BRAIN cells are raw material,, much like lumber is a raw material in building for house.. Heredity may determine the basic number of neurons children are born with & their initial arrangement,, but this is just a framework.. Environment that given to a child has played a enormous role on how these neurons get connected with each other.. So many parents,, teachers & caretakers understood intuitively that loving,, day to day interaction cuddling infants closely or singing to toddlers,, help them to learn things more easily & effectively..

Our BRAIN begins working long before it is finished.. The same process that wire the BRAIN before birth also drive the very rapid growth of learning that occurs immediately after birth.. At birth,, a baby’s BRAIN contains around 100 billion neurons,, roughly as many neuron cells as there are stars in the Milky Way..

Before birth the BRAIN produces trillions more neurons & synapses (that connect neurons each other) than needed.. During the first year of life,, the BRAIN undergoes a series of extraordinary changes.. Then,, through a process that resembles Darwinian competition,, the BRAIN eliminates connections that are seldom or never used..

Source: BRAIN Development Bulletin, The University of MAINE