• role of brain plasticity in infancy and adolescent development

Question 1

motor skill development- up to 2 yrs

Answer 1

sitting crawling, standing, walking

Question 2

motor skill development- 2-6 yrs

Answer 2

running, skipping, throwing, catching, swimming, balancing

Question 3

motor skill development- 7-10 yrs

Answer 3

combining movements & skills + higher peformance in ball games, dance

Question 4

motor skill development- 11-12 yrs

Answer 4

development of specialised skills for particular sports- e.g. gymnastics, athletics

Question 5

stages of plasticity during infancy- proliferation

Answer 5

• growth & division of cells- including neurons
• most neurons formed when born, some are created during infancy

Question 6

stages of plasticity during infancy- migration

Answer 6

• neurons generated after bearth
  –> newly generated neurons move thru/out neurons until reaching final positions
  –> position allows for connections between neurons (neural circuits) to be made
• neurons migrate following chemical trails laid down by other neurons/by moving along scaffolding fibres in brain
• migratione ends ~5 months of age

Question 7

stages of plasticity during infancy- circuit formation

Answer 7

• after migration neurons able to form neural circuits
  –> neurons send electrochemical messages to each other
  –> connections can be w/in clusters, or over large distance
• circuits develop rapidly during infancy -esp in primary sensory/visual cortex

Question 8

stages of plasticity during infancy- synaptic pruning

Answer 8

• neurons that do not form active neural connections w/ others die
• allows increased efficieny of NS
  –> allows remaining neural connections to strengthen & grow in complexity

Question 9

stages of plasticity during infancy- myelination

Answer 9

• myelin sheath grows over axons of neurons
  –> insulating neural connections + allowing faster & more efficient nerve impulse travel
• contributes to dramatic brain growth
• begins in spinal cord –> hindbrain –> midbrain –> forebrain –> peripheral NS

Question 10

effect of changes in brain structures on behaviour and emotion (adolescence)- cerebeullum

Answer 10

• continues to grown in volume during adolescence (total volume reached ~12 yrs(f), 15yrs (m)

synaptic pruning affects behaviours & emotion
–> influence is significant due to taking 10% of brain volume but >50% of total neurons in brain

activity in cerebellum linked w/ desicion making, rewaed learning, motivation, emotional control + processing mood
–> teens typically display impuslive desicions (difficult making + regulating)
–> not fully developed cerebellum

Question 11

effect of changes in brain structures on behaviour and emotion (adolescence)- corpus callosum

Answer 11

thickness increases due to myelination
–> various regions grow @ diff rates

research suggests hormonal surges may account for growth patterns

neural networks w/in cc strengthens –> stronger connection between himispheres
–> behavioural & emotional reg. continues to improve

Question 12

effect of changes in brain structures on behaviour and emotion (adolescence)- amygdala

Answer 12

amygdala: collection of nuclei deep w/in temporal lobes- plays role in emo. response (including modulation of fear) + immediate behav reactions (e.g. response to emotions)

grows in volume- partly due to puberty

prefrontal cortex regulates in adults
–> prefrontal & connection between p-f-c & amy developing in adolescence

guides many auto actions instead of p-f-c

highly reactive to emo stimuli (e.g. facial expr, sits perseved as stressful)
–> teens more likely to misinterpret emos of others + social cues
–> consequently getting into more accidents + misbehave w/o thinking b4 act

Question 13

effect of changes in brain structures on behaviour and emotion (adolescence)- frontal lobes

Answer 13

evaluates emos + uses rational thinking when referring to past exps b4 responding in conscious matter

teens have less white matter (myelinated axons) in fl compared to adult
–? fL not completely myelinated until ~30 yrs

Question 14

effect of changes in frontal lobe development on behaviour and emotion (adolescence)– pre-frontal cortex

Answer 14

synaptic pruning continues during myselination of p-f-c
–> reducing amt of grey matter + allowing for increasingly complex & efficient connections to be created in brain

p-f-c continues myelination during adolescence –> increase in white matter

p-f-c last to develop (last to prune)

ability to reg & recognise emos in others coninue to develop