the end. Growth is only one aspect of the larger process of development.
While the baby
Physical and Motor Development
Psychology accepts that no man came into this world with a fully
developed physique and set of abilities. As man grows he undergoes
different stages of development whose outcome is a continuously
changing organism interacting with a continuously changing
environment.
Several reasons have been given why the study of child and adolescent
psychology flourished. First, there is the belief that the key to the understanding of the
adult personality will be found by studying the growth and development of the child.
Second, many kinds of adult skills and behavior are acquired during childhood that if we
are to study the acquisition of much of adult behavior, we also have to familiarize ourselves
with the nature of child growth and development. Lastly, there is the necessity to study the
child and adolescent in his own right as an organism different from an adult.
Nature of Growth and Development
Life is a constant change and growth is among the greatest and most exciting. It is an
extraordinarily complicated process in living organisms. The mechanisms of growth in
inanimate objects are simple accretion, while living organisms grow by metabolism, from
within. In addition to increase in size, organic growth involves differentiation and change
in form. The baby sprang from a single fertilized egg to become a multi-million cellular I
organism.
The body of the human adult which has developed from a single fertilized egg produces a
fantastic increase in number of individual cells. They divide over and over creating daughter
cells that are identical with one another and with their parents. Each daughter cell contains
half the mass of the parent cell. But the chromosomes inside the nucleus have not been
divided in half. At some point before the cell divided, the chromosomes began reproducing
themselves. After division occurred, each daughter cell contains precisely the same number
and kind of chromosomes as did the parents,
Organic growth consists of three elements:
1) increase in size;
2) differentiation of structure; and
3) alteration of form.
On the other hand, development constitutes something more than those 3 elements of
growth. Those 3 elements while comprising development, still undergo a series of orderly
and irreversible stages that every organism goes through from the beginning of its life to
gets bigger in size, his body parts such as his lower limbs gain strength and stability to
enable him to use them in setting him in an upright position.
Physical and Motor Development of the Child
As the baby grows, it also develops. The baby's change in size is accompanied with
developmental changes in patterns of growth and behavior. The "developmental pattern"
Of growth is seen in the direction and growth rates of the individual. Changes come about
through different growth rates for the different parts of the body. The head starts growing
at a very rapid rate almost immediately after conception. The trunk is next in growth rate,
and then the legs and arms. This progressive differential growth — first the head, then the
trunk, then the legs — has been designated by the term cephalocaudal (from head to foot).
While the body has been growing in length, it has also been growing in a proximodistal
direction, that is, from the central part to the peripheral. For example, the trunk and the
shoulders develop first and then the arms, fingers and toes begin their real growth.
Growth of Body Organs
Not only do the chief divisions of the body (head, trunk and limbs) show variable growth
rates, but so do the different organs within the body. Moreover, the different parts within
the individual organ grow at different rates.
The various organs of man can be grouped into four different growth rates:
1. Positive acceleration which is a very slow growth during childhood and then
extremely rapid acceleration at puberty. Examples are the genital organs.
2. Negative acceleration with rapid growth during the first six years of life and then
a sharp slowing down such as the brain and its parts.
3. Reversal growth such as the lymphoid group which increases very rapidly at first,
then actually decreases in size. The lymphoid group consists of the thymus, lymph nodes
and intestinal lymphoid masses.
4. S-shaped curve which starts and ends with rapid growth periods separated by a
long period of very little gain. This is the "general" type of growth.
As the major parts of the body, its organs and its systems develop, greater and greater
precision of function within any one system becomes possible. For example, at first, the
entire upper part of the child's body starting from the shoulder region and involving the
arms, hands and fingers move spasmodically and excitedly toward a desired object. With
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development, more and more limited movements are called forth until finally only the
fingers or even only one finger may languidly and surely stretch out to get the object.
This gradual "narrowing down" of behavior from a massive, all-inclusive pattern to several
precise, limited, and relatively independent ones has been observed at all levels of analysis.
From a large general pattern several specialized ones are split off or differentiated.
Measurements of all growth factors — from degree of bone ossification to overall body
proportions—provide something more than a simple description of the child's level of
development at any given time. The concept of developmental age and the discovery of
ways to determine it have added considerably to knowledge of the growth process. For
example, science now knows that the body is capable of making adjustments in the speed
of growth when there is interference from environmental obstacles. For instance, illness or
poor diet may slow down growth and development temporarily, so that the child grows at
a reduced rate for a while. However, if the interference does not last too long, growth
eventually speed up, and the child may grow at double or even triple his normal rate until
he makes up for the lost time.
Some Common Skills in the Early Childhood Stage
Generally, babies possess common skills classified as hand skills and play skills as discussed
by Hurlock (1982). She also gave a detailed description of skills which the different body
parts can perform among the early childhood stage.
Hand Skills
Self-feeding. At eight months, most babies can hold their bottles after the nipples have
been placed in their mouths; at nine months, they can put the bottle nipples in their
mouths and take them out without help. At twelve months, they can drink from a cup when
they hold it with both hands, and several months later they can drink from the cup using
one hand. At thirteen months, babies begin to feed themselves with a spoon. A month or
two later they can spear food with a fork and carry it to their mouths with much spilling.
By their second birthday, most babies can use spoons and forks without too much spilling.
Self-dressing. At the end of the first year, most babies can pull off their socks, shoes, caps
and mittens. By the middle of the second year they will attempt to put on caps and mittens,
and by the end of babyhood they can pull off all clothes and put on a shirt or dress.
Self-grooming. Self-bathing is limited mainly to running a cloth or sponge over the face
and body. Before they are two, most babies try to brush their hair and teeth.
Play Skills
Babies learn to jump from an elevated position usually by movements resembling walking.
They learn to climb stairs first by crawling and creeping. After they can walk alone, they go
up and down steps in an upright position, placing one foot on a step and then drawing the
Other foot up after it. Very few babies are able to ride tricycles at this age and then only
when they are held on the seat. They can learn by splashing with their arms and kicking
their legs.
Patterns of Motor Control
Head Region
Eye Control. Optic nystagmus or the response of the eyes to a succession of
moving objects, begins about twelve hours’ movements, after birth; ocular pursuit
movements, between the third and the fourth weeks; horizontal eye movements, between
the second and third months; vertical eye movements, between the third and fourth
months; and circular eye movements, several months later.
Smiling. Reflex smiling, or smiling in response to a tactual stimulus, appears during
the first week of life; social smiling, or smiling in response to the smile of another person,
begins between the third and fourth months,
Head Holding. In a prone position, babies can hold their heads erect at one month;
when lying on their backs, at five months; and when held in a sitting position, between four
and six months.
Trunk Region
Rolling. Babies can roll from side to back at two months and from back to side at
four months. At six months, they can roll over completely.
Sitting. The baby can pull to a sitting position at four months, sit with support at
five months, sit without support momentarily at seven months, and sit up without support
for ten or more minutes at nine months.
Arm and Hand Region
Hands. Thumb opposition —the working of the thumb in opposition to the
fingers—appears in grasping between three and four months and in picking up objects
between eight and ten months.
Arms. The baby can reach for objects by six or seven months and can pick up a
small object without random movements by one year.
Leg Region
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 Shifting of the body by kicking occurs by the end of the second week. Hitching, or
moving in a sitting position, appears by six months. Crawling and creeping appear between
eight and ten months, and at eleven months, babies walk on "all fours." Babies can pull
themselves to a standing position at about ten months, stand with support at eleven
months, stand without support at one year, walk with support at eleven months or one
year, and walk without support after fourteen months.
