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Brain Development and the Role

of Experience in the Early Years
Adrienne L. Tierney and Charles A. Nelson, III

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Abstract
Research over the past several decades has
provided insight into the processes that govern
early brain development and how those processes
contribute to behavior. In the following article,
we provide an overview of early brain
development beginning with a summary of the
prenatal period. We then turn to postnatal
development and examine how brain functions
are built and how experience mediates this
process. Specifically, we discuss findings from
research on speech and on face processing. The
results of this research highlight how the first few
years of life are a particularly important period of
development of the brain.

The past 30 years of research have provided a

new and deeper understanding of the brain and its
role in psychological functions. In particular,
researchers now have a better sense of how brain
development affects the development of behavior.
Measurement techniques such as
electroencephalogram (EEG) and event related
potentials (ERP) can be used to study infants,
children, and adults, and this flexibility has
allowed researchers to investigate a variety of
developmental processes.

Research using these measures on the developing

brain has clarified several arguments about the
nature of child development and informed debates
such as those surrounding the state of the infant’s
brain at birth (whether it is a “blank slate” or not),
the identification of critical periods of
development, and the relative importance of
genes versus environment.

It is important to note that, although much of the

research has been conducted on infants, it is a
collaborative effort between infant and animal
research that has uncovered the neurobiological
principles that govern development in humans.
Researchers have made use of the homology that
exists among developing nervous systems of
different species, and many of the cutting-edge
ideas discussed in the developmental literature
have their origins in animal research—but they
have been tested and clarified in neurobehavioral
experiments with infants and young children. In
humans, researchers can investigate the neural
correlates of behavior whereas in animals they
can dig deeper into the mechanisms that drive the
processes that these neural correlates reflect. To
this end, much of human brain research in the
past three decades has focused on the brain basis
of behavior. A more recent a focus on experience
has helped refine researchers’ understanding of
how developmental processes are fueled.

In the following paragraphs, we will examine

some of the essential ideas that have helped
researchers understand the development of the
human brain in the early years of life. We begin
with an overview of the stages involved in the
anatomical development of the brain.
Subsequently, we examine three topics that
research in brain development has uncovered,
clarified, and elaborated: how development is
hierarchically structured, such that later
development depends on early development; how
experience in the first year of life modulates the
plasticity of the brain; and how early deprivation
has strong and lasting effects on the brain.

Early Stages of Brain Development

An account of brain development in the early
years of childhood is only complete if we first
examine the origins of this process during the
prenatal months. Brain development is a
protracted process that begins about 2 weeks after
conception and continues into young adulthood
20 years later. Brain development that occurs
during the prenatal months is largely under
genetic control, although clearly the environment
can play a role; for example, it is well known that
the lack of nutrition (e.g., folic acid) and the
presence of toxins (e.g., alcohol) can both
deleteriously influence the developing brain. In
contrast, much of brain development that occurs
postnatally is experience-dependent and defined
by gene–environment interactions. Below we
provide brief descriptions of the anatomical
changes that characterize the early stages of brain
development.

Neurulation
About 2 weeks after conception, the developing
embryo has organized itself into a three-layered,
spherical structure. In one area of this sphere, the
cells thicken to form what is called the neural
plate. This plate then folds over onto itself,
forming a tube that gradually closes first at the
bottom and then at the top, much like a zipper.
This creates the neural tube, the inner cells of
which will lead to the formation of the central
nervous system (brain and spinal cord) while the
outer cells will give rise to the autonomic nervous
system (nerves outside the brain and spinal cord).

Once the neural tube is closed, it becomes a three-

vesicle structure and shortly thereafter a five-
vesicle structure. The different regions of tissue
around the ventricles will become distinct brain
structures. The anterior portion of the tube will
become the forebrain, which includes the cerebral
hemispheres; the diencephalon (the thalamus and
the hypothalamus); and the basal ganglia. The
cells around the middle vesicle will become the
midbrain, a structure that connects the
diencephalon to the hindbrain. The rear-most
portion of the tube will give rise to the hindbrain,
which will consist of the medulla oblongata, the
pons, and the cerebellum. Finally, the cells that
remain will give rise to the spinal cord.

Proliferation
Once the general structure of the neural tube has
been laid out, the cells that line the innermost part
of the tube, called the ventricular zone, proliferate
at a logarithmic rate. As these cells multiply, they
form a second zone, the marginal zone, which
will contain axons and dendrites. This
proliferative stage continues for some time, with
the consequence that the newborn brain will have
many more neurons than the adult brain. The
overproduction of neurons is eventually balanced
by a process of apoptosis, or programmed cell
death. Apoptosis is responsible for a decrease in
the cell numbers to adult levels and is completely
under genetic control.

