Chapter 4 - The Newborn And Brain Development

Question 1

Neurons

Answer 1

Cells specialized in receiving information

Question 2

Glial cells

Answer 2

Repair neurons are like glue

Question 3

Cell body

Answer 3

Contains basic biological machinery that keeps the cell alive

Question 4

Dendrite

Answer 4

Receiving end of the neuron

Question 5

Axon

Answer 5

Sends information from receiving end to transmitting end

Question 6

Synapse

Answer 6

A gap between two neurons

Question 7

Myelin

Answer 7

Fat surrounding axon(allows transmission to happen more rapid)

Question 8

Cerebral Cortex

Answer 8

Consists of 10 billion neurons, regulates many of our “human“ functions, divided into left and right hemispheres

Question 9

Corpus Callosum

Answer 9

A bundle of million of axons that link the right and left hemisphere

Question 10

Frontal Lobe

Answer 10

Behavior, learning, personality, and voluntary movement

Question 11

Prefrontal Cortex

Answer 11

“Executive” planning, reasoning

Question 12

Parietal Lobe

Answer 12

Spatial, integrates across the senses and with memory

Question 13

Occipital Lobe

Answer 13

Visual information

Question 14

Temporal Lobe

Answer 14

Memory, visual, recognition, emotion, auditory, information and speech recognition

Question 15

Five stages of development

Answer 15

Neurogenesis, migration, Synaptogenesis, synaptic pruning, myelination

Question 16

Neurogenesis

Answer 16

Cell production

Most neurons are created prenatally

Starts at 10 weeks post conception and mostly completed by 28 weeks

Cell production 3000 per second

Question 17

Migration

Answer 17

Neurons move from the neural tube to their final position in the brain

Question 18

Synaptogenesis

Answer 18

Neurons form connections with other neurons

One neuron makes up to thousand synapses with other neurons

Will occur throughout life time

Question 19

Exuberant Synaptogenesis

Answer 19

Is an explosion of synapse formation

Question 20

Synaptic pruning

Answer 20

Rarely used synapses are eliminated “use it or lose it”

The goal is to make room for more and new connections

Question 21

Myelination

Answer 21

Formation of the fatty sheath around the axon

Sheath creates by glial cells
Starts in the 4th month
Multiple sclerosis: myelin damage

Question 22

Brain Specialization

Answer 22

Different areas of the brain are responsible for different psychological functions

Question 23

Electroencephalography (EEG)

Answer 23

Measures brains electrical activity from electrodes placed on scalp

Question 24

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI)

Answer 24

Uses magnetic fields to track blood flow in the brain

Question 25

Plasticity

Answer 25

The extent to which brain organization is flexible and shaped by experience

Two ways that experience can shape specialization: experience – expected growth, experience – dependent growth

Question 26

Experience- expectant

Answer 26

Process through which typical brain wiring occurs because of the typical human environment

Brain “expects“ certain experiences, it is primed to activate particular synapses

Question 27

Critical/sensitive periods

Answer 27

Brain is especially sensitive to particular input if input isn’t available development is less likely to be typical

Question 28

Experience – dependent

Answer 28

Process through which individual’s experiences lead to creation and re-organization of neural connections