Babys Brain Begins Now: Conception to Age 3

children who are at risk and to undo,

where possible, the effects of early adversity.
Additionally, neuroscientists may help us learn
when experiences affect children. If there are
specific periods of vulnerability to certain types
of experiences, then understanding these patterns
will improve our attempts at intervention.

The fact that children are affected by their

surroundings is too obvious to bear repeating.
Child development specialists have produced
decades of research showing that the environment
of a childs earliest years can have effects that last
a lifetime. Thanks to recent advances in technology,
we have a clearer understanding of how these
effects are related to early brain development.
Neuroscientists can now identify patterns in brain
activity that appear to be associated with some
types of negative early experiences.1

So far, neuroscience has not found conclusive

answers to these questions. However, dramatic
advances continue to be made in the field, and
brain research continues to enhance education
and intervention efforts. Accordingly, we have
expanded this years Brain Development chapter
to include additional information reflecting
the latest scientific research.

But the long-term effects of early stress, poverty,

neglect and maltreatment were well documented
and virtually uncontested years before we could
see them with brain scanning tools. So why
should we need an understanding of brain
development to show us how important childrens We begin with a thumbnail sketch of brain
earliest experiences are for their well-being? Isnt
anatomy, followed by a closer look at neurons and
neuroscience just telling us what we already know? synapses, the brains communication specialists.
We then discuss some unique features of early
Actually, there are several reasons why we
brain development and show how they make the
should pay attention to the evidence provided
first three years of life an especially critical period.
by neuroscience. For instance, it may help us learn Finally, we present an outline of brain development
exactly how experiences affect children.
from conception to three, linking developmental
This knowledge can aid our efforts to help
events to the cognitive and behavioral changes
associated with them.

An Overview of Brain Anatomy

The easiest way to get to know the brain is
to learn the main structures of the adult brain
and how they relate to its function (Figure 1).
It should be kept in mind that the relationship
between brain structure and function is never
simple. Although we often hear claims about the
language area or emotion center of the brain,
statements like these are simplifications; in reality,
even the simplest mental activities involve
multiple brain regions.

cerebrum is the area most involved

in higher processes like memory and learning.
The cerebrums outer surface is called the
cerebral cortex. Although less than one-fourth
of an inch thick (in adulthood), it is where
the brains most advanced activities such
as planning and decision-making take place.
The folds of the cerebral cortex, which give the
brain its wrinkled appearance, are an important
feature of the brains structure. Appearing during
prenatal development, these folds increase the
surface area of the cerebral cortex and allow more
of it to be packed inside the skull. The resulting
ridges and grooves form a pattern that is essentially
the same from person to person. The ridges are
called gyri (singular=gyrus); the grooves are called
sulci (singular=sulcus).

The brain can be divided into three major parts.

The brain stem, shaped like a widening stalk,
connects the spinal cord to the upper brain.
It controls reflexes and involuntary processes like
breathing and heart rate. Behind the brain stem
and below the upper brain is the cerebellum,
which is involved in balance and coordination.
The cerebrum, the largest part of the brain, sits
above the brain stem and cerebellum. While each
of the brains structures plays an essential role, the

FIGURE 1:
The Human Brain
Source:
Adapted from Educarer.org, 2006.

Scientists use gyri and sulci to divide the

cerebral cortex into smaller units called lobes.
Each hemisphere has four lobes. The occipital
lobes, at the back of the brain, control vision.
The parietal lobes are associated with bodily
sensations like heat, cold, pressure, and pain.
The temporal lobes are involved with hearing,
language skills, and social understanding, including
perception of other peoples eyes and faces.
The frontal lobes are associated with memory,
abstract thinking, planning, and impulse control.
The forward-most section of the frontal lobes
is a distinct area referred to as the prefrontal
cortex. This is the last brain area to mature,
undergoing important developmental changes
as late as adolescence. The prefrontal cortex is the
location of our most advanced cognitive functions,
including attention, motivation, and goal-directed
behavior.2-4

Although our advanced cognitive abilities

are dependent on the cerebral cortex, it is not
the only part of the brain relevant to child
development. The limbic system, located in
the inner brain beneath the cortex, is a collection
of small structures involved in more instinctive
behaviors like emotional reactions, stress responses,
and reward-seeking behaviors. The hippocampus
is involved in memory formation and spatial
learning. The hypothalamus is the control center
for one of the bodys key stress systems, regulating
the release of cortisol and other stress hormones.
The amygdala evaluates threats and triggers
the bodys stress response.2,5,6 F

Neurons and synapses form the wiring of the brain.

