The endless, immeasurable brain. It does seem like more we discover about it, the more mystery we create. Perhaps the most intriguing of all is the child's brain. In certain ways, children are the most brilliant people in the world. They have the ability to absorb more information than we can conceive of as adults. Divided into two primary spheres which communicate with one other, the brain has numerous parts, each having very distinct functions. The cerebral cortex is the factory of thought, learning, voluntary movement, language and reason. The cerebellum, the primary hub of the brain, is responsible for movement and balance. The hypothalamus senses heat and hunger while it controls sleep and a variety of other behaviors. In addition, The brain contains cerebrospinal fluid, which basically keeps the brain afloat. This fluid that travels from the brain all the way down to the spinal cord protects the brain from the damage that can be caused by car accidents and the like. A child is born with over one hundred billion brain cells, or neurons. These form connections called synapses which make up the actual wiring of the brain. The brain's growth is largely due to changes in each individual neuron, which often resemble trees. The first 3 years of a child's life is quite important to brain development and will determine the strength and function of the wiring system. Babies thrive on direct interaction in the same way that trees thrive on water and sun. Researchers found that kids who are often spoken to by their mothers learn almost 300 more words by the age of two than kids whose mothers barely speak to them. Perhaps the primary difference between the child brain and the adult brain is that the young brain is much more impressionable. That is good since it means that young kids's brains are much more open to enriching things. But it is also bad as it means their brains are much more vulnerable to non-nurturing environments and the mental trauma and developmental problems that come along with that. For more information about brain function visit Fish Oil, Brain Research to learn more. |
