David Walsh, Ph.D.dwalsh@DrDaveWalsh.com

21st Century Childcare: Lessons from Brain Science

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CELL BODY

AXON

Myelin sheath

Schwann cellNode of Ranvier

Synaptic terminals

Dendrites NucleusSynapses

•100,000,000,000 neurons at birth

•Each has about 10,000 dendrites (branches)

•1,000,000,000,000,000 possible configurations

•17% of the neurons are wired at birth

Neurons: Building Blocks of the Brain

•Genetics---”hard wiring”

•Experience—”The neurons that fire together wire together.”

•Whatever the brain does a lot of is what it gets good at.

Twin Drivers

•The neurons that fire together wire together

•Blossoming - Pruning Sequence

•Window of Opportunity

•Window of Sensitivity

The Brain’s Growth Spurts

CELL BODY

AXON

Myelin sheath

Schwann cellNode of Ranvier

Synaptic terminals

Dendrites NucleusSynapses

•Many forms of memory

- Explicit I remember something and I can recall when, where, how etc.

- Implicit Memory--I remember something, but I do not recall how or why I remember it.

“Mental Operating System”

•We have many more implicit memories than explicit memories.

•A baby is forming implicit memories for many months before she can form her first explicit memory.

•Early implicit memories function as the “mental operating software.”

Implicit Memory

Brain’s Response to Threat

Brain’s first pri0rity is survival

Some brain circuits act as “interstates”

Response to threat is a hard wired “interstate.”

Infant Response

Birth upsets the apple cart.

We outsource stress response to caregivers.

Eventually a mature cortex allows us to self regulate.

Stress Response and Attachment

We humans outsource stress response calming.

We humans are wired to attach.

Attachment

Present

Attentive

Attuned

Responsive

Connection and Learning

Stress, anxiety, and threat shift brain activity from the cortex to lower brain regions.

This interferes with thinking, problem solving.

Cortisol interferes with memory.

Importance of Connection in the Classroom

The most important minutes are before class.

“Four at the door”

Name

Eye

Hand

Heart

Importance of Faces

Fusiform gyrus is a brain circuit dedicated to recognizing and interpreting faces.

Children interpret the world through the facial expressions of their caregivers.

Am

ou

nt

of

Tra

um

a

Time

Traumatic Event

Trauma and Early Childhood Brain Development

Adrenaline and cortisol “shower”

Cortisol affects hippocampus (memory registration center)

Repeated high levels of cortisol do permanent damage to hippocampus.

Phonemic Awareness: Building Block for

LanguageThe ability to distinguish different sounds.

Window of opportunity open widest in first three years of life.

Media interferes; “parentese”

Strong predictor of reading ability in school.

Children not in poverty hear 300% more words per day than children in poverty.

Talk, talk, talk, read, read, read!

Poverty and Brain Development

Is There a Gap?

There is a worrisome gap between low and middle SES children in many areas of cognitive development.

As measured by Bailey Infant Behavior Scales.

As measured by IQ and other cogntive aptitude tests.

As measured by academic achievement tests.

The Differences Are Significant

In a measure of intelligence (IQ) of a group of 50 low SES six-year-olds the average score was 81.

Only 20% scored at 90 or higher.

Neuroscientists Have Studied...

Prefrontal executive system (impulse, attention, flexible thinking)

Left perisylvian language system (suntax, semantics, phonology)

Working memory

Spatial reasoning

Visual cognition (pattern recognition

Biggest Gaps

The biggest gaps between low and middle SES children was in prefrontal executive function, language, memory and working memory. (Martha Farah et al U of Pennsylvania)

Also differences in spatial reasoning.

Chicken or Egg?

Does low SES environment cause cognitive deficits or do people with cognitive deficits end up in low SES?

Evidence is clear that low SES is the cause.

Twin studies.

Adoption studies.

Causes--Physical

Nutrition (considered a contributor, not cause)

Iron deficiency

Protein deficiency

Lead Exposure

Drug Abuse (especially prenatal)

Causes--Environment

300% difference between number of words heard/day between low and middle SES.

Hours of one on one picture book reading prior to kindergarten

25 hours for low SES

1,700 for middle SES

Causes--Stress

Impact of cortisol on memory

Impact of stress on learning

Stress dysregulation

Remedies

Parent education

Early childhood education

eg Headstart

Community resources

Libraries, museums etc.

Providing brain building resources eg. books, puzzles, games,

Resources

Martha Farah, University of Pennsylvania

Helen Neville, University of Washington

www.changingbrains.org

Importance of Free Play

Childhood creativity leads to adult creativity.

Free play lets the child develop language, test and try, make mistakes, adapt, create, problem solve, role-play, discover, imagine, cooperate, take turns, be flexible, meet the unpredictable, feel, risk, negotiate, plan, make-believe, and resolve conflicts..