The brain processes information by forming
networks of specialized nerve cells, called neurons,
which communicate with one another using
electrical and chemical signals (Figure 2). These
messages are the physical basis of learning and
memory.7 A neuron consists of a cell body and
the branch-like structures that extend from it.
These include multiple dendrites and an axon,
which may have numerous axon terminals. The
cell body is the neurons control center; among
other duties, it stores DNA and generates energy
used by the cell. The dendrites receive incoming signals
from other neurons, and the axon and its terminal
branches relay outgoing signals to other neurons.
Axons are sometimes coated with myelin, a fatty
substance that insulates the axon and increases
the efficiency of communication.

When a neuron (lets call it Neuron A) receives

a chemical signal from another neuron, Neuron A
becomes electrically charged in relation
to the surrounding fluid outside its membrane.
This charge travels down its axon, away from
the cell body, until it reaches the axons end.
Waiting here inside the axon terminals are a
group of storage sites, called vesicles, that contain
chemicals manufactured and delivered by the cell
body. When the electrical charge arrives at the
axon terminal, it causes these vesicles to fuse with
the terminals cell membrane, spilling their
contents out of the cell and into the synaptic cleft.
As Neuron A returns to its resting state, the
molecules it spilled called neurotransmitters
make their way across the synaptic cleft to Neuron
Bs dendrite. When they arrive, they bind with
receptor sites in the dendrites membrane. Each
time a neurotransmitter molecule from Neuron A
binds with a receptor on Neuron B, ions
from the fluid surrounding the cells enter Neuron
B through the unlocked receptor. As a result,
Neuron B develops an electrical charge,
the charge travels down its axon,
and the process continues.2

Messages are passed between neurons

at connections called synapses. The neurons
do not actually touch, however. There is a
microscopic gap the synaptic cleft between
the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrite
of another. Communication between neurons
involves complex electrical and chemical processes,
but its basics can be outlined simply:

FIGURE 2:
Communication
Between Neurons
Source:
Adapted from Educarer.org, 2006.

In the first three years, a childs brain has up to twice as many synapses
as it will have in adulthood.
Now that were a little more familiar with
the fundamentals of the brain, lets take a
look at brain development in children.
Between conception and age three, a childs
brain undergoes an impressive amount of change.
At birth, it already has about all of the neurons
it will ever have. It doubles in size in the first year,
and by age three it has reached 80 percent of its
adult volume.8-10

Even more importantly, synapses are formed

at a faster rate during these years than at any
other time. In fact, the brain creates many more
of them than it needs: at age two or three, the
brain has up to twice as many synapses as it will
have in adulthood (Figure 3). These surplus
connections are gradually eliminated throughout
childhood and adolescence, a process sometimes
referred to as blooming and pruning.11

FIGURE 3:
Synapse Density
Over Time
Source:
Corel, JL. The postnatal
development of the human
cerebral cortex. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press; 1975.

Newborn

1 Month

9 Months

2 Years

10

Adult

The organization of a childs brain is affected by early experiences.

Why would the brain create more synapses than
it needs, only to discard the extras? The answer
lies in the interplay of genetic and environmental
factors in brain development.
The early stages of development are strongly
affected by genetic factors; for example, genes
direct newly formed neurons to their correct
locations in the brain and play a role in how
they interact.12,13 However, although they
arrange the basic wiring of the brain, genes
do not design the brain completely.14,15
Instead, genes allow the brain to fine-tune itself
according to the input it receives from the
environment. A childs senses report to the brain

about her environment and experiences, and this

input stimulates neural activity. Speech sounds,
for example, stimulate activity in language-related
brain regions. If the amount of input increases
(if more speech is heard) synapses between
neurons in that area will be activated more often.
Repeated use strengthens a synapse. Synapses that
are rarely used remain weak and are more likely
to be eliminated in the pruning process. Synapse
strength contributes to the connectivity and
efficiency of the networks that support
learning, memory, and other cognitive abilities.16,17
Therefore, a childs experiences not only
determine what information enters her brain, but
also influence how her brain processes information.

Genes provide a blueprint for the brain, but a childs environment

and experiences carry out the construction.
The excess of synapses produced by a childs brain
in the first three years makes the brain especially
responsive to external input. During this period,
the brain can capture experience more efficiently
than it will be able to later, when the pruning
of synapses is underway.11 The brains ability

to shape itself called plasticity lets humans

adapt more readily and more quickly than we
could if genes alone determined our wiring.18
The process of blooming and pruning, far
from being wasteful, is actually an efficient way
for the brain to achieve optimal development.