Research Studies on Motor Control
Studies have shown evidence that the development of sitting, standing, and walking is
determined by growth changes and maturational development of the neural and muscular
systems rather than by practice.
Dennis (1941) studied a pair of girl twins whom he kept on their backs for the first 36 weeks
of their lives, thus preventing any practice in sitting or standing. Several weeks later they
were able to sit alone. At 52 weeks the twins were given their first opportunity to stand
with support. They were unable to do so, but within 3 days they had succeeded. One twin
suffered no retardation in crawling, standing alone or walking independently while the
other twin soon caught up with the normal developmental rate.
In his field of study of the development of walking among Hopi Indian children, Dennis
compared the effects of cradleboard restriction as against no restriction. Most Hopi
children are bound to cradleboards almost immediately after birth and are kept bound for
three months, after which they are gradually permitted more freedom of movement. In
some Hopi villages the cradleboard is not used at all. Yet he found no difference in the age
at which walking first appeared between the cradleboard children and the unrestricted
children. Apparently, these behaviors develop without any special practice.
Late Childhood Physical Development
The annual increase in height is 2 to 3 inches. The average eleven-year old girl is
58 inches tall and the average boy of the same age is 57.3 tall.
Weight. Weight increase is more variable than height increase, ranging from 3 to
5 more pounds annually. The average eleven-year-old girl weighs 88.5 pounds, and the
average boy of the same age weighs 85.5 pounds.
Body Proportion. Although the head is still proportionately too large for the rest
of the body, some of the facial disproportions disappear as the mouth and jaw become
larger, the forehead broadens and flattens, the lips fill out, the nose becomes larger and
acquires more shape. The trunk elongates and becomes slimmer, the neck becomes longer,
the chest abdomen flattens, the arms and legs lengthen (although they appear spindly and
shapeless because of underdeveloped musculature), and the hands and feet grow larger,
but at a slow rate.
Homeliness. The body disproportions, so pronounced during late childhood, are
primarily responsible for the increase in homeliness at this time. In addition, careless
grooming and a tendency to wear clothes like those of peers, regardless of their
becomingness, contribute to homeliness.
Muscle-Fat Ratio. During late childhood, fat tissues develop more rapidly than
muscle tissues which have a marked growth spurt beginning at puberty. Children of
endomorphic builds have conspicuously more fat than muscle tissues while the reverse is
true of those of mesomorphic builds. Ectomorphs do not have a predominance of either,
and this accounts for their tendency to look scrawny.
Teeth. By the onset of puberty, a child normally has twenty-eight of the thirty-two
permanent teeth. The last four, the wisdom teeth, erupt during adolescence.
Late Childhood Skills
Hurlock (1982) classified these skills into: self-help skills, social-help skills, school skills, and
play skills.
Self-Help Skills. Older children should be able to eat, dress, bathe, and groom
themselves with almost as much speed and adeptness as an adult, and these skills should
not require the conscious attention that was necessary in early childhood.
Social-Help Skills. Skills in this category relate to helping others. At home, they
include making beds, dusting, and sweeping; at school, they include emptying
wastebaskets and washing chalkboards; and in the play group, they include helping to
construct a tree house or lay out a baseball diamond.
School Skills. At school, the child develops the skills needed in writing, drawing,
painting, clay modeling, dancing, crayoning, sewing, cooking and woodworking.
Play Skills. The older child learns such skills as throwing and catching balls, riding
a bicycle, skating, and swimming in connection with play.
Handedness. By the time they reach late childhood, most children are so
predominantly right- or left-handed that changing handedness is far from easy. Doing so
must be with caution and only under certain conditions.
Many left-handed children become ambidextrous during the late childhood in that
they use both hands, though there is a tendency to favor the left hand. As they learn new
skills, both play and school skills, they often discover that it is easier for them to learn by
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allowing the right-handed model than by the left hand. Consequently, some of their skills
are carried out predominantly with the right while others are carried out with the left hand.
Because of the difficulties involved in changing handedness once skills have been
well-learned, relatively few children who are left-handed when late childhood begins
change to the use of their right hands later. Knowing how difficult and emotionally
disturbing it is to change handedness at this age, elementary school teachers do not insist
that children replace left-handed skills with right-handed skills. Instead, they encourage
strong desire to change from the use of the left to the use of the right hand; and only when
a child shows a strong desire to change from the use of the left to the use of the right hand
does the teacher help or encourage the child to do so- Instead, most teachers encourage
left-handers to become ambidextrous.
The Adolescent Physical Development
At puberty, a considerable alteration in growth rate occurs. There is a swift
increase in body size, a change in shape and composition of the body, and a rapid
development of the gonads, or sex glands — the reproductive organs and the
character signaling sexual maturity. Some of these changes are common to both
sexes, but most are sex specification.
It is at the beginning of adolescence, the years of greatest growth, that
developmental differences between girls and boys become most evident. Girls
generally reach puberty ahead of boys. They embark on the adolescent growth
spurt at an average age of 101/2 as against 12½ for boys. Although the intensity
and duration of this spurt vary widely from one youngster to another, it usually
lasts for 2 to 21/2 years in both sexes. The growth and transformation that occur
in this short period of time are enormous, second in magnitude only to those that
take place in the womb: as nine months of pregnancy turn an egg into a human
being, so the years of adolescence turn a child into an adult, capable of performing
all the biological functions of maturity.
Though the growth spurt begins earlier in girls, it is during this period that boys
outstrip them in development.
Source: Growth: Life. Library Science, 1969, Time Inc. NY.
Height and Weight
In childhood. boys and girls of the same age are practically the same height. But the boys'
growth spurt during adolescence is markedly greater. While it is going on, the average boy
grows approximately eight inches taller and adds 45 pounds to his weight; at its peak, about
14 years of age, he is growing at the rate of four inches a year.
Girls gain about six and a quarter inches in height and 35 pounds in weight during the spurt.
Their peak comes sooner, at about 12, when their rate of growth averages three and a
quarter inches a year.
Most of the spurt in height is due to acceleration of trunk length rather than of length of
legs. There is a fairly regular order in which the dimension accelerates. Leg length as a rule
reaches its peak first, followed by the body breadth, with shoulders last. The earliest
structures to reach their adult status are the head, hands, and feet.
The more powerful acceleration in boys is the main reason that men are, on the average
taller than women. Another reason is that the growth spurt comes later in boys, who can
thus continue growing for a longer time.
Muscular and Skeletal Dimension
Practically all skeletal and muscular dimensions take part within the spurt in puberty
though not to an equal degree. Every muscular and skeletal dimension of the body seems
to take part in the adolescent spurt. The growth of the heart, stomach and visceral organs
speed up. The head, whose increase in size has been almost imperceptible since the child
was eight, steps up its pace of growth slightly.
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The spurt of muscle width reaches a peak velocity of growth in boys greater than that
reached by girls. But since girls have their spurt earlier, there is actually a period from about
to 13 1/2 when girls on the average have larger muscles than boys of the same age, as well
as being taller. Simultaneously with the spurt there is a loss of fat. Boys have a great
increase in muscle size and strength together with a series of physiological changes
making them capable of doing heavier physical work than girls and of running
faster and longer.
Facial Contour
The contours of the face which have been altering gradually throughout childhood, show
particularly marked changes. The whole profile becomes more angular, the forehead more
prominent, the chin more pointed, the nose longer. These changes which are associated
with the growth of facial bone, are accompanied by subtle changes in muscle size and in
the distribution of fatty tissues under the skin, making the adolescent's facial expression so
different from that of a child.
