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developmental Psychology > lecture 13- prenatal development > Flashcards

lecture 13- prenatal development Flashcards

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1
Q

Phylogenetic continuity

A
  • We are just another type of animal
  • Due to our shared evolutionary history, we share many characteristics and developmental processes with other living things
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2
Q

Brain structure and function

A
  • The size of human brain is markedly larger and more complex than other mammals
  • Scientists have a long-standing interest in the genetics underpinning development of the human brain
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3
Q

Homo sapiens

A
  • Principles of cortical development are similar in mouse, macaque and human brain
  • Functions of neurotransmitters, receptors and ion channels do not change substantially over phylogenetic scale
  • Secret to success of human? Possibly increased number of neurons, more elaborate connections and functional specialisation of cortical areas
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4
Q

gametes

A
  • Sperm and ova are uniqugae cells in the human body as they contain only half the chromosomes of the somatic cells, via meiosis
  • Reduction to 23 chromosomes allows for the merging of the sperm and ovum into one new being with 46 chromosomes
  • The ovum is the largest cell in the human body and is released from one of the ovaries into the fallopian tube
  • It releases a chemical signal to any awaiting sperm
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5
Q

gametes continued

A

-During ejaculation, as many as 500 million sperm are produced
-Each sperm has a pointed head packed with genetic information and a long tail that whips the sperm along
-The sperm must travel ~ 6 hours (6-7 inches) from the vagina through uterus to the fallopian tube
Only about 200 ever get close to the ovum

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6
Q

Being a bloke is hard

A
  • Sperm carrying the lighter & chromosomes are lighter and swim faster
  • This vulnerability continues through life
  • Boys are more likely to suffer from developmental disorders (autism, ADHD, dyslexia, schizophrenia, mental retardation)
  • Adolescent boys are more impulsive than girls on average, and take more risks
  • More likely to commit suicide, die violently
  • Eventually, men die earlier than women, on average
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7
Q

Periods of prenatal development

A

Prenatal development is often divided into three major phases:

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8
Q

period of the zygote

A
  • 0 to 14 days

- From conception to implantation into the wall of the uterus

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9
Q

Period of the embryo

A

3 to 8 weeks

Virtually all the major organs are formed

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10
Q

Period of the fetus

A

9th week until birth

All the major functions begin to function and the developing organism grows

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11
Q

The zygote

A
  • The winning sperm penetrates the outer membrane of the ovum
  • A chemical reaction seals the membrane, preventing other sperm from entering
  • Tail of sperm falls off, contents of head gush into ovum and within hours the nuclei of the two gametes merge, producing the zygote
  • Within 12 hours of fertilisation, the zygote splits into two equal parts, each containing a full set of genetic material. This process is called…..
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12
Q

Blastocyst

A
  • The two cells then divide into four, then eight, then sixteen and so on
  • Over the course of the next 38 weeks, the single celled organism will be born as a person with trillions of cells
  • The blastocyst is a ball-like structure that contains 60-80 cells, within 4 days of conception
  • Implantation of the zygote into the uterine wall occurs between 8 and 14 days from conception
  • The zygote develops small, burr-like tendrils, that emerge from its outer surface
  • When the blastocyst reaches the uterine wall, these tendrils burrow inward, tapping the woman’s blood supply (implantation)
  • Only half of all fertilised ova are firmly implanted
  • Perhaps as many as half of all such implants are genetically abnormal or fail to develop, or burrow into a site incapable of sustaining them
  • ¾ of zygotes fail to survive this initial phase of development
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13
Q

Embryo

A
  • The embedded balls of cells begin to differentiate

- The inner cell mass will become the embryo and the rest of the cells will become the amniotic sac and placenta

