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Developmental Psychology of the Lifespan

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Developmental Psychology of the Lifespan

1. Describe how the growth in the corpus callosum allows children to increase their capabilities. The human brain is made up of two separate hemispheres. The right hemisphere is generally thought of as the creative side while the left hemisphere is thought to be the logical side. Both sides must work together to create a fully functional person. The communication channel between the two halves is known as the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum is made up of 250-800 million fibers that connect the two halves of the brain together and coordinates the processing between them (Berger, 2005, p. 200). It is the building block to more complex motor skills and expression. In other words the corpus callosum is what allows the left hand to know what the right hand is doing. Maturation of the corpus callosum can be witnessed by observing the drawings of “people” produced by children of different age groups. For example, children age two to three generally produce pictures which more closely resemble a tadpole than a person. They usually draw a circle with dots for eyes and a line underneath for the body. By age five they typically expand this “tadpole” to including a torso. After age five the drawing includes arms and hands (Berger, 2005). This progression from tadpole to stick figure directly corresponds with the maturation of the corpus callosum and the improvements in motor skills that maturation brings. Improvements in motor skills are evident in almost everything a child does. As the brain becomes more mature and better able to coordinate the left and right hemispheres, the movements of the child become more complicated. Now, imagine trying to ride a bicycle if you could not synchronize the movements between the left side of your body and your right. This is what the

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