Human Brain Development Timeline

Human Brain Development Timeline

Research on the development of the human brain has seen an upturn in the past 15 years due to novel imaging techniques such as MRI and fMRI.

Species Homo Sapiens
Family Hominidae
Order Primates
Gestation 270 days

In the 1950s, animal research showed development in the sensory regions after birth. During sensitive periods, the environment plays a major role in normal development.

This research indicated that from early postnatal time through the next several months or years, the brain went through synaptogenesis followed by synaptic pruning which represent the creation and elimination of synapses during growth.

In the 1960-70s, studies were done on human brains to reveal development past the early childhood years, especially in the prefrontal cortex. This was identified by the process of myelination where the developed regions axons' were myelinated first while the association areas were still able to develop through adolescence.

Synaptic reorganization takes place most predominantly during childhood and adolescence. During these periods the brain becomes sensitive to change which allows it to develop in unique ways dependent upon the individuals age, gender, and environment along with many other variables.

The concept of "self-organization" indicates that the brain actually organizes itself based on the individuals experiences.

In 2012, a team of scientists created a statistical model that could predict the age of an individual under the age of 20 from an MRI scan with 92% accuracy. The model measures 231 biomarkers of brain anatomy and was constructed with data from 885 people. This work provides a uniquely holistic view of adolescent brain development and suggests that the responsible processes are more strongly genetically pre-programmed than is typically thought.

Read more about Human Brain Development Timeline:  Descriptors, Neuroimaging

Famous quotes containing the words human, brain and/or development:

    Physics investigates the essential nature of the world, and biology describes a local bump. Psychology, human psychology, describes a bump on the bump.
    Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)

    Men should not labor foolishly like brutes, but the brain and the body should always, or as much as possible, work and rest together, and then the work will be of such a kind that when the body is hungry the brain will be hungry also, and the same food will suffice for both; otherwise the food which repairs the waste energy of the overwrought body will oppress the sedentary brain, and the degenerate scholar will come to esteem all food vulgar, and all getting a living drudgery.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    The experience of a sense of guilt for wrong-doing is necessary for the development of self-control. The guilt feelings will later serve as a warning signal which the child can produce himself when an impulse to repeat the naughty act comes over him. When the child can produce his on warning signals, independent of the actual presence of the adult, he is on the way to developing a conscience.
    Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)