Brain Development Research Paper

Other than the cerebral cortex, there are different areas of the human brain that make strides during the individual’s early years and adolescence. All these changes involve the creation of links among various parts of the brain, which increase the coordinated functions of the central nervous system. Toward the base and rear of the brain we find the cerebellum, which is a structure that aids in the control of body movement and balance. The fibers which link the cerebellum to the cerebral cortex grow and myelinate from the time of birth through the preschool years. This contributes to the dramatic gains in motor coordination experienced by children. The connections between the cerebellum and the cerebral cortex also support thinking. Those children who present damage to the cerebellum usually would display both cognitive and motor deficits, which include problems with planning, language, and memory. The reticular formation is a structure in the brain stem that helps maintain alertness consciousness, generates synapses and myelinates from early childhood into adolescence. The neurons in the reticular formation send out fibers to many other areas of the brain. Many of these neurons go to the prefrontal lobes of the cerebral cortex, which contribute to improvements in sustained and controlled …show more content…
This is an inner brain structure which plays a key role in memory and in images of space, which helps the individual find directions. This structure undergoes a fast synapse formation and myelination in the second half of the first year of life, when independent movement emerges along with recall memory. During the preschool and elementary school years, both the hippocampus and surrounding areas of the cerebral cortex will continue to develop quickly, and establish connections with one another and with the prefrontal cortex. These fast changes allow for gains of memory and spatial understanding in the