Strength
In both sexes, strength increases. although the increase is proportionately much greater in
boys than in girls. Before puberty, most girls can hold their own in tussles with boys of the
same age. But this is no longer so after the growth spurt. From then on, the male sex is
truly the stronger one. To cite just one example: the average boy can exert more than 120
pounds of thrust with one arm, as against 70 pounds for girls. It seems to be true that a
boy can, in a certain sense, outgrow his strength. Strength increases during the growth
spurt but sometimes more slowly. at first, then height and weight.
Difference in Growth Rate
Growth may continue although slowly, for many years after adolescence though
imperceptibly. For all practical purposes, however, growth ceases in the teens. On the
average, boys reach 98 percent of their final height by the time they are 17¾; girls by the
time they are
These statistical and descriptive summaries of the adolescent spurt, oversimplify what is in
fact a rather complicated process. Detailed studies have shown that the various parts of
the body grow at different rates, as do various dimensions of each part. Moreover, each
part, each dimension reaches its maximum rate of growth at a different time.
A definite order has been found in growth during this spurt. First, the feet speed up first,
reaching their peak growth rate only about three months after the spurt has started.
Second, in another six months it is the turn of the calf and the thighs. Four months later,
the hips and chest begin broadening at an accelerated rate, followed by the shoulders.
Third, in both sexes the length of the trunk and the depth of the chest reach peak growth
speed last of all.
Disadvantages of Late Growth Rate
Differences in individual rates of growth can create social and psychological difficulties. For
instance, the child who is ahead in physical development at an early age of his life is likely
to remain ahead of his contemporaries throughout the growing years despite temporary
setbacks. But not so with the child who develops slowly and late. Though he may eventually
grow taller than the child who matures early, he may meanwhile be made miserable in a
number of ways.
First, in a society that tends to group children almost exclusively on the basis of their
chronological age, the late maturer is constantly at a disadvantage. Second, not only is he
smaller and lighter, he is, on the average, a little behind in the development of motor skills
and intelligence. As a consequence, he may, therefore, do less well at schoolwork and
athletics. As a result, the may be put in a class with children younger than he is a year or
more. Being "held back" may produce emotional problems that further affect his ability to
learn. Trapped in a vicious circle, he may keep dropping behind, so that even when he
finally catches up in size, he may be unable to catch up emotionally and psychologically.
Abnormal Developments
In some human beings, that most important growth-controlling gland, the pituitary,
functions abnormally. The results are startling and most often tragic. The two extremes of
human stature are giantism and dwarfism, and while other factors are sometimes involved,
the usual cause of these abnormalities is the production by the pituitary of too much or
too little of its growth hormone.
Counteracting these effects is difficult, partly because of the inaccessibility of the gland
situated in the skull. However, surgical and radiation treatment techniques improved
enough to assure some success in damping hyperactive pituitary glands. Dwarfism can not
be controlled by injection of growth hormone. There is a critical shortage of natural human
growth hormone (HGH) available for such treatment. As a step toward making it
synthetically, scientists are now trying to untangle the hormone's complex chemical
structure.
An oversupply of pituitary growth hormone, hyperpituitarism, can result in two conditions:
if it occurs during the growing years, the result is giantism which produces an individual of
enormous proportions. In cases of this sort, excessive growth is usually concentrated
chiefly in the head and lower extremities.
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When it strikes a person whose overall growth has been completed, hyperpituitarism
causes acromegaly. The chief symptom of this is the enlargement of various parts of the
body, most notably the head, hands and feet, accompanied by lethargy and severe
headache.
Two methods are most usual to its treatment: surgical removal of the pituitary, and the use
of radiation to slow its activity. This can involve planting radioactive material right in the
gland or assaulting it with a powerful stream of radiation.
Brain Development
The Brain
In humans, the brain is the portion of the central nervous system within the skull composed
of a three pounds mass of pinkish-gray tissue of about 10 billion nerve cells, each linked to
one another and together responsible for the control of all mental functions. The brain is
the control center for movement, sleep, hunger, thirst, and virtually every other vital
activity necessary survival. All human emotions, including love, hate, fear, anger, elation
and sadness are controlled by the brain. It also receives and interprets the countless signals
that are sent to it from other parts of the body and from the external environment.
Source: Growth, Life Science Library, Time-Life Books, NY, p. 59
The Brain Before and at Birth
Brain development in the fetus is far enough by the fourth month old that three major
regions of the brain — the medulla, cerebellum and cerebrum — are all clearly separate.
By the middle of sixth month, a dent like fissure appears on the surface of the cerebrum
which will mark the border between the centers of sensation and voluntary muscular
control. As the cerebrum expands, its surface, or cortex — the seat of higher mental
processes — folds into many other fissures, thereby increasingly greatly its area with a
minimal increase in total brain volume.
At birth, a baby’s brain contains 100 billion neurons, roughly as many nerve cells as there
are stars in the Milky Way. Also in place are a trillion glial cells named after the Greek word
for glue, which form a kind of honeycomb that protects and nourishes the neurons. But
while the brain contains all the nerve cells it will ever have, the pattern of wiring between
them bas yet to stabilize.
During the first years of life, the brain undergoes a series of extraordinary changes. Starting
shortly after birth, a baby's brain produces trillions more connections between neurons
that it can possibly use. Then, through a process of competition, the brain eliminates
connections, or synapses that are seldom or never used (Nash, 1998). The excess synapses
in a child's brain undergo a draconian pruning, starting around the age of 10 or earlier,
leaving behind a mind whose patterns of emotion and thought are far better or worse,
unique.
Anatomy and Composition of the Brain
From the outside, the brain appears as three distinct but connect parts: the cerebrum, the
cerebellum, and the brain stem.
The Brain Stem
The term brain stem usually refers to all structures lying between the cerebrum and the
spinal cord. that is, the diencephalon, midbrain, pons and medulla. These parts all arise
from the embryonic forebrain. midbrain, and hindbrain. Although the brain is well
protected by the cranium. it is covered by three membranes called meninges. The outer
one, the dura mater is tough and shiny. The middle membrane, the arachnoid layer,
encloses the brain loosely and does not slip down into the brain’s convolutions, or ridges.
The inner membrane, the pia mater consists mainly of small blood vessels that adhere to
the surface of the brain.
The Cerebrum
ANATOMY OF THE BRAIN
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The cerebrum is the largest part of the human brain. making up approximately 85 percent
of the brain's weight. Its large surface area, the cortex, and the intricate development
account for the superior intelligence of humans compared with other animals. The
cerebrum is divided by a longitudinal fissure (indentation) into right and left hemispheres.
The corpus callosum is the slab of white nerve fibers that connects these two cerebral
hemispheres and transfers important information from one to the other.
Each cerebral hemisphere consists of an outer layer of gray matter called the cerebral
cortex, about 3 to 4 millimeters thick. Each cerebral hemisphere is divided by fissures into
five lobes. Four of the lobes are occipital named after the overlying bones of the cranium:
the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes. The fifth lobe, the insular, is located internally
and is not visible at the outside of the brain.
The Cerebellum
The cerebellum lies in the posterior, or hind part of the cranium, underneath the cerebral
hemispheres. It is composed of two multiridged hemispheres that are connected by
white fibers called the vermins. Three bands of fibers called the cerebral peduncles
connect the cerebellum to other parts of the brain. The cerebellum is linked with the
midbrain by the superior (top) peduncle, with the pons by the middle peduncle, and with
the medulla by the inferior (bottom) peduncle.
