The first two years of life play a critical role in brain development
Brains are made, not born. The combination of nature and nurture determines how the brain is built. A biological embedding process known as epigenetics essentially ‘wires’ a person to instinctively behave in a way that will improve their chances of surviving and thriving in a given environment.
The molecular, cellular, anatomical and functional fabric of the brain become well established during the first two years of life. Thereafter, it is very difficult to reverse the brain architecture of this ingrained behaviour.
The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University has worked with crossfunctional teams of experts in South Africa and other countries to expand popular understanding about brain architecture. Between birth and Grade R (age five), the architecture of a child’s brain evolves into two basic models: top-down or bottom-up.
Top-down brains, slow-life history strategy: think now, act later
Individuals with top-down brains are programmed to think now and act later. The neocortex, the thinking part of the brain, is in control of top-down brains. These individuals adopt a ‘slow-life’ strategy that allows them to make judicious risk–reward calculations over a long period. This is known as self-regulation.
Bottom-up brains, fast-life strategy: act now, think later
People with bottom-up brains are programmed to act now and think later (and differently). The subcortex is in control of bottom-up brains. The subcortex asserts bottom-up self-regulation, immediate threat-avoiding and reward-taking behaviours that ensure short-term survival.
Under harsh, dangerous, unpredictable conditions where there are insufficient resources to go around, temporal discounting and risk discounting make strategic sense. Taking what you can get now instead of investing in what you may well not get later, and pursuing high-risk, high-reward opportunities, makes strategic sense, because without taking risks one will likely end up with nothing anyhow. For these people, too many things can and may go wrong before one reaps the benefits of a long-term, low-risk strategy1.
Low parental investment a characteristic of fast-life strategy
A hallmark of a fast-life strategy is low parental investment. Asset class performance trends in this case are clear. Children with poor top-down self-regulation capacities at ages 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 years have, at 32 years of age, significantly higher rates of substance dependence, criminality, financial problems and significantly lower income, financial planning skills, socio-economic status and physical health2.
