newborns and reflexes

Question 1

mammalian physiology - reason for survival

Answer 1

endothermy: warm blooded
requires high energy food
thermoregulatory adaption - fur

live birth: mammary gland,
adaptations for nursing
protection from predators
signalling behaviours - crying

Question 2

primate advance developments (precocious)

Answer 2

eyes and ears are not sealed shut
neural cell proliferation nearly complete at birth
moderately rapid locomotor develepment

Question 3

primates slow developments (articial)

Answer 3

dependent upon mothers up to 4 years
very extended juvenile life stages, hence very delayed adolescence

Question 4

sensory capabilities of newborns

Answer 4

touch - pain, pressure, temperature
balance - vestibular system
smell
taste - salt, bitter, sweet and sour
hearing - low frequencies
vision - improves to 20 20 vision at 6 months

Question 5

farroni et al 2002

Answer 5

look at vision in new borns

found babies had relatively low visual activity and their sight was quite blurry

Question 6

neonatal behavioural repertories

Answer 6

orienting responses - visual tracking and auditory tracking

reflexes - related to clinging, nursing and locomotion

some reflexes are vestigial - they have partially or wholly lost their original function

Question 7

type of neonatal reflexes

Answer 7

the moro reflex - for is startled or feel like they are falling - arms move to the side
tonic neck reflex - head turns one way and arms move in opposite direction
step reflex
grasp reflex
crawl reflex

Question 8

Dr. terry brazzleton

Answer 8

clinical evaluations of the neural behavioral integrity of newborn babies
foot and hand grasp tested as well as other reflexes

Question 9

brain growth in humankind and chimpanzees

Answer 9

human - ends at 20 plus years of age
start at 400 grams and grow up to an average of 1300 gram

chimpanzees - ends at 10

Question 10

glia cells

Answer 10

most neurons present at birth but glia continues to multiply.
provide structural support, maintenance and insulate neuronal axons with myelin

Question 11

myelination

Answer 11

formation of fatty sheathes around axons; unmyelinated - 1 meter/second

Question 12

synaptogenesis -

Answer 12

formation of new connections between neurons

Question 13

postnatal brain growth

Answer 13

brain growth happens not because of an increase in neurons but groups of cells call glia

myelination

synaptogenesis

Question 14

a neuron elements

Answer 14

dentrites
cell body
axon
axon terminals
myelin
nodes of ranvier

Question 15

areas that arent myelinated at birth

Answer 15

frontal lobe
temporal lobe
partial and occiptial juction

Question 16

sybaptognesis

Answer 16

the creation of new synapses connections

increase after birth and peak in number around 1 to 3 years old (happens at different types in different cortex)

Question 17

evidence for critical and sensitive periods of brain development

Answer 17

sensory deprivation studies e.g. Hubel and wiesle

effects of extreme social deprivation on brain development e.g. genie and other feral children

Question 18

hubel and wiesel

Answer 18

sensory deprivation studies on cats

monocular and binocular deprivation studies
clinical effects of congential sensory deprivation - cataracts

Question 19

social deprivation on brain development

Answer 19

cause physiology and growth of brain in cases of extreme social neglect

e.g. genie learn how to say a few words was very able to learn how to communicate