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.

A glimpse at the history of neuroengineering

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In the field of medicine, very few things intrigue people as much as the human brain. Naturally, research on it has garnered more attention than most any topic. And this is one reason Dr. Curtis Cripe of NTL Group believes neuroengineering deserves to be in the spotlight.

If one looks back at the history of neuroengineering, the field that combines engineering techniques and the science of the neural system, it is almost as if many of the events were taken from a science fiction novel or movie; especially in recent years when leading researchers in the field have been able to create interfaces and facilitate interaction between the human neural system and non-living constructs.

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Dr. Curtis Cripe explains that neuroengineering as a discipline began a bit later than other research fields, mainly since the technology to accomplish what researchers set out to do had not yet been developed. And while researchers have made significant strides in neuroengineering, there is still much to be learned about the human brain and the electronic gadgets that can interact with it.

The first official global conference on neuroengineering took place in 2003. The following year, several journals and reports started to be published. Today, neuroengineers worldwide get together regularly to discuss findings, compare notes, and push the field forward, Dr. Curtis Cripe adds.

Dr. Curtis Cripe played an important role in the development of the programs being used by the NTL Group, which specializes in the treatment of learning disabilities and neurological diseases. More information on Dr. Cripe and his work here.

A number of brain injuries you should be aware of

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Dr. Curtis Cripe has a lot of experience under his belt, and he is also quite an expert in several things all at once. For this blog, he shares about one of the topics he is most knowledgeable in, which is brain injuries. Here are some examples that are worth knowing.

Concussion

Concussions are not to be taken lightly, as this type of injury has caused difficulties and impairments in the brain function that could last a lifetime. This happens when the brain receives trauma from an impact or a sudden momentum or movement change. Internally, the blood vessels in the brain may stretch and cranial nerves may be damaged. According to Dr. Curtis Cripe, this has serious repercussions for the affected individual. Even the force that boxers and football players inflict on opponents have been known to cause concussions.

Coup-Contrecoup

Not to be confused with a concussion is a contusion, which is understood as a bruise that causes bleeding on the brain. A Coup-Contrecoup injury is a complex type of injury, because this is characterized by a contusion at the site of the impact and at the complete opposite side of the brain. The second contusion is a result of the brain slamming into the opposite side of the skull.

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Diffuse Axonal

A Diffuse Axonal injury is typically a result of a strong and abrupt movement of the head, where rotational forces are involved, notes Dr. Curtis Cripe. The most common cause of this condition is car accidents. The principle of inertia is always at work, often understood as the tendency of anything with mass to resist a sudden change in motion. In the case of this injury, the skull moves and the brain lags behind, causing some of its structures to tear.

Dr. Curtis Cripe has a diverse background in neuroengineering, aerospace engineering, psychology, psychophysiology, software development and programming, addiction recovery, brain injury, and child neurodevelopment. He established the Crossroads Institute, which utilizes telemedicine brain training delivery systems to assist children with developmental and learning disorders and provide programs for adults with a wide range of psychological problems, including addiction and traumatic brain injury. For related topics, please visit this page.

What to do after detecting autism in children

The symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can sometimes be difficult to spot at earlier stages. These include problems in language comprehension, delay in speaking, abnormal tone of voice, inappropriate social interaction, and poor eye contact. It may even take another person to suspect something. According to neuroengineering expert Dr. Curtis Cripe, parents should have their children tested for ASD if they suspect anything because catching it at an early stage can make a big difference.

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Once the diagnosis has been confirmed, parents should prepare. And, more importantly, they shouldn’t let the disorder intimidate them. They should find the time to learn all about ASD, what changes in their lifestyle are expected, and what can be done.

Also, some parents tend to blame themselves because of the genetic anomaly of ASD. Your child is still the same blessing you had since day one and nothing changes that fact. It’s not the end of the world and there are truly wonderful stories out there regarding people with ASD and the leaps and bounds they are able to make despite the situation.

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Lastly, some parents look at ASD as a life-threatening disease like cancer. However, it is a brain disorder, not a disease and many proven therapies can help. While it is indeed life-changing, Dr. Curtis Cripe believes that it doesn’t mean that your child should be treated anything other than a loved one growing up and discovering the world, just like any other kid.

Dr. Curtis Cripeis a multidisciplinary neuroengineer and aerospace engineer whose diverse work background includes software development, bioengineering, addiction recovery, psychophysiology, psychology, brain injury, and child neurodevelopment. To know more about Dr. Cripe and his expertise, visit thiswebsite.

