Learning Journal for Early Life Development - MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theLearning Journal for Early Life Development. Answer: Normal Brain Development The brain development begins from the earliest stage in life when still at the embryonic level. In the embryonic stage, the brain is a small tissue which enlarges from birth up to 24 years, referred to as the postnatal stage, being 10 cm (lecture notes). The above stated is the physical brain development, which denotes the size of the brain. The brain volume increases from about 110 cc to 450 cc from between 28 to 42 weeks progressively. The grey and white matter volume also increases with the grey matter volume increasing progressively from about 35 to 250 cc while the white matter having a smooth curve increase from 3-25 cc (lecture notes). Adult behavior is influenced by developmental issues such as birth complications preterm birth, birth weight, bleeding, and parity, maternal mental health anxiety, depression, bereavement, and stress, and maternal nutrition famine, vitamin D deficiency and diabetes. The above factors may lead to schizophrenia whose symptoms are delusions, hal lucinations, and disorganized speech and behavior which have risks such as adult onset, heritability, and even polygenic. It is clear from the above that development issues and even environments influences adult behavior through long term effect left on the brain (Miller, 2006). From such, it can also be deduced that it is usually quite important to take care of the things we do or that are even done like to pregnant women in consideration of the child carried. The adult life of the child might be influenced by small things like provoking the mother making them to be angry at most times. The brain development is an issue that should be looked at as something that starts from the embryo thus building a basis for perfect treatment of the embryo. It might not become quite clear to others on the fact that the maternal mental health or even nutrition while pregnant may cause a negative effect to the brain of the child at a later stage (Da?mbska Wisniewski, 1999). However, it is brought out clearly from the above part that schizophrenia might be caused by the negative factors while the embryo and child is st ill growing and even at birth. Preterm Birth and Adult Behavior Preterm birth refers to premature birth. When a child is given birth to before 37 weeks that is termed as preterm birth. There are various effects of preterm birth to the adult behavior. Preterm birth however is always influenced by factors such as maternal infections, maternal mental health, diet and genes. Preterm birth has various effects to the adult behavior in cases which there is survival, meaning, most of the preterm births leads to death of the babies. Those who survive are normally prone to diseases chronic lung disease, late onset sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis, and brain abnormalities. According to studies by (Ment et al., 2009, Pediatrics) and (Dyet et al., 2005) as brought out in the lecture notes, at between 8 and 12 years, for preterm births, there is reduction in grey matter and increase in the grey matter and cerebellum volume, and with very preterm, (23-30 weeks gestation), there is 56% abnormal initial brain scans and 92% abnormal term-equivalent scans. The eff ects of preterm birth to neurodevelopment are lesions of brain predict, cognitive delay, neurosensory impairment, and cerebral palsy. The adult behavior highly depends on the early stages of life in which birth is an integral part (Landrigan Etzel, 2013). Preterm births as brought out is seen to negatively affect the adult behavior especially through the effects to the neurodevelopment. The nervous system is an important part of the human body as it controls all the actions of the whole body (Craighead, Nemeroff, 2004). Therefore, through the various effects stated on how preterm birth affects the nervous system development, it is clear that preterm birth has negative effects to the adults in cases where there is survival. The above clearly answers the question on how preterm birth may affect adult behavior. Affecting the nervous system fully impacts the adult like issues such as cognitive delay, which negatively affects the adults cognitive ability. Maternal Mental Health and Adult Behavior In order to create an understanding on the maternal mental health and the adult behavior, there is great consideration on the HPA axis, the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis, which links the mothers brain to the fetus (lecture notes). There is an exchange in the glucocorticoids of the mother and the fetus, both active and inactive which links the brain of the mother to the brain of the fetus. According to the lecture notes, perinatal mental illness is common and the mental stress also varied. The infant stress through the increase in sensitization to amphetamine, which also leads to revealing of more addictive behavior. Through the case study of the 6-day war in Israel, June 1967, it is concluded that acute maternal stress increases the risk to psychiatric illness. Therefore, the infant is directly influenced by the mental condition of the mother, a perfect example of stress having been used in the above case. Mostly, an assumption is always made that the maternal mental health is more of independent and has nothing to do with the child carried in the womb. The above assumption is what I also had in thought before the study of the topic. However, the connection of the mothers brain and the fetus brain through the HPA axis is clear and even self-explanatory. The sharing of the glucocorticoids from the mothers brain to the fetus brain is clear that there is an end effect to the child (Krimsky, Gruber, 2013). The issues stated in the above section are clearly found in the children and even adults who were given birth to by women who had mental issues, more so, stress, which is the most common mental problem. Therefore, the mental condition of the mother determines the childs behavior even up to adult hood on issues such as addiction, and even mental health issues observable on the adults born by mothers with mental health issues (Tsakanikos Mccarthy, 2014). Maternal Nutrition and Adult Behavior The lecture notes uses a natural experience in order to explain the maternal nutrition and behavior. There is a consideration of the Dutch Winter Famine, 1944-1945 affecting half the country. The results from a medical taste after the famine brought out an elevated number in the central nervous system abnormalities for the early gestation, there was also an increased number of schizophrenia and schizoid personality disorder. The above diseases and disorders displayed was on mostly the children born during the epidemic thus proving the cause of the increased number on the diseases was the epidemic. Deficiency in vitamin D also increases maternal HPA response to stress increasing maternal corticosterone, thus increasing fetal exposure to glucocorticoids which leads to schizophrenia. There are various interrelated risk factors on nutrition faced by the mother which leads to schizophrenia on the child, according to the lecture note, the factors are, poor nutrition, Vitamin D deficiency, maternal stress, neonatal infection, maternal infection, and preterm birth. The general nutrition of the mother is normally very important to the growth and determination of the behavior of an adult. However, it might be thought that what the mother consumes or even the environment they are exposed to do not affect the fetus, though, when the mother is exposed to poor nutrition, there is risk of the child developing schizophrenia at adulthood, thus influencing the behavior (Langley-Evans, 2004). There is a close link to the maternal nutrition, and other factors that surrounds the mother as well as the fetus which are causes of schizophrenia (Cooper, 2011). The factors might seem normal and thus neglected or even left without control by individuals and the final results of such is development of schizophrenia on the adults, thus having influenced their behaviors. It is advisable that the mothers not to neglect their nutrition while pregnant as such might negatively affect the child they are carrying. The adult behavior is affected by the nutritional factors a s it has been brought out above that lack of good nutrition may lead to mental problems as described in the above part. References Cooper, D. B. (2011).Developing services in mental health-substance use. Oxford, Radcliffe Pub. Craighead, W. E., Nemeroff, C. B. (2004).The concise Corsini encyclopedia of psychology and behavioral science. Hoboken, N.J., John Wiley Sons. https://www.credoreference.com/book/wileypsych. Da?mbska, M., Wisniewski, K. E. (1999).Normal and pathologic development of the human brain and spinal cord. London, John Libbey. Krimsky, S., Gruber, J. (2013).Genetic explanations: sense and nonsense. Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press Landrigan, P. J., Etzel, R. A. (2013).Textbook of children's environmental health. Oxford, New York NY: Oxford University Press. Langley-Evans, S. C. (2004).Fetal nutrition and adult disease: programming of chronic disease through fetal exposure to undernutrition. Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX, CABI Pub. Miller, M. W. (2006).Brain development: normal processes and the effects of alcohol and nicotine. Oxford [u.a.], Oxford University Press. Tsakanikos, E., Mccarthy, J. (2014).Handbook of Psychopathology in Intellectual Disability: Research, Practice, and Policy. https://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1466376.