Chapter 5 Flashcards
percentile
a point on a ranking scale of 1 to 100. the 50th percentile is the midpoint; half of the people in the population being studied rank higher and half rank lower
REM (rapid eye movement)
a stage of sleep characterized by flickering eyes behind closed lids, dreaming, and rapid brain waves
bed-sharing
when two or more people sleep in the same bed
co-sleeping
a custom in which parents and their children (usually infants) sleep together
head sparing
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
dendrite
a fiber that extends from a neuron and receives electrochemical impulses from other neurons via their axons
axon
a fiber that extends from a neuron and transmits electrochemical impulses from that neuron to the dendrites of other neurons
myelin
the coating on the axons that speeds transmission of signals from one neuron to another
cortisol
the primary stress hormone, fluctuations in the body’s level affect human emotions
oxytocin
the primary bonding hormone, evident lifelong but particularly high at birth/lactation
transient exuberance
the great but temporary increase in the number of dendrites that develop in an infant’s brain during the first two years of life
experience-expectant growth
brain functions that require certain basic common experiences (which an infant can be expected to have) in order to develop normally
experience dependent growth
brain functions that depend on particular, valuable experiences and therefore may or may not develop in a particular infant
shaken baby syndrome
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
sensation
the response of a sensory organ (eyes, ears, skin, mouth, nose) when it detects a stimulus
perception
when the brain is conscious of a sensation or idea
binocular vision
the ability to focus the two eyes in a coordinated manner in order to see one image with both eyes
motor-skills
the learned ability to move some part of the body, in actions ranging from a large leap to a flicker of the eyelid
gross motor skills
physical abilities involving large body movements (walking, jumping)
fine motor skills
physical abilities involving small body movements especially of the hands and fingers, such as drawing or picking up a coin
sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
a situation in which a seemingly healthy infant, usually between 2 and 6 months, suddenly stops breathing and dies unexpectedly while asleep
immunization
a process that stimulates the body’s immune system by causing production of antibodies to defend against attack by particular contagious disease
protein-calorie malnutrition
a condition in which a person does not consume sufficient food of any kind, can result in severe illness, severe weight loss, and death
stunting
the failure of children to grow to a normal height for their age due to severe malnutrition