The cerebellum is essential to the control of movement of the human body in space. It acts
as a reflex center for the coordination and precise maintenance of equilibrium. Voluntary
muscle tone as related to posture, balance, and equilibrium is similarly controlled by this
vital part of the brain. Thus, all motor activity, from hitting a baseball to fingering a violin,
depends on the cerebellum.
Thalamus
This part of the diencephalon consists of two rounded masses of gray tissue lying within
the very middle of the brain, between the two cerebral hemispheres. It is the crucial relay
station for incoming sensory signals and outgoing motor signals passing to and from the
cerebral cortex. All sensory input to the brain, except that of the sense of smell, connects
to individual nuclei (cluster of nerve cells) of the thalamus.
Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus lies just below the thalamus on the midline at the base of the brain. It
regulates or is Involved directly in the control of many of the body's vital activities and
drives that are necessary for survival: eating, drinking, temperature regulation, sleep,
emotional behavior, and sexual activity. It also controls visceral functions by means of the
autonomic nervous systems, interacts closely with the pituitary gland, and acts in
coordination with the reticular formation.
This tiny cluster of nerve cells plays a part out of all proportion to its size in the body's
economy. It is the control center for a host of vital functions: regulates the heartbeat, the
rate of breathing, its body temperature, and the cycle of wakefulness and sleep. In addition,
the hypothalamus appears to act as a kind of biological timer. It turns on the hormonal
processes that produce the adolescent growth spurt and sexual maturity. At the proper
moment it turns them off. This it does through its effect on the body's "master" gland, the
pituitary, which lies immediately beneath it and which regulates the activity of other
endocrine glands.
Pons
Located between the medulla and midbrain, the pons is directly in front of the cerebellum.
It consists mainly of transverse and longitudinal white nerve fibers that are interlaced in a
complex network. A transverse bridge of fibers arises from the peduncle of the cerebellum
and joins its two halves. An intricate longitudinal fiber system connects the medulla with
the cerebral hemispheres.
Medulla Oblongata
Situated between the spinal cord and pons, the medulla actually is a pyramid-shaped
enlargement of the spinal cord. The origin of the reticular formation, an important network
of nerve cells, makes up a large portion of this structure. Impulses between the spinal cord
and the brain are conducted through the medulla by means of ascending and descending
fiber pathways. Within the medulla are the vital control centers for cardiac,
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vasoconstrictor, and respiratory functions as well as other reflex activities including
vomiting. Damage to this structure usually results in immediate death.
Limbic System
Collectively, portions of the thalamus, hypthalamus, hippocampsal formation, amygdala,
ca
udate nucleus, septum, and mesencephalon make up a functional unit of the brain called
the limbic system. These structures are linked together in a unique way by fiberpaths and
as a result, control multifaceted behavior, including emotional expression, seizure activity,
and memory storage and recall.
Cerebral Cortex
The cerebral cortex is the brain's outer layer of gray matter about 3 to 4 millimeters thick
It is composed of layers of unmyelinated (unsheathed) cells which in turn cover an inner
mass of myelinated (white sheathed) fibers called white matter.
Physiologists and neurologists have mapped areas of the cerebral cortex to localize and
define the regions that are responsible for motor movement, sensory processes, memory
and other cognitive functions. Although interconnected by horizontal fibers, the cortex is
subdivided into distinct functional areas. For example, the somatomotor area located just
in front of the central fissure. is responsible for nearly all voluntary movements of the body
muscles.
Just behind the central fissure is the somatosensory area, which receives impulses from
the skin surface as well as from structures beneath the skin; thus, sensations such as touch
and taste are processed here.
The area of the cortex concerned with hearing, the auditory area, is in the upper, or
superior convolution of the temporal lobe; the area for seeing, the visual cortex, is in the
hind portion, or occipital lobe; and the area for smell, the olfactory area, is located in the
front, internal portion of the temporal lobe. A unique area for language and speech, Broca's
area, lying just beneath the motor area, is responsible for the muscle movements of the
throat and mouth used in speaking. The understanding of speech and reading, however, is
delegated to areas between the auditory and visual areas.
A large part of the human cortex, the frontal area, is used for awareness, intelligence, and
memory. For example, after a sensation, such as visualizing a new object is recorded, the
memory is stored for a short term (or more permanently) within nerve cells in the brain.
When the object is seen again, the memory is recalled and the object is recognized. That
an elderly person can often recall many highly complicated memories from early childhood
is an example of the remarkable power of the brain's storage process.
Neuroscientists are actively studying the cellular mechanisms by which nerve cells store
memories. These are their theories (Nash, 1998):
1. A change occurs in the ribonucleic acid (RNA) in the cells of the cortex to code the
memory trace in the brain's protein material.
2. Peptides (hormonlike substances) in the brain are activated as an event is being
stored as a memory.
3. Neurotransmitters (chemicals that relay nerve impulses between two or more
neurons) are altered as impulses are stored.
The two hemispheres of the cortex are normally integrated in function, but each
hemisphere is highly specialized. One striking feature is that the environment surrounding
a person has opposite representation in the cortex. A touch on the right side of the body,
for example, is perceived in the left somatosensory area. Similarly, to move the right arm,
neurons in the left motor cortex must be activated. In most individuals, the left hemisphere
is dominant. This explains why most people are right-handed. If a part of the left temporal
lobe is removed, comprehension of speech is impaired. If the right temporal lobe is
removed, objects cannot be recognized. Generalized damage to one side of the brain
causes a loss of all sensory and motor functions on the opposite side of the body.
Proper connections among the brain's hundred billions or so neurons mean a better
functioning brain. Connections come from inherited growth patterns and in response to
stimuli that the brain encodes as nerve impulses. When these electrical impulses reach the
brain, they trigger the release of messenger chemicals which in turn induce electrical
impulses as they travel from one neuron to another. This process, the basis of brain
communication sometimes stimulates the growth of new dendrites.
Brain development is the most sensitive part of fetal growth. During early pregnancy, a
fetus's neurons can grow at a rate of 250,000 a minute. Perhaps half die before a baby is
born, a "pruning down" that may eliminate flawed neural connections. Risk factors such as
vitamin deficiency, maternal smoking or prenatal exposure to alcohol, chemicals or too
much heat may prevent neural development or cause damage to neurons.
Some studies suggest that women who have influenza or who suffer severe malnutrition
while pregnant are more likely to give birth to children who develop schizophrenia. Other
evidence, such as family histories, indicates that inherited genetic malfunctions also
contribute to schizophrenia which affects one in 100 people.
The Endocrine Glands
Pituitary Gland
Page 8 of 16
Of all the glands in the body's endocrine system, the pituitary is predominant. Its anterior
lobe serves as a compact field headquarters for all gland action aimed at growth. (The
posterior lobe's hormones do not influence the growth process.) Most of the anterior-lobe
secretions are "trophic" meaning nourishing hormones. They are transported throughout
the body by the bloodstream, to their "target" glands, the thyroid, adrenals and gonads,
where they stimulate hormone production.
The pituitary gland not only issues orders, but also responds to the way those orders are
carried out, boosting the output of trophic hormones when target glands lag, cutting back
when their output is adequate. The pituitary also secrets growth hormones directly on
tissues to stimulate their growth.
Often called the body's master gland, the pituitary has a master of its own, the
hypothalamus. This mass of nerve tissue is thought to determine the timing of various
growth Stages, such as adolescence, by stimulating the pituitary to secrete more or less of
its several products. What controls the hypothalamus is not known. There is evidence that
it contains a built-in physiological clock which "knows" when the time has arrived for a boy
to become a man.