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14
Q

Four major support structures

A
  • Once implanted, the blastocyst’s outer layer forms four major support structures that protect and nourish the developing embryo
  • Amnion is a watertight sac that fills with fluid, acting as a cushion, regulating temperature and providing a weightless environment
  • Chorion is a membrane surrounding the amnion, and it eventually becomes the lining of the placenta
  • Allantois forms the umbilical cord
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15
Q

the placenta

A
  • The placenta is a support organ for the developing organism
  • It keeps the circulatory systems of the embryo/fetus and mother separate, but a semi-permeable membrane permits oxygen and nutrients from the mother and carbon dioxide and waste from the fetus, via the umbilical cord
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16
Q

inner cell mass

A
  • The inner cell mass folds itself into three layers, each quite different
  • The top layer (ectoderm) becomes the nervous system, the nails, teeth, inner ears, lens of the eyes and outer layer of skin
  • The middle layer (mesoderm) becomes the bones, muscles, circulatory system, inner layers of skin and other internal organs
  • The bottom layer (endoderm) develops into the digestive tract, lungs, urinary tract and glands
17
Q

neural tube

A
  • A few days after the embryo has developed these three layers, a U-shaped groove forms down the centre of the top layer and these tops of the U move together and fuse creating the neural tube
  • One end of the neural tube will swell and develop into the brain, and the rest will become the spinal cord
18
Q

Embryo/Fetal behaviour

A

-From 5-6 weeks after conception, the organism moves spontaneously
-Bending the head and spine
-Hiccups from about 7 weeks
-Fetus can move his/her arms, legs, wiggle fingers, clasp the umbilical cord, move head and eyes, yawn, swallow, breath amniotic fluid, perform backwards somersaults
-By 12 weeks, most movements that are present at birth are able to be performed by the fetus
Some fetuses move quite a lot, others don’t move much
-This activity level is consistent over time, with prenatal-to-postnatal continuity in the amount of activity level

19
Q

Fetal experience

A 
-The fetus receives:
Tactile stimulation
Taste stimulation
Smell stimulation
Hearing stimulation
20
Q

learning

A

-In the last 3 months of pregnancy, the CNS has developed enough to support fetal learning
Fetal learning:
Habituation studies measuring heart rate
Fetuses can discriminate one sound from another and they pay attention to human voices
Preference for familiar sounds, smells and tastes
Neonate association learning:
Oral motor patterns and altered milk flow
Cross-sensory learning
Conditioning to tactile and taste stimuli

21
Q

Fifer et al., (2010)

A

Experimental group: A tone was followed by a puff of air to the eye

Control group: Tones and puffs presented at random time

22
Q

Teratogens

A
  • 45% of pregnancies abort within the first 3 weeks
  • There are many reasons for this
  • Teratogens are external environmental agents that can cause damage or death during the prenatal period
  • Many teratogens only cause an effect if the fetus is exposed to it in a particular developmental period, called a sensitive period
  • Each major organ has a sensitive period
  • The most crucial period for gross physical defects of the head and CNS is the third to middle of the 6th prenatal week
23
Q

alcohol

A
  • Concentrations of alcohol in the blood of the mother and fetus quickly equalise, but the fetus has less ability to metabolise and remove alcohol from its blood, so it stays in the fetal system for longer.
  • Fetal alcohol effects can occur in social drinkers – these effects are less serious than the babies with FAS, but they include retarded physical growth and minor physical anormalities, poor motor skills, difficulty paying attention, lower than normal intellectual ability and verbal learning deficits.
  • The risks of FAE are greatest if a pregnant woman binges occasionally (5 or more standard drinks in a session).
  • Drinking late in pregnancy can be just as risky as drinking soon after conception – there is not a well defined sensitive period for fetal alcohol effects
  • Drinking can also affect the male reproductive system – reduced sperm motility, lower sperm count and abnormally formed sperm
24
Q

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

A
  • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the most dramatic effect of exposure to large amounts of alcohol over a long period of time
  • The most noticeable characteristics of fetal alcohol syndrome are defects such as microencephaly (small head) and malformations of the heart, limbs, joints and face
  • FAS babies are likely to display excessive irritability, hyperactivity, seizures and tremors. They are also smaller and lighter than normal and their physical growth lags behind that of normal age-mates. Many display a lower IQ.
  • FAS occurs when the pregnany woman drinks a lot of alcohol
25
Q

