The Amazing Changing Brain: Understanding Child Development
By Lisa Keenan
Our last blog post highlighted some of the major changes that take place in the brain during a child’s first year of life. In the years following this, the brain continues to develop at a rapid pace, building a foundation for later change and development. As brain imaging technology continues to advance, scientists are learning more about how exactly the brain changes and develops throughout childhood.1
These brain changes map onto different developmental milestones, like the ability to speak, solve problems, and control emotions.2 While the brain typically develops according to a shared set of instructions, the world around a child plays a huge role in how these instructions are followed. This blog post will show how everyday experiences during childhood can guide development in lots of different ways!
Shaping and changing
As we learn and develop, the brain builds connections between different neurons (see a previous post to learn more about neurons!). These connections get stronger and more efficient through repeated experience or practice. The brain has an amazing ability to build and rewire these connections in response to everyday experiences. This ability is often called neuroplasticity, and it seems to work best during childhood! There are even windows of opportunity that emerge, where the brain is even more open to change. This creates critical time periods during childhood, boosting a child’s ability to, for example, learn a second language or a musical instrument.3 Can you think of any other skills that children might be able to pick up more easily than adults?
Between the ages of around 3 and 5, the prefrontal cortex is developing fast, building important thinking skills called executive functions. These skills allow us to do things like pay attention, follow instructions, solve problems, and complete day-to-day tasks. Executive functions initially start to develop in the first year of life, but once a child reaches the age of 3, these skills branch out and grow in complexity. At this stage of life, a key window of opportunity emerges. Here, the prefrontal cortex is most open to being shaped by the environment.4 This means that the world around children – how they interact with it and how it interacts with them – can work to either boost or hinder executive function development.
This window of opportunity emerges right around the time that children start attending school. Research has shown that a child’s classroom and teachers can impact development! For example, classrooms that are structured with clear rules and schedules seem to promote executive functions in young students,5 while classrooms with lots of stress or conflict can hinder development.6 You can read about some of our research findings on executive function in the classroom here!
The role of sleep
Sleep also seems to play a role in child brain development. One research study published just this year explored the link between sleep and brain structure by looking at structural MRI scans from over 11,000 children! They discovered that how long a child sleeps each night can affect brain structure. Specifically, the volume or size of areas including the orbitofrontal cortex, prefrontal cortex,and temporal cortex tended to be greater in children who slept for longer.7 But more research needs to be carried out to better understand this link. You can read more about some of the mysteries of sleep and how it can promote learning in a previous blog post here!
Every brain is unique
It is important to remember that no child develops in exactly the same way and everyone reaches different developmental milestones at their own unique pace. For children with neurodevelopmental disorders, some aspects of development can follow a different path. These are brain-based conditions that typically emerge in childhood. There are lots of different types of neurodevelopmental disorders, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), specific learning disorders (such as dyslexia), and tic disorders (such as Tourette syndrome). These disorders can impact different aspects of development, like behaviour, learning, and movement.
Here at the UCD Neuropsychology Lab, we are really interested in learning more about neurodevelopmental disorders and how they impact children throughout their lives. You can read more about some of our current research projects here!
Development does not stop in childhood. Major changes take place during adolescence too! Learn all about this in our next blog, when Clara will discuss brain development throughout the teenage years! Be sure to check out our Twitter and Facebook pages for ongoing lab updates!
References
1. Taki, Y. & Kawashima, R. (2012). Brain development in childhood. The Open Neuroimaging Journal, 6, 103–110. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874440001206010103
2. Khundrakpam, B. S., Lewis, J. D., Zhao, L., Chouinard-Decorte, F., & Evans, A. C. (2016). Brain connectivity in normally developing children and adolescents. Neuroimage, 134, 192–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.03.062
3. Ismail, F. Y., Fatemi, A., & Johnston, M. V. (2017). Cerebral plasticity: Windows of opportunity in the developing brain. European Journal of Paediatric Neurology, 21(1), 23-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpn.2016.07.007
4. Diamond, A., & Ling, D. S. (2016). Conclusions about interventions, programs, and approaches for improving executive functions that appear justified and those that, despite much hype, do not.Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 18(1), 34–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2015.11.005
5. Roberts, G., Quach, J., Mensah, F., Gathercole, S., Gold, L., Anderson, P.,…Wake, M. (2015). Schooling duration rather than chronological age predicts working memory between 6 and 7 years: Memory maestros study.Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 36(2), 68–74. https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000000121
6. Neuenschwander, R., Friedman-Krauss, A., Raver, C., & Blair, C. (2017). Teacher stress predicts child executive function: Moderation by school poverty. Early Education and Development, 28(7), 880–821. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2017.1287993
7. Cheng, W., Rolls, E., Gong, W., Du, J., Zhang, J., Zhang, X., . . . Feng, J. (2020). Sleep duration, brain structure, and psychiatric and cognitive problems in children. Molecular Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-020-0663-2
Further resources
Video link: How a child’s brain develops through early experiences
