brain development

Question 1

timeline of major events

Answer 1

check slide 2

neurulation: formation of the neural tube
neuronal proliferation
neural migration
apoptosis
synaptogenesis
myelination

Question 2

the process of neurulation

Answer 2

fusion of the neural plate to form neural tube

check the slide 5

Question 3

differentiation along the longitudinal dimension

Answer 3

forebrain
midbrain
hindbrain

Question 4

rotation of the cerebral hemispheres

Answer 4

formation of the C shape

Question 5

differentiation of the neural tube

Answer 5

cells at ventricular zone start to differentiate and migrate up

Question 6

two types of cell migration

Answer 6

tangenital: non-layered, inside-out, striatum/thalamus/amygdala
radial: layered, inside-up, cerebral cortex/cerebellar cortex

Question 7

neocortical lamination

Answer 7

slide 12

Question 8

abnormal neocortical neuronal migration

Answer 8

lissencephaly
ectopia
etc

Question 9

cell differentiation

Answer 9

slide 14

Question 10

synaptogenesis

Answer 10

slide 15, four steps

Question 11

synaptic development in four cortical regions

Answer 11

temporal gyrus
calcarine cortex
middle frontal gyrus
Broca’s area

Question 12

cortical gray/white matter volume

Answer 12

increase with age;
U shape for gray matter, linear for white matter;
male have bigger volume than female;

Question 13

development of subcortical structures

Answer 13

Caudate nucleus: Like cortical GM, the caudate follows an inverted U shape developmental trajectory, peaking at age 10.5 years in girls and 14.0 years in boys.

Cerebellum: Developmental curves of total cerebellum size follow an inverted U shaped developmental trajectory with peak size occurring at 11.3 in girls and 15.6 in boys, similar to the cerebrum.

Amygdala and Hippocampus: Volumes increase significantly but reach a peak earlier for the amygdala than for the hippocampus.

Question 14

methods linking brain and cognitive development

Answer 14

ERP: mother vs stranger voices
MEG
fMRI: perception of face vs building vs objects
NIRS

Question 15

development of declarative memory system

Answer 15

steady increase of the ability to recognize scenes

Question 16

development of executive functions

Answer 16

verbal and spatial

Question 17

development of cognitive control

Answer 17

voxel-wise correlations of age with stroop activations

slide 30

Question 18

take home message

Answer 18

• Brain development proceeds from the third gestational week to late into adolescence
• Brain development involves major events: neurulation, neuronal proliferation and migration, synaptogenesis, apoptosis, synaptic pruning and synapse remodeling, myelination
• Neurulation: Formation and fusion of the neural tube
• Formation of the 5 vesicles that will give rise to all brain structures and spinal cord as well as ventricular system
• Differentiation of the neural tube and neuronal migration: the case of cerebral cortex development (an inside-out migration)
• Synaptogenesis: varies from cortical regions and continuous refinement and modification until adolescence – pruning and remodeling
• Postnatal development of gray matter follows a U-shape pattern, whereas development of the white matter is linear.
• Development of face and object perception involves refinement and modification of synaptic connections in the ventral occipital region.
• Declarative memory processes become more efficient with age and reflect progressive participation of the prefrontal cortex.
• Working memory processes also develop with age as a result of further development within the prefrontal cortex.
• With age, executive functions also strengthen as children and adolescents become better at performing more complex tasks as well as improve cognitive control.