Early Intelligence: How the Brain And Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life (Penguin Press Science S.) - Softcover

Although the brain of a newborn has 100 billion nerve cells, babies are capable of little beyond the most vital functions such as breathing and sucking. Sensory ability is primitive and higher cognitive functions such as attention, reasoning and conscious memory are absent because babies' brain cells are only poorly connected. What firms up these connections are the experiences and stimulation the baby receives in the critical first five years.

Though not for the impatient, What's Going on in There? presents a comprehensive overview of current scientific knowledge about infant and early childhood brain development with impressive depth and clarity. Along the way, it richly demonstrates the innumerable ways in which parents can help their children develop better brains. Eliot, a neuroscientist and mother of three, starts her immensely intelligent labour of love with a richly detailed yet accessible tour of the growing embryo, guiding readers through the developing sensory, motor, emotional and cognitive systems. You'll understand the inner workings of the brain like never before. You'll learn the latest thinking on the nature vs. nurture question. You'll gain invaluable insights into the evolution of the senses, motor skills, social and emotional growth, memory, language and intelligence. Throughout, Eliot maintains a neutral voice, meticulously steering away from thornier social and ethical issues. In such a vital and contentious area, this can be either an advantage or a detriment, depending on the interests or needs you bring to the book. What's Going on in There? is another landmark in popular science.--Fiona Buckland

Recent studies on brain function and growth have opened the way to discovering what is going on in an infant's mind and reinvigorated the nature/nurture debate. The Human Genome Project promises a blueprint for every individual, but these exciting genetic discoveries, says neuroscientist Lise Eliot, also raises the alarming tendency to think there is little we can do to influence a child's fate, that it is all a matter of heredity. We are the product of "a delicate dance between genes and environment", but while genes programme the "sequence" of neural development, its "quality" is shaped at every turn by experience. In this book, Eliot charts the way a child's brain evolves and the implications this has for emerging mental skills: sensation, movement, emotion, memory, language and intelligence. Featuring copious observations of real children, "Early Intelligence" highlights the positive steps parents, carers and educators can take to make the child's early years a rich experience, the benefits of which will carry through to adulthood.