Early Intelligence (Penguin Press Science): Amazon.co.uk: Lise Eliot, Deborah Rubenstein: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

Although the brain of a newborn has 100 billion nerve cells, babies are capable of little beyond the most vital functions such as breathing and sucking. Sensory ability is primitive and higher cognitive functions such as attention, reasoning and conscious memory are absent because babies' brain cells are only poorly connected. What firms up these connections are the experiences and stimulation the baby receives in the critical first five years.

Though not for the impatient, What's Going on in There? presents a comprehensive overview of current scientific knowledge about infant and early childhood brain development with impressive depth and clarity. Along the way, it richly demonstrates the innumerable ways in which parents can help their children develop better brains. Eliot, a neuroscientist and mother of three, starts her immensely intelligent labour of love with a richly detailed yet accessible tour of the growing embryo, guiding readers through the developing sensory, motor, emotional and cognitive systems. You'll understand the inner workings of the brain like never before. You'll learn the latest thinking on the nature vs. nurture question. You'll gain invaluable insights into the evolution of the senses, motor skills, social and emotional growth, memory, language and intelligence. Throughout, Eliot maintains a neutral voice, meticulously steering away from thornier social and ethical issues. In such a vital and contentious area, this can be either an advantage or a detriment, depending on the interests or needs you bring to the book. What's Going on in There? is another landmark in popular science.--Fiona Buckland --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Recent studies on brain function and growth have opened the way to discovering what is going on in an infant's mind and reinvigorated the nature/nurture debate. The Human Genome Project promises a blueprint for every individual, but these exciting genetic discoveries, says neuroscientist Lise Eliot, also raises the alarming tendency to think there is little we can do to influence a child's fate, that it is all a matter of heredity. We are the product of "a delicate dance between genes and environment", but while genes programme the "sequence" of neural development, its "quality" is shaped at every turn by experience. In this book, Eliot charts the way a child's brain evolves and the implications this has for emerging mental skills: sensation, movement, emotion, memory, language and intelligence. Featuring copious observations of real children, "Early Intelligence" highlights the positive steps parents, carers and educators can take to make the child's early years a rich experience, the benefits of which will carry through to adulthood.

Customer Reviews

5 star

4 star

3 star

2 star

1 star

6 reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars

Write a customer review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

the best book on bringing up baby I have read 20 Jan 2001

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

This is a truly excellent book. the Amazon synopis gives the details on content so I won't repeat that. What I really like about it is that whilst there is a plethora of advice from other books on how to bring up your baby, what to feed her, how to interact, whether to feed on demand or at intervals etc, most of it seems to be based on opinions and prejudices, not science or fact, and much is contradictory. It makes it very confusing for parents wantiong to do the best for their children and wishing to have more to rely on than 'old wives tales'. Lise Eliot covers all of this ground from the point of view of how the baby's brain is impacted at the level of neurology - positively or negatively - by the different choices we make about how we will bring up our children. She backs her points up with stong scientific evidence, quoting a vast array of different experiements, tests etc for each point. I couldn't help repeating chunks to my wife, friends and colleagues because it is a complete eye opener....Babies who are breast fed turn into more intelligent adults.....children who receive frequent touching and stimulation develop faster and are smarter ....if babies are not stimulated in certain ways during critical and quite short growth phases of their brains, whole areas of talent such as music are locked to them for the rest of their lives. This is powerful stuff. It is clear, well written and totally engaging. I commend it to all parents of young children. Older parents should probably avoid it as it may induce feelings of guilt about what they didn't do.

Comment |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

Fabulous - As important for your baby as new clothes! 9 Sep 2002

Wallowing around in the labryinth world of 'successful parenting' and 'how to make your child a genius' books, I stumbled across this book. Thank goodness I did. Hats off to the author. It is informative and an excellent source of facts, hugely well researched with quantified information with clear annotation of speculation (mostly very well informed) and presented in a way that keeps a non-scientific interested new parent reading, turning the pages for more, yet satisfying the more scientific amongst us.

The contents are a walk through pre and post natal development specifically realting to the brain touching on environmental, genetic, and physical influences until age 5. It makes considerable references to development after that as well, which is a bonus.

I have suggested this book to every new parent I have met and not one has yet been disappointed. The references to research is in astonishing amounts for a non-classroom book.

Very worthwhile.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

scientific baby analysis 2 April 2006

This is a great book for those with an interest in the physical science of humans and how they develop. It's highly scientific but explained in an easy to understand way with lots of real life (and sometimes bizarre) examples of what happens when childhood development is disturbed and how to improve your baby's ability to learn about the world around them. IT is very focused on the science of the brain. I highly recommend this fascinating book.