PROBLEM

 

Focus Question: Does an individual’s early childhood determine their stance in the future?

 

As individuals grow up, they are faced with different obstacles from childhood to adulthood. A pondered cause of an individual’s success rate in the future is mainly influenced by their health care, education, and parental care from early childhood. Determining this, it presents a crucial question debating whether changes in the function of the brain in early childhood can cause a lasting effect on an individual’s mental health in the future. The formation of neuron connections from birth determines a child’s ability to prosper well in the future.

Much of the brain’s development occurs during early childhood, and is strengthened later on due to the amount of care, attention, and time given to ensure the child grows successfully.

This project determines whether early childhood experiences can affect the amount of neurons in the brain’s functioning for enhanced success in the future. Some factors that will be discussed include technological uses at a young age, lack of attention from the child’s caretakers, and the positive interactions the child gets exposed to throughout their lifetime. 

METHOD

 

1.) Project title was determined, and the basic project info and ethics due care form was completed.

2.) The research concerning the complexity of the brain itself was conducted first, as background knowledge of the brain is necessary to grasp information about the brain's role in child development. 

3.) The problem and focus question was developed, which consisted of information that compared the information taken from the brain and connected through the topic of the functioning of the brain in early childhood development. 

4.) Research regarding healthy brain functioning and lasting effects of childhood development was conducted to answer my focus question. At the same time, data/graphs/collected information was collected to support my claim regarding my focus question. Data was taken according to the evidence I proposed in my research, that relates to the causes of a low success rate of an individual in the future. The graphs collected were experiments conducted by health organizations, which were discussed in the "Data" section of the platform.

5.) My conclusions were finalized after carefully analyzing my research and evidence that supported the answer to my focus question. Additional applications and future decisions were discussed as well.

During this process, I made sure to cite my sources and complete the components of my logbook.

RESEARCH

 

The Complexity of the Brain:

The brain is a complex organ that controls an individual’s five senses, thoughts, memories, emotions, hunger, and much more. The brain and the extended spinal cord makes up the central nervous system (CNS). As an adult, the brain weighs about three pounds. The brain and spinal cord contains both grey and white matter. In the brain, the grey matter is what surrounds and covers the outer portion of the brain. The white matter on the other hand describes the inner section underneath the outer portion of the brain. The white and grey matter are switched in the spinal cord. The grey matter is composed of neuron somas, while the white matter is mostly made of axons wrapped in myelin. These two different compositions of neuron parts are why both compositions appear as certain shades on certain scans. The grey matter is responsible for processing and interpreting information, while the white matter transmits that information to other parts of the nervous system.

  These images are a visual demonstration of what the white and grey matter are composed of. In order for the brain to send and receive chemical and electrical signals throughout the body, the central nervous system depends on billions of neurons (nerve cells). Some signals are kept within the brain, while others are transmitted through the spine and across networks of nerves to distant extremities.

• How are neural pathways formed?

- In order for electric signals to travel throughout our brains, the electrical signals have to pass the tiny gap between each connection in the brain called a synapse. The more we grasp the knowledge on ways to commit a specified action, the easier it becomes for the electrical signals to make their way to the tiny synapses in each connection.                                                          - The plasticity of neurons (the ability of the brain to strengthen or weaken synapses depending on how active they are) is crucial for an individual to learn or adapt to their environment. When an individual learns something new, the electrical activity going through the different circuits of the brain can change the strength of specific connections, making them either stronger or weaker.

