Childhood Around the World Exam 2 Notes The Brain Animals with brains that are finished and do not change much after birth do not play Animals that are better at solving unpredictable problems mammals and some birds use play to finish the brain circuitry during ontogeny o Are shaped by experiences after birth rely on play to help finalize the brain s adult architecture o Intelligence comes from solving novel problems Human brain growth 370 g 1350 g Chimpanzee brain growth 175 g 350 g Brain mass approaches mature size before body mass reaches mature size Human infants and children direct enormous amounts of energy toward brain growth and development Neurons distinctive in ability to communicate other neurons neurons communicate with one another via synapses 100 billion neurons at birth o Developing networks of synapses mature structure and function of the brain o Synaptogenesis creating new synapses new connections between neurons Visual and auditory cortex reach mature level of synaptogenesis early 5 years The frontal lobes involved in higher cognitive processes are the last to attain adult levels of synaptic connectivity From birth to adult brain growth o 370 g 1350 g o Neurons increase in size growth of dendrites axons and synapses after birth there are 1000 trillion synaptic connections o Add glial cells one trillion glial cells o Add myelination of axons Myelin fatty sheath around the axon increase the rate of conduction Before birth o Create neurons neurogenesis complete by 7 months of gestation o Move neurons into position migration o Aggregation into layers o Create neural circuits synaptogenesis After birth o grow more axons and dendrites create many more connections continued synaptogenesis o Myelination o Pruning of unused synapses o Maturation of frequently used synapses use it or lose it Harry Chugani pediatric neurologist o Glucose metabolism shows active areas of synaptogenesis o Using PET scans to measure glucose metabolism PET positron emission tomography a nuclear medical imaging technique shows active acreas o Newborn brainstem thalamus reflexive o 3 months cerebellum visual auditory tactile cortex sensory and motor development o 6 8 months frontal and occipital lobes o 24 months brain as active as adult o 36 months brain is twice as active as an adult o 3 10 years remains twice as active o 10 18 years gradual drop to adult levels o Birth 2 500 synapses per neuron o 3 years 15 000 synapses per neuron o Adult 5 000 synapses per neuron Brain building is especially active in childhood 3 10 years of age 3 categories of play rate o Play absent o Play rudimentary o Play common play Dare Mo Shiranai Nobody Knows When controlled for body mass brain mass was significantly associated with level of Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda in 2004 Tokyo the world s largest metropolitan area at 32 million Four siblings aged 4 12 years living in a small Tokyo apartment Child like single mother coping with life in a big city Akira is the responsible parent caretaker who exhibits coping behavior under difficult circumstances Yuya Yagira Akira won the Best Actor Award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival Akira 12 year old boy Kyoko 10 year old sister Shigeru 6 year old brother Yuki 4 year old sister Keiko 30 year old mother Saki 13 14 year old girl Koreeda gives the viewer a sense of what life is like for these children Is Keiko a good mother Family life is organized no one fights everyone does their job unpacking shopping laundry cooking academic work Keiko is playful and encouraging the family laughs around the table Keiko is enthusiastic when playing games with her children Keiko cuts hair and puts nail polish on Kyoko Keiko is responsive when Kyoko shares her good feelings about the small of the tatami mats Kyoko opens the door for her mother suggesting they have a loving relationship Keiko helps Kyoko light the stove Keiko tutors Akira playfully teases him and encourages him to teach himself using the books she has purchased These is a collection of children s book which Kyoko unpacks and uses to read Yuki Is Keiko is not a good mother Keiko lies to landlord and sneaks her children into the apartment in suitcases She does not allow her children to attend school and discourages them when they express a desire to attend school She comes home intoxicated and wakes her children to share her elated mood Puts her own enjoyment above her children s needs She discusses her new boyfriend with Akira Each of Keiko s children has a different father Keiko seems unable to worry and projects an overly optimistic future about the outcome of her new relationship Keiko expects Akira to take care of the family Keiko is unrealistic when she tells Akira Go to them the fathers of Yuki and Shigeru if you need money these fathers have already shown little willingness to help Things begin falling apart The previously organized apartment has become increasingly disorganized Akira uses up precious financial resources buying food and drinks for the friends he met in the game parlor friends who show little regard for him and abandon him when he refuses to steal How do Akira Kyoko and Shigeru express their grief Nobody cries sobs screams Japanese restraint in emotional expression is on display Koreeda the director nudges the viewer to feel the emotion of each film character with camera shots that force your attention o A facial expression a bunny that belonged to Yuki the loud approach of airplanes each of these details carry symbolic meaning Nobody Knows Four children have been left alone in an apartment for months Shigeru speaks past two women discussing the academic failures of their children no one knows that Shigeru does not even go to school and has no adult watching out for him Akira is in a familiar street but everything is white and spinning because Akira is grieving he is surrounded by people who are unaware of his distress Akira and Saki purchase candy boxes to put in Yuki s grave but the shopkeeper says Akira and Saki drag a suitcase with Yuki s body into the monorail station but nobody Going on a picnic Looks fun knows there is a body in the suitcase Akira and his siblings live in one of the largest cities in the world yet nobody knows about the struggles taking place in the lives of these children this could not happen in a small scale society such as the Parakana Shigeru We expect an older sibling to take care of a younger sibling For example Shigeru is squirting his gun in the bath tub while Akira is