Download or read book From Neurons to Neighborhoods written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-11-13 with total page 610 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.
Download or read book Discovering the Brain written by National Academy of Sciences and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1992-01-01 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."
Download or read book Disease Control Priorities Third Edition Volume 8 written by Donald A. P. Bundy and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2017-11-20 with total page 977 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More children born today will survive to adulthood than at any time in history. It is now time to emphasize health and development in middle childhood and adolescence--developmental phases that are critical to health in adulthood and the next generation. Child and Adolescent Health and Development explores the benefits that accrue from sustained and targeted interventions across the first two decades of life. The volume outlines the investment case for effective, costed, and scalable interventions for low-resource settings, emphasizing the cross-sectoral role of education. This evidence base can guide policy makers in prioritizing actions to promote survival, health, cognition, and physical growth throughout childhood and adolescence.
Download or read book The Promise of Adolescence written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-07-26 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.
Download or read book The Cambridge Handbook of Infant Development written by Jeffrey J. Lockman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-08-13 with total page 1104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This multidisciplinary volume features many of the world's leading experts of infant development, who synthesize their research on infant learning and behaviour, while integrating perspectives across neuroscience, socio-cultural context, and policy. It offers an unparalleled overview of infant development across foundational areas such as prenatal development, brain development, epigenetics, physical growth, nutrition, cognition, language, attachment, and risk. The chapters present theoretical and empirical depth and rigor across specific domains of development, while highlighting reciprocal connections among brain, behavior, and social-cultural context. The handbook simultaneously educates, enriches, and encourages. It educates through detailed reviews of innovative methods and empirical foundations and enriches by considering the contexts of brain, culture, and policy. This cutting-edge volume establishes an agenda for future research and policy, and highlights research findings and application for advanced students, researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers with interests in understanding and promoting infant development.
Download or read book Adolescent Development and the Biology of Puberty written by National Research Council and Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1999-07-20 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adolescence is one of the most fascinating and complex transitions in the human life span. Its breathtaking pace of growth and change is second only to that of infancy. Over the last two decades, the research base in the field of adolescence has had its own growth spurt. New studies have provided fresh insights while theoretical assumptions have changed and matured. This summary of an important 1998 workshop reviews key findings and addresses the most pressing research challenges.
Download or read book The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development written by Brian Hopkins and published by . This book was released on 2017-10-19 with total page 993 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Updated and expanded to 124 entries, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development remains the authoritative reference in the field.
Download or read book Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-07-23 with total page 587 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.
Download or read book The Neurobiology of Childhood written by Susan L. Andersen and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-05-13 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the past years there has been rapid progress in the understanding of how early life stress impacts psychopathology in children. The first two parts of this book present the basic principles of brain development and describe the most important neuronal systems. This includes systems involved in emotion processing, cognitive control, and social processes. These first two general sections are followed by an overview about recent research on various neuronal and psychiatric disorders, where environmental exposures and altered brain development play an important role: sleep, autism, ADHD and other developmental forms of psychopathology.
Download or read book The Science of Adolescent Risk Taking written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-02-25 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adolescence is a time when youth make decisions, both good and bad, that have consequences for the rest of their lives. Some of these decisions put them at risk of lifelong health problems, injury, or death. The Institute of Medicine held three public workshops between 2008 and 2009 to provide a venue for researchers, health care providers, and community leaders to discuss strategies to improve adolescent health.
Download or read book Mouse Brain Development written by Andre M. Goffinet and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-08-10 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in mammalian brain development remains limited. However, the last few years have wit nessed a quantum leap in our knowledge, due to technological improve ments, particularly in molecular genetics. Despite this progress, the available body of data remains mostly phenomenological and reveals very little about the grammar that organizes the molecular dictionary to articulate a pheno type. Nevertheless, the recent progress in genetics will allow us to contem plate, for the first time, the integration of observation into a coherent view of brain development. Clearly, this may be a major challenge for the next century, and arguably is the most important task of contemporary develop mental biology. The purpose of the present book is to provide an overview that syn thesizes up-to-date information on selected aspects of mouse brain devel opment. Given the format, it was not possible to cover all aspects of brain development, and many important subjects are missing. The selected themes are, to a certain extent, subjective and reflect the interests of the contributing authors. Examples of major themes that are not covered are peripheral nervous system development, including myelination, the development of the hippocampus and several other CNS structures, as well as the developmental function of some important morphoregulatory molecules.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Developmental Psychology Vol 1 written by Philip David Zelazo and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-03-21 with total page 1049 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook provides a comprehensive survey of what is now known about psychological development, from birth to biological maturity, and it highlights how cultural, social, cognitive, neural, and molecular processes work together to yield human behavior and changes in human behavior.
Download or read book Enhancing Brain Development in Infants and Young Children written by Doris Bergen and published by Teachers College Press. This book was released on 2020 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Enhancing Brain Development in Infants and Young Children stands out as a significant and inspiring contribution to the field of early childhood: a must-read for parents-to-be, parents, caregivers, and early childhood educators. This book addresses the remarkable attributes of brain development but, more importantly, guides the reader to create environments and experiences for young children that will effectively enhance their developing brains, and supporting children to flourish as human beings.” —From the Foreword by Sandra J. Stone, professor emeritus, Northern Arizona University This practical resource explains brain development from prenatal to age 8 with suggestions for activities educators and caregivers can use to foster children’s cognitive growth. The authors begin with the basics of brain development, and the issues that affect it, and then provide information specific to infant, toddler, preschool, and kindergarten to primary age levels. Educational activities are described as they relate to physical, language, social, emotional, cognitive, and academic progress relevant to brain development at each age level. Modifications of activities for young children with disabilities are included. The authors also discuss contemporary issues related to the future education of young children, including how technology-augmented experiences may positively and negatively affect children’s development.
