Language can be learned a multitude of ways, like casual conversation, songs, rhymes, reading, music, story telling and much more. An infant’s repeated exposure to words clearly helps her brain build the neural connections that will enable her to learn more words later on. During these years, the circuits in children’s brains become wired for how their own language sounds. Scientists believe that language is acquired most easily during the first ten years of life. It is no coincidence that babies begin to take notice of the world during this period. For instance, scientists have determined that the neurons for vision begin sending messages back and forth rapidly at 2 to 4 months of age, peaking in intensity at 8 months. “Windows of opportunity” are sensitive periods in children’s lives when specific types of learning take place. The brain eliminates connections that are seldom or never used, which is a normal part of brain development. At birth, the number of synapses per neuron is 2,500, but by age two or three, it’s about 15,000 per neuron. As the neurons mature, more and more synapses are made. In the brain, the neurons are there at birth, as well as some synapses. During the first years of life, the brain undergoes a series of extraordinary changes.

Before birth, the brain produces trillions more neurons and “synapses” (connections between the brain cells) than it needs. The brain starts forming prenatally, about three weeks after conception.

Heredity (nature) determines the basic number of “neurons” (brain nerve cells) children are born with, and their initial arrangement.Īt birth, a baby’s brain contains 100 billion neurons, roughly as many nerve cells as there are stars in the Milky Way, and almost all the neurons the brain will ever have. Brain cells are “raw” materials - much like lumber is a raw material in building a house, and a child’s experiences and interactions help build the structure, put in the wiring, and paint the walls.

This starts before birth, and is very important during the first three years of life.

Like constructing a house, brains are built upon a strong foundation. Child and Family Development Specialist, University of Maine Cooperative Extension.įor information about UMaine Extension programs and resources, visit .įind more of our publications and books at /publications/. Prepared by Judith Graham, Extension human development specialist, University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

Neurons firing in the brain