NEWBORNS

Question 1

HOW DID MAMMALS SURVIVE EXTINCTION

Answer 1

1. Endothermy (Warm blooded) - can maintain a high body temperature provided food
2. Thermoregulatory adaptations (Fur)
3. Give birth to children young

Question 2

WHAT GROUP DO HUMANS BELONG TO?

Answer 2

Primates

Question 3

WHAT IS PRECOCIOUS ABOUT PRIMATES?

Answer 3

1. Eyes or ears at not sealed shut at birth
2. Cell proliferation is practically completed at birth
3. Rapid locomotion development in comparison to kangaroos who develop in the mothers pouch

Question 4

HUMANS AND CHIMPS ARE SIMILAR, BUT WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

Answer 4

Humans go through menopause whereas chimps can reproduce at any time.

Question 5

WHAT SENSORY CAPABILITIES DO NEW BORNS HAVE?

Answer 5

1. Touch (Pressure on the nose, pain etc)
2. Balance
3. Smell
4. Taste (Bitter, sweet, sour and salt)
5. Vision (20/400 at birth, 20/20 at 6 months - Farroni)

Question 6

NEW BORN BEHAVIOURS:

Answer 6

1. Orienting responses - visual and auditory tracking
2. Reflexes - Clinging (Palmer and Plantar Grasp), Nursing and Locomotion
   THESE ARE VESTIGIAL

Question 7

BRAZELTON SCALE:

Answer 7

Dr Terry Brazeltons scale, Neonatal Behaviour Assessment Scale

Question 8

BRAIN GROWTH FOR HUMANS

Answer 8

400g to 1200g over 20 years

Question 9

BRAIN GROWTH FOR CHIMPS

Answer 9

100g to 200g over 10 years

Question 10

3 THINGS INVOLVED IN POST NATAL BRAIN GROWTH:

Answer 10

1. Gila
2. Myelination
3. Synaptogenesis

Question 11

GILA:

Answer 11

Type of cell in the brain. It is always multiplying. Provides structural support, maintenance and insulates axons with myelin.

Question 12

MYELINATION:

Answer 12

Causes brain growth. Fatty sheathes around an axon. Unmyelinated axons transmit at 1 meter per second. Myelinated axons transmits 10-100 meters per second. It happens in the CNS and the PNS. At birth, brain isn’t fully myelinated so action potentials are much slower.

Question 13

SYNAPTOGENESIS:

Answer 13

Formation of new connections between neurons. Occurs at difference paces in different parts of the brain. It peaks at the age of 1. At 24 months, the brocas area increases in synaptogenesis.

Question 14

IS THERE A CRITICAL OR SENSITIVE PERIOD FOR THE BRAIN?

Answer 14

YES.

Social deprivation can prevent brain growth, and sensory deprivation can affect performance.

Question 15

MONOCULAR DEPRIVATION CATS

Answer 15

Ipsilateral eye is shut to stop receiving information. Once opened again, the visual cortex is populated with cells that are only respondent to the contralateral eye. Brain is no longer able to process visual information and eye is blind.

Question 16

CONGENETIAL CATARACTS

Answer 16

Some children are born with cataracts but this can be removed up until the age of 3 months. Proof of a sensitive period.

Question 17

NEGLECT: BRUCE PERRY

Answer 17

Brain of neglected children are smaller and cerebral ventricles are much larger (the brain is more hollow). Romanian orphans had lower glucose activity levels in the prefrontal and temporal areas of the brain.