Download or read book Infant Brain Development written by Hugo Lagercrantz and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-10-21 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses the main milestones of early brain development and the emergence of consciousness, within and outside the mother’s environment, with a particular focus on the preterm infant. These insights offer new perspectives on issues concerning fetal pain, awareness in newborns, and the effects of current digital media on the developing infant brain. Among the topics covered: · Brain patterning, neural proliferation, and migration. · The stress of being born and first breaths. · The stream of consciousness. · Parenting and stimulating the brain of the child. · The moral status of the fetus and the infant. Infant Brain Development is an excellent resource for researchers, clinicians and related professionals, and graduate students across a variety of disciplines including developmental psychology, pediatrics, neurobiology, neuroscience, obstetrics, nursing and medical ethics. It is written with historic and philosophical remarks of interest for a broad readership. --- “This book is a joy to read for anyone interested in understanding where biology is heading in the 21st century, and it is essential for those who work in child development.” Eric Kandel, University Professor, Columbia University, Co-Director, Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Nobel Laureate in Medicine 2000 "With the precision of a scientist, the depth of a philosopher, and the heart and sensitivity of a pediatrician, Hugo Lagercrantz weaves a story as readable and engrossing as any mystery novel, linking brain, genes, the environment, and behavior to explain the development of the mind of a newborn. A tour de force!" Patricia K. Kuhl, The Bezos Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Learning, Co-Director, Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington “This book is a noble and valiant effort by Dr. Lagercrantz to explain the immensely complex issue of normal and pathological development of the human brain in simple terms that are accessible to the general public.” Pasko Rakic, Duberg Professor of Neuroscience and Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine
Download or read book Nurturing Natures written by Graham Music and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2010-10-04 with total page 548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an indispensable account of current understandings of children’s emotional development. Integrating the latest research findings from areas such as attachment theory, neuroscience and developmental psychology, it weaves these into a readable and easy-to-digest text. It provides a tour of the most significant influences on the developing child, always bearing in mind the family and social context. It looks at key developmental stages, from life in the womb to the pre-school years and right up until adolescence, whilst also examining how we develop key capacities such as language, play and memory. Issues of nature and nurture are addressed and the effects of different kinds of early experiences are unpicked, looking at both individual children and larger-scale longitudinal studies. Psychological ideas and research are carefully integrated with those from neurobiology and understandings from other cultures to create a coherent and balanced view of the developing child in context. Nurturing Natures integrates a wide array of complex academic research from different disciplines to create a book that is not only highly readable but also scientifically trustworthy. Full of fascinating findings, it provides answers to many of the questions people really want to ask about the human journey from conception into adulthood. Visit Graham Music's personal site at http://www.nurturingminds.co.uk/.
Download or read book How People Learn written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-08-11 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First released in the Spring of 1999, How People Learn has been expanded to show how the theories and insights from the original book can translate into actions and practice, now making a real connection between classroom activities and learning behavior. This edition includes far-reaching suggestions for research that could increase the impact that classroom teaching has on actual learning. Like the original edition, this book offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that provides answers to a number of compelling questions. When do infants begin to learn? How do experts learn and how is this different from non-experts? What can teachers and schools do-with curricula, classroom settings, and teaching methodsâ€"to help children learn most effectively? New evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. How People Learn examines these findings and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what our children learn. The book uses exemplary teaching to illustrate how approaches based on what we now know result in in-depth learning. This new knowledge calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in our current education system. Topics include: How learning actually changes the physical structure of the brain. How existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn. What the thought processes of experts tell us about how to teach. The amazing learning potential of infants. The relationship of classroom learning and everyday settings of community and workplace. Learning needs and opportunities for teachers. A realistic look at the role of technology in education.
Download or read book The Myth of the First Three Years written by John Bruer and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-05-11 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most parents today have accepted the message that the first three years of a baby's life determine whether or not the child will grow into a successful, thinking person. But is this powerful warning true? Do all the doors shut if baby's brain doesn't get just the right amount of stimulation during the first three years of life? Have discoveries from the new brain science really proved that parents are wholly responsible for their child's intellectual successes and failures alike? Are parents losing the "brain wars"? No, argues national expert John Bruer. In The Myth of the First Three Years he offers parents new hope by debunking our most popular beliefs about the all-or-nothing effects of early experience on a child's brain and development. Challenging the prevailing myth -- heralded by the national media, Head Start, and the White House -- that the most crucial brain development occurs between birth and age three, Bruer explains why relying on the zero to three standard threatens a child's mental and emotional well-being far more than missing a few sessions of toddler gymnastics. Too many parents, educators, and government funding agencies, he says, see these years as our main opportunity to shape a child's future. Bruer agrees that valid scientific studies do support the existence of critical periods in brain development, but he painstakingly shows that these same brain studies prove that learning and cognitive development occur throughout childhood and, indeed, one's entire life. Making hard science comprehensible for all readers, Bruer marshals the neurological and psychological evidence to show that children and adults have been hardwired for lifelong learning. Parents have been sold a bill of goods that is highly destructive because it overemphasizes infant and toddler nurturing to the detriment of long-term parental and educational responsibilities. The Myth of the First Three Years is a bold and controversial book because it urges parents and decision-makers alike to consider and debate for themselves the evidence for lifelong learning opportunities. But more than anything, this book spreads a message of hope: while there are no quick fixes, conscientious parents and committed educators can make a difference in every child's life, from infancy through childhood, and beyond.
