 |
 |
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Children Do Not Have Learning "Window" ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Some brain research may mislead parents into thinking they have only a narrow window of opportunity to stimulate an appreciation of language, math or music in their child, according to a Missouri researcher. However, the evidence to support these contentions are weak at best, according to Dr. John Bruer, president of the McDonnell Foundation, a St. Louis-based program that awards grants for biomedical and educational research. "The claim that children are capable of learning more at a very early age, when they have excess synapses and peak brain activity is one of the most common ones made in neuroscience and education literature," reported Bruer in a paper scheduled to be published in the journal Educational Researcher. "Other articles urge that children begin the study of languages, advanced mathematics, logic and music as early as possible, possibly as early as age 3 or 4," he wrote. So why the rush? Well studies -- mainly conducted in monkeys -- show that at birth, infants have fewer synapses -- connections between neurons -- per unit of brain tissue than adults. However, the infant brain soon begins to form large numbers of such synapses, which connect brain cells into circuits, in a process known as synaptogenesis. At this point, there is an elimination process, where synapses are "pruned" over a number of years and the number of synapses falls to the adult level, usually around the age of sexual maturity for most species, Bruer notes. This finding has led some to claim there is a "critical period" of learning from birth to age 3. However, this theory assumes that the human brain develops in much the same ways as the brain of rhesus monkeys, according to Bruer. "Unlike the monkey, where synaptogenesis appears to occur simultaneously across all regions of the brain, the limited human data suggest that changes in synaptic density in our species may vary among brain areas," he wrote. Instead, research suggests that the human mind is more "plastic" than previously thought, able to adapt and change throughout a life-span. "Stories stressing that children's experiences during their early years of life will ultimately determine their scholastic ability, their future career paths, and their ability to form loving relationships have little basis in neuroscience," Bruer wrote. 1997, Reuters Health eLine <http://www.medscape.com/reuters/mon/t110710f.html> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- janet [log in to unmask]