In the preadolescent years, growth is mainly a matter of building up a sturdy skeleton,
laying down tissues and expanding the brain. The hormones are chiefly responsible for
stimulating this development. Somatotrophin, commonly known as growth hormone, is
one of them. Produced by the pituitary, it stimulates the growth of bones and the
production of protein. It also influences other metabolic processes less concerned in
growth.
Thyroid
The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped mass of tissue near the base of the neck. It secretes
at least two major hormones, very similar in structure and effects to one another. The one
that is produced in the largest quantity is thyroxine. Essentially, thyroxine stimulates
metabolism and the differentiation and development of the bones, working with the
pituitary growth hormone to produce a mature skeletal structure. The thyroid needs iodine
to function properly. If iodine is not provided in sufficient quantity in the diet, the gland
becomes enlarged and a goiter develops. The discovery in 1905 of the relationship between
the thyroid gland and dietary iodine led, after nearly 20 years of experimentation, to the
practice of adding iodine to salt.
Somatotrophin is assisted by other hormones, especially that secreted by the thyroid gland.
Without the presence of this substance, growth hormone is partially inactive. Thyroid
hormone itself directly stimulates the growth of certain organs like the brain, bones, and
tooth and may possibly play a part in maintaining proper proportions in the growing body
as well. Like growth hormone, the thyroid hormone also influences the body in ways less
directly related to growth. In particular, its concentration in the blood determines the rate
at which the body metabolizes food and produces energy.
In boys, pituitary hormones cause the testes to grow and the scrotum to enlarge and
become ridged and darker in color. Pituitary hormones make the testes produce
testosterone which cause the body to develop such male characteristics as facial and body
hair, male sexual organ, deeper voice and heavier musculature. Spermatozoa begin to be
formed, although many of these do not reach maturity in the early years.
Testosterone released in the bloodstream causes a sudden increase in height and weight.
The penis increases in size and hair begin to appear in the armpits and in the pubic region.
In early puberty, boys may also experience uncomfortable swelling in one or both breasts.
This is caused by sensitivity to hormones in the blood and soon disappears.
The hormones that bring about a boy's gradual physical and emotional development into
a man have various direct and indirect effects on the body. The vocal cords enlarge and the
voice deepens as changes occur in the larynx. The prostate gland starts to secrete
substances that form part of the seminal fluid. Hair begins to grow in the pubic region and
On the face. The muscles grow, the shoulders broaden, and the body thickens generally.
Boys usually complete the physical changes by about 18 years of age.
In girls, pituitary hormones stimulate the production of progesterone and estrogen by the
ovaries. Progesterone initiates the development of the breasts and affects the menstrual
cycle. Estrogen causes the body to develop female sexual characteristics. Estrogen causes
the nipples to darken and the breasts to grow, slowly at first, as the milk ducts enlarge and
increase in number. Pubic hair followed by axillary (armpit) hair begins to appear, then
gradually grows coarser, darker and more prolific.
At puberty, both boys and girls tend to accumulate extra fat. It disappears later in most
boys, but girls tend to retain it around the hips, thighs, and breasts. Because of increased
hormonal action, the sebaceous glands increase their activity, causing the skin to become
Oilier and coarser. Blood pressure and lung capacity increase, but average heart rate,
respiratory (breathing) and body temperature all tend to fall as the child gets older.
These alterations in structure, produced by the action of the sex hormones circulating in
quantity through the bloodstream, serve obvious functions. Women's broader hips aid in
carrying and bearing children. Their fatty deposits provide reserves that can draw on to
nourish unborn or infant children when food is in short supply. While women's bodies
specialize for child-bearing and feeding, men grow to be providers and protectors.
In girls, the growth and development of breast, uterus and ovaries come first. Shortly after
the peak of the growth spurt, the menarche follows. This first announcement of
Page 9 of 16
womanhood is sometimes deceptive.
Uterus and ovaries do not always develop
synchronously, and it sometimes happens Pituitary
that the uterus begins its monthly cycle
before the ovaries release mature eggs.
Generally, however, no more than a year
elapses between the menarche and the
attainment of fertility.
Adrenal Glands and the Gonads. The two
adrenal glands cap the kidneys while the
gonads are at the base of the torso. The
hormones produced by the adrenal glands
and the gonads work in a totally different
way. Rather than acting to promote a
steady increase in height and weight, they
bring about abrupt changes in the overall
pattern of growth.
SOME ENDOCRINE GLANDS 1. What sort of person am I?
2. Are my thoughts and feelings similar to those of other people or am I quite different?
3. Am I better or worse than other people?
4. Would people want me if they knew what I was really like or would they reject me?
5. What sort of people are my parents?
6. How do they compare with other children's parents?
7. What do I think about mv friends?
8. What sort of person do I wish to be?
A thousand similar questions are voiced relating not only to the immediate environment
but also to the world in general and the meaning of life itself. In comparing himself is with
his contemporaries, the adolescent often focuses on externals. Good looks, however
defined, are valued virtually everywhere, so he often measures his worth as a person and
his chances of success by the degree to which he meets his society's standards of
attractiveness.

At puberty, when the final stage of growth

begins, the adrenals and gonads become
active with dramatic suddenness. The Source: Hyman Biology and Health,
pituitary begins to secrete large quantities Prentice Hall Science p. 155
of gonadotrophins. Under their influence,
the testes and ovaries produce the hormones that bring the secondary sex characteristics
to maturity. The boy becomes a man; the girl, a woman. At the same time, the adrenals
begin to work as growth glands.
In the male, adrenal hormones called androgens collaborate with testosterone, an
androgen produced in the testes, to stimulate the enormous spurt in growth that marks
adolescence.
In girls, the process is different. Egg-cell production also requires the efforts of both trophic
hormones, but the apparatus that matures the eggs produces not one but two sex
hormones, estrogen and progesterone, at different stages in its cycle. While each sex has
its own distinctive sex hormones, each also produces small amounts of the other sex
hormones.
Adolescent Feelings
All these dramatic physical occurrences are bound to affect the adolescent's feelings ab out
himself and others. The adolescent years are a period of search and questioning. Some of
the questions they as are:
The Conscious Brain
Brain neurons begin their electrical signaling well before birth and continue this biological
work until the moment of death. In a healthy brain, the life-long spectrum of neural activity
includes various states of consciousness, from full alertness to drowsiness and sleep
Electroencephalograms (EEGs) and brain scans can record the brain's electrical operations,
although they do not reveal the physical underpinnings of "the mind." Thinking, fantasizing,
understanding, planning, making judgments, worrying — these and similar kinds of
cognitive activity all take place in association areas of the prefrontal cortex, where
information from elsewhere in the brain is processed and integrated. Yet no particular
group of neurons can be pinpointed as the mind, and imaging studies confirm that many
parts of the brain are involved during thinking, long-term planning and other high-level
mental tasks. In all likelihood, the mind IS the sum total of activity in many parts of the
brain.
Brain waves reflect the electrical
activity of brain neurons. When a
person is alert and processing
ample sensory input, the pattern
consists of relatively fast-paced,
irregular beta waves. A relaxed
mental state, such as daydreaming
with closed eyes, generates
Page 10 of 16
slower, more regular alpha waves. Drowsiness brings a shift to the slower and less regular
pattern of theta waves, while even slower delta waves predominate during deep sleep,
coma or general anesthesia. During an epileptic seizure brain neurons fire an abnormal
barrage of impulses (McMillan. 2012).
