RESEARCH

 

Scientists now have a much clearer picture of the brain's inner workings - how it learns and grows. Babies' brains grow and develop every day. Important discoveries about how a child's earliest experiences and relationships affect the way his or her brain is organized. During the early years of life, the brain is forming connections that may determine a lifetime of skills and potentials. This makes you the architect of your baby’s brain! Quality care of young children is key. This includes stimulation of many types, including tactile, visual and audio (i.e., massaging, smiling, singing – AND PLAYING!) These are just a few of the many references and resources to learn more about your baby’s developing brain.

 

Book References

• The Science of Parenting*** (Clearly the best parenting book ever written!!)
  By: Margot Sunderland
• Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale
  By: T. Berry Brazelton
• Right From Birth: Building Your Child’s Foundation for Life
  By: Craig T, Ramey; Sharon T. Ramey
• Your Child’s Growing Mind
  By: Jane Healey
• Diary of a Baby
  By: Daniel N. Stern
• The Youngest Minds: Parenting and Genetic Inheritance in the Development of Intellect and Emotion
  By: Ann B. Barnet, Richard J. Barnet
• Growing Minds: An Introduction to Cognitive Development
  By: Stephanie Thornton
• The Scientist in the Crib
  By: Alison Gopnik, Ph.D., Andrew N. Meltzoff, Ph.D., Patricia K. Kuhl, Ph.D.
• The Foundations of Mind: Origins of Conceptual Thought
  By: Jean Matter Mandler
• Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born
  By: Tina Cassidy
• A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action
  By: Esther Thelen and Linda B. Smith
• Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child
  By: John M. Gottman, Ph.D. & Joan DeClaire
• Your Child at Play: Birth to One
  By: Marilyn Segal, Ph.D

Research Papers:

Music and the Brain: Disorders of Musical Listening.
L. Stewart, K. von Kriegstein, J. D. Warren, and T. D. Griffiths (2006)
Brain 129, 2533-2553

Part IV: Developmental and Applied Perspectives on Music. Introduction.
S. E. TREHUB (2005) Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1060, 198-201

Tuning in to Musical Rhythms: Infants Learn More Readily than Adults.
E. E. Hannon and S. E. Trehub (2005) PNAS 102, 12639-12643
Feeling the Beat: Movement Influences Infant Rhythm Perception: Jessica Phillips-Silver and Laurel J. Trainor* Department of Psychology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada.

 

Multisensory Intervention Improves Physical Growth and Illness Rates in Korean Orphaned Newborn Infants. Tae Im Kim, Yeong Hee Shin, Rosemary C. White-Traut, Daejeon University, Daejeon, Korea, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago.

 

Tactile Stimulation and Preterm Infants. Original Article Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing. 14(1):84-103, June 2000. Liaw, Jen-Juian MS, RN

 

The Effects of Maternal Positive, Neutral, and Negative Affective Communications on Infant Responses to New Toys. Hornik, R., Risenhoover, N., & Gunnar, M. (1987). Child Development, 58, 937-944.

 

Maternal Emotional Signaling: Its Effect on the Visual Cliff Behavior of 1-year-Olds.Sorce, J. F., Ernde, R. N., Campos, J., & Klinnert, M. D. (1985 Developmental Psychology, 21(1), 195-200.

 

The Development of Social Referencing Walden, T. A., & Ogan, T. A. (1988).. Child Development, 59(5), 1230-1240.

 

Applying Brain Research to Create Developmentally Appropriate Learning Environments, in Young Children Vol. 56, No. 5, by Stephen Rushton, notes that brain research confirms the validity of many developmentally appropriate practices, as well as proves the theoretical relevance of such child-centered constructivist theorists as Dewey, Piaget, and Vygotsky. Additional information is available on the Web at
www.journal.naeyc.org/search/item-detail.asp?page=1&docID=2580&sesID=1107375162827.

 

Caregivers’ Corner: Another Look at Brain Research, in Young Children Vol. 56, No. 4, by Melissa Vaught, discusses enrichment products marketed to parents, as well as the academic push in preschool for kindergarten readiness, as a threat to the value of interaction/play between children and adults. Additional information is available on the Web at
www.journal.naeyc.org/search/item-detail.asp?page=1&docID=2523&sesID=1107375221652