{"id":158,"date":"2011-09-28T13:02:11","date_gmt":"2011-09-28T13:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/akdn\/?page_id=158"},"modified":"2025-06-11T23:52:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T23:52:20","slug":"bd-1-2-experience-based-brain-development","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/akdn\/bd-1-2-experience-based-brain-development\/","title":{"rendered":"BD 1.2 Experience-based brain development"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Experience-based brain development in early life (including during gestation) can set trajectories for life-long health, learning, and behaviour and is often difficult to change later in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experiences obtained early in life turn on genetic pathways that discern neuron function as well as establishes neural pathways. Experiences also affect the formation of synapses (connections) among neurons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experience-based brain development is the concept that experience shapes the way the brain and other biological systems develop. We have known for a long time that physical experiences such as nutrition are important for early brain development. We now understand that other aspects of experiences and the environment such as social interactions (i.e., warm and responsive interaction between caregivers and children) and early adversity are also profoundly important and have long-lasting effects on brain, behaviour and health.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n INTERACT<\/span>\n Experience-based brain development<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

In the next video, Dr. Joel Levine, professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto, explains the term experience-based brain development.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n VIEW<\/span>\n Levine – experience-based brain development (0:41)<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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