Myelination of neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) plays an important role in cognitive and motor development
Myelin is basically an electrical insulator that wraps around axons and allows them to send impulses at a faster speed. In the CNS, what are called oligodendrocytes are glial cells that wrap membrane around axons and form what are called myelin sheaths (Williamson & Lyons, 2018). Myelinated axons allow info to be sent throughout the nervous system at a much faster rate than unmyelinated axons. However, at birth, humans essentially have a completely unmyelinated CNS. Then, oligodendrocyte count rapidly expands in the first few years of life starting to myelinate used axons and nervous system connections. “Used” is important here because myelin is adaptable and plays a role in the development of neural circuitry The connections that are used will be strengthened by myelin sheaths, and other cells will die off.
This is why it’s necessary to let kids explore the environment and learn and move in order to strengthen the axons and neural circuitry involved in motor learning & cognition. These opportunities will strengthen those pathways and allow those connections to fire at a faster rate. The speed of information being sent is important for the brain when trying to recall information in school, recall a movement pattern, or send signals through efferent pathways when moving at high velocities in sport
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