H6 The developing brain

Question 1

neuroconstructivism

Answer 1

process of interaction between environment & brain-based constraints that lead to the mature cognitive system emerging out of transformations of earlier ones

Question 2

predetermined development

Answer 2

Gottlieb’s 1st view of development:
genes→brain structure→brain function→experience

Question 3

probabilistic development

Answer 3

Gottlieb’s 2nd view of development:
genes ↔ brain structure ↔ brain function ↔ experience

Question 4

neural tube

Answer 4

the embryo’s precursor to the CNS, consisting of a set of cells arranged in a hollow cilinder

Question 5

neuroblasts

Answer 5

stem cells for neurons

Question 6

radial glial cells

Answer 6

support cells that guide neurons from the neural tube to their final destination

Question 7

Hebbian learning

Answer 7

strengthening of a synapse that occurs when the pre- & postsynaptic neurons are active at the = time

Question 8

myelination

Answer 8

↑ in fatty sheath that surrounds axons and ↑ the speed of information transmission

Question 9

plasticity

Answer 9

brain’s ability to change as a result of experience

Question 10

synaptogenesis

Answer 10

synapse formation

Question 11

Kennard principle

Answer 11

idea that the earlier brain damage is sustained, the better the functional outcome

Question 12

filial imprinting

Answer 12

process by which a young animal comes to recognize a parent

Question 13

critical period

Answer 13

time window in which appropriate environmental input is essential for learning to take place

Question 14

sensitive period

Answer 14

time window in which appropriate environmental input is particularly important, but not essential, for learning to take place

Question 15

empiricism

Answer 15

in philosophy, the view that the newborn mind is a blank slate

Question 16

nativism

Answer 16

in philosophy, the view that at least some forms of knowledge are innate

Question 17

instinct

Answer 17

a behaviour that is a product of natural selection

Question 18

prepared learning

Answer 18

theory that common phobias are biologically determined from evolutionary pressures

Question 19

behavioural genetics

Answer 19

a field concerned with studying the inheritance of behaviour and cognition

Question 20

heritability

Answer 20

the proportion of variance in a trait, in a given population, that can be accounted for by differences among individuals

Question 21

genotype-first

Answer 21

analysis approach in which different genotypes are used to explore for phenotypic variation

Question 22

phenotype-first

Answer 22

analysis approach in which different phenotypes are used to explore genetic differences

Question 23

genome-wide association study (GWAS)

Answer 23

phenotype-first approach in which the presence/absence, or continuous variation, in a trait is linked to variations at many different sites in the genetic code

Question 24

orofacial dyspraxia

Answer 24

impaired ability to perform the coordinated movements that are required for speech

Question 25

transcription factor

Answer 25

a gene product that affects the function of other genes

Question 26

epigenetics

Answer 26

the expression of genetic code influenced by the environment

Question 27

gene-environment correlations (rGE)

Answer 27

genetic influences in people’s exposure to different environments

Question 28

evocative process

Answer 28

child’s negative behavior leads to a harsher parenting style

Question 29

passive correlation

Answer 29

both a risk for negative child behaviors & negative parenting behaviors are transmitted genetically

Question 30

gene-environment interactions (G x E)

Answer 30

susceptibility to a trait depends on a particular combination of a gene and environment