Neuroengineering: A Quick Overview

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Neuroengineering marries the different fields of neuroscience, device development, computation, and mathematics, and is an exciting modern venture into science and technology. It has generated plenty of excitement not only for developing interfaces between the brain and computers but also for mostly untapped potential in developing treatments for neurological conditions such as strokes and epilepsy. It combines technologies and algorithms with experimental research to accomplish the following.

Develop devices and computing: This is to assist patients with neural disorders, which affects almost 1 billion people around the globe.

Reveal how neural systems perform computations: This is one of the biggest challenges that confront science today.

Inspire new technologies and algorithms: Through reverse engineering living neural systems, scientists in this field can produce more innovations, such as robotics.

Educate younger scientists and engineers: It can pave the way for transcending the traditional limits and boundaries of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Perhaps one of most memorable examples of neural engineering is the bionic arm, where the DEKA Arm is currently underway in clinical trials out of hopes of providing amputated U.S. soldiers with an artificial limb that is way more advanced than the basic hook used since the World War II. The DEKA Arm recognizes signals coming from the brain and relays signal back to the human organ.

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A closer understanding of how neurons work could discover ways to stimulate or disrupt the neurocircuitry. This way, implantable devices akin to pacemakers could be used for controlling nervous system conditions such as depression and Parkinson’s disease.

With the diverse array of disciplines it incorporates, neuroengineering could offer pioneering insights into understanding further prevalent brain and nervous system disorders and other neurologic deficits affecting millions worldwide.

Dr. Curtis Cripe is the head of research and development at the NTL Group, which specializes in neuroengineering programs. For similar discussions, subscribe to this blog.

Understanding The Complexity Of The Human Brain

It is general knowledge by now that the human brain is the most complex machine that ever existed. And even with the advancement of science and technology, there is still no way to fully comprehend how the organ works. It is poetically described as the most intricate structure in the known universe, more mysterious than the least-explored depths of the ocean.

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They say that should scientists ever completely figure out the mechanism of the brain it would perhaps be the greatest scientific achievement in human history.

A study of the physical structure of the brain has so far yielded the following information about it.

The human brain has, on average, 100 billion neurons, the nerve cells responsible for transmitting information using electrochemical signals.

These signals are communicated through connections called the synapse, and there are 1,000 to 10,000 of these in each neuron. This amounts to 125 trillion synapses in the human brain, which is 1,000 times more than the entire stars in the Milky Way Galaxy.

With such complexity, it is then imperative that technological progress should also be made to ensure the optimal health of the brain. Advanced tools and programs for visualizing and analyzing cognitive brain functions are being utilized more and more to address brain-based problems.

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Neuroengineer Dr. Curtis Cripe applies his diverse background in aerospace engineering, psychology, psychophysiology, and software development and programming to lead his team in NTLgroup® on cognitive and brain repair for addiction, head injury, and developmental delays. More discussion on these fields can be accessed here.

Road To Recovery: Neuroengineering Addiction

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Addiction is not something that should be taken lightly. It has time and time again caused unfortunate consequences, even leading to the destruction of lives. A comprehensive treatment approach is an effective way of leading the patient back to recovery.

Neuroengineering has allowed medical care providers to analyze and overcome brain dysfunctions using and blending the concepts of neuroscience, engineering, biology, neurology, and psychology, as well as other disciplines.

NTLgroup®, a consortium of like-minded researchers and healthcare professionals, develops cutting-edge programs and cognitive rehabilitative techniques to help in the recovery from addiction.

Its approach to the treatment is based on the alcohol and other drugs abuse dual-process theories, which propose that addictive behavior is determined by the failure of interactions between two different brain systems – the reflective or thinking system and the reflexive or impulsive system.

The organization uses a trademarked program, BrainRecoveryTM, to help treat the disorder. The program focuses on the cognitive brain functions to improve the patient’s brain capabilities, increasing his IQ and skills in decision making, self-regulation, and impulse control.

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Coupled with therapeutic imprinting technologies that are focused on preventing relapse, the result is a complete shift in behavior, breaking the relapse cycle, and giving the patient the ability to make proper rational choices.

The research and development division of NTLgroup® is headed by Dr. Curtis Cripe. His professional and academic work, spanning several disciplines, has helped him develop an integrated cognitive rehabilitation and development training program that can be used for those with addiction or substance abuse. Read more about his field of work by visiting this website.