What's Going on in There?

How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life

By: Lise Eliot

Narrated by: Cris Dukehart

Length: 19 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

As a research neuroscientist, Lise Eliot has made the study of the human brain her life's work. But it wasn't until she was pregnant with her first child that she became intrigued with the study of brain development. She wanted to know precisely how the baby's brain is formed, and when and how each sense, skill, and cognitive ability is developed. And most importantly, she was interested in finding out how her role as a nurturer can affect this complex process. How much of her baby's development is genetically ordained-and how much is determined by environment? Is there anything parents can do to make their babies' brains work better-to help them become smarter, happier people? Drawing upon the exploding research in this field as well as the stories of real children, What's Going On in There? is a lively and thought-provoking book that charts the brain's development from conception through the critical first five years. In examining the many factors that play crucial roles in that process, What's Going On in There? explores the evolution of the senses, motor skills, social and emotional behaviors, and mental functions such as attention, language, memory, reasoning, and intelligence. This remarkable book also discusses: how a baby's brain is "assembled" from scratchthe critical prenatal factors that shape brain development how the birthing process itself affects the brain which forms of stimulation are most effective at promoting cognitive development how boys' and girls' brains develop differently how nutrition, stress, and other physical and social factors can permanently affect a child's brain Brilliantly blending cutting-edge science with a mother's wisdom and insight, What's Going On in There? is an invaluable contribution to the nature versus nurture debate. Children's development is determined both by the genes they are born with and the richness of their early environment. This timely and important book shows parents the innumerable ways in which they can actually help their children grow better brains.

©2000 Lise Eliot (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"With impressive depth and clarity, Eliot... offers a comprehensive overview of current scientific knowledge about infant and early childhood brain development.... Popular science at its best." ( Publishers Weekly)

It’s a must read for every parent

Very well written book and very informative. Reading this book certainly changed the way I will parent my child.

great book on baby development and how nurture

good detailed neurological information on how the brain develops and on how to stimulate the brain before and after birth.

interesting!

narrator was a bit annoying with baby talk, too cutesy, but data is sound and is presented in an easy format.

A book I recommend to every new parent I know

I really.. Really enjoyed this book. Loaded with informative, fact based content. Will listen again

Must read for parents

I was unsatisfied whit a few other early childhood development books. I felt the author did an exceptional job of organizing all of the information in this book. I only review when a book deserves it.

a must for every early childhood professional

as an OT that works with children 0 to 10 primarily I loved learning more about typical development of the beain, the senses and the body, as well as what can be done (based on peer reviewed studies) to set children up for sucess in learning and in life. It also helped me better understand the impact of environmental and genetic factors during pregnancy. I am going to make this required reading, and would highly recommend it for nerds mom's (as long as you are not the anxious type, as it reveals what can go wrong in development too)

2 issues: age and narrator

At the time of writing this, this book is 23 years old. I didn't realize this until after downloading the book. There's no mention of it being updated. There's a reason why you can find 20+ year old science textbooks so cheap online: the information in them is not up to date, so no one wants them. I don't want my understanding of infant and childhood brain development to be based on outdated information, and I can't possibly spend the time checking all aspects of this book for currency.

As a medical professional, I had a hard time focusing on the content of this audiobook due to the frequent mispronunciation of science terms. The narrator should have been someone with a science background or at least proofed by someone with a science background.

Not an easy read, but an important one

I read this book again last week. What's Going on in There is full of information, much more than Brain Rules for Babies (which is also a great book, but many tips are just Cntl C + Cntl V from this one). Of course Brain Rules for Babies is more palatable, fun and sleek, but What's Going on in There is so rich, that it deserves another realm. If you have a children, or is planning to have one, read both of them.

Too much animal research, not enough human brains.

Although valid research and discussion are present in the content, significant portions are not useful for a book focused on baby brain development. Certainly, when there is less research available on the human brain, research on mice and primate brains will provide a deeper understanding of human neurology. However, this is not the case when contextualizing the experiences alluded to by the author. I'm dissatisfied because, when describing what isn't fully understood, the book tangents off into a speculative discussion. I found it misleading to conflate understanding the current state of neurological research with understanding what is inside a baby's brain.

More interested in scaring moms than helping

I wasn't impressed. After a couple hours I realized about half of what I was hearing was handled in such a way that it made me more nervous than actually providing good info. She tends to linger on more stressful topics even while pointing out that some of the studies she mentions have faulty biases. Since it's an audio book, I don't have access to any bibliography to help me make sense of where she's coming from. I did not keep listening past the first 10 chapters.