Exam 2 Chp. 4,5,6 Flashcards
organized pattern of physical growth that proceeds from upper to lower part of body
cephalocaudal trend
organized pattern of physical growth that proceeds from center of body outward
proximodistal trend
nerve cells that store and transmit info
neurons
gaps between neurons, across which chemical messages are sent
synapses
chemicals released by neurons that cross the synapse to send messages to other neurons
neurotransmitters
aspect of brain growth in which as synapses form, many surrounding neurons die, making space for these connective structures
programmed cell death
process in which neurons that are seldom stimulated lose their synapses and are returned to an uncommitted state so they can support future development
synaptic pruning
cells that are responsible for myelination of neural fibers, which improves the efficiency of message transfer
glial cells
coating of neural fibers with an insulating fatty sheath, called myelin, that improves the efficiency of message transfer
myelination
largest, most complex structure of the human brain, which contains the greatest number of neurons and synapses and accounts for the highly developed intelligence of the human species
cerebral cortex
region of the cerebral cortex, lying in front of areas controlling body movement, that is responsible for thought–in particular, consciousness, inhibition of impulses, integration of info, and memory, reasoning, planning, and problem-solving strategies
prefrontal cortex
specialization of functions in the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex
lateralization
capacity of various parts of the cerebral cortex to take over functions of damaged regions; declines as hemispheres of the cerebral cortex lateralize
brain plasticity
young brains rapidly developing organization, which depends on ordinary experiences–opportunities to explore the environment, interact with people, and hear language and other sounds
experience-expectant brain growth
growth and refinement of established brain structures as a result of specific learning experiences that vary widely across individuals and cultures
experience-dependent brain growth
wasted condition of the body caused by diet low in all essential nutrients, which usually appears in the first year of life when the mother is too malnourished to produce enough breast milk and bottle-feeding is also inadequate
marasmus
disease caused by an unbalanced diet very low in protein that usually appears after weaning, between 1 and 3 yrs of age; symptoms include an enlarged belly, swollen feet, hair loss, skin rash, and irritable, listless behavior
kwashiorkor
in classical conditioning, stimulus that consistently produces reflexive response
unconditioned stimulus
in classical conditioning, reflexive response that is consistently produced by an unconditioned stimulus
unconditioned response
in classical conditioning, neutral stimulus that through pairing with an unconditioned stimulus, leads to a new conditioned response
conditioned stimulus
in classical conditioning, new response elicited by a conditioned stimulus that is similar to the unconditioned, or reflexive response
conditioned response
form of learning that involves associating neutral stimulus with stimulus that leads to a reflexive response; once the nervous system makes the connection between the two stimuli, the neutral stimulus alone produces behavior
classical conditioning
form of learning in which a spontaneous behavior is followed by a stimulus that changes the probability that the behavior will occur again
operant conditioning
in operant conditioning, stimulus that increases the occurrence of a response
reinforcer
in operant conditioning, removal of a desirable stimulus or presentation of an unpleasant one to decrease the occurrence of a response
punishment
gradual reduction in the strength of a response due to repetitive stimulation
habituation
following habituation, increase in responsiveness to a new stimulus
recovery
learning by copying the behavior of another person
imitation
specialized cells in motor areas of the cerebral cortex in primates that may underlie early imitative capacities by firing identically when a primate hears or sees an action and when it carries out the action on its own
mirror neurons
theory that views mastery of motor skills as a process of acquiring increasingly complex systems of action, in which separate abilities blend together, each cooperating with others to produce more effective ways of exploring and controlling the environment; each new skill is a joint product of central nervous system development, the body’s movement capacities, the child’s goals, and environmental supports for the skill
dynamic systems theory of motor development
infants’ capacity to analyze the speech stream for patterns- repeatedly occurring sequences of sounds– through which they acquire a stock of speech structures for which they will later learn meanings
statistical learning capacity
process of making sense of simultaneous input from more than one modality, or sensory system, perceiving these separate streams of information as an integrated whole
intermodal perception
view that perceptual development involves the detection of increasingly fine-grained, invariant features in the environment
differentiation theory
