Ways Parents Can Nurture Their Child's Brain Development

The human brain is the most complex organ in the body, and its development begins early in the fetal development cycle. Dr. Curtis Cripe explains that as the brain continues to develop throughout infancy and childhood, it is crucial for parents to do what they can to promote and nurture brain development in their children.

During pregnancy, soon-to-be-mothers need to get enough nutrients, including folic acid and omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for the developing brain. Dr. Curtis Cripe emphasizes the fact that brain development doesn't stop at birth. Once the baby is born, continued stimulation through activities such as reading, singing, and talking will help support healthy brain development.

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Below, Dr. Curtis Cripe shares some steps parents can take to promote their child's brain development.

Encourage reading from an early age: Reading with your child from an early age is a great way to stimulate their brain development. Not only will they learn new words and concepts, but they will also start to develop important reading skills.

Make time for play: Play is essential for healthy brain development in children. Making time for play allows children to practice essential social and motor skills and explore the world around them with a healthy curiosity.

Encourage positive discipline: It is important to encourage positive behavior in children from an early age. This means using techniques such as praise and rewards rather than punishment.

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Create a stimulating environment: The home environment can significantly impact a child's brain development. Creating a stimulating environment with plenty of toys and activities will help support healthy brain development.

Parents can find a variety of other sources by exploring resources such as the internet, libraries, and consulting with pediatric healthcare professionals. Dr. Curtis Cripe reminds parents that each child is different and will develop at their own pace.

Neuroengineer Dr. Curtis Cripe has a multi-disciplinary background that includes engineering, brain injury, child neurodevelopment, and software development, among others. Bookmark this page to read the latest posts from Dr. Cripe.

NTL Group: A Look Into the World of Neurology

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The work of neurologists, is to understand and treat people with diseases that affect the brain, spine, peripheral nerves, muscles, and autonomic nervous system. A neurologist assesses a patient's symptoms to determine certain conditions like tumors or epilepsy. A patient may be referred to a neurologist by their GP or another medical or specialist doctor. The referral letter from the GP will give details of the problem and what it is believed may be causing it. Dr. Curtis Cripe notes that neurologists also see children referred by a pediatrician because they have not reached their developmental milestones, for example, walking at an appropriate age. In addition, a neurologist may also see them if they have a learning disability.

A neurologist's work is mainly carried out in hospitals, but some do perform outpatient clinic appointments. Neurologists use testing and diagnostics to help determine certain issues based on findings.

A typical working day for a neurologist may involve consulting in a clinic or being on call to deal with emergencies. Dr. Curtis Cripe adds that the work is often demanding and requires good mental acuity.

Neurologists also help develop new treatments for conditions such as Parkinson's disease and movement disorders, which require cutting-edge research in genetics and stem cell research. Neurosurgeons working in neurology also may perform deep brain stimulation to alleviate symptoms of Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, and dystonia, as well as surgeries for epilepsy such as disconnecting the corpus callosum.

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Neurologists need a good understanding of their specialist field and some general knowledge from other medical professions. For example, they may require anatomy, physiology, and pathology knowledge.

A neurologist will also need excellent clinical skills to diagnose disease through examination, patient history, and investigations, including blood tests, X-rays, MRI scans, and lumbar puncture. It is not always easy to define what symptoms mean because the cause of the problem is not always clear.

Furthermore, Dr. Curtis Cripe mentions that neurologists have to evaluate the patient's quality of life and focus on improving it by identifying the root cause of the symptoms, which may require input from several other medical professionals.

Dr. Curtis Cripe is the founder and neuroengineer for NTL Group, a consortium of like-minded researchers and healthcare professionals whose primary object is to help those recovery addictions, traumatic brain injuries, and neurodevelopmental delays. For more updates like this, visit this blog.

Common neurodevelopment problems affecting children.

A child’s brain is constantly in continual development, growth, and tremendous changes and connections because it is frequently stimulated by the environment where it develops. There are a number of disorders from abnormal brain development or damage at an early age, and depending on the time the damage or abnormality occurs, the impact and effects will largely vary.

Autism This developmental disorder appears in the first three years of life, affecting the brain’s normal developing of social and communication skills. Patients process information in the brain and develop at different rates in every ear. Those diagnosed with autism have persistent difficulties in areas such as social communication, motor or verbal behavior, and sensory behavior.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) This childhood mental condition usually takes place before age seven and involves impaired or diminished attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. A child with this problem could lack attention to detail and the ability to sit still. He or she might talk excessively, has excessive energy, or interrupts in other people’s activities, to name a few.

Learning disorders Dyslexia is a reading disorder marked by an impaired ability to recognize words, poor comprehension, and slow reading. Dysgraphia is a writing disorder where there may be problems in writing specific words or writing in general, while dyscalculia is a calculation disorder in the basic arithmetic skills such as addition and subtraction.

Anxiety disorders Here, children worry excessively about many things, from school to their health to their future in general. These may include social phobia, antisocial behavior, and panic attacks, and the anxiety or depression may persist into adulthood.

Dr. Curtis Cripe is a multidisciplinary neuroengineer who currently heads the Research and Development Division of NTL Group, for advanced technology for brain and cognitive repair. Read more about neurodevelopment on this page.

Digit span: Its importance in neurodevelopment

Memory plays a huge part in one’s life. In learning, the brain is made stronger and more robust with the help of enhanced memory. In aging, using an individual’s various skill sets well into their older years, as well as remembering abilities, partly rely on memory. 

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In brain function, memory is one of the most important aspects because, as Crossroads Institute notes, it “defines who we are, what we know, and how we utilize what we know.” 

There are three categories of memories, namely short-term, intermediate or working, and long-term memory. Short-term memory can be measured using digit spans. It is done by letting the participants see or hear a sequence of numbers, and then checking if they were able to recall the digits correctly, either in the normal or reverse order. The longest sequential numbers they accurately remember serves as the digit span. The digit span is a representation of how much information any person can retain at any point in time. 

There are two ways of determining the digital span: either using auditory or visual triggers. If these digit spans are lower than the normal for a person at their age, or there is a significant disparity between the two, the individual could experience learning or behavioral problems. 

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Dr. Curtis Cripe has a diverse background in various fields, including neuroengineering, psychology, psychophysiology, addiction recovery, brain injury, and child neurodevelopment. For more information about him, visit this LinkedIn page.