Chapter 5 - Development and Plasticity of the Brain

Question 1

What are the 5 processes in the development of neurons?

Answer 1

proliferation
migration
differentiation
myelination
synaptogenesis

Question 2

proliferation

Answer 2

the production of new cells

Question 3

what guides the migration of neurons?

Answer 3

chemicals known as immunoglobins and chemokines

Question 4

when a neuron differentiates, which forms first; the axon or dendrites?

Answer 4

The axon forms first. the dendrites do not form until the neuron has reached its final destination

Question 5

In which brain areas do new neurons form in adults?

Answer 5

Olfactory receptors and the hippocampus

Question 6

neural darwinism

Answer 6

the concept of starting with more synapses and neurons than we need and only the successful ones survive

Question 7

what does nerve growth factor (NGF) do?

Answer 7

promotes survival and growth of the axon. without NGF, the neuron undergoes apoptosis

Question 8

neurotrophin

Answer 8

a chemical that promotes the survival and activity of neurons

Question 9

antisaccade task

Answer 9

looking away from a powerful attention getter, such as movement in peripheral vision

Question 10

at what age do children improve at the antisaccade task?

Answer 10

sharp improvement between ages 7-11 and gradual improvement in teenage years

Question 11

when are adolescents most likely to make an impulsive decisions?

Answer 11

when they must decide quickly and are in the presence of peer pressure

Question 12

which brain area is responsible for inhibition?

Answer 12

the prefrontal cortex

Question 13

ischemia

Answer 13

stroke resulting from a blood clot or other arterial obstruction

Question 14

hemorrhage

Answer 14

stroke resulting from a ruptured artery

Question 15

edema

Answer 15

accumulation of fluid in the brain

Question 16

what is tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) good for?

Answer 16

treating ischemias, because they break up blood clots. most effective within first 3 hours.

Question 17

what is the most effective known method of preventing brain damage after strokes?

Answer 17

cooling the brain

Question 18

diaschisis

Answer 18

decreased activity of surviving neurons after damage to other neurons

Question 19

what helps treat diaschisis

Answer 19

stimulation (electrical or chemical) to surviving neurons

Question 20

denervation supersensitivity (receptor supersensitivity)

Answer 20

the enhanced response of surviving neurons after similar neurons have been damaged (ex: of most neurons that produce dopamine are damaged, the remaining ones will produce lots more dopamine.)

Question 21

collateral sprouting

Answer 21

axons form new branches to take up newly vacated space

Question 22

deafferented

Answer 22

a limb that has lost sensory input