Attention Deficit

Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time.
–Hebrew Proverb

Learning takes place by construction of neural networks. Neural networks are the "whispering" of neurons to each other. Neurons are brain cells that communicate with each other via an electrochemical process that carries neurotransmitters across the division between the neurons (the synapse). Our five senses process information (external stimuli) and then select certain neural connections to become active.

In the recent past, scientists believed this network building or neural activation to be deterministic - the genes you are born with would determine the networks that could develop. However, it has been proved that activation is a random selection among many possible neural connections that could occur. It is not something that happens by deterministic design.

The ADHD Connection

No one, that’s right, no one, knows why people have attention problems. Theories abound, but since there is no real pathology associated with attention problems (other than theoretical) it cannot be physically located to be surgically corrected. However, we do know that new information (sensory input) enters the brain through preexisting networks, which is why it is imperative to provide challenging stimulation in early childhood. If the input is not new, it can trigger memory. If it is new it can trigger learning. Cognitive psychology refers to this process as constructivism: The learner builds his or her own knowledge on his current knowledge base, but only in response to a challenge. It is evident that some persons are not born with the neural networks that facilitate focused attention.

Furthermore, the old notion that early childhood experiences have little impact on later development has been proven false. We now know that the brain is directly and decisively affected by early experiences. This includes the architecture of the brain and the nature and extent of adult capacities; the actual capacity to form new neural networks is directly affected by early childhood experiences.

It was also thought that brain development is linear: the brain’s capacity to learn and change grows steadily as an infant matures into adulthood. It is now known that brain development is non-linear: there are optimum times for acquiring different kinds of knowledge and skills. For example, it is often easier for a very young child to learn a new language than a person past the age of 25.

However, the brain can grow and continue development through death provided the right conditions are met. In light of this, a recent research study quoted by WebMD Medical News shows that fluency in two languages or more prevents some of the effects of aging on brain function. The study reports that bilingual people have a greater capacity to stay focused on a task than people who spoke only one language. Inability to stay focused on a task is a hallmark of the aging brain’s decline. Bilingual people also seemed more readily able to filter out distraction or irrelevant data. This suggests that the function, capacity, or neural network involved in bilingual language processing may be the same processing needed to stay attentive. The study appears in the June, 2004 issue of the Journal Psychology and Aging.

It’s essential that early stimulation be provided as it seems to lay the foundation for growth and capacity in later life. It appears that stimulation in utero may be a good beginning.