CH 5.2: The Developing Nervous System

Question 1

neuron

Answer 1

cell that receives and transmits info

Question 2

cell body

Answer 2

undergoes biol. mechanisms that keep the cell alive

Question 3

dendrite

Answer 3

receives information from other neurons

Question 4

axon

Answer 4

long tube of the neuron that transmits info to the terminal buttons

Question 5

terminal buttons

Answer 5

ends of the axon that release neurotransmitters

Question 6

neurotransmitters

Answer 6

chemicals that carry info to other neurons

Question 7

synapse

Answer 7

gap between 2 neurons

Question 8

cerebral cortex

Answer 8

wrinkled surface of the brain; regulates many of the functions that we consider distinct to humans

Question 9

what links cerebral hemispheres together?

Answer 9

corpus callosum

Question 10

frontal cortex

Answer 10

part of the brain responsible for planning and personality

Question 11

what is the neural plate and when does it form?

Answer 11

a group of cells that eventually becomes the brain and spinal cord; forms 3 weeks after conception

Question 12

when does the developing brain typically have all the neurons it’ll ever have?

Answer 12

28 weeks

Question 13

how is the brain built in “stages”?

Answer 13

from the innermost layer first and then outward

Question 14

when in prenatal development do axons acquire myelin?

Answer 14

month 4

Question 15

neural growth proceeds rapidly up until what begins (and when?)

Answer 15

synaptic pruning is when synapses gradually start to disappear; around a baby’s first birthday

Question 16

what is the term for the brain weeding out unnecessary neurons?

Answer 16

downsizing

Question 17

2 main forms of neuroimaging

Answer 17

measurement of electrical activity (EEG)
measurement of activation in the brain (fMRI and PET scan)

Question 18

electroencephelogram

Answer 18

pattern of brain waves that shows distinctive patterns for a brain function

Question 19

functional magnetic resonance imaging

Answer 19

tracks the flow of blood in the brain

Question 20

positron emission tomography

Answer 20

can show the function of a brain area by tracking glucose levels in that brain area (higher glucose = more function)

Question 21

functional near infrared spectroscopy

Answer 21

fNIRS; a third neuroimaging technique that uses infrared light, penetrates a few cm into the child’s brain to measure blood flow in areas of the brain as stimuli are presented

Question 22

potential hazard of a PET scan

Answer 22

patients are required to be injected with a radioactive glucose

Question 23

main difference between left and right cerebral hemispheres

Answer 23

left: focuses on language functions
right: focuses on non-language functions

Question 24

when does the frontal cortex approach adult levels in a baby?

Answer 24

7-8 months after birth

Question 25

what does the frontal cortex primarily regulate?

Answer 25

goal oriented behaviour and appropriate behaviour

Question 26

what does the frontal cortex secondarily regulate?

Answer 26

emotions

Question 27

neuroplasticity

Answer 27

how flexible is the brain’s organization

Question 28

discuss the human brain’s plasticity

Answer 28

it is plastic because our experiences can affect the brain’s organization and function but all of our brains generally follow a set of guidelines that makes us all somewhat similar