The Brain Developmental Blueprint
There is a specific progression in the development of the brain and nervous system, which is tied to motor and other developmental milestones.
Our Operating System
We are all born with a basic “operating system” in our brain and nervous system, enabling us to walk, talk, think, eat and so on. Though we are born with this basic software, it does not mean anything until we interact with and calibrate our nervous system to the world around us. What initiates this process is movement and active sensing of our world.
However, when a baby is first born, its brain is very immature as most human brain development happens outside of the womb. In other words, our motor cortex is not yet developed and we cannot voluntarily control movement — but we need to move to build our brain.
Primitive Reflexes
Humans are born with basic motor and sensory reflexes known as primitive reflexes, allowing us to move and actively sense and engage with the world around us. Sensory stimulation — like sound, smell, light, touch and movement — then flows back toward the brainstem and brain. The process activates genes that stimulate the cells in the nervous system to grow and form new connections with other brain cells. Mostly present at birth or even before, these motor sensory reflexes hold names like:
- Asymmetric tonic neck reflex
- Symmetric tonic neck reflex
- Moro reflex
- Palmer grasp reflex
- Babinski reflex
- Tonic labyrinthine reflex
- Rooting, sucking and snout reflex</span
How Our Brains Works
The Basics the brain is built from the bottom up, starting in the lower brainstem — the medulla.
It initially controls basic functions like breathing, heart rate, digestion and temperature regulation. As a child moves and interacts with the world, it stimulates growth in a higher level of the brainstem known as the pons, releasing new reflexes that allow for more sophisticated movement.
This, in turn, allows the child to engage with the world around them in more active, stimulating ways, causing areas of the brain to grow. This process continues up the brainstem into the cortex, leading to growth and maturity of the brain — particularly in the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s most complex and developed area. When this process is completed, it’s known as bottom-up completion.
The next step is top-down control, where the brain takes control of the entire brainstem, regulating everything in the body including the cardiovascular, immune, digestive, hormone, and muscle and sensory processing systems. This development is known as vertical integration.
The brain’s right hemisphere is more active in the womb and for the first three years of life, whereas the left becomes more active for the following three years. As the brain matures, the hemispheres conduct different functions. At times, they will work together and in others, one will take the lead and suppress interference from the other. Over time, they become more integrated and synchronized in a process called horizontal integration. The Result If anything interferes with vertical or horizontal integration, it affects the functioning of the whole body and brain, known as bottom-up interference and functional disconnection — which we believe are the foundation of all child and adult neurological conditions and symptoms.
Functional Disconnection
Our team examines and treats the imbalance that affects the two brain hemispheres.
When the development of certain areas is slowed on one side of the brain, it may lead to acceleration in other areas. In most people, the strengths outweigh the weaknesses — but in a developing brain, the weakness may be too great or the strong side of the brain may overpower the weak. This developmental imbalance results in a disability that may be combined with unusual gifts.
Who We Help
What happens in the first six years of life will determine the fate of the adult brain. The brain is still developing until at least our 40s, so new developmental symptoms may not emerge until we are 20, 30, 40 or even older. Through the years, Evasolace has seen many children and adults with a broad spectrum of disorders and conditions, including but not limited to:
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Autism spectrum disorders, including non-verbal
- Dyslexia
- Traumatic brain injury
- Dyscalculia
- Dyspraxia
- Memory Loss
- Some neurodegenerative disorders
- Other mental, attention, behavioral and learning disorders
- Other physical and nutritional issues
Example: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) In ADHD, hyperactivity results from overactive areas in the left hemisphere of the brain, making for too much motor activity, tics or stims.
Attention deficit stems from under activity in the same area on the right hemisphere, which is responsible for the poor sustained attention.
The answer? To inhibit the left side of the brain and activate the right side. To accomplish this, we must also inhibit the primitive reflexes and build balance and stability in the body, starting with the large muscles along the spine. As our bodies develop, initial spinal movements allow us to rollover, crawl and eventually stand upright. Next, we build our inner-ear vestibular balance system, which allows us to walk and maintain balance. Finally, our eye motor system enables us to move our eyes and keep them stable as we walk and move. An imbalance in these systems means there will be an imbalance in the nervous system and brain. Generally, this is known as nerve interference but in the brain, it’s called functional disconnection.
