Chapter 4 IQ's Flashcards
is the reproductive system fully formed at birth?
yes
midbrain and medulla
- brain structures that are the most developed at birth
- regulate vital functions such as heartbeat, respiration, attention, sleeping, waking, elimination, and movement of the head and neck
- also controls primitive reflexes
cortex
- least developed part of the brain at birth
- involved in perception, body movement, thinking, and language
what influences which neural pathways are myelinized first?
- cephalocaudal and proximodistal patterns
- ex. nerves serving muscles in the neck and shoulders are myelinized earlier than those serving the abdomen -> babies can control their head movements before they can roll over
reticular formation
- brain structure that regulates attention
- myelination of it begins in infancy and finishes during mid-20’s
what adaptive reflexes persist across the lifespan?
- ones that protect us from harmful stimuli
- ie. withdrawing from a painful stimulus, opening and closing of pupil in eye to respond to various levels of brightness
Philip Zelazo’s research about stepping reflex
infants who were encouraged to exercise the stepping reflex were more likely to spontaneously display stepping movements and begin walking at an earlier age
when do primitive reflexes typically disappear in a neurologically healthy infant?
by 6-8 months
North American vs. European parents reaction to infant sleep patterns
- North American parents see babies’ erratic sleep cycles as a problem that parents need to fix through intervention
- European parents see babies’ erratic sleep cycles as manifestations of normal development, and expect babies to naturally acquire normal sleep patterns without parental intervention
True or false - it’s bad to pick up an infant immediately once it starts crying
False - research actually suggests that promptly picking up crying babies during the first 3 months of life will lead to less crying later in infancy
baby bone development
in order for infants to be able to perform coordinated muscle movements (like grasping), their bones must separate themselves from the masses of cartilage
baby lungs and heart
increased lung efficiency and heart strength lead to increased stamina, so that by the end of infancy, children are able to engage in fairly long periods of motor activity without rest
3 groups of motor skills
- locomotor skills
- nonlocomotor skills
- manipulative skills
locomotor skills
- aka: gross motor skills
- enable infant to get around in the environment (ex. crawling skills)
nonlocomotor skills
- improve babies’ ability to use their senses and motor skills to interact with objects and people around them
- ex. head movement skills
manipulative skills
- aka: fine motor skills
- involve use of hands (ie. when a baby stacks blocks on top of each other)
order of locomotor skills
- stepping reflex
- rolls over; sits with support; moves on hands and knees (creeps)
- sits without support; crawls
- pulls self up and walks grasping furniture, then walks alone
- walks backwards, sideways, runs
- walks up and down stairs, 2 feet per step
order of nonlocomotor skills
- lifts head slightly; follows slowly moving objects with eyes
- lifts head up to 90-degree angle when lying on stomach
- holds head erect while in sitting position
- squats and stoops, plays patty-cake
- rolls ball to adult; claps
- jumps with both feet off of the ground
manipulative skills
- holds object if placed in hand
- begins to swipe at objects in sight
- reaches for and grasps objects
- transfers objects from one hand to the other
- shows some signs of hand preference; grasps a spoon across palm but has poor aim when moving food to mouth
- stacks two blocks; puts objects into small container and dumps them out
- uses spoon to feed self; stacks 4-10 blocks
gender differences
- girls continue to be ahead of boys in aspects of physical maturity (ie. seperate wrist bones appear earlier in girls)
- boys are more likely to suffer from developmental delays, are less healthy, and have higher mortality rates
- male infants display clear preference for rough-and-tumble play
evidence that motor skill development is influenced by nature
- motor milestones are always reached in the same sequence by all infants
- motor skill development always follows cephalocaudal and proximodistal patterns
evidence that motor skill development is influenced by nurture
infants who are denied opportunities to practice motor skills develop them much later than infants who are given the opportunity to practice them
breastfeeding should be the sole source of nutrition for how long?
at least the first 6 months of life
benefits of breast milk
- contributes to rapid weight and size gain
- breast-fed infants less likely to suffer from diarrhea, gastroenteritis, bronchitis, ear infections, and colic, and are less likely to die in infancy
