Today I’m breaking down one of the most important concepts in brain development – executive function.
Ever wondered what executive function actually means? I’ll take you on a quick journey through your brain, from the visual cortex in the back to the frontal lobe up front. This is where the magic happens – where your brain develops the ability to make good decisions, plan for the future, regulate emotions, and “read the room.”
I explain how executive function is a process that builds over time, starting from the back of your brain and working forward. When everything flows smoothly, you develop into a powerful young person who can execute tasks, turn in homework, and make solid life plans.
Don’t miss our upcoming parental webinars starting May 14th! I’ll teach you how to understand your child’s unique “blueprint” and help their brain develop with the right intensity and frequency. Sign up at https://www.connectmybrain.com/parental-guidance-webinar/
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Full Transcript
Introduction and Executive Function Topic 0:00
Hi everybody, it's Dr. Laura with Connecting the Dots, Truth Bombs. This is where we come together for five minutes and just try to give you some kind of interesting piece of information that will help you connect a dot. Today I want to focus on the words executive function. So I did, I had a listener call in and say, hey, can you give me a little bit more detail about what that word actually means? I love it when I get that kind of feedback, because one of my favorite things to do is to educate.
Brain Lobes and Key Functions 0:34
So, let's talk about the brain for just a minute. You have different lobes to your brain. So way back here in the back, this is your occipital lobe, your cerebellum is also there. Your occiputal lobed is part of your visual cortex and your eyeballs are the only piece of neurology on the outside of you skull. The way that you see, not just visual acuity, but the way you that see. How do you yourself in a world? The action of it literally goes through this entire brain. So now up here, we've got our parietal lobes.
This is our sensory motor cortex, our body map. Now I'm just giving you a couple of bullets. Your brain has many functions. Over here on the side, this is your temporal lobe. this Is your auditory cortex. But another favorite part for me is the hippocampus. The hippocampus is one on each side, long-term memory, personality, and cognitive flexibility. Do you like to learn new things? We should all wanna learn things. And then as we come up here towards our forehead, that's our frontal lobe. That's what is meant about executive function.
What Executive Function Means 1:58
It is the building up leading to the higher brain's ability to take the whole journey and now come into yourself as a powerful young person in the world. That you can make good decisions, you know how to plan, You can regulate your emotions, and you learn to read the room. you are turning in your homework, you're making plans for your future. You are able to bring these pieces together and that is a process that occurs over time. And literally way back here in the back of the brain, This is where it all gets started.
And as long as that gear is rhythmic and smooth, it'll become an incredible role model for the midbrain and the higher brain. Then you can expect that you would be able to execute executive function.
Parent Webinar Announcement and Resources 3:04
So that's what we're trying to help people understand. Now, depending upon when you actually do listen to this, On May 14th, we are doing a parental information webinar. It's complimentary. I want parents to know how to look at their child's blueprint. How did your child actually get wired up? And that starts actually back before the babies even conceived. So we have to look at the blueprint. What was the pathway? What is the structure that came together that led to the way that child is actually functioning today?
We're going to have two follow-up webinars. So if you missed the first one, that's okay. Maybe you can connect with us on the next two. Be sure and go listen and look at connectmybrain.com. The podcasts are over there as well, as being on Apple and Spotify. But sign up to be part of our parental informational series. We want parents to be ready to know how to look at their little one and go, hmm, maybe we should do a little something different here. Or my older child, okay, we're going to draw a line in the sand, and we are going start doing some things differently.
The brain needs intensity and frequency and you can move it in a direction that you want it to go. Thanks for listening. Be blessed.
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