Essay On Brain Plasticity

Although the brain was once seen as a rather static organ, it is now clear that the organization of brain circuitry is constantly changing as a function of experience. These changes are referred to as brain plasticity, and they are associated with functional changes that include phenomena such as memory, addiction, and recovery of function. Recent research has shown that brain plasticity and behavior can be influenced by a myriad of factors, including both pre- and postnatal experience, drugs, hormones, maturation, aging, diet, disease, and stress. Understanding how these factors influence brain organization and function is important not only for understanding both normal and abnormal behavior, but also for designing treatments for behavioral
Sexual orientation and preference describes a person's romantic, emotional or sexual attraction to another person from the same or opposite sex. Since shaping the child's gender identity starts immediately after birth it is difficult to determine whether masculine or feminine behavioral traits result from biological or environmental factors. However, there are several theories about the development of gender in children such as social learning theory, cognitive developmental theory and gender schema theory. According to the social learning theory, children observe their parents, relatives and peers and copy their gender-appropriate behaviors. Family members emphasize gender-appropriate behaviors and condemn those that are not when children are at the most impressionable age. The second theory, cognitive developmental theory, maintains that children's understanding of gender develops together with their intellectual abilities. Young children may not understand until certain age that gender is a stable characteristic. This theory suggests that the development of gender identity is age-dependent, while according to the social learning theory it is a continuous process which starts from the first interactions of the child with the people around