3: Physical and Cognitive Development in Infants and Toddlers Flashcards
the gap between the dendrites of one neuron and the axon of another, over which impulses flow
synapse
an effective calming strategy that involves holding a young infant next to a caregiver’s body
skin-to-skin contact
excessively short stature in a child, caused by chronic lack of adequate nutrition
stunting
standard custom, in collectivist cultures, of having a child and parent share a bed
co-sleeping
Chomsky’s term for a hypothetical brain structure that enables our species to learn and produce language
language acquisition device (LAD)
first infant habits during sensorimotor stage, centered on the body
primary circular reactions
children’s ability to put themselves back to sleep when they wake up during the night - usually begins at about 6 months of age
self-soothing
the outer, folded mantle of the brain, responsible for thinking, reasoning, perceiving, and all conscious responses
cerebral cortex
a baby’s frantic, continual crying during the first three months of life, caused by an immature nervous system
colic
predictable loss of interest that develops once a stimulus becomes familiar
habituation
infant habits beginning around age 1, involving flexibly changing behavior to explore properties of objects, experiment with them (little-scientist phase)
tertiary circular reactions
newborns’ automatic response to a touch on the cheek, turning toward that location and beginning to suck
rooting reflex
performing a different action to achieve a certain goal - sign of emerging reasoning around age 1
means-end behavior
human tendency to be hypersensitive to fearful facial cues that, by alerting us to danger, may prevent us from harm
fear bias
formation of a fatty layer encasing the axons of neurons, speeds transmission of impulses - continues from birth to early adulthood
myelination
first clear evidence of language, when babies use a single word to communicate a sentence or complete thought
holophrase
tree-like, branching ends of brain that receive information and conduct impulses toward the cell body of a neuron
dendrites
long nerve fibers that conduct impulses away from the cell body of a neuron
axons
the unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant, often while sleeping, during the first year of life
sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
first stage of combining words in which a toddler pares down a sentence to its essential words
telegraphic speech
alternating vowel and consonant sounds that babies repeat with varying intonation, pitch - precede first words
babbling
principle that human beings are attracted to novelty and look selectively at new things
preferential-looking paradigm
forming of connections between neurons at the synapses, responsible for all perceptions, actions, thoughts - continues throughout life
synaptogenesis
a response or action that is automatic, not under conscious control
reflex
