Early Relationships: The Key
Ingredient of Brain Development
Presented by: Mary Ann Marchel, Ph D.
University of Minnesota Duluth Unified
Early Childhood Studies
Agenda: Monday AM
9:00-9:30
–Introductions and Icebreaker
9:30-10-:30 Early Relationships: The Key
Ingredient of Brain Development
10:30-Break
10:45-11:30 Autism
11:30-1:00 Make it Take It Part I
1:00-2:00 Lunch
2:00-4:00 Make it Take it Part II
A Bit About Our Purpose:
• To create a safe learning environment that
nourishes and promotes your thinking about
“you” in the context of your relationships with
children, families, and staff.
• As facilitators, we are committed to supporting
creative and open exploration of relationshipbased work as it applies to your setting.
• We hope to create a “holding” environment that
furthers your journey in this important work.
• Take advantage of the “Wondering Wall”.
It’s all about the bricks and mortar:
Infant Mental Health as the “Context” for
Robust Early Intervention Services.
The Hierarchy of Well-Being
Relationship
Experiences
Social Experience
Sensory Input
Food Shelter
What do we know about the relationship
between early relationships and brain
development?
• Infants develop in the context of relationships
• Their brains develop neural connections in
response to their experience
• The quality of the relationship between parent
and child matters most, as they need
experience with an effective “relational
partner” in order for the parts to organize into
a “self”
Key Ingredients: Emotions…
• Emotions organize behavior……. and lay the
foundation for sense of self (inner working
model).
Key Ingredients: Social
• Infants are biologically predisposed to interact
with others.
• Originates with survival need.
• Harlow’s work with rhesus monkeys
demonstrates the critical role of contact with
others in development.
• “There is no such thing as an infant….If you set
out to describe a baby you will find you are
describing a baby and someone. A baby
cannot exist alone, but is essentially part of a
relationship.”
D.W. Winnicott, 1966
Ingredients: Relational
• Relationships provide the framework and
context in which behaviors are organized.
• The Still Face Procedure by Ed Tronick
provides an example of the opportunities that
exist in each interaction.
The Importance of Relationships
• Relationship is the fuel that drives
development, affecting basic capacities such
as self-regulation, exploration and learning,
identity, and interpersonal understanding
• The parent (relational partner) is the
organizer of the child’s psychological
experience
• Relationship can be stressed by internal and
external factors
Relationships
• Effect virtually all aspects of development:
Intellectual
Social
Emotional
Physical
Behavioral
Moral
Bidrectional Process
Caregiver, in turn provides the scaffolding
to help promote the infant’s successful
adaptation
Baby as
Interactor
Caregiver as Co
regulator
Infant regulates and refines care
Giver’s behavior in the service of her
Own adaptation (Sander, 1979; Vgotsky, 1987)
Taken together, these ingredients comprise the
key components of
infant mental health.
How do we as professionals who work with
young children and their families
Activate and nourish the growth of these
ingredients to create robust programs?
What are some key ingredients of Early
Intervention programs?
•
•
•
•
•
Attachment
Brain Development
Parent-Child Relationship
Intervention Skills
Self-Awareness
• An integrated understanding of attachment
and how it affects development
• An understanding of the attachment system
and the relationship between security and
exploration
• Can a child form different attachments to
different people?
• How does attachment affect self-regulation,
exploration, peer relationships?
• An understanding of the importance of
organized stimulation in the early years
• An awareness of the role of relationship in
brain development as well as the role of the
environment
• An awareness of the effects of environmental
stress on brain development
• An understanding of the complex and longlasting factors that affect the relationship
between parent and child
• An understanding of the effects of the
parent-child relationship on development
• An appreciation for the deeply PERSONAL
history and convictions that every parent
brings to parenting
• A sensitivity to the nuances of cultural and
familial differences in parenting
• Relationally-based intervention with parent
and child
• Skills of observation, regulation, reflection,
translation
• Professional use of self: noticing, feeling,
containing, assessing – learning to promote
strengths by “being with”
• Helping parent learn new skills for self and
child: think about, feel for, act on behalf of,
derive pleasure from
A bit of basic information about brain
development
Hardwired to Connect
• Mechanisms by which we become and stay attached to
others are biologically primed and increasingly
discernable in the basic structure of the brain.
