The right hemisphere of the brain has a considerable growth spurt in the first year. It is in charge of recognising faces, experiencing and coding emotions, colour recognition, images and more intuitive, thoughtful and subjective thinking. As mentioned previously the amygdala is linked to the visual-affective interactions in basic proto-conversations (basic ace and eye contact) and is reliant on pleasant eye to eye contact. If the amygdala is, so to speak, stroked with frequent and gentle interactions the right hemisphere flourishes. High levels of opiods are involved and the orbi-frontal cortex which is linked to the eyes and envelops the brain start to filter different emotions. It is believed that the child is using mother’s outward manifestations of her own right cortex. This is as a brain blueprint and can be seen as the backbone of the babies emotional world.
Therefore visual stimulation that is not too intense or infrequent helps to stimulate the infant brain, which helps better receptivity and internalising capacities to transform into solid psychic structures. This helps with the capacity for attachment, bonding and healthy adhesiveness in relationships.
The Left brain is very interdependent with the right hemisphere, in fact the right hemisphere brain needs to be structurally well built and have solid foundations for maximisation of left brain growth. The Left brain which is charge of sequential and verbal processing is the second part of the baby brain puzzle and takes part after the first year. Before baby can learn new words or for the orchestra to work there needs to be good links amongst the musicians. Parents start to notice that their baby is able to relate feelings to words and have more evolved verbal capacities.
Words which frequently punctuate mother’s communication make more sense, there is a more elaborative communication. From smiling at 6 weeks, which seduces mother to respond, this helps with gurgling and babbling at 6 months, to better formed words that are noted at around 9 months with the words ‘mama’ or ‘dada’. Baby starts crawling giving satisfaction and promotes parent involvement and encourage skills.
Having had a good experience will expand joint attention capacities of attention (where baby can look at mother and then toy). It is at around one when babies are starting to walk that they show more complex mimicking and have more developed speech patterns, connecting sounds with meaning, interweaving what they have heard, re-mimicking them, attempting to speak them, stringing them into sentences – this is when left hemisphere is visibly developing.
Parents are continually rewarded by their child’s achievements and the milestones reached, with the resulting effects of parents being enthused and enjoying their time with their baby.
