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**Building Blocks for Brain Development**

The stunning *architecture* of the brain reflects its principal role in
gathering information from the environment, making sense out of all of
the information, and allowing each of us to respond in an appropriate
fashion. All behavior, from learning and memory to mood and emotion, is
controlled by the brain. We know that both genes and environment play an
enormous role in building the brain. Neuroscience research tells us that
both brain architecture and brain *chemistry*, the genes, proteins and
other molecules that assist in brain function, are changed through
experience as a child grows and develops. In fact, the brain of a child
requires experience to mold brain architecture and to modify brain
chemistry to complete the process of development. This influence can
last a lifetime, and is responsible for the process of complex skill
formation that shapes our individual productivity as adults. Research
tells us that the early experiences, both positive and negative, are so
powerful because they strengthen and stabilize certain neural
connections during the periods of active brain growth, and eliminate
those connections that are weak and not active during the period of
active pruning of connections. The sculpted architecture serves as a
critical foundation for all that we will need to learn and manage as
life becomes more complex and challenging. Interventions to improve
children's skills work by changing neural connections, termed
*synapses*, and by changing brain chemistry. This is far more difficult
to do over time because of how stable brain architecture and chemistry
become. Thus, neuroscience research tells us that getting it right
initially is far more advantageous than trying to fix things later.
Examples of how all of us participate in the building process will be
discussed in relation to the key environmental factors that can have
positive or negative influences on developing brain architecture.

Dr. Levitt received his PhD degree in neuroscience at the University of
California, San Diego. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in
neuroscience at Yale University School of Medicine. Named a McKnight
Foundation Scholar in 2002, Dr Levitt also is an elected Fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the
Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and the National Scientific Council
on the Developing Child. Dr. Levitt also is a member of the National
Advisory Mental Health Council for the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Levitt's research interests are in the development of brain circuits
that control learning and emotion. His clinical genetics and basic
research studies focus on understanding the basis of neurodevelopmental
and neuropsychiatric disorders and how genes and the environment
together influence typical and atypical development. Dr. Levitt and his
research team recently received the Cozzarelli Prize from the National
Academy of Sciences for their recent publication on autism genetics. He
has received a number of research grants from the National Institutes of
Health, the McKnight Endowment Fund, the Joseph and Esther Klingenstein
Foundation, the March of Dimes and other foundations. Dr Levitt serves
on the editorial board of *Biological Psychiatry, Cerebral Cortex,* and
*Neuron.* He is the author of over 175 scientific papers. Dr. Levitt has
been a Grass Foundation Traveling Lecturer, and is a frequently invited
speaker at national and international seminars and conferences, as well
as public education and policy forums that promote the health and
education of children.

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