Brain development

Question 1

Neurons

Answer 1

Cells that are specialized for sending and receiving messages between the brain and all parts of the body, as well as within the brain itself

Question 2

Cell body

Answer 2

a component of the neuron that contains the basic biological material that keeps the neuron functioning

Question 3

Dendrites

Answer 3

Neural fibers that receive input from other cells and conduct it toward the cell body in the form of electrical impulses

Question 4

Axon

Answer 4

Neural fibers that conduct electrical signal away from the cell body to connections with other neurons

Question 5

Synapses

Answer 5

Microscopic junctions between the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendritic branches or cell body of another

Question 6

Glial cells

Answer 6

cells in the brain that provide a variety of critical supportive functions

Question 7

Myelin Sheath

Answer 7

A fatty sheath that forms around certain axons in the body and increases the speed and efficiency of information transmission

Question 8

Cerebral cortex

Answer 8

the ‘‘gray matter’’ of the brain, consisting of four distinct lobes

Question 9

Occipital lobe

Answer 9

area of the cortex that primarily involved in processing visual information (helemaal achterin)

Question 10

temporal Lobe

Answer 10

Area of the cortex that is associated with speech and language, music, and emotional information (midden onder)

Question 11

parietal Lobe

Answer 11

area of the cortex that is associated with spatial processing and sensory information (Midden boven)

Question 12

Frontal loba

Answer 12

Area of the cortex that is associated with working memory and cognitive control

Question 13

association areas

Answer 13

Parts of the brain that lie between the major sensory and motor areas and that process and integrate input from those areas

Question 14

Electrophysiological Recording

Answer 14

Electrical recording obtained through the scalp are non-invasive and can be used successfully even with very young infants.

Question 15

Electroencephalographic (EEG)

Answer 15

Recordings of electrical activity generated by neurons are used to study the time course of neural events and brain/behavior relationships.

Question 16

Event-related potentials (ERPs)

Answer 16

Detect changes in the brain’s electrical activity that occur in response to the presentation of a particular stimulus.

Question 17

Magnetoencephalography (MEG)

Answer 17

Detects magnetic fields generated by electrical currents in the brain, localized origin of electrical signal.

Question 18

cerebral

Answer 18

two halves of the cortex

Question 19

Corpus callosum

Answer 19

A dense tractor nerve fibers that enable the two hemisphere of the brain to communicate.

Question 20

Cerebral lateralization

Answer 20

The specialization of the hemispheres of the brain for different modes of processing.

Question 21

Neurogenis

Answer 21

the proliferation of neurons through cell division

Question 22

Arborization

Answer 22

Formation of new dendritic trees and branches

Question 23

Spines

Answer 23

formation on the dendrites of neurons that increase the dendrites’ capacity to form connections with other neurons

Question 24

Myelination

Answer 24

The formation of myelin (a fatty sheath) around the axons of neurons that speeds and increases information-processing abilities.

Question 25

Synaptogenesis

Answer 25

The process by which neurons form synapses with other neurons, resulting in trillions of connections.

Question 26

Synaptic prunning

Answer 26

The normal developmental process through which synapses that are rarely activated are eliminated.

Question 27

Plasticity

Answer 27

The capacity of the brain to be affected by experience

Question 28

Experience-expectant plasticity

Answer 28

The process through which the normal wiring of the brain occurs in part as a result of species-typical experiences.

Question 29

Experience-dependent plasticity

Answer 29

The process through which neural connections are created and reorganized throughout life as a function of an individual’s experiences.

Question 30

Secular trends

Answer 30

Marked changes in physical development that have occurred over generations.