Chapter 3 Flashcards
An average, or standard, measurement, calculated from the measurements of many individuals within a specific group or population.
norm
an average or standard, for a particular population
norm
Weight gain is dramatic. True or False
True
A biological mechanism that protects the brain when malnutrition disrupts body growth. The brain is the last part of the body to be damaged by malnutrition.
head-sparring
If teething or a stuffed-up nose temporarily slows weight gain, nature slows growth of the body but not the brain, a phenomenon called
head-sparring
CNS
central nervous system
the brain and spinal cord begins with nerve cells called
neurons
At biirth, the human brain has billions of neurons, most of them about 70 percent in the
cortex
one of billions of nerve cells in the central nervous system, especially in the brain
neuron
the outer layer of the brain in humans and other mammals. the most crucial part,Most thinking, feeling, and sensing involve the
cortex
the area of the cortex at the very front of the brain that specializes in anticipation, planning, and impulse control
prefrontal cortex
a fiber that extends from a neuron and transmits electrochemical impulses from that neuron tot he dendrite of other neurons
axon
a fiber that extends from a neuron and receives electrochemical impulses transmitted from other neurons
dendrite
the intersection between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites of other neurons
synapses
A brain chemical that carries information from the axon of sending neuron to the dendrites of receiving neuron
neurotransmitter
the pathway across which neurotransmitters carry information from the axon of the sending neuron to the dendrites of the receiving neuron.
synaptic gap
the final part of the brain to mature is
the prefrontal cortex
within and between areas of the CNS, neurons are connected to other neurons by intricate network fibers called
axons and dendrites
the critical communication links within the brain
synapses
The axon of one neuron meets the dendrites of other neurons at intersections called
synapses
Axons and dendrites do not touch at the synapse. True of false
True
the electrical impulses in axons typically cause the release of chemicals called
neurotransmitters
carry information from the axon of the sending ______, across the ________ to the dendrites of the receiving ________ is called
neurons, synaptic gap, neurons, neurotransmitters
The link between one neuron and another…..the infant brain contains billions of neurons, each with one axon and many dendrites, every electrochemical message to and from the brain causes thousands of neurons to fire simultaneously, each transmitting the message across the synapse to neighboring neurons.
Nature and the brain
every experience that a person has–especially in the early days and months–activates prunes neurons, such that the firing patterns from one axon to another dendrite reflect the past.
Nurture and the brain
the great but temporary increase in the number of dendrites that develop in an infant’s brain during the first two years of life
transient exuberance
Early dendrite growth is called
transient exuberance
Why is early dendrite growth called transient exuberance
exuberant because it is so rapid and transient because some of it is temporary
the expansive growth of a dendrite is followed by
pruning
When applied to brain development the process by which unused connections in the brain atrophy and die
pruning
face blindness, relatively uncommon
prosopagnosia
area of your brain is astonishingly adept to face recognition
the fusiform face
by 3 months, most babies smile more readily at familiar people and are more accrue at differentiating faces from their own ethnic group
own-race effect
the result of limited multiethnic experience, not innate prejudice
own-race effect
a life threatening injury that occurs when an infant is forcefully shaken back and forth, a motion that ruptures blood vessels in the brain and breaks neural connections
shaken baby syndrome
The inborn drive to remedy a developmental deficit; literally, to return to sitting or standing upright after being tipped over. People of all ages have self-righting impulses, for emotion as well as physical imbalance
self-righting
A stage of sleep characterized by flickering eyes behind closed likes, dreaming and rapid brain waves
REM (rapid eye movement) sleep
Why does shaking the baby stop the baby from crying
shaking stops the crying because blood vessels in the brain rupture and fragile neural connections break
abusive head trauma is an example of
shaken baby syndrome
understanding development as dynamic and interactive means
helping caregivers from the start, not waiting until destructive systems are established
an inborn drive to remedy deficits—is built into the human system
self-righting
with flickering eyes and rapid brain waves that indicates dreaming
REM (rapid eye movement) sleep
quiet sleep
slow-wave sleep
a custom in which parents and their children (usually infants) sleep together in the same room
co-sleeping
when parents bring decades-old memories into the bedroom of their children
ghosts in the nursery
the response of sensory system (eyes, ears, skin, tongue, nose) when it detects a stimulus
sensation
The mental processing of sensory information when the brain interprets a sensation
perception
requires experience
perception
why are new infants not more cautious
because sensation precedes perception and perception leads to cognition
occurs when a sensory system detects a stimulus, as when the inner ear reverberates with sound or the retina and pupil of the eye intercept light
sensation
occurs when the brain processes a sensation
perception
the ability to focus the two eyes in a coordinated manner in order to see one image
binocular vision
coordinating both eyes to see one image
binocular vision
the learned abilities to move some part of the body, in action ranging from a large leap to a flicker of the eyelid (The work motor here refers to movement of muscles
motor skills
any movement ability
motor skill
deliberate actions that coordinate many parts of the body, producing large movement, are called
gross motor skills
physical abilities involving large body movements, such as walking and jumping (the word gross here means “big”)
gross motor skills
head-down
cephalocaudal
proximodistal
center-out direction
physical abilities involving small body movements, especially of the hands and fingers, such as drawing and picking up a coin. (The word fine here means “small’)
fine motor skills
small body movements
fine motor skills
