Stimulating A Baby's Brain

By Dr. Leo Leonidas, FAAP

<Picture>Email This Article

Twenty nine years ago, when my wife was pregnant, I read from a Psychology journal
about the possibility that a fetus can hear. This idea was new then. But during that
time, there was already an obstetrician from California who was teaching his patients
"How to talk to their unborn baby."

When my wife was about eight months pregnant, I started talking to our unborn
baby. I told him that he will be a boy and his name will be Len Al. I put my lips on my
wife's belly and called his name. I talked to him both in the Filipino language and
English. I did the "fetal talking" every day until my wife was about to deliver.

We were so sure that he would be a boy (during that time there were no sonograms
to determine the sex), that we decorated his bedroom in blue and we bought baby
clothes for a boy.

On the freezing day of 28 January 1973, my son was born in Bangor, Maine. I talked to
him at once and called his name. Every time I noticed that he was wide awake and
alert, I talked to him. "How are you, kumusta ka?" Frequently my wife and I talked to
him bilingually in Tagalog and English during his first twelve months. We also read to
him frequently. Sometimes I read him some of my medical books. When we were
teaching him parts of his body, I even used some medical terms when pointing to his
anatomy. One of the first anatomical words he uttered was "patella" when he was a
toddler. The first two words that he was able to read at two years old were "Subaru"
and "Toyota."

When Len Al was one month old, I ordered toys for three to four month olds from
Johnson & Johnson. I made it a point to provide toys that were developmentally at
least two to three months ahead of his age. I stimulated his brain development by
talking and reading and playing with him every time I was at home. It was a fun time
for our family when I was challenging his skills. Len Al and I played with a ball when he
was four months old. When he was on his belly, I would place a small ball in front of
him that he could reach easily. Once he reached for it and grabbed it, I would say,
"Good boy," and show him my joy. Then I would move the ball an inch or two farther
where he could not reach it easily. Then I would say, "Go get the ball, Len." With
persistence, ultimately he maneuvered himself to reach and grab the ball, then I
celebrated with joy, "Good job, son!"

In the kitchen, when my wife was doing something, she made it a point to show him
the things and objects she was holding. At feeding time, Len Al loved the airplane
spoon game. My wife would put the carrots from Gerber on a spoon, and at about
12 inches from his mouth she would say, "Here is the airplane coming," and the spoon
would go into his mouth with carrot and all. My wife stayed at home for 12 months
with our son.

When Len Al was one year old, we had a 70 year old babysitter, Yolanda, who came
to our house to take care of him. Yolanda was his second teacher, and she probably
did better than we did at educating him. Both Yolanda and Al had nature walks,
apple sauce cooking, and almost no TV.
Our son did extremely well during his elementary grades. He was always in the top of
his class, and during high school he got only one "B" and all the rest were "A's." He was
summa cum laude at the University of Maine, with a BS in Biology. He was accepted
at three medical schools. He graduated from medical school at Tufts University in
Boston May 2001. Now Len Al is a first year resident at MedPeds (Medicine and
Pediatrics) at Albany Medical Center in New York. We attribute his successful
academic performance to our early stimulation of his brain during the first 9 months
by frequent talking, reading, playing with blocks, and traveling.

Most parents can make their infants advanced in emotional, cognitive, and
language development by recognizing that the most crucial time of development of
a child is from pre-natal to the first nine months of life. During this time, the growth and
development of the brain is the fastest and in high gear. The earlier the brain cells or
neurons are stimulated, the more synapses (connection of one neuron to another)
are created. It is the early neural synapses that make us remember, learn, talk, think,
count, and create better.

Copyright Leo Leonidas, MD, FAAP

Assistant Clinical Professor in Pediatrics
Tufts University School Of Medicine, Boston

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't forget to subscribe to our ezine to stay on top of the latest news on child brain
development and early child development
Feed The Brain

<Picture>Email This Article

Baby brain development is affected greatly by a baby's nutrition intake. Children who
are malnourished will resulted an inadequate brain growth that showing lower IQ,
slower language and fine motor development. Before we talk about the kind of food
that we need to 'feed' the brain. We probably want to ask ourselves, what is our brain
made of?

The Building Block of the Brain

Our brain is primarily fat, 60% by dry weight! Few people realize how important fat is to
a healthy brain. And DHA, the most plentiful fatty acid in the brain, is crucial to brain
health, from infancy to old age.

DHA

Many parents today already heard about the brain food - DHA. If you have not, you
may want to pay attention to this.

DHA is shorthand for docosahexaenoic acid. This omega-3 long chain fatty acid is the
primary building block of the brain and retina of the eye. The brain is 60% fat, and
DHA is the most abundant fatty acid in the brain, comprising 25-35%. DHA is found in
even greater concentrations - 50-60% - in the retina. DHA is critical for infant
development. Compelling research links DHA to the rapid cerebral cortex and eye
development that occurs during pregnancy and in the first few months after birth.

