Neurodevelopment and Early Childhood:
How exploration and play grow a healthy brain
Taken from a series of lectures on play and brain development 
given by
Dr. Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D.
and sponsored by
the Houston Children's Museum and the CIVITAS Initiative.

The human brain is an amazing organ. The brain mediates all of our thought, feelings, and behaviors. In order to do this, the brain must organize its 100 billion individual nerve cells (neurons) into efficient systems to sense, process, perceive, store and act on the continuos bath of sensations--sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and touch--in the environment. The brain does not just automatically develop the capability of love, create, communicate, or think. Experiences--repetitive, consistent, predictable, and nurturing--are required to express the underlying genetic potential of each child. And it is becoming increasingly clear that it is the experiences of early childhood that play a key role in determining the foundational organization and capabilities of the brain.

Research from a host of disciplines (Shore, 1994; Starting Smart, 1997; Perry, 1994;1997) has demonstrated the critical relationships between early childhood experience and the functional organization and capabilities of the brain for the rest of life. These crucial observations have led to major examinations of public policies related to early childhood and the child care, education, mental health, medical, social, and criminal justice systems.

Early childhood and brain development has been the focus of (1) a national public engagement campaign (I Am Your Child) co-sponsored by 30 foundations, fifty corporations and hundreds of key leaders across all sectors of society; (2) the National Governor's Association key policy topic for two years and; (3) a series of White House Conferences on Brain Development and Early Childhood.

The key findings from this emerging research in child development and neurobiology can provide key landmarks and principles for designing child-focused programs and activities.

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