For many years social science researchers have known that the earliest interactions have a profound effect on the development of children. Emmy Werner (1982) in her longitudinal study in Hawaii found that attachment in the first year of life, among other things, was a precursor to the ability of children and adults to achieve and to cope with the vicissitudes of life. Lyn Murray (1997) in her research in Britain showed that babies in the early months (and even weeks) of life, of mothers who were unable to respond appropriately to them because of depression, did less well both in the cognitive and social spheres in their later childhood. Heidi Als (1997) in her program with premature babies found that sensitive, responsive handling in the neonatal nursery led to much better health and developmental outcomes for babies than did the normal hospital routines.

More recently, there has been renewed interest in the study of the development of the human brain. Brain development is the result of the combined impact of genetics, nutrition, metabolism, and behaviour on the billions of brain cells and synapses (connections). There are four well-established findings from research on the brain:

• Infants are not born with all the interconnections already formed in their brains. After birth, there is a period of rapid synapse formation in the infant's brain, and the 'plasticity' of the brain allows parts to develop and mature at different rates. These parts have differing degrees of 'plasticity', with the cortex, the most plastic and capable of degrees of reorganisation throughout life. 

• Researchers recognise certain 'critical periods' in this development, and different periods for different brain functions, e.g. critical periods for all the visual functions in humans extend from birth up to the age of eight or nine years. 

• In animal studies, beneficial effects on brain connectivity and growth have been shown when newborn infants have been reared in a complex, enriched environment. Brain research has shown that there are critical periods of development where appropriate experiences are necessary for the optimal development of the human brain. In children who are grossly neglected, research has shown that this has a negative impact on the actual size and growth of the brain (Perry & Pollard, 1997). 

• There is also new research linking early brain development with the development of the endocrine and immune systems of the body, and their responses to stress.

If there is grossly inadequate care in infancy, the infant's brain and other abilities that depend on brain development can be compromised. So, if an infant is exposed to continual trauma or stress, the parts of the brain and the body that respond to stress may develop to be over-sensitive and ready to respond to threat even when a threat is not apparent. 

Early brain development is affected by lack of stimulation or by chaotic, traumatic stimulation (Mustard, 1999). Some parts of brain function, in particular the 'higher' functioning areas such as the cortex, are able to change later in life. The research seems to show that the areas of the brain that regulate emotions and stress responses (limbic system) are organised very early in life and may not easily be changed later on. Most of the critical times for brain development appear to come before the age of six months. (For example, the ability to make some speech sounds is lost if it is not used in early life). When Romanian orphans who had been grossly neglected were adopted by caring English families they made many gains in their new homes. However, those who were adopted after the age of six months were found to make far less progress than those who were adopted earlier.

In adulthood, new or strange experiences can be stressful. However, even new experiences usually have some elements of the familiar about them which is reassuring. For example, a new job has some stress but people can call on their earlier experiences of working and knowing what to do to help them manage the stressful aspects. For infants everything is new-even nappy-changing-and therefore potentially stressful. It is the repeated sensitive responses to infants' needs over the early months that builds a sense of security and lays down the foundation for being able to cope with later demands and stresses. Dealing with infants in many different ways during this initial learning time places extra demands on the infants, making it difficult for them to learn the secure patterns of responses they need to develop secure foundations. It is important, then, for carers of infants to learn what the infants are used to, i.e. the smells and sounds and ways of talking and holding, and to ensure that the infant is not exposed to too many different and therefore stressful situations.

Dr Bruce Perry, Chief of Psychiatry at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston and a leading researcher into environment and brain development, believes that children are not resilient, they are malleable. He defines resilient as 'able to recover readily from misfortune' and malleable as 'capable of being shaped or formed' (Perry, 1997). Perry (1998) states that 'childhood experiences define the adult by shaping the developing brain'. 

The new information that neuroscience brings to early childhood development has influenced major reports into services for young children in Canada and UK, with recommendations for policies that take account of the importance of this period of life.

What does all this mean for early childhood educators and parents? In essence it supports what we have known all along, i.e. that the quality of relationships with infants is fundamentally important to their present comfort and their future development. It underpins with scientific evidence the case for the highest quality care for the youngest individuals. While it does not say that infancy is the only important period of life for development, it does say that it is foundationally important and offers an opportunity and responsibility for those who care for infants to enable them to get the best possible start.

Pam Linke
Child Youth and Health, South Australia

Key Facts about Brain Development - Every Child Magazine Autumn 2000
The brain development that takes place before age one is more rapid and extensive than we previously realised.

Brain development is more vulnerable to environmental influence than was previously known .

The influence of early environment on brain development is long-lasting, but early influences are not totally deterministic but rather pre-dispositional, with the strength of their effects on later behaviour moderated by a variety of factors.

The environment affects not only the number of brain cells and number of connections among them, but also the way these connections are 'wired'.

'There is new scientific evidence for the negative impact of early stress on brain function' (Mustard, 1999. Adapted from Starting Points, Carnegie Corporation of New York, 1994).

Article source:

Australian Early Childhood Association, Inc.

Every Child Magazine Volume 6, No 1, Autumn 2000

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