The brain can be divided into three parts:

1. Cerebrum: The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain and initiates/coordinates movements and regulates temperature. It comprises the outer grey matter (cerebral cortex) with the white matter at its center. Other areas of the cerebrum enable speech, judgement, thinking and reasoning, problem-solving, emotions, reasoning, vision, hearing, touch, and other senses.
2. Cerebral cortex: The cerebral cortex comprises about half of the brain’s weight and has a large surface area due to its folds. This part of the brain is divided into two halves (hemispheres). It is covered in ridges (gyri) and folds (sulci). Both halves of the brain are joined at a large, deep sulcus that runs from the front of the head to the back. The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body, while the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body. Both hemispheres communicate with one another through the corpus callosum, which is a large, C-shaped structure of white matter and nerve pathways. This structure is located in the center of the cerebrum.
3. 2. Brainstem: The brainstem is the middle part of the brain that connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord. The brainstem consists of three parts:
4. Midbrain: The midbrain, also known as the mesencephalon, is a complex structure with different neuron clusters, neural pathways, and other structures. The midbrain facilitates functions that include hearing, movement, calculating responses and environmental changes. The midbrain also contains an area affected by Parkinson’s Disease that is rich in dopamine neurons, which enables movement and coordination.
5. Pons: The pons in the brain enables tear production, chewing, blinking, focusing vision, balance, hearing, and facial expression. This part is the connection between the midbrain and the medulla.
6. Medulla: The medulla is located at the bottom of the brainstem. The medulla is where the brain meets the spinal cord. This part of the brainstem is essential for survival. The medulla regulates heart rhythm, breathing, blood flow, and oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. The medulla also produces reflexive activities such as sneezing, vomiting, coughing, and swallowing. 3. Cerebellum: The cerebellum is the fist-sized portion of the brain located at the back of the head. It had two hemispheres like the cerebral cortex. The outer portion has neurons, and the inner portion communicates with the cerebral cortex. The cerebellum’s function is to coordinate muscle movements and to maintain posture, balance, and equilibrium.                    The brain also includes coverings, also known as meninges. The dura mater is the layer that contains spaces that allow for the passage of veins and arteries  that supply blood flow through the brain. The arachnoid contains cerebrospinal fluid, which surrounds the central nervous system and continually circulates around these structures to remove impurities. The pia mater is the last layer, and is rich with veins and arteries.                                                                                            Each brain hemisphere has four lobes. The frontal lobe is involved in personality characteristics, decision-making, movement, speech ability, and recognition of smell. The parietal lobe helps a person identify objects, understand spatial relationships, interpret pain and touch in the body, and understand spoken languages. The occipital lobe is involved in vision, while the temporal lobe is involved in short-term memory, speech, musical rhythm, and some degree of smell recognition.                                                                       

Development of the Brain in Young Infants:

The process of brain development consists of steps which includes the proper organization of the brain, rapid proliferation of neurons (messengers of information), and myelination (speeding up the information processing). In the first few years of life, there is a rapid growth of neurons (rapid proliferation). After this growth,  90% of a child’s brain development occurs before the age of five. This explains the critical aspects of shaping a child’s ability to learn, think, and thrive in their early childhood experiences. At birth, the process of rapid proliferation occurs. There is an increased growth of neurons, which results in the process of pruning, where certain connections strengthen, where other connections start to weaken. 

The baby's brain is a quarter the size of an average adult brain, but doubles in its first year, reaching an almost developed brain by the age of five. A baby’s brain forms over 1 million new neural connections per second, enabling the infant’s ability to move, speak a language, and problem solve throughout their lives. These factors are more enhanced when positive interactions from caregivers and the environment are given to children in their early years of development. 

A child’s brain develops from the occipital lobe to the frontal lobe. While the occipital lobe is important for vision and visual integration, the frontal lobe is involved in higher cognitive functioning such as motor planning, behaviour, personality, impulse control, and executive function. Due to this, the first skills babies acquire are recognizing and tracking objects and faces. After their first year, babies start to enhance their language and motor skills, which continue to develop in their frontal lobe until early adulthood.

The first five years of a child’s brain development are crucial to long-term potential and success in life. Early experiences babies face in their early life can set a foundation for cognitive, emotional, and social capacities throughout their lives. As a person ages, their brain capacity decreases. As the person can perform more complex functions, it is less able to adapt to new experiences and challenges.  

