An analysis is made of the reciprocal relationship between play and three areas of interaction between the brain and human development: (1) the affective characteristics of play and the brain; (2) developmental theories of cognition and play; and (3) creativity as a continuation of the brain's need for play. (JN)

Some very practical questions about how children learn the first language compel us to study brain functions and how these functions evolve. They also bring the studies of linguistics and neurology together. The purpose of this paper is to relate some of the research that describes language acquisition with the research about the early development…