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SIGNS OF ADHD [ WAVES OF CHANGES – AN ADOLESCENT BRAIN ]

SIGNS OF ADHD [ WAVES OF CHANGES – AN ADOLESCENT BRAIN ] Children with ADHD typically squirm and cannot sit still, have trouble playing quietly, have difficulty managing their time, talk all the time, fail to focus on the details of their school lessons, and are easily distracted. The disorder usually appears before age seven,…

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ATTENTION DEFICITS [ WAVES OF CHANGES – AN ADOLESCENT BRAIN ]

ATTENTION DEFICITS [ WAVES OF CHANGES – AN ADOLESCENT BRAIN ] Much scientific research has historically focused on the brain of infants as they begin to develop their mental abilities, and on diseases that begin to sap the brain power of elderly. Only recently has the adolescent and teenage brain gotten its proper due. Neuroscientists…

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ATTAINING MATURITY / WINDOWS OF VULNERABILITY [ WAVES OF CHANGES – AN ADOLESCENT BRAIN ]

ATTAINING MATURITY / WINDOWS OF VULNERABILITY [ WAVES OF CHANGES – AN ADOLESCENT BRAIN ] ATTAINING MATURITY The frontal lobes, last to receive their myelin coating, playa crucial role in choosing proper behavior, inhibiting inappropriate behaviors and selecting the best actions for meeting goals. If not fully myelinated, a teenager’s brain may not be well…

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DEVELOPMENT RATES / GENDER DIFFERENCES / GAINING CONTROL ( WAVES OF CHANGES – AN ADOLESCENT BRAIN )

DEVELOPMENT RATES / GENDER DIFFERENCES / GAINING CONTROL ( WAVES OF CHANGES – AN ADOLESCENT BRAIN ) DEVELOPMENT RATES As the child grows into an adolescent, different regions of the brain develop at different rates. For example, the regions that govern reflexes and the ability to process new information are as mature in a teenager’s…

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WAVES OF CHANGES – AN ADOLESCENT BRAIN

WAVES OF CHANGES – AN ADOLESCENT BRAIN As CHILDREN become teens, the brain continues to develop, grow, and change along with the rest of their body. Brain specialization becomes more apparent at adolescence. The adolescent brain can imagine and ponder at a much higher level than a child’s brain. Whereas a child tends to dwell…

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YOUTH & PLASTICITY / SPECIALIZATION [ A NEW BRAIN ]

YOUTH & PLASTICITY The younger the brain, the more plastic it is. Young brains have the ability to learn and adapt with great ease. Young brains even have the potential to rewire themselves, and are thus able to overcome severe trauma, such as damage to an entire hemisphere. For example, a seven-year-old named Michael in…

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LEARNING LANGUAGE [ BRAIN DEVELOPMENT ]

LEARNING LANGUAGE [ BRAIN DEVELOPMENT ] The enhancement and pruning of neural networks occurs most apparently as the baby begins to develop language. Spoken languages can sound very different from each other. In all, human languages produce about 200 different spoken sounds, called phonemes. Spoken English contains just over one-sixth of those possible sounds. Brain…

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CHANGES IN PLASTICITY OR ALBERT & THE RAT

CHANGES IN PLASTICITY OR ALBERT & THE RAT CHANGES IN PLASTICITY By the time a baby is three or four months of age, its behavior provides clues to its having reached new milestones in brain development. At that age, individual infants differ widely in their reaction to events and in their patterns of brain activity…

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NEURAL DARWINISM [ NEWBORN ]

NEURAL DARWINISM Some scientists argue that as the brain incorporates new experiences and makes new connections among neurons, it expresses a form of evolution through the competition of its various neural networks. Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Gerald Edelman suggests that the brain’s many networks vie against each other in “neural Darwinism.” While genes determine how the…

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NEWBORN NEURONS / ESTABLISHING NETWORKS

NEWBORN NEURONS As a baby emerges from the womb, brain development expands to include processing responses to the baby’s new experiences sights, sounds, smells, actions, sensations, and emotions. Networks of neurons, primed to receive new stimuli,compete for survival. It’s a random battle at first, but soon becomes more organized as environmental stimuli strengthen some connections…