 

This image presents the processes of brain development when a child is in the mother's womb. Myelination is one of the last steps of a baby's brain development in their third trimester, when the brain undergoes a massive growth spurt and starts processing information.

This chart presents the approximate time period in which an average human being learns to use their sensory pathways, speak a language, and gain higher cognitive abilities. The chart proves that children at younger ages, most likely at infancy, can develop these stages faster and efficiently than in their future years. The necessity of teaching a child major components of their future at a young age can set them up for enhanced success in the future.

As humans age, the dendrite spines (component of a neuron) in the brain don’t move very much. This means that the neurons are now held in place in the brain, making it more difficult to experience neuron plasticity, form new connections in the brain, and experience changes in learning and personality once we get older. This critical period for each brain region closes at specific times. For instance, while language development closes at around age five, the brain’s ability to make rational judgments is not fully mature until age 25. Reasons why adults lose the ability to learn as easily as before is not discovered, and scientists are trying to discover new ways that can be implemented to regrow connections using damaged and deteriorated nerves.

Childhood Behaviour and Experiences in Respect to Early Brain Development:

Recent scientific studies have shown that the connections needed for many higher-level abilities like motivation, self-regulation, problem solving, communication, and high-self esteem are formed in the early years of childhood. It is more difficult for these brain connections to be made later in life. Brain connections are built by positive interactions with a baby’s parents and caregivers, and by using their senses to interact with the environment. A young child’s amount and quality of care, stimulation, and interaction they receive during their first days, weeks, months, and years determine which brain connections develop and will last for a lifetime. In fact, loving relationships with responsive and dependable adults are essential to a child’s development. This care begins at home with parents and caregivers, and can be implemented by their teachers and child care providers later on. 

When a parent/caregiver is unresponsive to a child’s engagement in a conversation, the child’s wiring in the brain limits its ability to fully develop. However, when a parent/ caregiver is responsive to a child’s engagement in a conversation, the child’s brain develops more fully, giving the child opportunities to explore their physical world, and to provide safe, stable, and nurturing environments. Studies prove that babies who experience more of these positive interactions will be more healthier and successful in school and in their life. The opposite is true as well. Children who are deprived of positive communications do not develop brain connections from factors like poverty, exposure to family violence, and lack of access to proper early learning experiences.

• Does a child’s brain development affect their education?                                                                                                           - The factors of learning as an individual is determined as children reach the levels of maturity and develop in their own ways.                                                                                                                                                                                    - Before birth, a baby’s brain starts to mature. As the fetus grows, a specialized number of neurons settle in the brain and start to grow g radually. When the remaining neurons are not pruned back or if the process is incomplete, this results in disorders in learning/behaviour.

 - The importance of the influence of the environment on the child also determines their learning status for the rest of their lives. For instance, in a child’s preschool years, their motor, sensory, visual, and auditory skills continue to develop. According to research, when premature babies associate the initial noise and clatter in their surrounding environment, the noise tends to disturb them, delaying themselves to allow them to catch up their neurons and make connections (Rothbart et al., 2003). The support from a child’s caregivers determines their ability to distinguish one sound from another. When a parent reads a book with their child and slowly teaches them to perform simple tasks like tracing, they are gradually enhancing their child’s ability to learn. Teaching a child reading skills can also help enhance the development of their auditory cortex and enhance the skills that are involved in remembering what is taught and applying that knowledge to real problems. As time passes, the child will be able to develop fibers in the brain specialized for more complex tasks that require more attention and processing. Once the child reaches middle school, inferential thinking is more prioritized, as information is being processed into their long term memory. 

• A child’s learning is consolidated into neural networks, and children tend to learn about perspective taking, generalizing, and abstract thinking. A child’s behaviour in their environment and their surroundings play a major role in their success rate in the future.

