Brain maturation and aging Flashcards
In the brain, what increases as the animal matures?
Degree of myelination
Dendrites increase in number
Number of synapses
What is developmental learning?
Brain development depends on the external environment the animal is exposed to
Brain maturation involves which 4 processes?
- Mitosis and apoptosis of neurones
- Development of synapses
- Myelination
- Strength of connectivity
What are sensitive periods?
Certain times during development in which the NS is more likely to be affected by developmental learning
In dogs, at what age is the first critical period for socialisation?
3 weeks
If the first social contact occurs after a critical period what will the animals response be?
Fear
How does learning occur and what does it require?
As a consequence of experience
Requires motivation and attention
Relies on the ability to form memories
Describe the 2 ways memory can be considered
Declarative - specific facts which may result from a single experience
Procedural - motor skills resulting from repetitive training
Describe short term memory
- seconds to hours in duration
- electrical memory trace only
- limited storage capacity
- must be rehearsed to be consolidated
- easily forgotten
Describe long term memory
- Days to years in duration
- Physical memory trace
- Infinite capacity
- Constantly refined in light of new related STMs
How are memory traces different in STM and LTM?
STM: Electrical only
LTM: Physical change - formation of new synapses, growth of dendrites
What are the two types of non-associative learning by which STMs are formed?
Habituation and Sensitisation
What is habituation?
Natural response to a stimulus that reduces over time
What is sensitisation?
Natural response to a stimulus increases over time
What is associative learning?
STM processing before the learned is stored in the LTM
