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Right After Conception
The brain develops about 3 weeks after gestation to start to produce neurons which shortly after begin the process of "seeking" connections. https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp2268 -
Period: to
Conception to 2 years old
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First Trimester
Most structure are first formed in the first 8 weeks of gestation. The formation of the neural tube is the most important of the structures. The neural tube is the first structure that later folds and develops into the brain and the brain stem. Video explaining process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp25wrm-AoA -
Second Trimester
Cerebral cortex is growing in thickness. Myelin, which is responsible for creating a faster and more efficient connections, is introduced to the primitive mind. -
Third Trimester
The brain starts to assume the vital duties for the child to survive outside of the mother. This includes preparing for breathing, heart beat, and other necessary processes. http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/why-0-3/baby-and-brain#:~:text=At%20birth%2C%20it%20already%20has,percent%20of%20its%20adult%20volume.&text=Even%20more%20importantly%2C%20synapses%20are,than%20at%20any%20other%20time. -
At Birth
At birth the brain has about 200 million neurons and about 2,500 connections per neuron. Interestingly there have been studies done to prove that newborns do recognize the sound of their mothers voice due to being able to only hear her voice primarily inside the womb. https://babyschool.yale.edu/does-my-baby-recognize-me/#:~:text=Your%20baby%20is%20learning%20to,voice%20from%20the%20third%20trimester. -
Newborn to 3 months old Dendrite Illustration
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First Couple Months
The brain grows in size by about 1% and day and later slows after about 4 months to 0.4%. Shortly after this slowing down the brain is already 64% larger than it was at birth. -
The First Year Graph
This graph represents which portions of the brain develop first and how long is takes for these to fully develop into a mature and stable structure that the human being can depend on for daily objectives. https://educatingamy.com/blogs/early-child-development/do-you-know-brain-edition-brains-are-built-not-born -
About 1 year old
The brain is now 75% the weight of an adult brain with more and more connection per neuron being made. Lots of stimulus is needed to maintain and improve necessary connections in the brain for the child to develop properly. The cerebellum triples in size due to rapid development of motor skills outside of the womb. Recognition is also greatly improved at this point from birth. -
18 months old (Piaget's Theory)
This is the time as Piaget has described and proved to his best ability that newborns transition from a solely observant of the physical world to the beginning of mental activity. https://childandfamilyblog.com/piaget-stages-cognitive-development/?gclid=CjwKCAiA9dGqBhAqEiwAmRpTC3iUrt1gZ4iSRT7AT14Jx1LOfGr90CTkOE7QGnlcfiw8x7Xw4lV31RoCTCMQAvD_BwE -
About 2 years old
At this point there is about 100 trillion neural connections. This is the height of the amount of brain connections because shortly after this period the brain starts to purge unnecessary connections -
2 years old
According to the data proved by Piaget once again. Once the child develops to about the age of two they start the pre-operational stage which is described as children thinking of objects that are not directly in front of them. -
More 2 year old facts
The brain is about 20% smaller than the one of a full grown adult but it has about 50% more dendrites and connections than that of an adult. This is because the brain has only been growing for the whole duration of its life and hasn't started the purging process of unnecessary connections. https://www.brainfacts.org/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/brain-development/2019/the-first-years-of-life-092419#:~:text=Neurons%20grow%20longer%20dendrites%20and,but%20has%2050%25%20more%20synapses. -
6 Months to 2 Years Dendrite Illustration