Thalidomide

A
  • Many pregnant women were given this drug to help with morning sickness.
  • It resulted in major limb deformities if the mother took the drug between the 4th and 6th week after conception.
  • The kinds of birth defects produced by thalidomide depended on when the drug was taken.
  • If the drug was taken at 21 days after conception, the baby was likely to be born without ears.
  • If taken between 25 and 27 days, these babies had no arms or grossly deformed arms.
  • If taken between the 28th and 36th days, the child might have deformed legs or no legs.
  • If taken at 40 days or after, there was usually no effect.
  • Most mothers who took thalidomide, however, had no apparent birth defects – a finding that illustrates the dramatic differences that individuals display in response to teratogens.
26
Q

Teratogens

A
  1. Timing of teratogen and structure formation
  2. Genetics and environment
  3. Same defect can be caused by different teratogens
  4. A variety of defects can result from a single teratogen
  5. The longer the exposure or higher the dose, the greater the harm
  6. Father and mother exposure effects
  7. Long-term effects often depend on postnatal environment
  8. Sleeper effects
27
Q

Rubella

A

-In 1941 an Australian doctor, McAllister Gregg, noticed that many mothers who had had rubella early in pregnancy delivered babies who were blind.
Gregg alerted the medical community, and doctors began to notice that pregnant rubella patients regularly bore children with a variety of defects, including blindness, deafness, cardiac abnormalities and mental retardation.
-There was a rubella epidemic in 1964, and those fetuses who were exposed to rubella in utero were seen by psychiatrists when they were young adults, and these young adults displayed a substantially higher risk for the development of psychotic disorders than did age-mates who had not been exposed to rubella.
-Rubella is most dangerous in the first 8 weeks of pregnancy – with studies suggesting that 60-85% of babies whose mothers had rubella then had a birth defect, compared with about 50% of those infected in week 9 to 12, and 16% of those infected in weeks 13 to 20.
-Rubella is a classic example of how a disease can affect the developing organism during the sensitive period.

28
Q

Neonate sleep

A

-Healthy newborns begin to interact with the world
To do this, the baby needs some sleep
How much is enough sleep for babies?
Babies sleep around 16 hours a day
Active sleep is when a person is in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep
Quick jerky movements of the eyes under closed lids
Distinctive EEG
Body movements
Irregular heart rate and breathing
Quiet sleep is non-REM sleep
Absence of body and eye movements
Regular slow brain waves, breathing and heart rate
Babies spend 50% of time in active and 50% in quiet
By 4yrs, this proportion drops to 20%

29
Q

crying

A

Crying is the baby’s way of gaining the attention of caregivers
Crying increases from around 2 weeks of age to a peak at 6 weeks, but then declines to about an hour a day for the rest of the first year
The peak time for crying is the bewitching hour (late afternoon or evening) – which may be a response to accumulation of excess stimulation over the course of the day
The crying reflects discomfort from pain, hunger, cold, overstimulation, and frustration

30
Q

How to calm a crying baby

A

-Rocking, lullabies, holding the baby up to the shoulder, and a soother/dummy all work reasonably well
-Many effective techniques involve moderately intense and continuous or repetitive stimulation
Combinations work better than single acts alone
-Massage works really well
-Providing the baby with a drop of sweet liquid can have a very calming effect
-Swaddling is common around the world – this involves wrapping the baby up tightly so s/he can’t move his/her limbs
-This provides warmth, tactile stimulation and the baby won’t wake him/herself up with his/her own limb movements

31
Q

summary

A
  • Phylogenetic continuity – principle that humans share some characteristics with other animals due to common evolutionary background
  • Prenatal development is divided into three major phases
  • The fetus moves, learns, and receives sensory information
  • Teratogens are environmental hazards that cause damage during prenatal period
  • Babies sleep ~ 16 per day, it takes between 4 and 6 months for sleep patterns to emerge, and crying peaks at about 6 weeks of age

developmental Psychology (21 decks)

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