Thompson Ross A
Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis.
Dela J Public Health. 2024 Oct 18;10(4):6-11. doi: 10.32481/djph.2024.10.03. eCollection 2024 Oct.
Early brain development research is important to public health professionals for understanding early development and strengthening systemic supports for young children's healthy brain growth. This overview describes basic processes of early brain development, including prenatal development and the "fetal programming" of brain and behavior, neural proliferation and the essential influence of experience in the creation of neural networks, the maturational timing of different brain systems and their behavioral consequences, the myelination of neural pathways and its influence on children's action and thinking, and the capacity of the brain to create new neural connections throughout life, which contributes to its continuing adaptability to new experiences. The implications of this research for public health and for strengthening support for early brain development are considered throughout this discussion.
早期大脑发育研究对于公共卫生专业人员理解早期发育以及加强对幼儿健康大脑生长的系统性支持非常重要。本概述描述了早期大脑发育的基本过程，包括产前发育以及大脑和行为的“胎儿编程”、神经增殖以及经验在神经网络形成中的重要影响、不同脑系统的成熟时间及其行为后果、神经通路的髓鞘形成及其对儿童行动和思维的影响，以及大脑在一生中创建新神经连接的能力，这有助于其持续适应新体验。在整个讨论过程中，我们会考虑这项研究对公共卫生以及加强早期大脑发育支持的意义。
