Neuronal plasticity found in infants, and the learning process has been of keen interest to neurobiologists for some time. How does the brain develop and attain the skills we need as one grows is fascinating. It is commonly understood that a crying infant can only be consoled by his/her mother, and is able to recognize her voice over the voice of a stranger. A number of studies have also been done on the distinct reaction of infants to sounds of their own language versus a foreign language, familiar melodies or fragments of stories they may have heard repeatedly during the fetus stage (Partanen et. al, 2013). However, these studies relied heavily on the infant’s reactions, which bared little credibility (Skwarecki, 2013). One research team developed a technique to show that infants actually develop memory of the sounds they hear while in the womb, and are able to recognize the similar sounds at the time of birth. The team was able to trace changes in brain activity in new born infants, and thus provided quantitative evidence that memory forms before birth (Partanen et. al, 2013). This paper begins by examining the literature that identifies associations between MMR used as a tool to measure auditory input and Exposure to Psuedoword and how its varations create memory traces.
It is a well established fact, that during the fetal period, the brain undergoes extensive developmental changes, with new synapses being formed continuously in response to external cues being delivered to the fetus. This development of neuronal connectivity enables the fetus to recognize and analyze complex information. This is especially true in the development of the auditory nervous system. A strong model of the auditory development in response ...
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...t in later development (Skwarecki, 2013).
Works Cited
Dragonova, R., Eswaren, H., Murphy, P., Huotilainen, M., Lowery, C., and Preissl, H. (2005).
Sound frequency change detection in fetuses and newborns, a magnetoencephalographic study. NeuroImage, vol. 28, retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S105381190500412X%20on%20October%207,%202013. On October 24,2013
Partanen, E., Kujala, T., Naatanen, R., Liitola, A., Sambeth, A., and Huotilainen, M. (2013).
Learning-induced neural plasticity of speech processing before birth. PNAS, vol. 110, retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/08/14/1302159110 on October 24, 2013.
Skwarecki, B. (2013). Babies learn to recognize words in the womb. Science Now, retrieved from http://news.sciencemag.org/brain-behavior/2013/08/babies-learn-recognize-words-womb on October 24, 2013.
Infants are born aware of their environment from the moment of birth. This suggests that at birth the visual and auditory systems of infants are intact and fully functional.
The mind of an infant and toddler is a sponge to language. Whether or not the child is able to speak, their brain is rehearsing and affirming the linguistic structures they hear, and the period of baby talk—called “babbling”—is a crucial time of experimentation with sound. During this time, the child will babble while in social situations in order to see which phonological structures receive positive responses from their parents—i.e. which combinations of sounds elicit responses. If a child cannot hear the sounds that their language offers, the child does not have the opportunity to babble. A child with significant hearing loss will still make sounds in infancy, but will quickly cease due to the lack of response and the fact that they cannot hear the sounds they are making and so cannot affirm them for themselves.
Baillargeon, R. (1994). How do infants learn about the physical world? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 3, 133-140.
Jahshan, C., Wynn, J. K., & Green, M. F. (2013). Relationship between auditory processing and
Many people believe the myth that a baby’s brain is fully formed at birth. However the notion has been uncovered in that last twenty years as false. A baby’s brain continues to form and develop after birth. Inside the human brains are small cell bodies called neurons. Neurons are the operating pieces in the brain. Every neuron is connected to dendrites, or arms. Dendrites connect one neuron to another and can detect chemical signals with a synapse, a part where nerve impulses are broadcasted or accepted. An electrical impul...