 

Keys for Healthy Brain Functioning in Early Childhood:

According to the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC), a major principle of enhancing brain development in children is “respond[ing] warmly and quickly to a child’s cues for support and attention”. Since babies cannot use words to communicate, they express their mood, needs, and wants through signals, which include the sounds they make, their movements, and facial expressions. When a parent or caregiver responds to these cues, the children learn to trust the world around them and become comfortable with interacting with others and the environment. Learning to be aware of a child’s signals and approaching it with sensitivity can determine a reasonable approach to the child’s behaviour. Responding quickly to a child’s signals also presents good timing and doesn’t delay the communication. Additionally, providing the child with warmth and comfort can help the baby develop and feel trust, and responding appropriately to the child’s needs can improve its brain development. Other principles of maintaining and prospering a healthy brain development include:

1.) Bewarement of overstimulating the child.- Providing enhanced educational toys, computers, videos, and more resources for children can cause too much stimulation for the child and can cause stress and hinder their development. Children should be able to play with their imaginations instead of being exposed to high levels of stimulations like watching television. 

 2.) Creating a safe environment by removing any physical threats like unsafe toys and abusive people.- Children who experience stress or abuse may develop responses like fear, high arousal and anxiety, and have trouble developing a calm and controlled attitude. Parents and caregivers should help reduce this risk by giving comfort to stressed children, being gentle with them, and protecting them from abusive individuals.

 3.) Providing a variety of brain-building activities and experiences.- Exposing a child to new things can help their brain strengthen old connections and build new ones. Examples include rolling a ball on the floor, touching a cat or dog, reaching to grasp a spoon, and other sensory activities. It is encouraged to help babies explore, instead of being exposed to highly-stimulated activities to help develop new brain connections.

4.) Giving time each day to practice and encourage the repetition of songs, stories, and experiences.- Providing opportunities for practice and repetition. Many children learn through repetition and this helps strengthen neural connections. For instance, if a parent smiles back at a child's smile every day, the pathways in the brain regarding emotions are built and strengthened. 

 

Resulting Effects From a Lack of Attention in Early Years

 

When babies are exposed to traumatic events, the chronic trauma and stress can change how the baby’s brain responds to change. Trauma is an event that is perceived as a threat or a danger. When too much of this is exposed to the baby, the brain becomes primed to react to the world in fear. It requires the neural pathway and can result in a lifelong negative impact. This makes it harder for infants to use their cerebral cortex in the future. They function from the limbic system instead, also referred to as the “caveman brain”. In severe cases, the cerebral cortex becomes less developed than it would be without toxic stress. Additionally, babies who don’t have consistent, loving support from adults in their lives are even more deeply affected by trauma.

Brain research has proved that stress and trauma can cause elevated levels of cortisol, a brain chemical, to be released in the brain. This can make the brain vulnerable to processes that destroy brain cells, reduce the number of neuronal connections in the brain, and cause regions of the brain that regulate emotional response and attachment to be smaller than normal.

These images depict a lack of function reading the temporal lobes from a child who was exposed to neglect, trauma, and abuse during their lifetime. This indicates that the child may be experiencing speech and memory problems. 

According to the WHO (World Health Organization), children and adolescents who face negative experiences in homes, schools, and spaces of digital violence can increase the risk of mental illnesses which include childhood epilepsy, developmental disabilities, depression, anxiety, and behavioural disorders. The WHO also states that 8% of children and 15% of adolescents experience a mental disorder, with the majority of them not seeking help or care from someone. The consequences for not addressing mental health and psychological development, especially for children, can extend to adulthood and limit the child’s future success rate in the future.    

• How do therapies help children with mental disorders associated with a lack of attention from their parents/caregivers?         - Psychologists learn to distinctively help young children with mental disorders, as they are learning to apply specialized therapy that is focused on helping the child express their thoughts, feelings, and emotions in their daily life. Evidence-based therapies include bahaviour therapy, which specifically teaches children and families how to strengthen positive child behaviours and eliminate problem behaviours. The therapist works to strengthen the child's bonds with their parents, as child growth develops from a parent's continued care and attention for them. Another therapy implemented is the cognitive-behaviour therapy, which focuses on changing a child's thoughts and emtions that can negatively affect their behaviour. This explains the necessity of a parent's engagement during their child's early years, as the nature of parent involvement differes as the child grows older.                                                                                                                                                 - The significance of providing a child with the proper care and support they need is aimed to be fulfilled when a child is going through these types of therapy.

DATA

The brain develops according to the usage and implementation of many factors, which includes age, race, household status, and screen time. As parental care can strengthen a child's neural connections in their brain, their environmental factors develop their view of the world. 

 

 

Screen time plays a crucial role in determining the development of children during their early years. According to the experiment conducted by PLOS (Public Library of Science), an excessive amount of screen time in preschool children can result in the worst inattention problems. This analyzed data helps determine a root cause of inattention problems and a lack of well performance in a child’s life. Children who spend more than the required amount of screen time for their age can develop externalizing behaviours.

 

 

The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report conducted a study that looked at factors including family, community, and health care that related to mental, behavioural, and developmental disorders (MBDDs) in children from the ages of 2-8.  CDC researchers used parent-reported information from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health. 1 of 7 of US children aged 2-8 were reported to have a diagnosed MBDD. This graph concludes that children with MBDDs have parents who reported fair or poor mental health, had trouble getting by on the family’s income, or quit or changed a job because of problems related to child care. These children also lived in neighbourhoods that were in poor conditions and lacked support. Proper care was also reported for maintaining a prosperous life for a child.

 

 

This graph contrasts the one shown above in detail, which discusses the characteristics related to mental, behavioural, and developmental disorders among U.S children aged 2 to 8 years old. The information in this graph shows the proportion of parent-reported characteristics of these U.S children. The graph shows that boys, children aged 6-8, and non-hispanic white children are more prone to developing MBDDS. Children who are raised in poor families are more likely to develop mental illnesses as well. 

 

Much of the brain develops at a young age, but most of the parts and lobes of the brain are not fully developed until adulthood. As depicted in figure A, all the lobes of the brain start developing from before the age of 10, while these lobes continue developing until later on, which is depicted in figure B. The thickness of each lobe of the brain develops completely in the 20’s, while the property and factor of the brain being directionally dependent is not developed until after the brain reaches its maximum thickness. 

 

The importance of analyzing the various impacts of factors that affects the human brain can help develop solutions for many disorders and illnesses that occur during early childhood. The necessity of licensed research, experiments, brain scans, and detailed reports is specially used to visualize and map changes in an individual's neural structure, function, and the resulting mental disorders like epilepsy. When enhanced research is implemented to develop a greater understanding of the brain of a child, the more we are able to distinguish the differences between certain issues (stages of development, medical illnesses and disorders) regarding the successful brain development as chidren age and face more complications.  

CONCLUSIONS

 

Focus Question: Does an individual’s early childhood determine their stance in the future?

Answer: The importance of sustaining a prosperous future for children is to provide them with the education, care, and support needed for their growth. As babies, these children have been learning through others and their actions, which then results in the observed actions being repeated again. The influence from the environment and many societal and parental factors greatly determine a child's next move in their daily life. In fact, yes, and individual's early cjildhood determines their stance in the future, which explains the reasoning for why parental care is necessary for a child's development, especially during their early years.

As technology develops and enhanced software is created to further examine the mysteries of the brain, especially of how neurons continue to interact and connect with other parts of the brain, the clarifications of various child uniqueness and distinctness in their learning can be resolved in an attempt to create a solution to better developing children and ways to maintain disorders regarding to early childhood and learning.