• Nurturing environments, or the lack of them, affect the
development of brain circuitry.
• Nurturing touch promotes growth and alertness in
babies.
• Presence of a secure attachment protects toddlers from
biochemical effects of stress.
Field, 1986; 1995
Gunnar, 1989; 1996
Brain Development
In Infants and Toddlers
Developed by Ronald J. Lally. © 2007, WestEd, The Program for Infant/Toddler Care.
This document may be reproduced for educational purposes.
Motor Area
Intellect, Logic,
Reasoning
Speech
Hearing
Sensory area
Taste
Language
Vision
Balance
Emotional Regulation
Gene / Environment Interaction
• Environments can influence
genes as they release. Their
intensity can either reduce
or increase genetically based
risks.
Following information taken from
• The Program for Infant/Toddler Care (Ron
Lally, 2007). West Ed.
• National Science Council on the Developing
Child
Hierarchy of Brain
Development
FOREBRAIN
Cortex
Abstract Thought
Logic
Reasoning
“Executive Center”
MIDBRAIN
Limbic
“Emotional Center”
HINDBRAIN
Cerebellum &
Brainstem
“Alarm Center”
Attachment
Context Memory
Sexual Behavior
Emotion Reactivity
Appetite/Satiety
Blood Pressure
Body Temperature
Motor Regulation
Balance
Heart Rate
Breathing
Gene / Environment Interaction
• Environments can influence
genes as they release. Their
intensity can either reduce
or increase genetically based
risks.
Brain Architecture is Built
Over Time
• Brain development progresses in a
hierarchical, “bottom-up” sequence, with
advanced skills built on more basic
capabilities.
• As it develops, the quality of brain
architecture establishes a sturdy or weak
foundation for learning and behavior.
• Brain circuits consolidate with increasing age,
making them more difficult to rewire.
• The timetable of brain plasticity varies: it is
narrow for basic sensory abilities, wider for
language, and broadest for cognitive and
social-emotional skills.
Brain Architecture is Built
Over Time
• Brain development progresses in a
hierarchical, “bottom-up” sequence, with
advanced skills built on more basic
capabilities.
• As it develops, the quality of brain
architecture establishes a sturdy or weak
foundation for learning and behavior.
• Brain circuits consolidate with increasing age,
making them more difficult to rewire.
• The timetable of brain plasticity varies: it is
narrow for basic sensory abilities, wider for
language, and broadest for cognitive and
social-emotional skills.
Early Risk Factors
• Prenatal:
– Poor nutrition
– Pregnancy
complications
– Alcohol
– Prescription, O-T-C, &
illegal drugs
– Exposure to toxins
– Stress
– Parental depression
• Birth & First Months
– Poor Nutrition
– Delivery complications
– Neurological insult
– Exposure to toxins
– Difficult temperament/
hyperactivity/attention/
impulsivity problems
– Stress
– Parental depression
Months
Years
Decades
Thompson, R. A., & Nelson, C. A. (2001). Developmental science and the media: Early brain
development. American Psychologist, 56(1), 5-15.
Experience
creates
Expectation
which alters
Perception
“Culture influences every aspect
of human development and is
reflected in childrearing beliefs
and practices designed to
promote healthy adaptation.”
Core Concept #2 “From Neurons to Neighborhoods”
National Academy of Sciences, 2000
Understanding and Dealing
with Stress
Image: www.brainconnection.com
© 1999 Scientific Learning Corporation
Prenatal Development
The nervous system
begins to develop
just before the third
week of gestation.
Brain Size: 25% at Birth;
90% Age 5
Talking Reasonably and Responsibly about
Early Brain Development, University of
Minnesota
(Eliot, 1999)
Cell creation and
movement to the
right spots occur
during the first five
prenatal months.
Positive Stress
•Refers to moderate, short-lived stress responses, such
as brief increases in heart rate or mild changes in
stress hormone levels. Learning to adjust to it is an
essential feature of healthy development. Examples:
meeting new people, getting an immunization,
entering child care.