DHA passes through the placenta to the fetus during pregnancy, and to the nursing
baby through breast milk. Optimal levels of DHA in the bloodstream of pregnant
women and the breast milk of nursing mothers are crucial to babies. In fact, DHA's
presence in breast milk may explain why breast-fed babies have demonstrable IQ
advantages over babies fed formula without DHA. This is proved by the 21-year study
by a research team at Brisbane's University of Queensland. They found that the
breastfed children ended up with an intellectual advantage of eight IQ points. One
of the explanation by Prof. Najman, the research team leader was "that omega fatty
acids found in breast milk may be giving breastfed children an intellectual
advantage."

Once we understood the important of DHA presence in breast milk, one must also
realizes that the level of DHA vary widely from mother to mother. In fact, the DHA
levels in the breast milk of American women rank among the lowest in the world.
Why? Because the level of DHA in the breast milk is very much depending upon the
food intake of the mother. To produce high level of DHA in the breast milk, the
mothers should try to eat as much seafood as possible on the regular basis. And try to
breast-feed their children if at all possible.

With the finding of the importance of DHA in brain development, the World Health
Organization (WHO) has recommended that DHA be included in infant formulas at
levels comparable to those of mothers' milk. Today, you can find many infant
formulas are fortified with DHA such as:
* Frisogrow
* Anmum Essential
* Enfapro
* Dumex
 * ... and many more!

Just look for DHA next time when you are buying infant formula. In addition, you can
find DHA packaged in the softgel for older children. You can find these products in
major pharmacies and there are three products that I've come across:
* 'Champs'
* Kordel's Tuna Oil
* 'Red Sun' - BrainMax

You can also ensure your children (and yourself) obtain DHA from the diets. The
richest sources of DHA are red meats, animal organs, and eggs. Deep-water fish
obtain their DHA from microalgae like salmon, striped bass, rainbow trout,
halibut, tuna, sardines, mackerel or fish oil supplements for those whose fish intake is
very low. You can also find DHA in plants like green leafy vegetables, soybeans,
walnuts, flaxseed and canola oil.

DMAE

DMAE normally found in small amounts in our brains, DMAE (dimetheyaminoethanol)

has been shown to remarkably enhance
improvement in learning, mental alertness and clarity of thinking. A study conducted
by Dr. Carl Pfeiffer of Princeton, N.J. showed significant improvements in behavior,
learning ability, and attention span with 108 boys and girls. Irritability was decreased,
scholastic ability was improved and intelligence was actually elevated in some cases.
With its ability to improve attention span, DMAE is also alleviates behavior problems
and hyperactivity such as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).

DMAE is often given credit for having to elevate mood and improve memory and
learning. People who have taken DMAE for a period of a few weeks often report an
increase in physical energy and less of a need for sleep.

(Caution: DMAE may be ill advised for people subject to seizures according to some
authorities. Although few side-effects have been reported, confusion, headache,
drowsiness and muscle tension are possibilities.)

Occurring naturally in fish (sardines), you can also find DMAE in tablets/capsule form
in major pharmacies. Why is DMAE important? Because, it also increases the levels of
the neurotransmitter
'acetylcholine' in the brain. Next...

Acetylcholine

'Acetylocholine' was the very first neurotransmitter to be identified back in the early
1900s. Acetylcholine is found in the brain and the peripheral nervous system and is
an critical element in brain development and it proved to enhance spatial memory
and mental focus. Choline is the usual pre-cursor of acetylocholine and choline
influences levels of
acetylcholine. One of the infant formula that contains choline is 'ABBOTT GROW'.

Ginkgo biloba

The last food for brain in this article (there are many others, make sure you follow the
ezine subscription instruction below to receive more information in the future) is
Ginkgo biloba. Ginkgo biloba is the oldest species of tree native to China. Extracts
from the leaves of the ginkgo biloba tree has been used medicinally for centuries.
Studies showed that ginkgo works
by increasing blood flow throughout the body and brain. Especially, ginkgo biloba
improves circulation and oxygen supply to the brain. Thereby improves mental
alertness by increasing the brain's alpha wave rhythms and overall brain functioning.
You can find Ginkgo biloba tablets in major pharmacies.
Brain Development Centers

<Picture>Email This Article

This article highlights two brain development centers that are well established in their
respective countries and have training centers worldwide. One of these brain
development centers is from the West (USA) namely "Brainy Gym" and the other from
the East (Japan), "Shichida Method".

The article briefly describes the background and characteristic of these two brain
development centers and the potential improvement that they could bring to your
child's brain development. Finally, it will show you some testimonials and where you
can find these brain development centers.

[Brainy-child has no financial endorsement or any other interest in the centers that
provide them. The article provided here is strictly to be used as reference only. It is
meant to give readers an idea of the choices of brain development centers and how
they could possibly help to enhance your child's brain development]

Brain Gym
Brain Gym grew out of clinical studies started in 1969 by Paul E. Dennison, Ph.D., an
educational therapist from USA, who was looking for ways to help children and adults
who had been identified as learning-disabled.

