Neuroscience, Joy, and the Well-Infant Visit That Got Me Thinking

Tamas Ungar

doi:10.1370/afm.2013

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Author Response Re:Early Brain Development in the Medical Encounter
Tamas Ungar

Published on: 12 January 2017
Early Brain Development in the Medical Encounter
Gayle B Thomas

Published on: 10 January 2017

Published on: (12 January 2017)
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Author Response Re:Early Brain Development in the Medical Encounter
Tamas Ungar, MD
Thank you Dr. Thomas. The beauty of many preventative interventions in our field of practice is that they are relatively simple to implement, and they have a high impact on later outcomes. This also seems to apply to your recommendations. What can be more simple than offering an age-appropriate book to our little patients with the intent on fostering that joyful bond between mom and infant.
As we can read in this...
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Thank you Dr. Thomas. The beauty of many preventative interventions in our field of practice is that they are relatively simple to implement, and they have a high impact on later outcomes. This also seems to apply to your recommendations. What can be more simple than offering an age-appropriate book to our little patients with the intent on fostering that joyful bond between mom and infant.
As we can read in this January edition of the Annals, many of us feel the doctor-patient relationship is being de-personalized and encroached on by higher interests and time restraints. Yet, these problems can be overcome. If we visit a dentist we are often gifted with a tooth brush to remind us to "brush, brush, brush!" Similarly, it may be the Family Doctor's choice on the books to presents to their patients, and this may bring about a sense of autonomy and satisfaction in our daily practice.
Competing interests: None declared
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Competing Interests: None declared.
Published on: (10 January 2017)
Page navigation anchor for Early Brain Development in the Medical Encounter
Early Brain Development in the Medical Encounter
Gayle B Thomas, Assistant Professor
I read with great interest the article by Dr. Tamas Ungar on how he can encourage the healthy neurodevelopment of his infant patients. His references and reflections reinforce the importance of an intervention that I feel all family physicians can and should perform in their well child visits. This simple and enjoyable intervention involves providing an age and language appropriate book along with advice on reading in the...
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I read with great interest the article by Dr. Tamas Ungar on how he can encourage the healthy neurodevelopment of his infant patients. His references and reflections reinforce the importance of an intervention that I feel all family physicians can and should perform in their well child visits. This simple and enjoyable intervention involves providing an age and language appropriate book along with advice on reading in the home as recommended by the national Reach Out and Read organization (Reachoutandread.org). In addition to the all important face-to-face mutual gaze, it gives parents the tools to engage in verbal serve-and-return stimulation of their infants and young children. It is not designed to teach young children to read or to do anything other than to enjoy moments of interaction with their caregivers and respond in kind to the caregiver's verbal, motor and visual cues. As we learn more about the importance of early neurological development and the long-term mental, emotional and physical health consequences of abnormal development, we need to structure our care in a way that prioritizes this most fundamental approach to prevention.
Competing interests: None declared
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Competing Interests: None declared.