Empathy and the Adolescent Brain
Adolescence is a time when the brain advances from concrete to abstract thinking. This is
traditionally when teenagers develop their capacity to understand the emotional
experience of others. as well as learn and practice their empathic skills. Dr. Robert Given
and co-workers at San Diego State University (Small, 2008) have found that when kids enter
adolescence, they struggle with the ability to recognize another person's emotions. During
the study, the teenage volunteers viewed faces demonstrating different emotional states.
Compared with other age
groups, eleven- and twelve-year-olds (the age when puberty typically kicks in) needed to
take more time to identify the specific emotions expressed by the faces presented to them.
It took longer for their frontal lobes to identify happy, angry, or sad faces, because of the
pruning or trimming down of excess synaptic connections that occurs during puberty.
However, once that pruning-down process is complete and the teenager matures to
adulthood, expression recognition becomes faster and more efficient.
From infancy onward, the functions of emotions and other basic aspects of human life and
experience rely on a ring of small structures collectively called the limbic system. The
system's parts, which have long been known as the "emotional brain," include the almond-
shaped amygdala, the hippocampus, a curved fold of tissue called the cingulated gyrus, and
the hypothalamus and thalamus. Looping around the upper brain stem, these parts
collectively govern the full gamut of human emotions — feelings of joy, rage, fear, love,
grief, desire and empathy among others. They also have key roles in memory and influence
a person's capacity to perceive and pay attention to events in the outside world.
Communications between the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex help regulate
emotions. Brain imaging technologies, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI), are also providing clues about how emotions shape patterns of thought.
Dr. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore of University College in London (Small, 2008) used functional
MRI scanning to study the brains of teenagers (eleven to seventeen years) and young adults
(twenty-one to thirty-seven years) while they were asked to make everyday decisions, such
as when and where to see a movie or go out to eat. The scientists found that teenagers,
when making these choices, used a brain network in their temporal lobes (underneath the
temples) while older volunteers used the prefrontal cortex — a region that processes how
our decisions affect other people. Such differing neural circuitry may explain why teens are
less able to appreciate how their decisions affect those around them.
The same scientists further assessed how rapidly teenagers could consider the impact of
their decisions on another person's welfare. The teens in the study were asked questions
such as this: “How would your friend feel if she weren't invited to your party?" Younger
volunteers took much longer to answer such questions. As people get older they are more
able to put themselves in another person's shoes by using the neural circuitry in their
frontal lobes.
Blakemore hypothesized that an evolutionary explanation may account for this age effect
on decision making. In early times, adult humans with empathic skills had an adaptive
advantage by forming groups that could fend off predators together and hunt for prey
more successfully. Their young offspring had less need for empathy, since they were still
being cared for by adults. Young people probably began considering other people's
perspectives when they got older, and such decision making affected their survival.
The Sensitive Developing Minds
Even before birth, a baby's brain health is extremely susceptible to its mother's lifestyle
habits. Drinking alcohol could put a bay at risk for fetal alcohol syndrome, the most
common Preventable cause of mental retardation. Smoking cigarettes during pregnancy
may inhibit prenatal brain growth. Mothers who don't ingest enough folic acid, especially
before pregnancy occurs, can have babies with neural tube defects, and even emotional
stress during pregnancy can impair a newborn's coordination, response times, and ability
to focus attention.
Most of a baby's brain synapses are formed during the first six months of life, when the
brain consumes more than 60 percent of the body's total caloric intake. Too stimulation
during this period will lead to the formation of fewer synapses; too much lay down faulty
synapses and maladaptive neural circuits.
Toddlers and small children model the behavior of their parents. other adults, and peers as
they listen and learn to pay attention, as well as communicate and Interact socially. Reading
to a child daily, expressing affection frequently, and other nurturing interactions stimulate
the young brain so that new dendrites grow and branch out toward one another.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET)
scans show that specific neural circuits are preprogrammed to be activated when young
children pay attention to other children and adults.
Without enough face-to-face interpersonal stimulation. child neural circuits can atrophy
and the brain may not develop normal interactive social skills. However, overstimulation
can affect a child’s brain development negatively as well. Too many extracurricular
activities. too much tutoring or home environment that is extremely chaotic can
overwhelm a child's developing neural circuitry, leading to low self-esteem, anxiety, and
Page 11 of 16
distractibility. When a child's brain is exposed to excessive levels of television, computer,
video and other digital stimulation, it can lead to hyperactivity, irritability, and attention
disorders. The American Academy of Pediatrics actually recommends no television or video
watching tor children below two years of age (Small, 2008 p. 27).
Brain Gap
Today's pace of high-tech innovation not only presents challenge for those ho before a
computer on every desk, but IS actually altering the neural wiring of tech-savvy young
people brains—changing the way they develop junction, and turning the normal generation
gap into something new: a widening chasm Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan (Small and Vorgan,
2008 p. 24) called the brain gap. Our society appears to be breaking into two cultural
groups: Digital Natives, who were born into a world of computer technology; and Digital
Immigrants, who were introduced to computer technology adults.
In the past, young people tended to rebel against their parents' morals for a while and then
eventually integrate themselves into their parents' society — adopting much of the work
ethics attitudes. and valve' of the older generation while bringing their own culture.
outlooks, and perspective into the mix. But today young digital minds are adapting to a
new technology-driven culture that is overtaking yesterday's low-tech lifestyle. This young
generation is jettisoning their parents' values and establishing a new social and political
network, instituting their own cyberspace manners, language, and workplace ethics into
the mainstream.
However, the brain gap refers to much more than intergenerational differences in tastes
and values. It points to an actual evolutionary change in the wirin of today's younger minds
— a change in neural circuitry that is fundamentally different from that of their parents
and grandparents.
Digital Natives
The younger generation of Digital Natives has grown up immersed in technology that
continually becomes more powerful and compact — literally, cyberspace in their pockets.
They multitask and parallel process with ease, and their access to visual and auditory
stimulation has programmed their brains to crave instant gratification. Neuroscientists at
Princeton University have found that our brains use different regions to balance short-term
and long-term rewards. When we make decisions that instantly gratify our needs, the
brain's emotional centers in the limbic system take over. But those regions have trouble
thinking ahead to the future, and neural circuits in the brain's centers of logic in the frontal
lobe and parietal cortex are required for us to put off a reward.
Digital Natives tend to have shorter attention spans, especially when faced with traditional
forms of learning. This young high-tech generation often finds conventional television too
sluggish and boring when simply Watched on it own. One-third of young people use other
media — particularly the Internet — while watching television. Even middle-school
students multitask almost constantly, downloading music to their iPods and instant
messaging their friends while doing their homework. Their young developing brains are
much more sensitive to environmental input than are more mature brains.
Young people today spend much less time reading for leisure than ever before. After all,
why spend time staring at a dull and stagnant string of words when they could be
entertained and informed with fast-paced visual and auditory computer images instead?
Some Digital Natives also complain that books make them feel isolated— they want to stay
connected with their friends online instead of holing up alone with a book in the bedroom
or the library. However, recent studies suggest that too much video exposure, even to
these so-called educational videos, can delay language development in young children.
Gratification and the Brain
Teenagers desire instant gratification — they want to satisfy their needs and do it now, not
later. Their underdeveloped frontal lobes often impair their everyday judgment. Many
teens feel they are invincible — danger will bounce off them. With normal maturation and
age the frontal lobe neural circuits strengthen, and judgment improves. We develop a
greater capacity to delay gratification, consider other people's feelings, put things into
perspective, and understand the danger certain situations may hold.
