2. Biological Bases of Cognitive Development Flashcards
architectural constraints
Ways in which the architecture of the brain is organized at birth; the type and manner in which information can be processed by the brain.
axon
The long fiber of a neuron that carries messages from that cell to another.
behavioral genetics
The study of genetic effects on behavior and on complex psychological characteristics such as intelligence and personality.
biologically primary abilities
Cognitive abilities that have been selected for in evolution and are acquired universally; children typically have high motivation to perform tasks, such as language, involving them.
chronotopic constraints
Neural limitations on the developmental timing of events.
corpus callosum
A thick mass of nerves that connects the right and left hemispheres of the neocortex.
dendrites
The numerous fibers of a neuron that receive messages from other neurons.
developmental cognitive neuroscience
The perspective that takes data from a variety of sources - molecular biology, cell biology, artificial intelligence, evolutionary theory, as well as conventional cognitive development - to create a picture of how the mind/brain develops.
differentiation (of neurons)
The final stage of neuronal development, in which neurons gain in size, produce more dendrites, and extend their axons farther away from the cell body.
epigenesis
The emergence of new structures and functions during the course of development.
evolution
The process of change in gene frequencies in populations over many generations that in time produces new species.
evolutionary development psychology
The application of the principles of modern evolutionary biology to explain human development.
evolved probabilistic cognitive mechanisms
Information-processing mechanisms that have evolved to solve recurrent problems faced by ancestral populations that are expressed in a probabilistic fashion in each individual in a generation. These mechanisms are universal in that they will develop in a species-typical manner when an individual experiences a series-typical environment over the course of ontogeny.
experience-dependent processes (or experience-dependent synaptogenesis)
Processes whereby synapses are formed and maintained as a result of the unique experiences of an individual; contrast with experience-expectant processes.
experience-expectant processes (or experience-expectant synaptogenesis)
Processes whereby synapses are formed and maintained when an organism has species-typical experiences; as a result, functions (such as vision) will develop for all members of a species, given a species-typical environment; contrast with experience-dependent processes.
genotype -> environment theory
In Scarr and McCartney’s theory, the proposal that one’s genotype (genetic constitution) influences which environments one encounters and the type of experiences one has, or that genes drive experience. Three types of genotype -> environment effects are proposed; passive, evocative, and active.
interactive specialization
Models proposing that specialization and localization in the adult brain are the result of self-organizing, domain-general mechanisms operating on experience during development.
migration (of neurons)
The movement of neurons to their permanent positions in the brain, most of which is completed during the prenatal period.
myelin
A sheet of fatty substance that develops around the neurons to promote faster transmission of electrical signals through the nervous system.
myelination
The development of myelin around neurons, which proceeds at different rates in different areas of the brain.
natural selection
In Darwin’s theory of evolution, the idea that more individuals are produced in a generation that can usually survive and that variations in individuals make some members of a species more fit than others and thus more likely to survive to reproduce; according to Darwin, natural selection is the primary mechanism for evolution.
neocortex
The outer layer of the brain, which gives humans their highly developed intelligence.
neuroconstructivism
The view that inherited and evolved learning abilities interact with a structured environment to produce species-typical patterns of cognitive growth.
neuroimaging techniques
New technologies that permit imaging of brain activities, including high-density event-related potentials, positron emission tomography (PET), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
