The use
of the word ‘beautiful’ to describe this structure inside our
heads may seem a little strange but I believe that the brain is
indeed beautiful. If you are lucky enough to get a copy of Nature
magazine (1st November 2007) , there is a section describing how
researchers in America have genetically labelled neurons (which
I will talk about more later) with different colours so that they
can actually track the different interactions in one small area
of the mouse brain. Comparisons with fairy lights or a city at
night, a tapestry or a firework display cannot do justice to the
sheer complexity and wonder of the workings of the brain!! Just
in case you are wondering, the brain of a mouse, shares a great
deal with our brains as does that of a primate, a dog, a dolphin
– even a reptile as we shall see…..
Firstly, however, you may be asking why as
a day care practitioner, childminder or nanny you need to know
about how our brains work. The answer in many ways is simple.
Our brains are the source of who we because our experiences, working
closely with our genetic inheritance as humans, really do physically
shape our brains influencing our motivation, curiosity, emotional
well being, capacity to play and learn. It is the ultimate springboard
of all our hopes, thoughts, dreams, the way we move, sense the
world and our emotions. .
In essence, this means that while every human
brain follows the same basic plan for both shape and function,
what we meet in our daily lives will dictate the type of connections
we make in our brain. Let me give you an example to help explain
this further. If we think of typical development, we all learn
to walk at broadly similar times. However, we will all vary, subtly
or more dramatically, in how we actually achieve this, so that
in the end, we all walk in a way that is common to humans – upright,
facing forward, moving both legs alternately and, at the same
time, in a way that is totally unique to each of us. Some of the
factors that could make a difference are:
- Context – where are we learning to walk,
what type of surfaces?
- Encouragement
- Opportunity to both attempt and persist
at taking those first steps
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