Brain development - understanding the basic concepts

Our brains are amazing…

… more sophisticated than any computer created by man, yet it works, in a way, much like a computer:

The physical part of our brain is the “hardware.” Prior to birth, it is formed according to our DNA, our prenatal environment (which includes the nutritional health of the mother) - and maybe even God and/or our Soul.

After we are born, it is STILL impacted by our environment, which includes the presence (or lack) of stress, trauma, nutrition … in short, ALL THE POSSIBLE “INPUTS” that can alter the structure of the physical brain.

The operational part - the neural networking - is the “software",” and just like the software we use in our computers, our cell phones, our TVs, etc., the brain’s software is programmed. EVERY experience is taken in by the brain’s receptors (seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling, and all the subtle inputs like emotions) and processed - the brain sorting and analyzing the input according to PRIOR experiences (if possible) and storing the information in a way that makes sense.

This process occurs from pre-birth through death. EVERY bit of information either reinforces or alters the interpretation of previous information.

To effectively understand the process, though, it helps to understand the “terms” used when describing the process of brain development.

Just click on one of the terms below for a description:

Axon Neurotransmitter Blooming

Dendrite Synapses Pruning

Neurons Neural Network Plasticity