Stuart
Brown, psychiatrist, and founder of The National Institute for Play, feels that
plays results in enormous changes in the development of the brain, specifically
dendritic sprouting or neurogenesis, the interconnecting of millions of
neurons.
Play's
process of capturing a pretend narrative and combining it with the reality of
one's experience in a playful setting is, at least in childhood, how we develop
our major personal understanding of how the world works. We do so initially by
imagining possibilities – simulating what might be, and then testing this
against what actually is.
Consider
what happens when a toddler manipulates toys, using the new language he or she
is developing, and sorting them based on preferences. That is why Brown
contends that elements of our personality, our actions, and belief system are
derived from the enormous number of encounters in our daily lives. Play seems
to be the most "advanced method nature has invented to allow a complex
brain to create itself".
See page 207 to read the whole chapter. click
See page 207 to read the whole chapter. click
Brown, S., (2010). Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the
Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, Avery.
photo: swing-858663_1920 Pixabay
photo: swing-858663_1920 Pixabay
