Neuroscience can explain children's bad behavior.

 

Neuroscience can explain children's bad behavior. The parents should always take it easy and discuss with the children and listen to the children what they want to say.

A child's body undergoes physical changes, and some of them are not very obvious. Within this group, a significant proportion of them take place in the brain. Here we explain what happens in it and why they misbehave.

When your child misbehaves, you may often ask yourself why. Is there something hidden behind the behavior? What can you do to reduce it? Below we explain what may be behind children's bad behaviour.

There can be many reasons for children's bad behavior. For example, an emotional need that they have to satisfy or circumstances of biological origin. In this sense, it is not something you do wrong as a parent but a situation that originates in genetics. There are many sciences that study this relationship between behavior and biology. One of them is neuroscience. the family that takes drugs is dangerous for their children.

Neuroscience is one of the disciplines that studies the brain and nervous system. Within this area you will find the branch of cognitive neuroscience. This branch studies the biological processes that are the basis of our cognitive function. In other words, thinking, remembering, how we make decisions and in many cases how we act.

But what does neuroscience say about children's bad behavior? First, we need to understand a little about how the brain works.

But what does neuroscience say about children's bad behavior? First, we need to understand a little about how the brain works.

In children, the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for cognitive processes such as reasoning and decision-making, is still maturing.

Brain areas that may be involved in children's bad behavior

Before we explain how the brain influences behavior, we will go through the different areas that make it up and how each of them works.

The brain, which is an extremely complex organ, divides its various functions by area. In fact, it is almost as if it were a company where in each department there is a "service" that is responsible for each type of request.

Here is an example to understand this. If you are injured, the information reaches your brain and the relevant "department" makes you feel pain and communicates it to other brain areas so they can deal with the situation.

Now let's take a closer look at the areas of the brain and their areas of responsibility.

Prefrontal cortex. Attention, planning, self-regulation and behavioral orientation. These are known as executive functions.

Parietal lobe. Touch, pressure, balance and coordination.

Occipital lobe. Visual processing.

The temporal lobe. Complex visual tasks, auditory processing, emotion regulation and motivation.

The cerebellum. Execution of precise movements, balance, posture and motor learning.

Broca's and Wernicke's area. Language production and language comprehension.

We should clarify that although each lobe has its specialization, this does not mean that they work individually. Rather, each area communicates with the others to provide a better response to the stimulus.

In many cases, damage to some of these areas, whether acquired (a car accident, a hard fall, etc.) or congenital, can cause behavioral disorders.

In general, conduct disorders are related to hyperactivity and sudden emotional changes. For example, disinhibition, impulsivity, irritability, psychomotor agitation, aggression, apathy, reduced initiative and lack of motivation.

Children's brains

In a child's brain, the prefrontal cortex is still developing. In fact, many studies claim that it does not reach full maturity until around twenty to twenty-five years of age. In addition, children's behavior is controlled by the most primitive part of the brain (the reptilian brain).

Our brains develop from the back to the front. This means that the sensitive areas or senses (taste, smell, touch and sight) are the first to be activated and information passes through them. Then the motor areas develop, responsible for voluntary movements such as walking, speaking and writing.

Furthermore, the brain develops from the right hemisphere. This emotional part relates to attention, memory and reasoning. For this reason, emotions permeate children's behavior more than adults''

Now let's take a look at how neuroscience explains bad behavior:

The neuroscience behind children's bad behavior

Paul Maclean, a famous American neuroscientist identified the triune brain. We will use his now somewhat controversial theory (1960) because it will help us understand our children's brains.

This theory tells us that our brain consists of three parts (complexes). They are as follows:

Enlightened child brain

The neocortex is the last part of a child's brain to develop.

The reptilian brain

This consists of the basal ganglia and is necessary for us to be able to perform motor activities, such as riding a bicycle, playing an instrument and drawing. It consists of the brainstem, which is responsible for transmitting sensory information.

This part of the brain is the oldest. In fact, it is millions of years old and is responsible for ensuring our existence and regulating our blood pressure, breathing rate and body temperature. In a dangerous situation, therefore, two extremely different people react in the same way.

Some of our children's reactions are closely related to this part of the brain, which is still developing.

The limbic system

This part of the brain is somewhat more complex. It is roughly 150 million years old and is located above the reptilian brain. It represents emotions like joy, sadness, disgust, fear, etc. It also accumulates memories of past experiences. This greatly affects our behavior.

For example, if you bang your fist on the table when you are angry, it is the limbic brain that is responsible.

Neocortex

This is the part of the brain that has developed the most and is only two or three million years old. Its main function is to manage our emotional world using cognitive skills. For example, ability to concentrate, memory, behavioral choices, self-reflection and problem solving and more.

Logic and reasoning originate from this part of the brain, which allows us to read and plan, among other things. This part will tell you if it was correct to hit the table with your fist or not.

Since this is the last part of the brain to develop, it explains why children have moments when they have poor control over their emotions and reactions.

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The basal ganglia – anatomy, physiology and function

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The basal ganglia – anatomy, physiology and function

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Bibliography

Barco, A.N., Engeby, T.W., & Ribal, J.B. (2004). Cerebello y procesos cognitivos. Anales de Psicología/Annals of Psychology, 20(2), 205-221.

Carlson, N. (2019). Physiology of conduct. Pearson, 2-3.

Matute, E. y. (2010). Infantile neuropsychology: history, concepts and objectives. A S. Viveros Fuentes. . Neuropsychology of Infant Development, 3.

Ripoll, D. R., Adrover-Roig, D., & Rodríguez, M. P. A. (2014). Cognitive neuroscience. Editorial médica panamericana.

Tamayo, J. (2016). La relación cerebro-conducta ¿hacia una nueva dualidad? Revista Internacional de Psicologia y Terapia Psicológica, 285-293.

The content on Explore the Mind is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not replace the diagnosis, advice or treatment of a professional. In case of doubt, it is best to consult a trusted specialist.

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