Birth to three matters - Communities and Local Government

early development gathered largely from a1996 conference in the USA of leadingbrain scientists and experts in childdevelopment and early education. Theystated that early experiences have adecisive impact upon how the brainis ‘wired’ and that the timing of suchexperiences is crucial. Furthermore,Shore warns that research has indicatedthat the emotional neglect orabandonment of children very earlyin life can often lead to the impairmentof brain-mediated functions such asempathy, attachment, and affectregulation (See Gunnar 1996). Theclaims that the first three years of lifeare critical to brain development lednot only to a proliferation of articlesaimed at parents, carers and educators,but also to a critical response fromBruer (1999). In his review ofneurological and psychologicalevidence, Bruer refuted the view thatwindows of opportunity for braindevelopment close down after the firstthree years of life (with the exceptionof vision). Instead, he argues,neuroscientific findings havesometimes been stretched to formtenuous claims about early braindevelopment to fit the aims of researchor policy. While acknowledging thatthere are critical periods in braindevelopment, he reports that the brain’splasticity allows lifelong learning; forexample, he claims that,‘the limiting factor in vocabularygrowth, and presumably for some ofthe other things Verbal IQ measures,is exposure to new words, facts andexperiences. The brain can benefit fromthis exposure at almost any time – earlychildhood, childhood, adolescence,adulthood and senescence.’(Bruer 1999:177)Further, as stated in chapter 1, Romanianchildren who were adopted after a periodof serious early deprivation made up theirphysical and psychological losses.There are, however, aspects of theevidence on brain development aboutwhich Bruer and Shore agree. Namely, thatit is during the first three years of life thatthe human brain makes trillions of new(synaptic) connections, and thatenvironmental influences are known toimpact upon these connections. Bruer(1999: 264) noted that neuroscience hasled to the discovery that ‘humans andother animals experience a rapid burst inbrain connectivity – an exuberant burst ofsynapse formation – early in development’.Furthermore, environmental influences onthe brain’s early formation and ‘wiring’ canbe both positive and negative and cantake place even before a child is born.Nelson (1999) also argues thatneuroscientific work has shown that neuralplasticity and the subtle ‘dance’ that occursbetween the brain and the environmentmay lead to reconceptualisation of ideasabout intervention, competence andresilience. He stresses that it is importantto dispense with nature versus nurturearguments in f avour of a new approach tou n d e r s t a n d i n gh ow ex pe ri e n ce can mod i f ythe bra i n , and how kn owledge deri ve d110 EDUCATIONAND SKILLS B I RT H T O T H R E E M AT T E R S