Research and websites
on brain development in young children
Better
Brains for Babies (BBB) is a collaboration of state and local, public and
private organizations dedicated to promoting awareness and education about the
importance of early brain development in the healthy growth and development of
infants and young children in Georgia.
Neuroscientists
have documented that our earliest days, weeks and months of life are a period
of unparalleled growth when trillions of brain cell connections are made.
Research and clinical experience also demonstrate that health and development
are directly influenced by the quality of care and experiences a child has with
his parents and other adults.
The Research
Network on Early Experience and Brain Development was founded in 1998 to
address questions of how the experiences of early childhood are incorporated
into the structures of the developing brain, and how, in turn, those changes in
the structures of the brain influence behavior.
A major
activity of the CTA is to translate emerging findings about the human brain and
child development into practical implications for the ways we nurture, protect,
enrich, educate and heal children. The “translational neuroscience” work of the
CTA has resulted in a range of innovative programs in therapeutic, child
protection and educational systems.
A remarkable
explosion of new knowledge about the developing brain and human genome, linked
to advances in the behavioral and social sciences, tells us that early
experiences are built into our bodies and that early childhood is a time of
both great promise and considerable risk.
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.
Promotion of
optimal early brain and child development is essential for the health and
well-being of children. During these critical first few years of life, safe,
stable, and nurturing relationships are critical to healthy brain development.
A service of
the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, we provide access to print and
electronic publications, websites, databases, and online learning tools for
improving child welfare practice, including resources that can be shared with
families.
As recently
as the 1980s, many professionals thought that by the time babies are born, the
structure of their brains was already genetically determined. However, emerging
research shows evidence of altered brain functioning as a result of early abuse
and neglect. The key to why this occurs appears to be in the brain.
The Effects
of Early Relational Trauma on Right Brain Development, Affect Regulation, &
Infant Mental Health by Allan N. Schore, Department of Psychiatry and
Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles School of
Medicine.
A new study
recently published in the American Journal of Psychiatry has found an
association between child abuse and the reduction of gray matter in the brain
that is responsible for information processing.
Brain scans
of teenagers revealed weaker connections between the prefrontal cortex and the
hippocampus in both boys and girls who had been maltreated as children, a team
from the University of Wisconsin reports in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences. Girls who had been maltreated also had relatively weak
connections between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala.
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