3.1 Flashcards
How large is the head in comparison with the body at birth?
1/4th of the entire body size
What are the four principles of growth
Cephalocaudal principle
Proximodistal principle
Principle of hierarchical integration
Principle of the independence of systems
Cephalocaudal principle
Growth starts at at the head and upper body, then continues down
Proximodistal principle
Development starts at centre, proceeds out
Principle of hierarchical integration
Simple skills are developed separately and independently, and those simple skills are integrated into complex ones
(eg: you can’t grasp a spoon unless you know how to move your fingers)
Principle of the independance of systems
Different body systems grow at different rates. Just because growth is happening in one system, doesn’t mean there’s growth happening in other systems
Neurons
Basic nerve cell of the nervous system
How do neurons communicate
Neurotransmitters travel across synapse to reach the dendrites of the next neuron
Synapse
Gap between neurons
Synaptic pruning
Neurons that aren’t used/don’t become interconnected with other neurons die out
Myelin
Fatty substance around neuronal axons, insulates and speeds transmission
Cerebral cortex
Upper layer of the brain
Which parts of the brain are most developed at birth?
Subcortical levels of the brain, the ons that regulate breathing, heart rate,
Shaken baby syndrome
Caretaker shakes infant, brain rotates in skull, blood vessels can tear and destroy neuron connections. Can be fatal. Can cause long term physical and learning disabilities
Platicity
The degree to which a developing structure/behavior is modifiable due to experience
Sensitive period
Specific but limited time where the individual is susceptible to environmental influences on development
Rhythms
Repetitive, cyclical patterns of behavior
State
The degree of awareness the infant displays both internal and internal simulation
T/F infant’s experience REM sleep
False, they experience period of sleep where their heart rate increases, breathing quickens, blood pressure rises, and sometimes eyes quickly move back and forth
How do the brain waves of sleeping infants compare to the brain waves of sleeping adults
They differ
Sudden infant Death Syndrome
The unexplained death of a seemingly healthy baby, usually in their sleep
Possible causes of SIDS
Maternal alcohol use and smoking can make medulla dysfunction
Reflexes
Unlearned, organized, involuntary responses to certain stimuli
Rooting reflex
What it is
When it disappears
Possible function
Newborns will turn their head towards things that touch their cheek
3 weeks
Food intake
Stepping reflex
What it is
When it disappears
Possible function
When you hold a baby up off the floor, they’ll automatically move their legs up off the floor
2mo
Prepares them for walking
Swimming reflex
What it is
When it disappears
Possible function
In you put baby face down in water they’ll kick and paddle
4-6mo
Avoiding danger
Moro reflex
What it is
When it disappears
Possible function
When the baby’s neck/head support is removed, they’ll thrust their arms out and try to grasp onto something
6mo
Protection From Falling
Babinski reflex
What it is
When it disappears
Possible function
Of you stroke outside infants floor, they’ll fan their toes out
8-12mo
unknown
Startle reflex
What it is
When it disappears
Possible function
In response to sudden noise, infant flings out arms, arches back, spreads fingers
Stays in different form
Protection
Eye blink reflex
What it is
When it disappears
Possible function
In exposure to direct light, rapid opening and shutting of eye
Remains
Protection of eye from direct light
Sucking reflex
What it is
When it disappears
Possible function
Infants tendency to suck on things that touch it’s lips
Remains
Food intake
Gag reflex
What it is
When it disappears
Possible function
Infants tendency to clear its throat
Remains
Prevents choking
T/F there are ethnic/cultural differences in reflexes
True
What are the milestones of motor development?
Rolling over Grasping rattle Sitting without support Standing while holding Grasping with thumb and forefinger Standing alone well Walking well Building tower of two cubes Walking up steps Jumping in place
What age do babies start crawling
Between 8-10mo
What age do babies starts walking with support?
Around 9mo
What Age do babies start sitting without support?
Around 6mo
Pincer grasp
Grasping with thumb and forefinger
Norms
The average performance of a large sample of children of a given age
NBAS
A test based on norms, designed to determine infants neurological and behavioral responses to their environment
To what extent are norms useful?
To the extent that they are based on ata fro, a large, heterogenous, culturally diverse sample of children.
T/F there are timing differences in child development
True
Malnutrition
Not having the correct amount of of the right nutrients
T/F children who were malnourished in infancy do similarly to non-malnourished peers on IQ tests and perform just as well in school
False
They do worse
Marasmus
Disease where infants stop growing
Caused by malnutrition during 1st year
Fatal
Kwashiorkor
Childs body swells with water
Gives the illusion that the child is just chubby
Caused by malnutrition when child is older
Nonorganic failure to thrive
Disorder where children stop growing due to lack of stimulation and attention from parents
Usually occurs by 18mo
Can be reversed if they get love and support
What is obesity defined as
Weight greater than 20% above the average for a given height
What is the WHO‘s stance on bottle vs. breast feeding?
For first 6mo, breast milk is best
Why may breast milk be better?
Contains all nutrients necessary for growth
Offers some immunity for diseases
More easily digested than cow’s milk or formula
It’s sterile and warm
T/F research shows formula fed infants show equivalent cognitive performance in preschool
True
Weaning
The gradual cessation of breast/bottle feeding
Starts when formula/solids are introduced, is complete when breastfeeding is completely eliminated
Sensation
The physical stimulation of the sense organs
Perception
The sorting of, interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli involving the sense organs and brain
What is an infants distance vision like?
About 1/10 to 1/3 of that of the average adult
What happened in the visual cliff study?
The infants, who were about 6-14mo could not be coaxed to cross over to the other side, as they perceived the depth of the “drop”
T/F infants prefer simple perceptual stimuli
False
They prefer complex perceptual stimuli
When do babies start to hear?
From inside the womb, when hearing begins to develop
Sound localization
Using the time difference in when a sound hits our right vs. our left ear to pinpoint the source of a sound
Why do babies have worse sound localization than adults?
They have small heads
T/F infants can distinguish the smell of their parents from other adults?
~
Breast fed infants can detect the smell of their mother, not their father, and not if they’re bottle fed
T/F infants have a tendency to favour sweet tastes
True
T/F infants have very well-developed sense of smell
True
T/F infants can experience pain
True
BUT there seems to be a developmental progression: newborns take longer to respond to pain
Multimodal approach to perception
The approach that considers how information that is collected by various individual sensory systems is integrated and coordinated
Affordances
The options that a given situation/stimulus provides
Ex: infants get scared going down a ramp because it affords the possibility of falling