Unfortunately, today's obsession with computer technology and video gaming appears to
be stunting frontal lobe development in many teenagers, impairing their social and
r
easoning abilities (Small, 2008). If young people continue to mature in this fashion, their
brain's neural pathways may never catch up. It is possible that they could remain locked
into a neural circuitry that stays at an immature and self-absorbed emotional level right
through adulthood.
Multitasking
Multitasking originally referred to a computer's ability to carry out several tasks
simultaneously. We now use it to describe a condition wherein people juggle multiple tasks
at once' as opposed to completing one task before moving on to another task in a linear
fashion. Digital Natives (Small, 2008 p. 24), who were born into a world of computer
technology love to multitask, and they're good at it. If a teenager were reading this book,
he might well be instant messaging his friends and listening to his iPod at the same time.
But studies show that too much multitasking can lead not only to increased stress and
attention deficits but also to a decline In work efficiency.
Many people think that multitasking is a great, even essential, skill to have. It may surprise
them that some studies conclude that in trying to multitask, focusing on one task will be
Page 12 of 16
detrimental to the performance of another task. More likely, we "multitask" by doing one
thing consciously at a time while leaving the others on autopilot. In other words, we do one
task actively while the rest are being done passively or in parallel. A salesman is talking to
a customer over the phone (conscious/active) while letting a fax machine send his
quotation to another customer (autopilot/passive/ in parallel).
But let him talk to the customer while composing an email to another customer. Writing
an email is much more engaging than simply releasing a fax. It cannot be done without
impeding his phone conversation or risking a serious mistake in the mail. He may even wind
up offending one customer or both. In this sense, multitasking at work can lead to
diminished or substandard productivity. It is difficult to tackle a chosen task well while
other tasks are screaming for your attention. We will be too distracted.
One of the most outspoken opponents of multitasking is Dr. Clifford Nass, a professor of
communication at Stanford University in the States. (McDonald 2013) "We've done a
number of studies that prove people who multitask frequently show cognitive deficits," he
explains. "They're less able to filter out irrelevant information, there worse at managing
their memory.
And for Dr. Nass, the problems of multitasking extend beyond the brain. He believes it will
lead to humanity becoming emotionally stunted. "Human emotions play out through things
like face and voice. If people aren't paying attention because they're multitasking they’ll
miss a number of emotional cues."
Psychologist Dr. Sherry Turkle, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor
endorses this view. "In some situations, the loss that we get with multitasking is harmless;
part of doing business in the digital world. But you can't do serious work this way. For every
task you add to your multitasking, your efficiency degrades. So for serious tasks— writing,
thinking, solving an important problem—the multitasking hurts. You do worse even as you
think you are doing better."
And this is a major part of the problem — we delude ourselves into believing that we're
being more efficient by switching back and forth between tasks at breakneck speed. All the
while researches point to a simple fact: the brain cannot cope.
Of course, there are some things we can do simultaneously. We can talk and walk at the
same time, or eat dinner while watching TV. This is because each task requires a different
type of brain activity. So, reading while listening to instrumental music is fine, but the ability
to concentrate on words on a page declines sharply when listening to music with lyrics.
because both actions are reliant on the part of the brain that interprets language.
According to a study released last year by Dr. Zheng Wang, assistant professor Of
communications at Ohio State University, (McDonald, 2013) people like how they feel
when they embark on multiple jobs at the same time. But she agrees with Dr. Turkle, saying,
"They are not being more productive—they just feel more emotionally satisfied.'
Wang looked specifically at college students using multiple media — such as checking
email, text messaging, watching YouTube clips, googling random facts or figures—and
found that while the students got an emotional boost, it didn't produce better results. But
the feeling is so good, we've bound to crave it again. "Students feel they need to have the
TV on or they need to continually check their text messages or computer while they do
their homework," she says.
Another problem is that our love of technology combines with multi-tasking has turned us
into adrenaline junkies, says Todd Oppenheimer, author of The Flickering Mind (McDonald,
2013). He says we have a level of restlessness that's incompatible with doing things that
take "contemplation and patience. People think it's more important to get a lot done than
to do one thing well," notes the writer and journalist. We do not reward people tor taking
a lot of time on something. We've become a very short-term society."
Oppenheimer fears we may end up losing the next generation of great thinkers. "It's really
unfortunate because the long-term challenges of our world—environmental issues,
financial Issues— require people to think wisely about the long-term consequences of what
they do.
Digital Natives are much more likely to multitask than are Digital Immigrants (those who
were introduced to computer technology as adults) (Small, 2008 p. 24). In 2006, a Los
Angeles Times /Bloomberg POI] gathered responses from 1,650 volunteers and found that
the majority of teenagers were busy with other things while they were doing their
homework: 84 percent of them listened to music while studying, 47 percent watched TV
and 21 percent were doing three or more tasks at once.
Multitasking allows Digital Natives to instantly gratify themselves and put off long-term
goals. The competing simultaneous tasks often provide a superficial view of the
information being presented rather than in-depth understanding. Educators complain that
young people in this multitasking generation are less efficient in their school work Chronic
and intense multitasking may also delay adequate development of the frontal cortex, the
area of the brain that helps us see the big picture, delay gratification, reason abstractly,
and plan ahead. If a teenager has the tools and know-how to gain immediate mental
gratification from instant messaging or playing a video game, when will that teen learn to
delay satisfying every pressing whim or urge in order to completely finish a tedious project
or dull task?
For most Digital Immigrants, extreme multitasking is an inefficient way to use the brain—
their original neural circuitry was not set up for it. In today's world, people tend to multitask
at every age. Some iddle aged executives have placed a computer above their treadmills so
they can get their ardiovascular workout while they catch up with their business email.
Page 13 of 16
There are obvious hazards of multitasking; and drivers, for example, should be banned
from talking on their hand-held cell phones.
At what point does multitasking reduce our efficiency, create stress, and place us in danger?
It depends on the individual — on how much the brain has been trained to multitask' as well
as the individual's awareness of his or her own capacity. This self-awareness helps people
remind themselves to slow down and perform one task at a time.
Studies of gender differences in multitasking generally find that women perform better on
verbal tasks (left brain), while men excel at spatial tasks (right brain). In addition to gender,
various factors influence our ability to multitask, including the type of tasks and their level
of difficulty. Some combinations of tasks actually appear to improve mental efficiency.
Many
people notice improved cognitive abilities while also listening to music. Neuroscientists
have found that some surgeons perform stressful nonsurgical tasks more quickly and with
increased accuracy when listening to their preferred musical selections. Music appears to
enhance the efficiency of those who work with their hands. Music and manual tasks
activate completely different parts of the brain; thus, effective multitasking sometimes
appears to involve disparate brain regions. However, if you are working while listening to
music you do not like, it may be distracting and may decrease the efficiency of your
multitasking.
Multitasking has become a necessary skill of modern life. but we need to acknowledge the
challenges and adapt accordingly. Several strategies can help, such as striving to Stay on
one task longer, and avoiding task switching whenever possible. We can also learn and
build multitasking skills with practice.
Video Game-Brain
The brain's craving for novelty has spurred a billion dollar video gaming industry. Video
games have become so popular that they are becoming a spectator sports in some parts of
the world. Cyber athletes compete before crowds of a hundred thousand or more in South
Korea and elsewhere in video game tournaments.
In studies at Tokyo's Nihon University, Professor Akio Mori (Small, 2008) found evidence
that video games appear to suppress frontal lobe activity. His group showed that the more
time adolescents spend playing video games, the less time they use key areas of the front
parts of their brains. Chronic players— those who play two to seven hours each day —
sometimes develop video game-brain, a syndrome that essentially turns off the frontal
lobes, even when the kids are not playing video games.
