Brain Development Quiz
www.zerotothree.org
True or false??
1. Basic brain connections are laid down before
birth.
2. Babies are born with the ability to learn all
the languages in the world.
3. A baby’s brain has the greatest density of cell
connectors (synapses) by age 3.
True or False??
4. Because the brain is making so many
connections pre-birth to age 3, the first three
years of life are the most critical for brain
development. After age 3, the "window of
opportunity" closes.
5. Good nutrition is one of the best ways we
know to help healthy brain development.
True or false??
6. Reading to a newborn infant is the best way
to help a child learn to read in the future.
7. Living in an orphanage as a baby will likely
result in negative, longlasting effects on the
brain.
6. There are times when a negative experience
or the absence of appropriate stimulation is
more likely to have serious, sustained effects
True or false??
9. Most of what we have learned about the
brain comes from research done on animals
rather than humans.
10. Brain research has been misunderstood and
misapplied in many contexts.
Answers
1. True
2. True
3. True
4. False
5. True
6. False
7. False
8. True
9. True
10. True
And more questions to consider …
• How does early experience get ‘under the skin’?
• What is ‘experience-based brain development’?
Genetic expression? The new research on
epigenesis?
• Why is this research important to early childhood
practitioners and to society as a whole?
• How does what we know about early brain
development inform our work in early childhood
care and education?