. In the first story, Michael Blankenship was having issues and difficulty with language.
How does a child's experience influence language development? In your own words,
describe what is happening in Michael's brain and the concept of plasticity.
A child’s experience influences language development through neural connections and
pathways. These are a main factor in language because children’s brains are inclined to
understand language as they have been hearing sounds and understanding tones of
voice and rhythm since before birth. When there are problems in pathways of the brain
that control language, children have issues speaking. It is not entirely clear what the root
issue is in Michael brain, however with each syllable he practices, he is shaping is brain
and its ability to produce sounds correctly. This is plasticity. Children have an incredibly
plastic brain meaning that they are forming new connections and learning and shaping
their personality all through new pathways made in the brain.
2. As you recall Katie and Michael both suffered debilitating seizures which could not be
controlled by medication. Discuss what happens in the child's brain and how does the
brain compensate when the left side or a section of the brain is removed or diseased.
When seizures happen there are too many neural firings in the brain leading to too many
instructions to the body and ultimately leads to a seizure. Language is developed in the
left hemisphere and when it is compromised by injury or disease, the brain compensates
by creating new connections in the right side of the brain because the right hemisphere
has mechanisms for language recovery. The right hemisphere just isn’t as efficient as the
left hemisphere.
3. Dyslexia: Describe what is happening in the brains of children with dyslexia. Why is
reading so difficult for individuals?
In children with dyslexia, the brain is less efficient in processing speech and sounds.
reading is difficult for some because it is many different behaviors that are explicitly
taught, such as letter recognition, letter perception, letter pronunciation, comprehension
and more. They utilize different parts of the brain such as memory, vision and hearing in
a rapid-fire overlapping process.
4. What did you learn or find the most interesting regarding the brain in this video?
The most interesting part of this video was learning that the right hemisphere, when left
isn’t present, uses the same parts of the left hemisphere to process Language but the
issue with the right hemisphere in language development is that it isnt as efficient as the
left. Its just interesting that different sides of the brain take on different responsibilities
but are still adaptable to the responsibilities of the other side.