To What Extent Do Structural Changes in Children's Brains Influence Functional Changes in Cognitive Ability? with Reference to Relevant Research Evidence, Examine the Relationship Between Structure and Function in the Developing Brain.
Unlike other primates, the slower rate of development of the human brain results in its fourfold increase in volume between birth and adulthood and during this time frame there are also significant changes in cognitive ability, the most marked of which occurs in early infancy. It is only relatively recently, with the advancement of neuroimaging technology, that researchers have begun to examine how brain structure, that is its physical fabric and organisation, might relate to its function, i.e. the tasks it performs, in a child 's developing brain. One view is that we are born with an innate ability to process information and therefore that structure influences function. A contrasting view is that brain structure is shaped and refined as it carries out cognitive tasks and interacts and learns from the environment. This essay will first outline some basic processes involved in postnatal brain development. Using research evidence, in the field of language, it will then examine three different approaches to understanding the relationship between structure and function in the developing brain and the extent to which one influences the other.
Human brain development is similar to that of other primates, but differs in that it happens much more slowly, which confers particular benefits on the species. Firstly, it allows a larger volume of cerebral cortex and in particular a large prefrontal cortex to develop and secondly it allows a long phase of postnatal brain development, outside of the womb, during which the brain experiences significant structural changes concurrently with interactions with the external environment (Mareschal, D. et al. 2004, p 122). At birth there is a rapid increase in neural connectivity in most brain regions with information initially being processed in a random fashion and gradually becoming handled in a more orderly and specialized way. Neural circuits that are well used remain and become more encapsulated i.e. more differentiated in
Human brain development is similar to that of other primates, but differs in that it happens much more slowly, which confers particular benefits on the species. Firstly, it allows a larger volume of cerebral cortex and in particular a large prefrontal cortex to develop and secondly it allows a long phase of postnatal brain development, outside of the womb, during which the brain experiences significant structural changes concurrently with interactions with the external environment (Mareschal, D. et al. 2004, p 122). At birth there is a rapid increase in neural connectivity in most brain regions with information initially being processed in a random fashion and gradually becoming handled in a more orderly and specialized way. Neural circuits that are well used remain and become more encapsulated i.e. more differentiated in
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