Brain Development
Summary And Conclusions
Initially the young brain contains more components and connections than it will in adulthood, and the inputs it receives shape the elimination of this surplus. This provides a way in which individuals can develop in similar ways even if the plan of development is not encoded specifically in the human genome. Different areas of the brain develop at different times, and this is related to the development of their behavioral functions. The infant plays an active role in her own brain development by selectively attending to stimuli, such as faces and speech, that are important for subsequent development.
See also: LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Bibliography
Akbarian, Schahram S., William E. Bunney Jr., Stephen G. Potkin, Sharon B. Wigal, Jennifer O. Hagman, Curt A. Sandman, and Edward G. Jones. "Altered Distribution of Nicotinamide-Adenine Dinucleotide Phospate-Diaphorase Cells in Frontal Lobe of Schizophrenics Implies Disturbances of Cortical Development."Archives of General Psychiatry 50 (1993):169-177.
Diamond, Adele. "The Development and Neural Bases of Memory Functions as Indexed by the AB and Delayed Response Tasks in Human Infants and Infant Monkeys." In Adele Diamond ed., The Development and Neural Bases of Higher Cognitive Functions. New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1990.
Huttenlocher, Peter R. "Synaptogenesis, Synapse Elimination, and Neural Plasticity in Human Cerebral Cortex." In Charles A. Nelson ed., Threats to Optimal Development. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1994.
Johnson, Mark H., Suzanne Dziurawiec, Hayden D. Ellis, and John Morton. "Newborns' Preferential Tracking of Face-Like Stimuli and Its Subsequent Decline." Cognition 40, no. 1, (1991):1-19.
Katz, Larry C., and Carla J. Shatz. "Synaptic Activity and the Construction of Cortical Circuits." Science 274 (1996):1133-1138.
Le Grand, Richard, Catherine H. Mondloch, Daphne Maurer, and Henry P. Brent. "Early Visual Experience and Face Processing." Nature 410 (2001):890.
Neville, Helen. "Developmental Specificity in Neurocognitive Development in Humans." In Michael S. Gazzaniga ed., The Cognitive Neurosciences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1997.
Rakic, Pasko. "Specification of Cerebral Cortical Areas."Science241 (1988):170-176.
Rakic, Pasko. "The Development of the Frontal Lobe: A View from the Rear of the Brain." In Herbert H. Jasper, Silvano Riggio, and Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic eds., Epilepsy and the Functional Anatomy of the Frontal Lobe. New York: Raven Press, 1995.
Zecevic, Nada. "Synaptogenesis in Layer 1 of the Human Cerebral Cortex in the First Half of Gestation."Cerebral Cortex 8 (1998):245-252.
Mark H. Johnson
Michelle de Haan
Additional topics
Social Issues ReferenceChild Development Reference - Vol 2Brain Development - The Cerebral Cortex, Development Of The Cerebral Cortex, Regressive Events, Neuronal Activity, The Effect Of Experience On Brain Development