Educators and researchers from many fields chatted with the president and first lady about early childhood. Well, now comes the debunking. There is no getting around it.
All roads lead to Rome.
Many are 25 or more years old. But many journalists and advocates have misrepresented the meaning of this research. They have jumped to the conclusion that more synapses are better than fewer, and that synapse creation is dependent upon environmental stimulation. In fact, Bruer says, synapse creation seems to be governed by our genes. Following the burst of synapse creation, there is a pruning phase during adolescence when the brain eliminates a great many.