Brain Development and Language
The human brain is quite simply, amazing. Our brains are developed
over time with the foundational structures constructed in the womb from the
third week of gestation onwards. The development of neurons is prolific and
rapid as the human brain forms 1 million neurons every second in the first few
years of life and continues into adulthood: with some of the major structural changes
occurring again in the prefrontal cortex during adolescence.
In early childhood, we develop simple neural connections,
following with more intricate and complex circuits which enable us to develop more
complex skills and language. Each area of our brain is responsible for
different physiological, psychological, and emotional functions throughout the
body, conscious and unconscious processes that enable us to maintain homeostasis
and be everything that it is to be a fully developed human (Harvard, 2022).
Synaptic pruning occurs once we have built enough circuits,
this process enables the brains circuitry to be more efficient and prunes away
areas unused. What happened to Genie Wiley was the process of synaptic pruning
in the speech and language areas of the brain, having passed what psychologists
understand to be the critical period of language development. Lenneberg’s
theory of language acquisition proposes that the critical period is from two to
twelve years of age (Vanhove, 2013).
The crucial areas are known as Broca’s area, responsible for
speech production and comprehension, and Wernicke’s area, responsible for understanding
written and spoken language. When Genie’s language assessment score was initially conducted, it placed her at the cognitive
age of 1 years old, however, while in the care of psychologists, she did manage to make incredible progress and learn
some basic vocabulary such as linking two
words together. Sadly, Genie spent much of her life post -rescue in foster care
where she suffered further abuse and neglect; resulting in Genie becoming once
again fearful to open her mouth to speak.
References:
Harvard University. (2022). Brain Architecture. Center on
the Developing Child. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/brain-architecture/
accessed 05/05/2022
Vanhove J. (2013). The critical period hypothesis in second
language acquisition: a statistical critique and a reanalysis. PloS one, 8(7),
e69172. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069172
