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Understanding the developing brains and brian plasticity
- 2. The Journey of nerve cells induction → proliferation → migration → making connections → myelination → paring back
- 3. 1. Induction -occurs in early embryo stages -3 layers form: endoderm (digestive system, organs), mesoderm (blood, bones), ectoderm (nervous system, skin)
- 5. 2. Proliferation ● Ectoderm forms a plate called a neural plate, then a fold called the neural crest ● Finally curves into a tube, called the neural tube ○ Eventually forming the CNS (spine and brain) ● Spina bifida is a disorder in which the neural tube fails to close; underdeveloped spine, no cure ● Progenitors in the center of the tube synthesize neurons ○ Ex: radial glial cells ● If they are destroyed, have effects on brain development (microcephaly in Zika)
- 7. - 3 to 4 weeks after baby’s conception - hindbrain, midbrain, & forebrain form - Radial migration: “inside-out”, oldest cells form deepest layer of cortex and youngest cells form outer layer - Alcohol, drugs, radiation prevent proper migration of neurons → leads to misplacement of cells & epilepsy 3. Migration
- 9. 4. Making Connections ● Enables senses ● Dependent on environmental interactions ● Become interconnected through: ○ Growth of dendrites ○ Growth of axons ● Growth cones (enlargement of axon’s tips) explore environment as destination is sought ○ Bear molecules that serve as receptors for environmental cues ○ Tells growth cones what to do ● Axons form connections at synapse
- 11. 5. Myelination ● Myelination - wrapping of axons, surrounded by glia ● Increases speed of neural impulses by 100x ● Saltatory conduction is responsible for increased speed - nodes of Ranvier ● Process of myelination occurs throughout lifespan
- 12. 6. Paring Back ● Half the neurons produced in development stages survive to adulthood ○ destroyed through apoptosis (programmed cell death) ○ Only if neurons fail to receive life-sustaining chemical factors called trophic factors ● Excess connections between neurons ○ Active ones stay ○ Unused ones are lost - “pruning”
- 16. Critical periods ● Genes + environment are key to neural circuits ● Critical periods: brain must have critical experiences early in development ● After critical period… ○ Some connections are lost ○ Some remain...these are stronger → make cognitive maps ● Injury or deprivation of events can be harmful ○ Ex. Loss of vision ● Heightened activity may increase certain disorders ○ Ex. Epilepsy ● ~25 years old is when the frontal lobe stops maturing
- 17. Brain plasticity ● Ability of brain to modify itself and adapt to change ● Experience-expectant plasticity: integration of environmental stimuli into normal patterns of development ○ Ex: baby birds must hear adult birds sign so they can learn pitch ● Hope to be used with learning disabilities in children
- 18. Have You Heard… ⮚ Teens are : ⮚ Reckless? ⮚ Risky Behavior? ⮚ Mood Swings ⮚ Easily influenced? ⮚ Poor Decision Making?
- 19. Brain Plasticity
- 20. Plastic Teenage brains are a work in progress
- 21. What actually goes on in the brain? - Prefrontal cortex - involved in thinking, planning, behavior
- 24. Case Study
- 25. Case Study
- 26. Talk to others !!!!!!!
- 27. People Care :)
- 28. goal of Our Teen Brains
- 29. “On the one hand, adolescents are more apt to experiment and make poor choices because their brains are still developing, but they are also more able than adults to learn from their mistakes and alter their perspectives,” says Dr. Jonathan Romain, a pediatric neuropsychologist. “I see adolescence as a period of great potential for growth and development.” In SUmmary Parents play a crucial role in helping teens talk through consequences and decision making.
- 32. THANK YOU!!!
Editor's Notes
- Parents :: Be honest, did you ever do anything risky as a teen? Chances are your answer is yes!
- The brain is a plastic organ
- Now have you every heard of or noticed, that children and teenagers are able to learn things more quickly? That they can pick up on languages quicker and tend to consume knowledge more easily at a much faster rate. This is because the brains of children and adolescents is more plastic, enabling them to gain more information easily as the brain rewires to help them store these as memories.
- Now the teenage years are especially formative years. This is due to development in a region of the brain known as the prefrontal cotex. This is a part of the brain responsible for decision making, responsibility, emotion, and helps set a filter on an individual’s mouth. While almost the entire brain is still developing at this point, it is the prefrontal cortex that especially is growing and changing throughout adolescence with every action we take or every influence we get.
- Now think about it like this: the prefrontal cortex is in a way “unstable for teenagers”, it is changing as a response to everything. And since it is unstable, it can sometimes inhibit a teenager from making the right decision.
- When they are in the face of peer pressure, they will remember that falling victim to it is not the most responsible decision at all.
- When they see someone experiencing emotional difficulty, or themselves are victim of the same problem, they should be able to talk to that friend and provide support, or having the knowledge that what they are feeling Is because of brain development and is most often not a fault of their own, they will feel less embarrassed and more open to talking to a counselor which will
- Go talk to whoever is closest to you Teacher Friend Parent Even doctors
- It is very important that teenagers know about the changes that their brain is going through, since being conscious about these changes will help them be prepared for all the adverse side effects that this development leads to. This is the goal of the Teen Brains Initiative. We want to spread knowledge and awareness of the brain to high schoolers all across the country
- teens’ prefrontal cortex is going through dramatic development; this area of the brain is involved with planning, social interactions, and stopping yourself from saying something unpleasant.