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Evidence is mounting that we arrive into the world with a genetically pre-set timetable for how we go about growing that remaining 60% of our brains – complete with sensitive or critical periods when specific parts of the brain are primed to grow and develop. For example, researchers at McMaster University have found that babies with cataracts who miss fine visual input for the first two months, never develop the ability to recognize faces at a distance1. There appears to be a critical window for this skill to develop and if a baby doesn’t get the right kind of experience at the right time, it never will.
It’s important to keep in mind that physical development and the effects of sensory deprivation are relatively easy to measure (although cases of complete deprivation are rare). Other types of skill development windows may be more difficult to evaluate, may have greater individual variability and also have more open-ended ‘sensitive periods’ . Anyone who has tried to learn a foreign language later in life already understands this concept at work. While a two-and- a-half year old child learns about ten new words a day (three-and-a-half thousand words a year) with no apparent effort, most adults have to work at learning a foreign language through endless repetition and practice. Even then we will likely never perfect the accent or gain full use of the grammar system. John Abbott on Brain Development: Windows of Opportunity for Learning
It appears that these sensitive periods apply not only to language, but to social skills such as empathy and compassion. That means that if kids don’t develop these capacities before the age of eight or so, they may never develop them on their own. That is not to say they can’t be given specific instruction and experience to help them build understanding for another’s perspective – in this case programs like Roots of Empathy really can make a difference. But what if we could help all children develop empathy when their brains were most primed to do so, instead of trying to provide special intervention after the fact? The societal implications of this are profound.
Some researchers believe that eventually we will be able to determine the specific windows of opportunity for just about every aspect of human development. Dr. Cynader and his team at theUBC Brain Research Centre hope to chart a timeline for when each bit of brain is most ‘plastic’ and ready for development. They also want to find a biochemical signature of some kind that that could easily be detected using brain imaging. This would allow parents and schools to tailor activities to optimal brain development windows of an individual child2. Some Times Are More Important Than Others.At certain points during the human life cycle, the brain goes through extraordinary periods of internal reorganization – a kind of mental housekeeping complete with intense synaptic growth and selective pruning to maintain efficiency. This process, called synaptogenesis, is a stage during which many separate windows of opportunity for various predispositions happen simultaneously, resulting in a critical period of development3. Three phases have been identified so far – the early years, adolescence and old age. The idea that are brains are completely formed and set by the age of twelve has been turned on its head. Brains are plastic and they remain plastic despite age and even damage4. Experience during each of these phases becomes critical to how the individual brain is reconfigured to deal with the next stage of life. Neither the first three years, nor adolescence, can be seen in isolation; neither phase on its own can account for the human propensity to learn. It is only through the interaction of the two that we become “the learning species.” And it is the relationship of the first two phases of synaptogenesis to each other that has made the advance of the human race possible. John Abbott on Critical Periods of Brain Development
Find Out More About the Early Years. What happens (or does not happen) in a child’s life before the age of six literally shapes – to a remarkable extent – who they will become, how they learn, their abilities and their emotional capacities, making this period critical to lifelong development. Find Out More About Adolescence. What’s really going on in the teenage brain, how we are getting it wrong for the adolescent learner and how the ‘craziness’ of adolescence may well be a critical evolutionary adaptation for our species. |
The shift from a factory-based to a computer-based economy is more traumatic even than our great-grandparents' shift from a farm-based economy. The Industrial Revolution extended over generations and allowed time for human and institutional adjustment. The Computer Revolution is far swifter, more concentrated, and more dramatic in its impact. Featured Video
Programs at Work
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1 Richard Le Grand,Catherine J. Mondloch, Daphne Maurer,and Henry P. Brent. “Impairment in Holistic Face Processing Following Early Visual Deprivation”. Psychological Science, Vol. 15, No. 11, 2004.
2 Anne McIlroy, Globe and Mail, April 10, 2004.
3 John Abbott. Crazy by Design: Adolescence, a Critical Evolutionary Adaptation, 21st Century Learning Initiative, January 2005.
4 Norman Doidge discusses these findings at length in his book The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science. Penguin Books, 2007.
2 Anne McIlroy, Globe and Mail, April 10, 2004.
3 John Abbott. Crazy by Design: Adolescence, a Critical Evolutionary Adaptation, 21st Century Learning Initiative, January 2005.
4 Norman Doidge discusses these findings at length in his book The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science. Penguin Books, 2007.
