning operate under genetic and environmental forces that shape neural circuitry. I’ve learned that a baby’s brain is a lot more “moldable” than I thought, especially when it comes to synaptic pruning, which still fascinates me to this day. Constant stimulation is what causes synapses to grow and become permanent, but if a child receives little stimulation the brain is capable of removing the connection altogether. How can scientists use this new understanding of synaptic pruning to better early childhood education? I suppose this is what I’m striving to learn more about in the second half of this project.
Hey Michelle! Reminder that you need a second documentation post for this week.
You’re asking some great questions here, and you’re definitely correct that memorizing brain parts and functions isn’t going to quite get you where you want to be, as your interests lie in something deeper. (And you will also find as you work that we don’t really have definite functions for all the brain ‘parts’ – and the idea of ‘parts’ themselves becomes a little nebulous as you get into things like more specific nuclei.) As you say, the fine balance of synaptic pruning vs. synaptogenesis in various parts of infant development is key to shaping our early development – there’s a lot to delve into, both in terms of the really deep focus of molecular biology and in terms of the broader ideas of the developing connectome. Let me know if you are looking for resources – or feel free to run anything you’re reading past me!