[Developing the brain--proposal to child neurologists: how to nurture and stimulate brain development]

Infants achieve remarkable functions during the first year of life. Dendrites and synaptic connections grow and subcortical myclination takes place. In recent years, we have witnessed remarkable progress in the field of neuroscience. It has become clear that the human brain shows maximal plasticity in infancy and early childhood. This plasticity provides a golden window of opportunity to maximize human development. Excess synaptic connections are eliminated during late childhood, a phenomenon that appears to be influenced at least to some extent by the environment. In many years of clinical practice as a pediatrician, I have observed the growth and development of both normal children and those challenged with developmental disabilities. Parents need to spend time responding to and playing with their young children. The plasticity of the human brain in early life is not only an opportunity; it is also responsibility. We must provide all children with the optimal environment for both intellectual and psychological development. It seems that sensitive and sympathetic responses from caretakers are of critical importance. Physicians and basic investigators have the responsibility of further elucidating brain function, as means of discovering how to optimize the environment for development of the human brain.