Gamers tend to get wrapped up in their play, forgetting or ignoring what else is going on
around them. The player's increased physical and psychological arousal frequently leaves
them feeling tense and irritable. Video gaming has been found to increase blood pressure
and heart rate and to whip up the bodyS autonomic nervous system, cranking out stress-
related chemical messengers, such as adrenaline, usually released by the adrenal glands in
response to danger, Thus, chronic gaming may have negative consequences for the body
as well as the brain.
Previous research has shown that extensive video gaming makes kids more aggressive and
desensitizes them to violence they see elsewhere. One study found that as little as ten
minuteS of daily violent video gaming could increase aggressive traits and behaviors. Some
studies have downplayed the aggressive effects of video gaming. However, recent
investigationS
suggest that the intensity of a game's violent graphics, rather than the amount of violent
content, may have a greater effect on brain function and aggressive behavior.
Today, many video games put less emphasis on violence and destruction and focus more
on complex goals and strategies. These intricate virtual environments have a significant
impact on a young person's brain in the frontal lobe — the region that requires further
development
during adolescence for abstract thinking and planning skills to take hold. Professor Ryuta
Kawashima and colleagues at Tohoku University in Japan found that when children play
video games, their brains do not use frontal lobe circuits but rather use a limited brain
region that controls vision and movement. This is in sharp contrast to what they found
when kids performed simple, mundane math exercises. When the study volunteers did
single-digit addition calculations, their brains recruited neurons from a much wider brain
area involving the frontal lobes, regions that control learning, memory, emotion, and even
impulse control.
The visual and mental stimulation ofplaying a video game is not unlike searching a Web
browser or sorting through and responding to dozens of emails — two typical daily
computer activities. The right balance of video gaming and digital interaction has the
potential to quicken reaction time and improve some forms of attention, particularly the
ability to notice peripheral visual stimuli. Our email and Web-searching sessions may even
help us develop our ability to sift through large amounts of information rapidly.
But what about a passive video activity like watching television? Does that engage fewer
brain neural circuits, leaving unused areas to shrivel away from neglect? The video game
research findings emphasize the important influence of such digital technologies on brain
development as well as behavior while players are not gaming. Were we rearing a new
generation with underdeveloped frontal lobes—a group of young people unable to learn,
remember, feel, or control their impulses? Or will the Digital Natives develop new
advanced skills that will poise them for extraordinary achievements?
Page 14 of 16
The answers are varied. Video games are not intrinsically bad—people ofall ages have fun
playing them. And other digital technologies provide extraordinary tools for
communication, business, and social exchange. The issue is how much gaming, emailing
and Googling is too much for the mind — for a developing brain as well as a mature one.
We each need to discover our optimum level ofbrain stimulation at every stage of life.
Although scientists have not yet determined the specific answers to these questions, we
so know that a limited amount of video gaming may enrich minds and improve some forms
of cognitive performance, while too much can lead people to become spaced-out video
game-brainers who are unresponsive to the real world around them. Video gaming in
moderation can help develop improved pattern recognition, more systematic thinking, and
better executive skills. However, to truly succeed in games and in our lives, we need to
learn to become more patient and delay gratification— both important adolescent
developmental milestones. Some advocates argue that video games may very well exercise
the mind just as physical conditioning exercises the body.
Scientists and game designers are developing new uses for video games that teach standard
school curricula and other useful cognitive skills. Game and toy companies have begun
marketing games for baby boomers to exercise their brains and improve memory
performance.
Digital Immigrants
While Digital Natives remain plugged into cyberspace and video games, Digital Immigrants
are less considerably exposed to this type ofnew technology. They grew up during a less
techno-frenetic era, and the current digital revolution occurred after their formative years.
Many baby boomers can remember when they had only one television in the house —
not even color television. Some boomers find it easy to adapt to new technology
— they may shop online, communicate via email, and use cell phones —but these are all
they picked up as adults, after most of their brain's hard-wiring was already set in place.
Although these Immigrants are adjusting to the digital age, their approach differs greatly
from that of Digital Natives. The typical Immigrant's brain was trained In completely
different ways of socializing and learning, taking things step by step, and addressing one
task at a time. Immigrants learn more methodically and tend to execute tasks more
precisely. Ther are being forced to learn a new digital language — a challenge not unlike
that of immigrants from other countries who arrive and do not speak the native tongue.
Learning any language in adulthood requires the use of different parts of the brain than
those that are used to learn a language early in life.
Researches Related to the Brain
Deprived of a stimulating environment, a child's brain suffers. Researches at Baylor College
ofMedicine, USA, have found that children who don't play much or are rarely touched
develop brains 20% or 30% smaller than normal for their age. (Nash, 1999).
"There is a time scale to brain development, and the most important year is the first," notes
Frank Newman, President of the Education Commission of the US. By age three, a
child who is neglected or abused bears marks that, if not indelible, are exceedingly difficult
to erase
Scientists have found that the brain during the first year of life is so malleable that very
young children who suffer strokes of injuries that wipe out an entire hemisphere can still
mature into highly functional adults.
Moreover, it is becoming increasingly clear that well-designed preschool programs can help
many children overcome glaring deficits in their home environment.
Dr. Harry Chugarri, a pediatric neurologist at Wayne University in Detroit, USA, says With
appropriate therapy, even serious disorders like dyslexia may be treatable. While inherited
problems may place certain children at greater risk than others, that is no excuse for
ignoring the environment's power to remodel the brain. We may not do much to change
what happens before birth, but we can change what happens after a baby is born.
After birth, when the number of neural connections explodes, each of the brain's billions
of neurons will forge links to thousands of others. First, they must spin out a web of wirelike
fibers known as axons. (which transmits signals) and dendrites) which receives them.
This profusion of connections lends the growing brain exceptional flexibility and resilience
as in the case of 13-year old Brandi Binder, who developed such severe epilepsy so that
surgeons at University of California United States of America (UCLA) had to remove the
entire right side of her cortex when she was six. Binder lost virtually all the control she had
established over muscles on the left side of her body, the side controlled by the right side
the brain. Yet, after years Of therapy ranging from leg lifts to tnath and music skills,
Binder is an A student at the Homes Middle School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. She
loves music, math and art— skills usually associated with the right half of the brain. And
while Binder's recuperation is not 100% — for example, she has never regained the use of
her left
arm, says UCLA pediatric neurologist, Dr. Donald Shields, "If there's a way to compensate,
the developing brain will find it.
Another research that reveals the power and wonder of the human brain and how it
functions was seen in the case of Matthew Simpson of New Mexico, USA (Swerdlw, 1996).
Matt's first three years of life were normal. Just before his fourth birthday, he began to
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experience seizures—electrical misfirings that impede brain function. The diagnosis:
Rasmussen's encephalitis, a rare and incurable condition of unknown origin. He was
brought to John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, USA. Dr. Carson recommended a
hemispherectomy, removing the left hemisphere of Matt's brain. The operation could lead
to crippling, coma, death, or recovery.
Matt would lose halfofhis left cortex — tightly packed folds that handle thought processes
and most of what makes us human. After the operation the only visible effects were a slight
limp and limited use of his right arm and hand. He also has no right peripheral vision in
either eye.
Matt is still slower at some work games than a child his age should be. But in one twomonth
period he made nine months' progress in language. His speech therapist, Joan Harden said,
"It appears he is fostering and accelerating the growth of dendrites" — threadlike
extensions that grow out of neurons, the specialized cells of the nervous system. "The
neurons seem to be making better connections."

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