Cited by 264Child and Animal Learning DevelopmentNeurobiology of Language and BilingualismLanguage Development and Disorders

The Infancy of the Human Brain

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Dehaene-Lambertz, G., Spelke, E.S.·2015·Neuron

Abstract

The human infant brain is the only known machine able to master a natural language and develop explicit, symbolic, and communicable systems of knowledge that deliver rich representations of the external world. With the emergence of noninvasive brain imaging, we now have access to the unique neural machinery underlying these early accomplishments. After describing early cognitive capacities in the domains of language and number, we review recent findings that underline the strong continuity between human infants' and adults' neural architecture, with notably early hemispheric asymmetries and involvement of frontal areas. Studies of the strengths and limitations of early learning, and of brain dynamics in relation to regional maturational stages, promise to yield a better understanding of the sources of human cognitive achievements.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.026

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175 of 175 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • The baby brain is not a miniature adult brain; regional changes in brain connectivity and differential myelination are asynchronous and protracted.

    “Importantly, the baby brain is not a miniature adult brain; regional changes of brain connectivity and differential myelination take place that are asynchronous and protracted (Dehaene-Lambertz and Spelke, 2015; Dubois et al., 2016).”

    From Conscious Processing and the Global Neuronal Workspace Hypothesis (2020) · cites this paper as Dehaene-Lambertz and Spelke, 2015

  • Within the first year of life, all GNW areas become active, including the prefrontal cortex, but lack of myelination makes them very slow to process information.

    “Within the first year of life, all GNW areas quickly become active, including the prefrontal cortex, although their lack of myelination renders them very slow to process information (Dehaene-Lambertz and Spelke, 2015).”

    From Conscious Processing and the Global Neuronal Workspace Hypothesis (2020) · cites this paper as Dehaene-Lambertz and Spelke, 2015

  • Genetically determined early synaptic connections enable the first appearance of synchronized oscillatory electrical activity in the prenatal brain.

    “Genetically determined early synaptic connections enable the first appearance of synchronized oscillatory electrical activity in the prenatal brain62, 63.”
  • The human neocortical areal map is topographically matched but slightly structurally and functionally asymmetric between the left and right hemispheres.

    “The formation of the human neocortical areal map is topographically matched, though slightly structurally and functionally asymmetric, between the left and right hemispheres (Amunts et al., 2003; Dehaene-Lambertz and Spelke, 2015; Sun and Walsh, 2006).”

    From The Cellular and Molecular Landscapes of the Developing Human Central Nervous System (2016) · cites this paper as Dehaene-Lambertz and Spelke, 2015

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Authors
Dehaene-Lambertz, G., & Spelke, E. S.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
Venue
Neuron
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015-10
Volume
88
Issue
1
Pages
93-109
ISSN
0896-6273 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1928362823
Cited by
264
References
176
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 54 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 20 · 2014: 1
FWCI
4.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Neuron (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (1231216)
  • Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
  • Fondation de France
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
  • Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CCF-1231216)
  • Fondation des Treilles
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
Keywords
infant brain development, language acquisition, numerical cognition, hemispheric lateralization, frontal cortex, early learning, brain maturation, neural architecture, cognitive development, non-invasive brain imaging
MeSH terms
Brain, Child Development, Cognition, Humans, Infant, Language Development, Neuroimaging

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