brain plasticity Flashcards
what are the developmental stages across the lifespan?
prenatal( before birth)
infancy(birth to 2 years of age)
childhood(2-10 years)
adolescence(10-20)
early adulthood(20-40)
middle age(40-65)
older age(65+)
changes across developmental stages
physical- change in the body
cognition- changes in thinking, analysing, perceiving, remembering and language
social and emotional- changes in ability to perceive, understand and use of emotions and the establishment of relationships with others.
define the term plasticity
the ability of the brains synapse to be modified
define the term developmental plasticity
the development and consolidation of neural pathways in babies, children and adolescents
define the term adaptive plasticity
the ability of brain to change, adapt and grow throughout life
what are the stages in developmental plasticity
proliferation, migration, circuit formation, synaptic pruning, myelination
what is proliferation?
unborn babys cells that will become neurons and divide and multiply creating 250, 000 cells a minute
undergo cell division
what is migration?
newly formed neurons move to their specified designation in the brain
what is circuit formation?
axons of the neurons branch out to target cells and form synapses with them.
what is synaptic pruning?
the loss of excess neurons and synapses usually formed in infancy and childhood
what is myelination?
the axons of the neurons remaining are myelinated helping to not only increase neural transmission but also prevents interference between neurons. prefrontal cortex is the last part to become myelinated. happens in your 20’s
how does your cerebellum develop during adolescence?
an increase in the number of neurons and synapses into the cerebellum, and underdeveloped cerebellum and growth spurts may result in clumsy teens.
how does your amygdala develop during adolescence?
becomes more active in teens the hyper emotional states of teens and bad decision making may be due to relying on the amygdala rather than the still developing pre frontal cortex.
how does your corpus callosum develop during adolescence?
thickens in adolescence and there is an increase in numbers of connections between 2 hemishperes
how does your frontal lobe develop during adolescence?
frontal lobe on the left hemisphere last part to undergo myelination, become better at decision making ,impulse control, problem solving
define adaptive plasticity
the ability of the brain to change, adapt, grow throughout life
when does adaptive plasticity occur?
when the connections between synapses are altered to best suit the environment when learning something new or relearning something after a brain injury or surgery.
what are 3 changes to brain anatomy and neurons that may take place during adaptive plasticity?
1 reorganise
2 forming of new synapses
3 form new connections
what is your amygdala?
deep within the temporal lobe, involved in your autonomic responses associated with fear and emotional responses. processing and consolidating memory and your hormonal sensations.
