Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Question 1

The Four Lobes

Answer 1

FRONTAL LOBE
- high-order supervisory functions
- purpose driven behaviour (ie. planning/problem-solving/behaviour initiation/impulse control)
TEMPORAL
- associated w/hearing voices
PARIETAL LOBE
OCCIPITAL LOBE

Question 2

The Brain

Answer 2

- made of:
2 CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES
BRAIN STEM
CEREBELLUM
THE 4 LOBES
CORPUS CALLOSUM

Question 3

Corpus Callosum

Answer 3

• wide, flat axon bundle beneath brain cortex via which brain communicates w/body

Question 4

Synapses

Answer 4

• rapid development during child’s early years in response to experiences
• pruning = gradually discarded synapses while others strengthen; normal development

Question 5

Emotion Processing

Answer 5

PRE-FRONTAL CORTEX: executive system synthesis; emotion regulation; planned responses
ORBIFRONTAL CORTEX: face expression/voice analysis
HIPPOCAMPUS & AMYGDALA: empathy/fear
RIGHT HEMISPHERE: after perception

Question 6

Emotional Processing Development

Answer 6

• non-linear/rapid/associated w/prefrontal cortex growth:
  FROM BIRTH: intrinsic bipolar emotional related arousal (distress/pleasure)
  6 MONTH: primary emotions (surprise/interest/anger/sadness/fear)
  1Y (G): empathising
  3Y: ToM
  7-9Y: complex ToM (ie. detecting faux pas)
  14-17Y: ToM development

Question 7

Theory of Mind (ToM)

Answer 7

• to attribute mental states to others; knowing they have beliefs/desires/intentions that differ from yours
• safety/attachment in knowing others intentions
  SURVIVAL: detecting threats from angry cues
  SOCIAL: detecting others’ emotions helps bond with them

Question 8

Empathy

Answer 8

• to understand another’s state of mind AND co-experience their outlook/emotions within oneself
• COGNITIVE = knowing different perspective
• AFFECTIVE = “feeling” their emotions
• pre-requisite of processing someone’s basic emotion
• WALL (2009); empathy lower in boys; decreases when hurt while anti-social behaviour increases; girls have spike at 13y

Question 9

“Normal” Development/Communication

Answer 9

• most kids have innate preferences for social attentiveness; allows pre-verbal social skill development (ie. attuning to faces/following gaze/communicative noises)
• gestures = shared communication + perspective
• normal communication allows perception/thought sharing to make sense of world = ToM development