As billions of neural networks begin to form connections and patterns that will allow the child to important functions of the brain, a process called synaptic pruning gradually weakens or shuts down unutilized neural pathways (Myers & DeWall, 2016). In relation to this notion, childhood encompasses a period where early stimulation is crucial for normal learning behaviors and cognitive brain development (Myers & DeWall, 2016). It is suggested that there be a myriad of engaging stimuli for children before they surpass the critical period at adolescence, so as to avoid the pruning of neural pathways essential to leading a normal and fulfilled life. Such stimuli may include experiences of sounds, sights, and tastes, while premature babies have shown rapid neurological development when provided with skin-to-skin contact with their mothers (Myers & DeWall, 2016). Similarly, a suggestion for parents when handling their infant is to establish familiarity and body contact in order to promote secure parental attachment. Corresponding to the importance of stimuli in a child’s cognitive growth, these aspects of human attachment are highly critical to an infant’s social development as well. In order to promote a secure attachment style, a child must be familiarized with their caregiver through sight, sense, and sound and must be handled for emotional and
A recent study out of Stanford University has found that children can recognize the voice of their mother in less than a second. What happens physiologically after that may have some of the same neurological processes as LSD or a magic mushroom. Just not as many bright colors and symphonic notes floating across the sky. The study examined 24 healthy kids between the ages of 7 and 12. It aimed to find out how the child’s brain organizes itself once stimulated by the voice of the mother. To no one’s surprise, the children involved in the study recognized their mother’s voice 97 percent of the time.
Language acquisition during early childhood could be determined by a biological explanation. This may show how the brain is wired so children can acquire language ev...
The human fetus goes through numerous amounts of biological and physiological changes during the prenatal period. Though the fetus’ ears begin to form in the first fe...
The babbling that usually takes places around 6 months of age may be nonexistent, minimized or may only take place later than typical infants. Babbling may also not expand at the same rate or may not show sign of association to actual words. At the age of five to seventeen months comprehension of the baby’s sounds imitating vowels becomes challenging when the baby is dead or hard of hearing. The level of hearing impairment may affect the child’s ability to associate that specific sounds are coming from a specific direction, allowing make the connection to for instance look at someone when being spoken to. The same issue occurs between the ages of eight to nine months, the difference being that at this point the child should be turning his or her head towards the sound instead of the whole body as in younger months. Around twelve months of age a deaf or hearing impaired infant will understand verbals directions that are given along with visual ones, because of the visual cue the infant is able to understand the message, but not without it. By sixteen months of age such child may not respond to instructions that are given with the use of words only and that are not associated with any visuals or gestures causing the child to not understand or follow
Thiessen, E. D., Hill, E. A., & Saffran, J. R. (2005). Infant-directed speech facilitates word segmentation. Infancy, 7(1), 53-71.
Infancy involves rapid growth of the brain. This is a time when learning occurs through environmental cues, crying, and most importantly, the mother or other primary caregiver. This early learning or attachment between infants and their mothers or primary caregivers has a significant impact on the infant’s development. A primary caregiver’s ability to connect with an infant has significant developmental outcomes that have an impact on cognition and learning (Snyder, Shapiro, & Treleaven, 2012).
...d to determine exactly which part of the language is innate and universal so that humans can further uncover the valuable mechanism.
The aim of this essay is to explore language acquisition and compare and contrast different theories of language acquisition and language development. Language in its most basic form is used to communicate our needs and wants. It encompasses a range of modes of delivery including signing, spoken and written words, posture, eye contact, facial expressions and gestures. So how do we learn ‘language’? Are we born with the skills for communication, or is it something that we have to learn or have taught to us? Four theories are looked at in this essay to determine how children acquire and then develop language. These theories include behaviourist, nativist, cognitivist and sociocultural. This essay will highlight some similarities and differences in each theory and what impact these have on a child’s acquisition and development of language. Lastly we will look at the implications of these theories when working with children. Can a classroom teacher deliver a quality literacy program based on just one of these theories or does it need to incorporate components of all four? Sims, (2012) pp. 21 states ‘’High-quality learning experiences in the early years of life enhance children’s cognitive and language skills’’. This places a great responsibility on educators and teachers alike to provide an environment which is rich in learning opportunities that will encourage both the acquisition and development of language.
Children’s acquisition of language has long been considered one of the uniquely defining characteristics of human behaviour.