 Early Childhood Development and Skills Across the Life-Course Through the Lens of the Developing BrainDorota Chapko No 105199, Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) Discussion Paper Series from The World Bank Abstract: Human development and development are inseparable, and now new evidence emerges that brain development is the key driving mechanism behind this association. The foundations of brain architecture are established early in life. Critical aspects of its structure begin to be shaped by experience before and soon after birth. The current report discusses brain development from a life-course perspective with a particular emphasis on early childhood development (ECD), skills formation, resilience, and aging. There is mounting evidence that early and sustained investments in brain development have economic and social returns that can benefit current and future generations. This paper synthesizes knowledge across multiple disciplines and is weighted towards findings from brain sciences to encourage a new perspective on human development initiatives among policy makers and international development practitioners. The report discusses the role of social policies in shaping brain function and structure. The policy-relevant findings from brain sciences research can greatly enhance the ability to carry out cost-effective policies that foster human development over the life-course, eliminate extreme poverty, and improve shared prosperity. Keywords: skills; birth; residential care; caregivers; risks; personality disorders; treatment; genes; diagnosis; personality; people; stroke; vitamins; psychology; prevention; ... See More + calories; disease burden; brain; community health; pediatrics; health care; death; prevalence; homeostasis; aging populations; effects; puberty; sleep; cognitive disorders; health; depression; holistic approach; touch; syndrome; attribution; public health; knowledge; neurology; diabetes; mri; pain; life events; diseases; life; patients; social exclusion; dna; intervention; physiology; birth weight; negative effects; ability; aging; child development; observation; violence; individual characteristics; child abuse; metabolism; dementia; central nervous system; pollution; hormones; mental health; nutritional status; environmental influences; diet; psychiatry; magnetic resonance imaging; workers; aged; adolescence; audition; fetus; age; lifestyle; childhood; medicine; health outcomes; parenting; hygiene; nervous system; nutrition education; electrophysiology; stress; early childhood; decision making; cohort studies; malnutrition; measurement; nutrition; clinical medicine; psychosomatic medicine; adolescents; early years; abnormalities; elderly people; cognitive processes; internet; risk factors; weight; pregnant women; maternal health; pathology; cardiovascular diseases; obesity; children; exercise; disease; endocrine system; impairments; experience; infections; all; rehabilitation; institutionalization; vision; early detection; neurotransmitters; cognitive functions; starvation; gerontology; strategy; epidemiology; families; adrenal glands; implementation; mental; pregnancy; human development; storage (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:hnpdps:105199 Access Statistics for this paper More papers in Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) Discussion Paper Series from The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20433. Contact information at EDIRC. |
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