APPLICATIONS

As I continue to learn more and grasp the importance of supporting a child during their early stages of development, the more important it is to innovate a system that can help children with learning disorders at a young age. For instance, as psychologists learn to distinctively help young children with mental disorders, they are learning to apply specialized therapy that is focused on helping the child express their thoughts, feelings, and emotions in their daily life. These evidence-based therapies like the behaviour therapy and the cognitive-behaviour therapy explains the necessity of a parent's engagement during their child's early years, as the nature of parent involvement differes as the child grows older. Understanding the root causes of learning problems and development can help researchers gain insights to ways this can help enhance technology to be able to help young children overcome the troubles they face in their early childhood, which can then help assist them for the rest of their lives.

CITATIONS

 

- “Early childhood and the developing brain.” UK Trauma Council, https://uktraumacouncil.org/resource/early-childhood-and-the-developing-brain. 

 

- “Brain Development.” First Things First, https://www.firstthingsfirst.org/early-childhood-matters/brain-development/.

  

- “Brain Development in Early Childhood.” Lurie Children's, 2 March 2023, https://www.luriechildrens.org/en/blog/early-childhood-brain-development-and-health/.  

 

- “90% - Scientific studies show child's brain reaches 90% of adult size between 0-6 years | THSN GHO.” The Human Safety Net, 6 April 2022, https://www.thehumansafetynet.org/gho/stories-and-news/90-Scientific-studies-show-child-s-brain-reaches-90-of-adult-size-between-0-6-years. 

 

- “The First Five Years.” First Things First, https://files.firstthingsfirst.org/why-early-childhood-matters/the-first-five-years.  

 

- “Bright Beginnings #5 - Keys to Enhancing Brain Development in Young Children.” ECDC, https://ecdc.nd.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ECDC_KeystoEnhancingBrainDevelopmentinYoungChildren28902.pdf. 

 

- “What does trauma do to a baby's brain?” Zero to Three, 27 April 2023, https://www.zerotothree.org/resource/distillation/what-does-trauma-do-to-a-babys-brain/.  

 

- “Brain Anatomy and How the Brain Works.” Johns Hopkins Medicine, https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/anatomy-of-the-brain.   

 

- “Brain Architecture.” Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, https://developingchild.harvard.edu/key-concept/brain-architecture/.  

- Rother, Mike. How We Learn - Synapses and Neural Pathways. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1sDjWfDa4w. 

 

- Brain Matters. Brain Matters documentary | Early Childhood Development. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw_aVnlp0JY. 

 

- Public Library of Science. “Screen-time is associated with inattention problems in preschoolers: Results from the CHILD birth cohort study.” PLOS One, 17 April 2019, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0213995. 

 

- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Health-care, Family, and Community Factors Associated with Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders in Early Childhood.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/features/key-finding-factors-mental-behavioral-developmental-early-childhood.html. 

 

- World Health Organization. “Improving the mental and brain health of children and adolescents.” World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/activities/improving-the-mental-and-brain-health-of-children-and-adolescents. 

 

- McAllister, Kimberly. “Making and breaking connections in the brain.” UC DAVIS- Center for Neuroscience, 11 September 2020, https://neuroscience.ucdavis.edu/news/making-and-breaking-connections-brain. 

 

- American Psychological Association. “Research in Brain Function and Learning.” American Psychological Association, 2015,

 https://www.apa.org/education-career/k12/brain-function. 

 

- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Treating Children's Mental Health with Therapy.” CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/children-mental-health/treatment/index.html. 

 

- ScienceDirect. “Brain Imaging.” ScienceDirect, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/brain-imaging#:~:text=Brain%20imaging%20is%20a%20technique,molecular%20mechanisms%20underlying%20these%20changes. 

 

- Frontiers. “Babies Born Early Can Have Brain Injury.” Frontiers for Young Minds, 23 May 2018, https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2018.00020. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 

Special thanks to my family and friends for supporting me throughout this journey and through times of difficulty. I would also like to thank my science fair coordinator, Mrs. Fan, for making this opportunity successful. Additonally, I would also like to acknowledge the CYSF committee for making this year's science fair a success for everyone who is willing to learn. Again, nothing would be possible without the support and encouragement from all of you. Thank you!