Transcript

Before birth:

In humans as in all other vertebrates, the brain emerges from a structure known as the neural tube. By twenty five days after conception, the neural tube has developed 3 prominent swellings. At about 40 days the tube begins to bend. This is necessary if the brain is to continue to grow within the restricted space enclosed by the emerging skull. By about 50 days the cerebral hemispheres are becoming visible. By 100 days they are very obvious. During the following months, they expand enormously and become the dominant features. The folds in the brain, the sulci and gyri, are formed by the eighth month and the brain has its full complement of neurons – its processing cells - shortly after birth. The gross structure of the infant brain is nearly the same as that of an adult but the brain continues to develop throughout life.