ABSTRACT
The central nervous system comprises the brain and spinal cord, and, together with the peripheral nervous system, it activates our behaviour. Brain matter consists of billions of nerve cells called neurones, which may be microscopic in size, or over three feet long as they travel from the brain down the spinal column. The infant's brain is relatively smooth and round, without the cerebral convolutions, which appear at about five months and take at least into the first year after birth to fully develop. Within minutes of birth, the infant will see, hear, and move to the rhythm of his mother's familiar voice. From about eight weeks old, the growth development of the visual neurones in the infant's brain allows him to be able to distinguish mother's face from other faces. As mother nurses, her brain produces oxytocin and vasopressin, neuropeptides released by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, which facilitate bonding and nursing behaviours.
