Developmental neuroscience: Implications for early childhood intervention and education

Abstract

There has recently been considerable interest in whether findings in developmental neuroscience have implications for 0-8 years early childhood intervention and, education and, if so, whatthese might be. Findings from five areas are considered: prenatal development, synaptogenesis and synaptic loss, sensitive periods, the effects of complex environments, and neural plasticity. Findings are considered to have implications if they challenge rather than confirm current practice or policy in early childhood intervention and education, or if they challenge knowledge in the field that has been derived from non-neuroscience research. On this basis, findings to date from developmental neuroscience appear, despite their high scientific interest, to have few immediate implications for practice or policy. Some research is confirmatory of non-neuroscience developmental psychology research. Future research in developmental neuroscience may have more implications. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd.