Retell Lecture

The brain is basically built from the bottom up. First, the brain builds basic circuits that are responsible for basic skills. And then more complex circuits are built on top of those basic circuits as we develop more complex skills. Biologically, the brain is prepared to be shaped by experience. It's expecting the experiences that a young child has to literally influence the formation of its circuity, it's built into our biology. The interaction between genetics and experience that shapes brain architecture is embedded in the reciprocal relationship, the relationships that children have with the adults in their lives. And by that, we mean what we refer to as the serve and return the nature of children's interaction with adults. Development and the impact of experience on development is not a one-way street, it's a back and forth interaction. The brain is a highly integrated organ which has multiple sections that specialized in different kinds of processes. So we have parts of the brain that are involved more in cognitive function and other parts that are involved in processing of emotion and parts involved in scene and hearing. So, if a child is emotionally kind of well put together and socially competent, that will affect more positive and productive learning. And if a child is preoccupied with fears or anxiety or is dealing with considerable stress no matter how intellectually gifted that child might be, his or her learning is going to be impaired by that kind of emotional interference.