Both nature and nurture play a role in the development of a baby’s brain. Genetics (nature) help determine the specialization of areas of the brain, but this is not set in stone. For example, in one experiment, a ferret’s eyes were hooked up to its audial cortex. Eventually, its brain adapted, and it could see, but not as well as a ferret whose brain was wired normally. This experiment showed that both nature and nurture play a role in brain development and specialization.
The brain is plastic throughout life, but it is much more malleable as a child. Young children are capable of learning any language and can distinguish any two sounds. For example, the sounds “she” and “tshe,” which are distinct in Chinese, sound exactly the same to an English speaker. However, this is not because of genetics, but rather because of necessity. A person can learn Chinese, or any other language, when he is older, but he will never speak it quite as fluently as a native. Also, if a side of the brain is removed, the other side will eventually compensate and take over the functions of the missing half. However, it will never work quite as efficiently. This shows that the brain has plasticity and can always be adapted, but it is most adaptable as a child.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a large role in many psychological problems. For example, schizophrenia is caused by the overstimulation or misfiring of neurons, which is caused by too much dopamine. Also, drug addiction is caused by dopamine, as drugs cause dopamine to build up in the synapses, thus overstimulated neurons and causing a high. Eventually, the brain tries to compensate for this by reducing the number of dopamine receptors, but this means that the addict will need to take the drug to get any feeling of joy.
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