How the Brain Works The Facts Visually Explained by DK (z-lib.org)

THE PHYSICAL BRAIN

Babies and Young

Babies and

Older Children Children

The human brain begins to develop after conception

and changes rapidly for the first few years of life, but

it takes more than 20 years for a brain to fully mature.

Before birth

An embryo’s brain has a lot of development to do, going from just a few

nerve cells three weeks after conception to an organ with specialized

areas that is ready to start learning from birth. Genes control this process,

but the environment can affect it as well. Insufficient nutrition can change

brain development, and extreme stress on the mother during pregnancy

can have an impact, too.

FACELIKE NOT FACELIKE

Babies prefer looking at face-like

images and learn about faces

rapidly. An area of the cortex called

the face recognition area (see p.68)

becomes specialized in identifying

faces. Chess champions also use this

area to recognize board layouts,

suggesting that the most important

patterns in a person’s life are

decoded there.

RECOGNIZING FACES

Brain development

The first nerve cells are produced just days after

conception. These cells form into a plate and then

curl to become a liquid-filled structure, called the

neural tube, which develops into the brain and

spinal cord. One end becomes a bulge and then

splits into distinct areas.

KEY

Forebrain

Midbrain

Hindbrain

Spinal cord

Nerve cells develop,

migrating around the embryo

to form the start of the

brain, spinal cord, and

nerve network.

3 W

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Forebrain

prominence

Neural tube forms

Around week five, the neural

tube begins to form into

something recognizable as

a brain. The eye starts

to develop.

5 W

EE

KS

Neural

tube

Ear bud

Eye

bud

At week seven, the forebrain,

midbrain, and hindbrain divide

into bulges that will become

the cerebrum, brain stem,

and cerebellum.

7 W

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Ear bud

Cranial

nerves

Eye bud

Brain stem

The cerebrum enlarges, and the eyes

and ears mature, moving into

position. Some parts of the

fetus’s body may respond

to touch.

(^11) WEEKS
Cerebellum
Cerebrum
The brain stem is mostly
mature and controls reflexes
such as blinking. Sleep and
wake cycles begin, and
the fetus responds to
loud noises.

5 M

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TH

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