Sensory experience and development

For healthy infants, infant stimulation enrichment programs generally include early experiences with
classical music, being read to, educational play, and homeschooling. The effectiveness of such
approaches has been debated. However, one of the major rationales for infant stimulation programs
for both atypical and typical infants is based on neuroplasticity, the ability of the nervous system to
change throughout the life span. Research with a variety of species, including humans, indicates that
neuronal growth and the neural connections and circuits of the brain can change as a function of use
and experience (e.g., using fingers to learn computer keyboarding, being challenged by enriched
and complex environments). The ability of sensory experience to modify the nervous system has
been shown to be greater for infants than for adults, because of the high nervous system growth
rates already present during early development. There is also evidence that certain sensory
experiences are required during important periods for normal development of the nervous system.
The visual system, for example, requires early visual experience for normal structural and functional
development of the visual cortex, which enables form and depth perception. Research also indicates
that sensory stimulation is important for brain and behavioral development of brain-injured
populations.