Cell migration
After the cells are born, they travel to their final
destinations. The cerebral cortex is composed of
multilayered tissue several millimeters thick. It is
formed by the movement of cells in an inside-out
direction, beginning in the ventricular zone and
migrating through the intermediate zone, with the
cells eventually reaching their final destination on
the outside of the developing brain. The earliest
migrating cells occupy the deepest cortical layer,
whereas the subsequent migrations pass through
previously formed layers to form the outer layers.
About 25 weeks after conception, all six layers of
the cortex will have formed.

The inside-out pattern of migration described here

is that of radial migration, which applies to about
70%–80% of migrating neurons, most of which
are pyramidal neurons and glia. Pyramidal
neurons are the large neurons in the cortex that
are responsible for sending signals to different
layers of the cortex and other parts of the brain.
Glia are nonneuronal brain cells that are involved
in the support of neuronal processes (such as
producing myelin or removing debris, such as
dead brain cells). In contrast, interneurons—
relatively smaller neurons that are involved in
communication between pyramidal cells within a
particular layer of the cortex—follow a pattern of
tangential migration.

Di!erentiation
Once a neuron has migrated to its target
destination, it generally proceeds along one of
two roads: It can differentiate into a mature
neuron, complete with axons and dendrites, or it
can be retracted through apoptosis. Current
estimates suggest that the number of neurons that
are retracted is between 40% and 60% (see
Oppenheim & Johnson, 2003). The development
of axons is facilitated by growth cones, small
structures that form at the edge of an axon. The
cellular processes that occur at the growth cone
promote growth toward certain targets and away
from others. Such processes are driven by
molecular guidance cues as well as by anatomic
structures at the tip of the growth cone.

Dendrite formation occurs by a slightly different

process, one that is thought to be driven by genes
controlling calcium-regulated transcription
factors (Aizawa et al., 2004). Early dendrites
appear as thick strands with few spines (small
protuberances) that extend from the cell body. As
dendrites mature, the number and density of
spines increases, which in turn increases the
chances that a dendrite will make contact with a
neighboring axon. Connections between dendrites
and axons are the basis for synaptic connections
between neurons, which, as we will describe
below, is essential for brain function.

Synaptogenesis
A synapse is a point of contact between two brain
cells, often two neurons and frequently a dendrite
and an axon. The first synapses are generally
observed by about the 23rd week of gestation
(Molliver, Kostovic, & Van der Loos, 1973),
although the peak of production does not occur
until some time in the first year of life. As is the
case with neurons, massive overproduction of
synapses is followed by a gradual reduction. This
process of synapse reduction, or pruning, is
highly dependent on experience and serves as the
basis of much of the learning that occurs during
the early years of life. It is important to note that
the various structures of the brain reach their peak
of synapse production at different points. In the
visual cortex, for example, the peak is reached
somewhere between the 4th and 8th postnatal
month, but areas of the prefrontal cortex do not
reach their peak until the 15th postnatal month.
The difference in timing in peak synapse
production is important because it affects the
timing of the plasticity of these regions; the later
the peak synapse production, the longer the
region remains plastic.

Synapse pruning
The overproduction of synapses is followed by a
pruning back of the unused and overabundance of
synapses. Until the stage of synaptogenesis, the
stages of brain development are largely gene
driven. However, once the brain reaches the point
where synapses are eliminated, the balance shifts;
the process of pruning is largely experience
driven. As with synapse production, the timing of
synapse pruning is dependent on the area of the
brain in which it occurs. In the parts of the cortex
involved in visual and auditory perception, for
example, pruning is complete between the 4th and
6th year of life. In contrast, pruning in areas
involved in higher cognitive functions (such as
inhibitory control and emotion regulation)
continues through adolescence (Huttenlocher &
Dabholkar, 1997). The processes of
overproduction of synapses and subsequent
synaptic reduction are essential for the flexibility
required for the adaptive capabilities of the
developing mind. It allows the individual to
respond to the unique environment in which he or
she is born. Those pathways that are activated by
the environment are strengthened while the ones
that go unused are eliminated. In this way, the
networks of neurons involved in the development
of behavior are fine-tuned and modified as
needed.

Myelination
The final process involved in the development of
the brain is called myelination. In this process the
axons of neurons are wrapped in fatty cells,
which ultimately facilitates neuronal activity and
communication because this insulation allows
myelinated axons to transmit electrical signals
faster than unmyelinated axons. The timing of
myelination is dependent on the region of the
brain in which it occurs. Regions of the brain in
certain sensory and motor areas are myelinated
earlier in a process that is complete around the
preschool period. In contrast, regions involved in
higher cognitive abilities, such as the prefrontal
cortex, the process is not complete until
adolescence or early adulthood (for recent
reviews see Nelson, de Haan, & Thomas, 2006;
Nelson & Jeste, 2008).

