3 ms·

Even before: learning to swallow in the womb. There's definitely no reinforcement from other humans involved in that, and it's fundamental that they learn it in

Even before: learning to swallow in the womb. There's definitely no reinforcement from other humans involved in that, and it's fundamental that they learn it in the womb because it would be too late to learn it with milk.

eanzenberg 9y ago
That's been passed down over 3.5 billion years to form the DNA that creates that part of the brain in an infant. AKA pre-trained.
- bonzini 9y ago
  Not really, they develop it by sucking on their thumbs, drinking amniotic fluid, etc. You can see it develop, and you can see how premature babies have issues with it. Adding "breathe" to sucking and swallowing is even harder for preemies. Starting to suck when they feel something on their lips _is_ a reflex though, it isn't learnt.
  - flamedoge 9y ago
    reflex = pre-trained?
    - bonzini 9y ago
      More or less, yes. They usually disappear before the first year. Many later reappear in a more refined and voluntary way, which is learned rather than pre-trained.