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Critical Periods and Synaptic Pruning
The human brain begins forming very early in parental life (3 weeks after conception) however brain
development is a lifelong project
the major difference between brain development in a child versus learning in an adult is a matter of
degree
The brain is far more plastic in early life than in maturity
Brain plasticity neuroplasticity; the brain's ability to recognize neuropathways due to environmental
experience
This plasticity means the young children's brains are more open to learning from their environment
(nurture) however those brains are also more vulnerable to developmental problems should their
environment proved un nurturing
...

When children are never exposed to a significant amount of language (feral children) or completely
deprived of it these children never learn more than the rudimentary level of communication even in
intense training
In short, a normal acquisition of human speech is subject to a critical period, times when the brain is
intensely adaptable
Critical Period:
The brain is programmed to connect neurons, prune synapses and insulate axons at specific times in
childhood
...

If an organism doesn't receive the appropriate stimuli during this critical period it may be difficult or
impossible to develop this function later
This occurs because the developing brain is a highly competitive environment
A major critical period in humans occurs around language although the window is much larger
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