Dr. Dennison's research led him to the study of Kinesiology, the science of body
movement and the relationship of muscles and posture to brain function. At the time,
it was already well established that moving in certain ways is necessary for brain
development. Babies and young children naturally perform what are known as
developmental movements.

Dr. Dennison discovered how to adapt these movements so we can use them to
stimulate our brains, even at age eighty. The result is a
simple and highly effective system of targeted activities that prepare your brain and
entire nervous system for optimal performance in all areas, intellectual, creative,
athletic, and interpersonal.

"Brain Gym" is a program of physical activities that can be used by anyone and the
activities are easy and enjoyable. The 26 Brain Gym is a program designed to
activate different cognitive functions, including communication, comprehension
(reptilian brain and frontal lobes) and organization (limbic system and frontal lobes).

Brain Gym brings dramatic improvements in concentration, memory,

language and number skills, reading, writing, speaking, athletic performance and
more. Learning with less stress and being able to
express creativity are some of the benefits of Brain Gym.

Brain Gym can be integrated into different areas within the early years setting in a
number of ways:

* Managing the learning environment e.g. to help children with transitions from busy
times to story time, to develop listening and attention.

* As a way of helping children work through key developmental stages in their early
years such as primitive and postural reflexes and motor patterns which are the basis
for later learning. Integration of these reflexes can help develop balance and co-
ordination, gross and fine motor control, attention and focus, speech, visual
processing and self esteem.

Recognized in over twenty countries, Brain Gym has been named one
of twelve programs representing "Successful Learning Innovations"
annually by the National Learning Foundation since 1990.

Here is one testimonial:

"I found using Brain Gym® benefited all of the children, no matter what age they
were. It generally helped them to concentrate and it helped them to become more
receptive to information." (SB Carlton Nursery, Glasgow)<Picture>

You can find more details about Brain Gym and Brain Gym's instructor in your country
at the official Brain Gym web site http://www.braingym.org/

If you're interested in the Brain Gym movements and the science behind Brain Gym,
"Brain Gym (Teacher Edition)" and "Smart Moves: Why Learning is not all in Your Head"
by neurobiologist Carla Hannaford, Ph.D, documents how and why the Brain Gym
movements work in the brain.

The Shichida Method: Right Brain Training

Professor Makoto Shichida has been researching education methods
of preschool children since 1951. He is thoroughly convinced of the theory that all
babies are born geniuses. He is a well known public figure in Japan, having
committed the past 40 years to developing techniques to stimulate early
development of right-brain education in children beginning in the womb and
continuing through adulthood. There are over 300 Shichida Child Academies in
Japan.

The Characteristics of The Shichida Method Brain Training

The left and right hemispheres of the brain have different capabilities. The right brain
possesses the ability to retain complete image of things seen at a glance in the
memory. Also, it is the receptacle for inspiration and the site of expression for image
abundant creativity.

The right brain controls the abilities to visualize images and the realization of those
images physically. Nearly all-successful people, regardless of their field of expertise,
demonstrate the right brain ability of distinct image visualization.

However, as the left-brain develops, it becomes harder to bring forth the abilities of
the right brain. If the child's brain is stuffed with knowledge, it becomes very difficult to
exercise and develop the right brain. (Note: This is where Shichida has different
opinion from Glenn Doman teaching). The Shichida Method believes in not over-
emphasizing on knowledge education, and that the cultivation of the child's ability to
learn on his own is of utmost importance.

Right brain capabilities that all children possess are:

1.The five senses of the right brain. Corresponding to the 5 senses of the left-brain
(sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell) the right brain also has its 5 senses. However, they
are not the senses of sight and hearing in the normal manner, but the ability to see,
hear, sense things through waves translated into images. These 5 senses of the right
brain are its basic abilities. When these abilities are released, man becomes capable
of seeing images as motion pictures.

2.The ability to see images in the form of motion pictures.

3.Photographic memory

4.The ability to do complex mental calculations.

5.The conversion of images to words, numbers, symbols and the reverse.

6.The ability to master foreign languages easily.

7.The ability to receive inspiration and use it towards unique creativity.

8.The ability of photographic speed-reading.

9.The ability to receive information on an intuitive level, and to use that information
accordingly.

Here is one testimonial:

"My son started answering math problems in writing at age of 2 and a half years old.
He has no problem solving the four rules of arithmetic in 4 to 6 digits. In a matter of a
minute, he can solve all these problems" (T.K. mother of a 3 year old, Okayama)

Here is the official site of Shichida Child Academy (sorry, it is in Japanese):

http://www.shichida.ne.jp/

The Shichida Child Academy outside of Japan that I know of can be found
in Singapore (Phone: 65-6220-9555) and Malaysia (Phone: 603-
4258-1232). In USA, there is a Master Shichida trainer living in Montana, her name is
Pamela Hickein. You can contact her for more
detail information: mailto:angels@oatmealangels.com