Three Core Concepts in Early Development
Healthy development in the early years provides the building blocks for educational achievement, economic productivity, responsible citizenship, lifelong health, strong communities, and successful parenting of the next generation. This three-part video series from the Center and the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child depicts how advances in neuroscience, molecular biology, and genomics now give us a much better understanding of how early experiences are built into our bodies and brains, for better or for worse.
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1. Experiences Build
Brain Architecture
The basic architecture of the brain is constructed through a process that begins early in life and continues into adulthood.
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2. Serve & Return Interaction
Shapes Brain Circuitry
“Serve and return” interaction between children and significant adults in their lives is fundamental to the wiring of the brain, especially in the earliest years.
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3. Toxic Stress Derails
Healthy Development
Toxic stress is the strong, unrelieved activation of the body’s stress management system in the absence of protective adult support.
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Major support for this video series has been provided by: the Birth to Five Policy Alliance, the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, and the First Five Years Fund.
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