Infancy - physical development

Question 1

Body growth

Answer 1

Babies grow at a faster rate in the first year: weight doubles at 5 months and triples at the end of 1st year to 22 lbs.
Babies get fat in early months to maintain body temp: 1 year olds lose “baby fat” and lowers fat: body ratio until puberty

Question 2

Cephalocaudal principle

Answer 2

Growth is from head to tail

Question 3

Proximodistal principle

Answer 3

growth goes from middle of the body out: “near to far”

Question 4

hierarchical integration

Answer 4

simple skills are integrated into more complex movement (ex: raisin in a cup given to child, they start off by reaching, then grasping, then pinching and releasing)

Question 5

independence of systems

Answer 5

different body systems grow at different rates

Question 6

Early Fine Motor Skills

Answer 6

eye-hand coordination (reaching):
- pre-reaching (0-3 months): swiping at object
- visually directed reaching (3-5 months): more looking and intentional movements toward object
-object manipulation (grasping):
- grasp reflex → ulnar grasp: focus of the middle to pinky fingers of grasping object → neat pincer grasp: using pointer finger and thumb to pinch specifically at object

Question 7

4 months: Ulnar palmar grasp

Answer 7

hold an object you give her in her palm while gently wrapping one or two of her fingers, excluding the thumb, around it. She won’t have a strong grip on the object at this point, so it may roll away from her hand.

Question 8

Brain growth

Answer 8

Neurons start producing by week 7 of prenatal dev and most of the billions of neurons is produced by the middle of prenatal dev.
Neonate’s brain = 25% adult brain
Age 2 = 70%

Question 9

Synapses

Answer 9

Brain growth in 1st year = peak for connections among neurons. Tiny gaps where communication takes place

Question 10

Neurotransmitters

Answer 10

release/reception of chemicals that help neurons communicate across synapses

Question 11

Axon

Answer 11

Long connecting fibers that release neurotransmitters

Question 12

Dendrites

Answer 12

Short branch-like fibers that receive neurotransmitters

Question 13

Synaptic exuberance/overproduction

Answer 13

spurt in new connections between dendrites and axons

Question 14

Myelination

Answer 14

In fetal period (~14th week): axons are wrapped in myelin sheath = white fatty substance, to increase communication speed; fast in the 1st year and slower rate after 40

Question 15

Synaptic pruning

Answer 15

“use it or lose it”: unused synaptic connections wither while used ones become stronger

Question 16

Brain specialization

Answer 16

neurons in diff parts of brain have specialized functions. Brain = 3 main regions - hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain

Question 17

hindbrain + mindbrain

Answer 17

mature earliest + perform basic biological functions (breathing, heart beating, balanced body movements).

Question 18

forebrain

Answer 18

2 main parts: limbic system + cerebral cortex

Question 19

limbic system

Answer 19

includes hypothalamus, thalamus, hippocampus

Question 20

hypothalamus

Answer 20

small, size of peanut and plays a role in monitoring and regulating basic animal functions, hunger, thirst, body temp, sexual desire, hormones

Question 21

Thalamus

Answer 21

receiving and transfering sensory info from body to the brain

Question 22

Hippocampus

Answer 22

responsible for your memory and learning

Question 25

hippocampus

Answer 25

cruical in memory, transferring from short-term to long-term memory

Question 26

cerebral cortex

Answer 26

85% of brain’s weight; basis of human abilities: speaking, understanding language, solving problems, thinking concepts, ideas, symbols

Question 27

lateralization

Answer 27

specialization of the two hemispheres:
left = language + processing info sequentially step by step
right = spatial reasoning + processing info holistic integrative way

Question 28

Four lobes of each hemisphere

Answer 28

temporal, parietal, frontal, prefrontal

Question 29

occipital lobe

Answer 29

rear of each hemisphere - process visual info

Question 30

temporal lobe

Answer 30

lower side of each hemisphere - process auditory info

Question 31

parietal lobe

Answer 31

Above temporal lobe process info from body senesations

Question 32

frontal lobe

Answer 32

behind the forehead = at the center of advanced human brain processes, producing language and making decisions

Question 33

preforntal cortex

Answer 33

foremost part of frontal lobe - most recently evolved, specialized abilities for planning/organizing info to direct behavior

Question 34

Plasticity

Answer 34

Highly responsive to environmental circumstances. High in plasticity because infant brain is not as specialized

Question 35

common cultural theme of infant’s social life

Answer 35

1. infants are with their months constantly within all cultures
2. about 6 months, most daily infant care is done by older girls rather than the mother
3. infants are around many other people in the course of a day
4. infants are held or carried almost constantly
5. fathers are usually remote/absent during 1st year

Question 36

two most influential theories of infant’s social development

Answer 36

Erik Erikson and John Bowlby

Question 37

Erikson’s 8 stage theory applying to infancy

Answer 37

developmental crisis for each stage
For infancy: trust vs mistrust: infants are dependent on others for survival, require others to provide for their needs and have someone who can trusted to care for them and be a reliable source of nourishment, love and protection. If love and care are lacking, infants may mistrust caregivers and others, shrinking from a seemingly harsh and unfriendly world. Builds on previous stages as foundation for future social dev

Question 38

Bowlby’s Attachment theory

Answer 38

importance of infant’s relationship with primary caregiver. Bowlby believed that this relationship influenced emotional/social development not only in infancy but other stages as well.
Caregiver being sensitive and responsive = help infant learn to trust others in social relationships