Brain Development Flashcards
What are the three stages of the pre-natal period?
Conceptual
Embryonic
Foetal
What occurs in the conceptual period?
Union of reproductive cells
Nuclei merge - result in 23 chromosomes
What occurs in the embryonic period?
Major organs begin to form
Heart begins to beat, blood is circulated
Cell division and differentiation
What occurs in the foetal period?
Origins of motor, sensory and learning behaviour
Continued development and differentiation of structures
What are the 8 stages of neural development?
Natalie puke maggots and Dan sings something French
Neuralation
Proliferation
Migration
Aggregation
Differentiation
Synaptogenesis
Selective cell death
Functional validation
What are the steps of embryonic formation?
Cells multiply & differentiate
Inner cells cluster to leave a cavity
The outer walls implant into the uterine wall
Two types of tissue form from inner and outer cells
What are the three layers of the trilaminar disc?
Ectoderm
Mesoderm
Endoderm
What is the endoderm?
Inner layer - Internal organs (digestive, respiratory, etc)
What is the mesoderm?
Middle layer - skeletal and muscular structures
What is the ectoderm?
Outer layer - skin surface, nervous system
What is the primitive streak?
Marks bilateral symmetry in embryos
Where does the neural plate form?
On the ectoderm layer, opposite the primitive streak
What is the notochord?
Plays a core role in vertebrate development
Releases proteins that drive neuralation
What occurs during neuralation?
Edges of the neural plate curve and close from head to tail - becoming the complete central nervous system
What severe disorders occur due to failures during neuralation?
Spina Bifida
Anencephaly
How does Spina Bifida occur?
Failure of the closure of the spinal cord to close at the caudal end
How does Anencephaly occur?
Failure of the neural tube to close at the cranial end.
Foetus develops with a major portion of the brain, skull and scalp missing
What do the three swellings of the neural tube form?
Basis of human brain structure
Forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain