Growth of the Brain

Abstract

In developmental studies it is important to consider each stage of development of an organ (or an embryo) NOT as a stepping stone towards the adult form, but rather as a stage that meets the functional needs of the embryo at that time — indeed the adult form would be of no functional use during most developmental stages. Within all sense systems, the sensitivity and complexity of perception and response increase progressively during development, and the same applies for the interactions between the various sensory systems as well as for the resulting motor patterns. The increasing responsiveness and complexity of behaviour patterns in turn allows the developing organism to regulate its sensory input, to discriminate lower levels of stimulus intensity and to better integrate the increasing complexity within a particular sensory system as well as between these systems.