More than 80 percent of neuronal development takes place in the first three years of life. And during adolescence, “synaptic pruning” takes place. The stimuli received during childhood and adolescence define “who we are”
Research conducted by John Spencer of the University of East Anglia (UK) has found aAssociation between the amount of linguistic stimuli received in early childhood and it cognitive developmentproving that talking to young children often helps them develop their brains faster. British researchers monitored the behaviors of 163 children aged between 6 and 36 months through recording devices worn during the day and magnetic resonance imaging while they slept. The results showed that the children receiving greater linguistic demands during the day, in a stimulating (but not forced) context, they had a greater production of myelin (the sheath that wraps around the fibers of neurons), which has been found to be associated with more sophisticated language processing.
Conducive environment
The research, one of the few to concern such small subjects, confirms that apositive environment makes you grow better. «It is necessary to clarify what is meant by a favorable environment. It’s not just about the amount of time parents dedicate to their children to talk, but also about the context in which they grow up which, if culturally and socially rich, allows children to increase the myelination of some brain areas dedicated to language”, he explains Giancarlo Cerveripsychiatrist and psychoanalyst. More than 80% of neuronal development takes place in the first three years of life and that’s why the stimuli and attention in this crucial stage of growth are an investment in that individual’s future. «There are many animal studies that show the importance of care and attention in early childhood. Let us take the case of mice. Research has shown that if the “mother” mouse takes care of her babies properly, the mice will have better social skills. Those who are not cared for properly will have a more aggressive disposition.”
The two steps of man
Environmental stimuli count in all phases of life, but there are two moments in which they become decisive for defining who we are: childhood and adolescence. «The one from birth up to the first 2-3 years of life (period in which the essential pathways within which the information of our brain circulate are structured, also through myelination), is a passage of exceptional importance because it defines our personological structure. In the very first years, in fact, the brain and mental functioning of people, which is why stimuli are particularly important. If, at this stage of life, a child were to experience traumatic or unstimulating experiences, fragility could emerge, even relevant over the years» Cerveri points out.
Fundamental steps
To give an example, the psychiatrist continues: «There are data concerning subjects adopted at one year of age. These are people who, despite having lived in a favorable environmental condition for most of their lives, carry with them some frailties associated with the short period they lived before the adoption. A “dark” period of time in which it is not known whether that individual has been adequately treated or has suffered trauma. The other important step is there‘adolescenceperiod in which the so-called takes place synaptic pruning which is the other element that makes our brain extremely efficient because alternative possibilities are diminished. If in the early years the structures (cognitive, affective, linguistic…) of our person are formed and built, those that are “basically” useful and that will then be used throughout life, during adolescence those that are less efficient are eliminated. In these two fundamental passages of man’s life the stimuli are determined, so much so that the period that connects them is defined as a middle age, and it is the moment in which the child is in a condition of greatest quiescence», concludes Cerveri.
July 25, 2023 (change July 25, 2023 | 3:48 pm)
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED
#Talking #young #children #helps #develop #brains #faster