The Developing Brain
Brain Development
Early on in development, the brain doesn’t look much like a brain yet. By the 23rd day, there are the beginnings of a spinal cord and brainstem. Remember that these are structures meant to help us sustain life.
By the 28th day, the neural tube (precursor to spinal cord) is closed. The front end develops three connected chambers: the hind brain, midbrain, and forebrain. Eventually, we get something that looks much more like a grown human brain.
The point is that the first things to develop are the basic structures meant to keep us alive. The latest structures to develop are those in the cortex, with the prefrontal cortex being the last to fully develop (in our 20s).
In young children, the limbic system is not fully developed, and the prefrontal cortex is still in the early stages of development. This is why babies have difficulty controlling their emotions and do not exhibit high-level thinking.
Mirror Neurons
- Neurons in the brain that fire when we do an act AND when we observe someone else do an act that is intentional and predictable
- They play a role in yawning when other people yawn, getting thirsty when watching other people drink, and taking on the emotions of others around you
- The brain uses sensory information to reproduce what might be happening in someone else’s mind – this likely plays a large role in the development of empathy
While our brains are able use the power or mirror neurons to develop a mental representation of another person, we still need to maintain objectivity to remember that this is another person and not our own selves. This is where mindfulness comes in. It is a great tool to maintain your own objective state of awareness and not get lost in the other person’s emotional experience.