Full transcript
0:11A child's experiences early in life are important building blocks for the developing brain.
0:17Genes - nature - are like the blueprint.
0:20They provide the basic framework for brain development.
0:23However, genes do not design the brain completely.
0:27Environmental influences - nurture - fine tune how the brain works by shaping which
0:32brain connections get used.
0:35Connections that are used more grow stronger and more permanent, whereas ones that do not
0:39get much use fade away.
0:41Together, genes and the environment build the foundation for all future development.
0:48Safe, stable and nurturing relationships early in life lead to healthy development.
0:54But children's brains capture other experiences as well: stressful events.
0:59However, not all stress is bad.
1:01Positive stress involves normal childhood experiences, like starting daycare, or meeting
1:07a new person for the first time.
1:09This stress is essential for healthy development, because it helps children develop coping skills
1:14and confidence.
1:15But when stress is frequent, chronic, and uncontrolled, it is toxic to children, especially
1:21when they do not have a caregiver to provide support or buffer the stress.
1:27Adverse childhood experiences – ACEs - such as abuse, neglect, exposure to intimate partner
1:33violence, parental depression or addiction, and poverty are toxic stressors which could
1:39lead to lifelong changes in learning and behavior.
1:42ACEs early in development can impact social, emotional, and cognitive functioning, increased
1:49risk-taking behaviors such as drinking and substance use, and increased risk of disease,
1:54disability, and social problems later in life.
1:58The question is - how do adverse childhood experiences impact a lifelong development.
2:04One of the most important systems in our body is our stress system.
2:09It's activated when we experience stress.
2:11We become alert, our heart rate increases, and so do our stress hormone levels - cortisol
2:16and adrenaline.
2:18Our body is ready to react - what is known as fight or flight.
2:23A short period of time after the stress is over - or if a child receives support from
2:28a caregiver - the stress response turns off and the body returns to a normal state.
2:34Adverse childhood experiences create stress responses that stay active, and without the
2:39support of a caregiver, the system has difficulty shutting off completely.
2:44This constant and prolonged activation can affect immune system functioning and increase
2:49the chances of sickness, infection, and disease.
2:54Prolonged activation of stress hormones is also toxic to the brain.
2:58Certain areas of the brain are more vulnerable to toxic stress, including the executive centre,
3:04or the brain’s control centre, an area important for solving complex problems, attention, reasoning,
3:11impulsivity, inhibition, and learning.
3:13A second area is the emotional centre - the brain's alarm system - which is involved in
3:20processing and interpreting emotions, and the ability to control impulses.
3:25The third area is the memory and learning centre - the brain's filing cabinet - which
3:30plays a major role in learning and the formation and retrieval of memories.
3:35Science shows that adverse childhood experiences impact all of these brain centres.
3:40Behaviourally, what we begin to see is emotional distress, poor emotion regulation, greater
3:46impulsivity, learning difficulties, and physical and mental health problems.
3:52More recently, science has begun to look at how ACEs cause changes in gene expression
3:57through a process called epigenetics which helps us understand how nature and nurture
4:02interact.
4:04Epigenetics causes changes in the way genes work, without changing the DNA code itself.
4:09This occurs through chemical changes influencing how the code is used.
4:14In other words, genes are like the hardware in a computer: they determine the boundaries
4:19of what is possible.
4:20However, we need an operating system to tell the hardware what to do.
4:26Epigenetics is like the operating system directing the function of a gene’s DNA hardware.
4:32The genes we are born with are the genes that we have for life, but experiences like nutrition,
4:37exercise, smoking, stressors, and relationships all affect our biology.
4:44Adverse childhood experiences are associated with epigenetic changes related to stress,
4:49brain development, cognition, and systems associated with mental and physical health.
4:55Changes that happen early in brain development are more likely to be enduring, and are possibly
4:59passed down to future generations as well.
5:03The good news is that positive, supportive relationships at any stage in life can make
5:09a difference.
5:10However, supporting families and children early on will help prevent many of these negative
5:15outcomes.
5:16One of the key ingredients for healthy development is having warm, loving, and actively engaged
5:22caregivers.
5:23This involves promoting serve and return interactions, where caregivers actively and warmly engage
5:28with the child: making eye contact, responding to sounds, words, gestures, emotional needs,
5:35and sharing experiences like reading and play.
5:41Providing programs that support caregivers to strengthen these abilities are the blocks
5:45that build healthy foundations for life.