Early Childhood Myelination

The physical growth of children is not smooth. Instead, it is characterized by growth spurts and by periods of slower growth. Growth in is this context is described as a change in size while development is characterized by changes in complexity and function. Body differences are obvious. Height and weight increase greatly in those four years (by about a foot and
16 pounds, or almost 30 centimeters and 8 kilograms), but that is not the most remarkable change. During early childhood, proportions shift radically: Children slim down as the lower body lengthens and fat turns to muscle.(Berger, Kathleen Stassen (2015-04-15, page 241). During the early childhood period the percent of body fat changes muscle tissue increases. By the age of 8 years
However, most increased brain weight occurs because of myelination. (Page 246) Myelination is the process of coating the axon of each neuron with fatty coating called melin, which protects the neuron and helps it conduct signals more efficiently. Myelination begins in the brain stem and cerebellum before birth, but is not completed in the frontal cortex until late adolescence. The process of myelination as it affects connectivity between the hemispheres and the process of lateralization and specialization in brain development. Their mastery of gross and fine motor skill and the importance of artistic expression during the play years is a critical factors that contribute to the risk of accidental injury during the play years; and approaches to prevention of accidental death rates of infants. According to Chapter 8, the cerebral cortex in the two hemispheres performs the same motor and sensory functions but each of the hemispheres is specialized for different tasks. As the brain develops, the left hemisphere is superior in doing tasks that involve speech, language and reading. The right hemisphere shows superiority in tasks that involves creativity, intuition, facial recognition, musical recognition, sense of direction, play and sports, learning experience and risk-taking. If the corpus callosum is damaged, the left hemisphere, which handles language and speech, cannot receive or send messages to the right hemisphere. The disconnection in communication is called 'split brained.' The brain is malleable, it has the capability to mold and modify its own structure and function by the pressure of environment. This unique ability of the brain to reorganize change, grow and remap itself over the course of its life time is called brain plasticity It does not mean the brain is a plastic. No one is exclusively left brained or right-brained (except severely brain-damaged