•Events that provoke positive stress tend to be those
that a child can learn to control and manage well
with the support of caring adults and which occur
against the backdrop of generally safe, warm, and
positive relationships.
National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, Excessive Stress Disrupts the Architecture of the Developing
Brain. (2005). Working Paper No. 3., Summer 2005.
Tolerable Stress
• Refers to stress responses that could disrupt brain
architecture, but generally occur within a time-limited
period and are buffered by supportive relationships
that facilitate adaptive coping. These conditions
usually give the brain an opportunity to recover from
potentially damaging effects.
• Examples of stressors include death, a serious illness of
a loved one, a frightening injury, divorce.
National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, Excessive Stress Disrupts the Architecture of the Developing Brain.
(2005). Working Paper No. 3., Summer 2005.
Toxic Stress
•Refers to strong and prolonged activation of the
body’s stress management systems in the absence of
the buffering protection of adult support, disrupts brain
architecture and leads to stress management systems
that respond at relatively lower thresholds, and
increases the risk of stress-related physical and
mental illness.
•Examples of stressors include extreme poverty, physical or
emotional abuse, chronic and serious neglect, enduring
maternal depression, family violence.
National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, Excessive Stress Disrupts the Architecture of the Developing
Brain. (2005). Working Paper No. 3., Summer 2005.
Tolerable and Toxic
Stress
Alarm
Relaxation
Alarm, Alarm
Persistent Stress Changes Brain Architecture
Typical neuron with many
connections
Normal
Chronic
stress
Neuron damaged by
toxic stress – fewer
connections
Prefrontal Cortex and
Hippocampus
Source: C. Nelson (2008)
Bock et al Cer Cort 15:802 (2005)
Under Any Type of Perceived
Threat
(physical, intellectual or emotional)
The Brain:
loses ability to take in subtle clues
reverts to “tried & true” behaviors
becomes more automatic & over-reactive
is less able to use “higher order” thinking skills
loses some memory capacity
The Body’s Response to
Stress
Increase in heart rate
Increase in blood pressure
Increase in breathing rate
Increase in muscle tone
Release of stored sugar
Hyper-vigilance
Tuning out of all non-critical information
Chemicals in the Brain
• The capacity to deal with stress is controlled by a
set of highly interrelated brain circuits and
hormonal systems that are specifically designed to
deal adaptively with environmental challenges.
When an individual feels threatened, stress
hormones are produced that convert the physical or
emotional stress into chemical signals that are sent
throughout the body as well as to the brain.
“Excessive stress disrupts the architecture of the developing brain”
Working Paper #3 Summer 2005, National Scientific Council on the Developing Child.
Cortisol
•
•
•
•
•
•
Kills brain cells
Reduces number of cell connections
Shrinks hippocampus
Impairs selective attention
Impairs thinking
Creates anxious behavior
Noradrenalin: An Alarm
Hormone
High levels trigger over-arousal and
tendency toward impulsive, hotblooded acts of violence.
Serotonin: An Impulse
Modulator
Low levels = an adaptation to a threatening
environment - impulsive, aggressive behavior
Normal levels = clear thinking, social success
Small Group Questions:
1. How can child care programs help children cope
with tolerable stress?
2. How can child care programs avoid exposing infants
to toxic stress while in care?
3. How can your program support infants who are
experiencing toxic stress outside the child care
program?
Responsive Care
• Watch child’s cues for signs of interest
• Ask what the child wants
• Adapt your behavior to child’s signals
• Bathe child in language
• Concern yourself with identity messages
Small Group Question:
What do you think would be most important for infant care
teachers and families with infants and toddlers to know
about early brain development?
What has worked for you?
Please share with your group a successful strategy you have
used to teach about brain development of infants and
toddlers.
Please write one statement about each.
Points to Remember
• There are learning windows but for humans most
windows never close completely
• Synapse loss is a natural occurrence based on the
pruning of seldom used connections
• Early emotional and social experiences are as important
to the wiring of the brain as intellectual experiences
• Healthy early development depends on nurturing and
dependable relationships
• Experiences create expectations which alter perceptions