Topic 4: Developmental Origin of Brain Health and Development

Question 1

what did the MRI scan study of children reveal?

Answer 1

that the brain still undergoes radical changes well into adolescence

Question 2

name some changes that occur in the brain as a child progresses into adolescence?

Answer 2

excess gray matter being pruned out, making brain connections more specialised and more efficient

Question 3

at what age do we complete the process needed for higher thinking

Answer 3

in our twenties we complete the pruning process

Question 4

what parts of the brain mature first

Answer 4

parts of brain affecting vision, physical movement, and sense mature first

Question 5

name the teratogenic anti-nausea drug developed in the 1950s

Answer 5

thalidomide

Question 6

what were the consequences of thalidomide

Answer 6

limb malformation, absence or gross deformities of long bones, intestinal atresia, and cardiac anomalies.

Question 7

what is the most sensitive week of gestation in terms of teratogen-induced limb malformations

Answer 7

the 4th and 5th week developmental week

Question 8

what is fetal programming

Answer 8

proposes that the in utero environment is crucial in determining the risk of disease in the fetus across the life-span

Question 9

what are the most commonly studied exposures that have the potential to alter fetal development

Answer 9

maternal hormonal changes (eg stress exposure)
maternal inflammation
alterations in nutrition
exposure to toxins

Question 10

what is objective stress

Answer 10

refers to the amount of hardship that a woman faces during a period of stress. this can be measured by the number of days that she is exposed to the stressor, the changes that occur to her daily life, etc

Question 11

subjective distress

Answer 11

refers to a woman’s personal reaction to the stressor and can be measured by assessing her emotions and feelings at the time she was exposed to the stressful event

Question 12

what releases cortisol?

Answer 12

the HPA axis

Question 13

how does the placenta shield itself from cortisol exposure

Answer 13

placental expression of HSD11B2 converts maternal cortisol to inactive cortisone

Question 14

where in the placenta is HSD11B2 highly expressed

Answer 14

the syncytiotrophoblast

Question 15

what are single nucleotide polymorphisms

Answer 15

SNPs, a single bp change to DNA that can arise spontaneously , they act as biomarkers of disease by helping locate genes that are associated with particular diseases

Question 16

where do most SNPs occur

Answer 16

in the non-coding regions of DNA

Question 17

what is the single base pair change in ApoE gene is associated with?

Answer 17

an increased risk of AD