01:830:331 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Speech Perception, Electroencephalography, Visual Acuity
27 Feb 2017
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Document Summary
Brain development: effects of early experience on brain development. Major portion of brain growth occurs after birth. Infants are born with all the neurons they will ever but their brain is only about. By 24 months the brain is about 75% of adult weight. Children"s brains don"t just grow bigger and more dense. Biologically, the brain is prepared to be shaped by experience. Over the course of evolution, human infants have been exposed to forms of stimulation that are critical for the formation of brain circuitry. E. g. , moving visual patterns, faces, varied sounds. Changes in the brain that are not linked to specific points in development and that vary across individuals and across cultures. Breast milk recommended for first 12 months. Experience fine tunes circuits in the developing brain. Synaptic pruning taking place; specific connections made; others lost without stimulation. Trauma elevates stress hormones (cortisol) that can damage the brain.