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From Conception to Age Three: An Outline of Early Brain Development

First Trimester
The development of the brain begins in the first
few weeks after conception. Most of the structural
features of the brain appear during the embryonic
period (about the first 8 weeks after fertilization); these
structures then continue to grow and develop
during the fetal period (the remainder
of gestation).19,20
The first key event of brain development is the
formation of the neural tube. About two weeks
after conception, the neural plate, a layer
of specialized cells in the embryo, begins
to slowly fold over onto itself, eventually
forming a tube-shaped structure. The tube
gradually closes as the edges of the plate fuse

together; this process is usually complete by four

weeks after conception. The neural tube continues
to change, eventually becoming the brain and
spinal cord.20,21
About seven weeks after conception the first
neurons and synapses begin to develop in the
spinal cord. These early neural connections allow
the fetus to make its first movements, which can
be detected by ultrasound and MRI even though
in most cases the mother cannot feel them.
These movements, in turn, provide the brain
with sensory input that spurs on its development.
More coordinated movements develop over the
next several weeks.22

Second Trimester
Early in the second trimester, gyri and sulci
begin to appear on the brains surface; by the end
of this trimester, this process is almost complete.
The cerebral cortex is growing in thickness and
complexity and synapse formation in this area
is beginning.20,21,23

Myelin begins to appear on the axons

of some neurons during the second trimester.
This process called myelination continues
through adolescence. Myelination allows
for faster processing of information: for the
brain to achieve the same level of efficiency
without myelination, the spinal cord would
have to be three yards in diameter.14

Third Trimester
The early weeks of the third trimester are
a transitional period during which the cerebral
cortex begins to assume many duties formerly
carried out by the more primitive brainstem.

For example, reflexes such as fetal breathing and

responses to external stimuli become more regular.
The cerebral cortex also supports early learning
which develops around this time.24,25

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Year One
The remarkable abilities of newborn babies
highlight the extent of prenatal brain development.
Newborns can recognize human faces, which
they prefer over other objects, and can even
discriminate between happy and sad expressions.
At birth, a baby knows her mothers voice and
may be able to recognize the sounds of stories her
mother read to her while she was still
in the womb.26,27
The brain continues to develop at an amazing
rate throughout the first year. The cerebellum
triples in size, which appears to be related to the
rapid development of motor skills that occurs
during this period. As the visual areas of the cortex

grow, the infants initially dim and limited sight

develops into full binocular vision.28,29
At about three months, an infants power
of recognition improves dramatically; this
coincides with significant growth in the
hippocampus, the limbic structure related
to recognition memory. Language circuits in the
frontal and temporal lobes become consolidated
in the first year, influenced strongly by the
language an infant hears. For the first few
months, a baby in an English-speaking home
can distinguish between the sounds of a foreign
language. She loses this ability by the end
of her first year: the language she hears
at home has wired her brain for English.30,31

Year Two
This years most dramatic changes involve the
brains language areas, which are developing
more synapses and becoming more interconnected.
These changes correspond to the sudden spike
in childrens language abilities sometimes called
the vocabulary explosion that typically occurs
during this period. Often a childs vocabulary will
quadruple between his first and second birthday.

During the second year, there is a major increase

in the rate of myelination, which helps the brain
perform more complex tasks. Higher-order
cognitive abilities like self-awareness are
developing: an infant is now more aware
of his own emotions and intentions. When he sees
his reflection in a mirror, he now fully recognizes
that it is his own. Soon he will begin using his
own name as well as personal pronouns like
I and me.14,28

Year Three
Synaptic density in the prefrontal cortex probably
reaches its peak during the third year, up to 200
percent of its adult level. This region also
continues to create and strengthen networks
with other areas. As a result, complex cognitive

abilities are being improved and consolidated.

At this stage, for example, children are better
able to use the past to interpret present events.
They also have more cognitive flexibility and
a better understanding of cause and effect.14,32

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The earliest messages that the brain receives have an enormous impact.
Early brain development is the foundation
of human adaptability and resilience, but these
qualities come at a price. Because experiences
have such a great potential to affect brain
development, children are especially vulnerable

to persistent negative influences during this

period. On the other hand, these early years are
a window of opportunity for parents, caregivers,
and communities: positive early experiences
have a huge effect on childrens chances
for achievement, success, and happiness.

14

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Data References
Educarer. 2006. Available at: http://www.educarer.org/brain.htm. Accessed June 4, 2010.
Corel JL. The postnatal development of the human cerebral cortex. Cambridge, MA; Harvard
University Press; 1975.

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