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Early Brain Development and Self-­Regulation

Betty Rintoul, Ph.D.

Early Childhood Mental Health

l Form close, satisfying relationshipsl Experience, manage, and express a range of both positive and negative emotions

l Actively explore the environment and learn

The developing capacity to:

These critically important life capacities are rooted in our earliest social experiencesCohen, Onunaku, Clothier, & Poppe, 2005

Early Childhood Mental Health =

Promoting Healthy Social Emotional Development

Why are the early years so important?

l The brain lays down the foundation for all future development during this time

l The human brain grows in response to human interactions and emotion

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Growth of Brain

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Conception 5 10 15 20

Conception to BirthBirth to Age 20Birth

Source: A.N. Schore, Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self, 1994.

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Developing Neuron

Source: Healy, Your Child’s Growing Mind, 2004

Source: Conel, JL. The postnatal development of the human cerebral cortex. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1959.

Nelson, 2000, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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Experiences Build the Brain

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2011

CEREBRALCORTEX

LIMBIC SYSTEMBRAINSTEM

Managing Impulses and Emotions

l Connections in the frontal cortex allow us to manage those strong emotions and impulses that arise from the limbic area

l Those connections develop through early childhood, showing a significant growth spurt from ages 2 through 5

l Children need the “coaching” of a caring adult to model, guide, and support the development of self-­regulation

Road to Self-­Regulation

l Self-­regulation involves promoting effective connections between the structures of the limbic system and the cortex

l Become aware of emotions, then decide how to act, or not act, on them

l These skills begin to develop in preschool years -­ continue developing actively through adolescence

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Brainstem

Cortical

Limbic

Adapted from Perry, B. (2006)

Emotional Communication

Schore, 2001

Caregiver Infant

Keeping in the Comfort Zone

Over-­arousal(distress, agitation)

Under-­arousal(bored, drowsy)

Quiet Alert

Caregivercomforts

Encouraging Connections™

Power of Responsiveness

Tronick’s “Still Face” Paradigm, Mind in the Making, 2011

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Think about What You Saw

l How were the mother and baby communicating? What connections do you think were being formed in the baby’s brain?

l How did the baby respond when the communication link is cut by the mother not responding? How did the baby try to restore the link to the mother?

l How did you feel as you watched the mother ignore her baby’s efforts to connect?

Brain “Rules”

l Repeated use strengthens brain connections

l If connections are not used, they are more likely to be “pruned” away

l The brain “grows itself” for the environment it experiences

l Emotion and relationships appear to play particularly important roles in shaping the brain’s development

Early Childhood Mental Health

l Form close, secure, meaningful relationshipsl Experience, regulate, and express emotionsl Explore the environment and learn new skills

Definition: Healthy social, emotional, and behavioral well-­being, or the developing capacity to:

Relationships Matter

l Children with secure relationships show more confident exploration and mastery in new situations

l Caregivers who are more emotionally responsive and offer verbal and cognitive stimulation provide the best chance for optimal development

Raver, 2002;; Howes, 2002

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Walk the Path to Build the Path

Walk the Path to Build the Path

Encouraging Connections™