Research in psychology and neuroscience confirm the effects of how pruning influences future behavior. A sad, but typical example is how abuse and/or neglect during early childhood literally shapes the way a brain-mind complex can perceive love. The neural pathways for love must be built early on, or else a child grows up with a mindset that is not programmed to receive love as it is intended.
How our needs are met affects the brain-mind complex, especially during the formative years of childhood.
While pruning begins heavily around age 2, it does not finish after a year or two. It happens in waves across different brain regions and lasts into your late 20’s.
Why This Matters: The Window of Adaptability
This “over-build and cut-back” strategy gives human babies incredible flexibility. It allows an infant’s brain to perfectly adapt to any language, culture, or climate they are born into. However, it also means that early environmental enrichment, stable relationships and healthy stimulation are vital for locking in crucial lifelong cognitive structures.
Brain cells that wire together, fire together.
The mind can redesign the brain due to neuroplasticity.