Summary
In general, brain development begins a few weeks
after conception and is thought to be complete by
early adulthood. The basic structure of the brain
is laid down primarily during the prenatal period
and early childhood, and the formation and
refinement of neural networks continues over the
long term. The brains’ many functions do not
develop at the same time nor do their
developmental patterns follow the same time
frame. Although basic sensation and perception
systems are fully developed by the time children
reach kindergarten age, other systems such as
those involved in memory, decision making, and
emotion continue to develop well into childhood.
The foundations of many of these abilities,
however, are constructed during the early years.

The principles of anatomical change described

above are essential to the maturation and
development of the brain. These processes are in
turn responsible for the development of a vast
repertoire of behaviors that characterizes the early
years of life. In terms of motor development, both
synaptic pruning and myelination are responsible
for the improved precision and speed of
coordinated movement. In addition, they are
important in the development of cognitive skills.
Improved perception of speech sounds and face
recognition, for example, are likely the result of
synaptic reorganization, a process that is
dependent on experience.

Although development continues into early adult

years, early childhood represents a period
particularly important to development of a
healthy brain. The foundations of sensory and
perceptual systems that are critical to language,
social behavior, and emotion are formed in the
early years and are strongly influenced by
experiences during this time. This is not to say
that later development cannot affect these
behaviors—on the contrary, experiences later in
life are also very important to the function of the
brain. However, experiences in the early years of
childhood affect the development of brain
architecture in a way that later experiences do
not. In the following pages we will elaborate on
how experience affects development between
birth and 3 years of age.

Brain Beginnings: Constructing a

Foundation for the Future
The development of the brain is a life-long
process. Indeed, recent research suggests that the
brain is capable of changing throughout the
lifespan (Crawford , Pesch, & von Noorden,
1996; Jones, 2000; Keuroghlian & Knudsen,
2007), although perhaps not in all ways (e.g.,
humans do not “learn” to see or hear better as
they age). However, the changes that take place
during the early years are particularly important
because they are the bedrock of what comes after.
Higher level functions are dependent on lower
level functions, the evidence for which is
primarily in the basic cognitive processes and
sensory perceptual systems. When infants are
born, their brains are prepared for certain types of
experience. For example, as discussed below,
infants’ brains are tuned to the sounds of virtually
all languages, but with experience, their brains
become most tuned to their native language (see
Kuhl, 2004, for discussion). This perceptual bias
is the basis for learning language; the brain is
partially tuned to be sensitive to language sounds
but not so broadly tuned as to be sensitive to all
possible sounds.

Subsequent language development builds on this

initial sensitivity. Within the first year of life,
infants learn to discriminate among sounds that
are specific to the language they are exposed to in
their particular environment. Before the time they
are 6 months old, infants can discriminate among
sounds of almost any language. Between 6 and 12
months, the brain begins to specialize in
discriminating sounds of the native language and
loses the ability to discriminate sounds in
nonnative languages (Kuhl, Tsao, & Liu, 2003).
This narrowing of perceptual sensitivity is
important because it is related to later language
ability in that better discrimination of native
language sounds predicts better language skills
later in life (Kuhl, 2004).

Sensitive Period: Plasticity Is

A!ected by Experience
The brain is much more sensitive to experience in
the first few years of life than in later years. The
plasticity of the brain underlies much of the
learning that occurs during this period. In the
language example in the previous section, we
noted that infants are sensitive to most language
sounds in the first half-year of life but during the
second half they begin to specialize in their native
tongue at the expense of the broad sensitivity to
nonnative language sounds. The period of
heightened sensitivity to language exposure is
not, however, a critical period in the sense that
infants can no longer learn the sounds of another
language once it is over. In fact, 12-month-old
infants given additional experience with speech
sounds from a nonnative language continue to be
able to discriminate among sounds (Kuhl, Tsao,
& Liu, 2003).

Similarly, in the domain of face processing, an

index of development of visual perception
important to social behavior, 6-month-olds, 9-
month-olds, and adults are all equally capable of
discriminating between two human faces,
whereas 6-month-olds alone can discriminate
between two monkey faces (Pascalis, de Haan, &
Nelson, 2002). However, 6-month-olds given 3
months of experience viewing a range of monkey
faces retain the recognition ability at 9 months
(Pascalis et al., 2005). Thus, the plasticity that
characterizes brain processes during this time
suggests that although the brain is particularly
sensitive to experiences that occur, experience-
dependent change is not limited to this short
window. The sensitive period is effectively
extended by specific experience.

A similar phenomenon exists in visual acuity,

which is demonstrated by the natural occurrence
of cataracts, rather than the laboratory
manipulations discussed above. Maurer, Lewis,
Brent, and Levin (1999) reported that for infants
who are born with cataracts, a few moments of
visual experience after the cataracts have been
removed and replaced with new lenses leads to
substantial improvements in visual acuity. This
effect is stronger the sooner after birth this
corrective procedure takes place. The longer the
cataracts are left untreated, however, the lower
the effect of experience on the outcome.