W13 - Emotion and Development 1/2

Question 1

What processes driving maturational changes play out simultaneously across development?

Answer 1

A genetic program refined by evolution to coordinate species-typical developmental emergence of behaviours

Specialization that is responsive to the individual’s unique experiences to shape brain and behaviour to the demands of the specific environment

Question 2

How are sensitive periods and critical periods similar? Different?

Answer 2

Similar: both periods correspond to a time window during development at which a particular region/part of the brain is especially responsive (will undergo crucial structural changes) to external stimuli (experience)
Different:

learning and developmental changes are possible outside of sensitive periods, but to a lesser extent
e.g. language

vs

learning and developmental changes are much less likely to occur after critical periods
e.g. vision

Question 3

Why are sensitive periods relevant to psychiatry?

Answer 3

Affective development include sensitive periods.

Question 4

How do break periods relate in time to critical periods?

Answer 4

Before and after critical periods.

Question 5

What is the neurological consequence of monocular deprivation?

Answer 5

over-representation of the non-occluded eye and under-representation of the occluded eye in ocular dominance columns

Question 6

True or false: binocular deprivation delays the onset of the critical period.

Answer 6

True.

Question 7

What is regulating the onset of critical period plasticity? Name a specific effector.

Answer 7

Balance between excitation and inhibition. Manipulations that prevent the developmental increase in GABAergic inhibition delay the onset of critical period plasticity

Question 8

Name two processes that regulate closure of the visual system critical period.

Answer 8

Perineuronal nets on GABA neurons + myelination

Question 9

Neural plasticity from which region of the amygdala results in the formation of the fear memory when conditioned?

Answer 9

Lateral nucleus (LA).

Question 10

What kind of inputs get the LA in terms of fear response?

Answer 10

sensory and somatosensory inputs

Question 11

What happens in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CE) when CS is presented and LA is consequently activated?

Answer 11

LA firing activates the central nucleus of the amygdala (CE) to then trigger fear responses via projections to the hypothalamus and brainstem

Question 12

What is the role of the prelimbic cortex in fear learning in relation to LA and hippocampus?

Answer 12

In some pathways PL links LA and CE
PL receives projections from the hippocampus

Question 13

Can fear learning occur without hippocampal neural adjustments?

Answer 13

No, the hippocampus generates the contextual representation which becomes associated with the US in the amygdala

Question 14

The infralimbic cortex is important for the recall of the fear or extinction memory?

Answer 14

Extinction.

Question 15

Following extinction following, IL neurons can modulate fear expression, but through which pathway?

Answer 15

Intercalated masses (ITC)

Question 16

How are ITC modulating LA signaling to CE?

Answer 16

Inhibition

Question 17

True or false: PL and IL oppositely regulate fear.

Answer 17

True.

Question 18

What may be the human analogue of rodent PL? What technique has shed light on this? What would be the role of this structure when it comes to fear regulation?

Answer 18

dACC, fMRI, fear expression

Question 19

What may be the human analogue of rodent IL? What technique has shed light on this? What would be the role of this structure when it comes to fear regulation?

Answer 19

vmPFC, fMRI, fear extinction

Question 20

Can rodents fear learn all across development?

Answer 20

No, only after P10.

Question 21

What is the response of rodents to odor-shock pairings before P10? After P10?

Answer 21

Before: paradoxical approach responses
After: avoidance responses

Question 22

What is known to regulate the onset of fear learning?

Answer 22

Presence of the mother. Maternal deprivation leads to precocious onset.

Question 23

In rodents, what is the consequence of early life stress on infantile amnesia and recall of a fear memory?

Answer 23

Early life stress leads to reduced infantile amnesia, and extended recall of a fear memory

Question 24

Why would it be evolutionarily adaptive for contextual fear learning to be momentarily suppressed during adolescence in rodents?

Answer 24

This is thought to be important for encouraging exploration away from the nest, a necessary step towards independence

Question 25

At what time during rodent development could extinction represent unlearning?

Answer 25

When juveniles.

Question 26

True of false: cued learning and contextual learning are both suppressed during adolescence in rodents.

Answer 26

False: only contextual learning.

Question 27

True or false: maternal presence and early life adversity also influence affective development in humans.

Answer 27

True.

Question 28

How are GABA and PNN involved in fear learning across development?

Answer 28

The switch from approach to avoidance of shock-paired stimuli at P10 is prevented by GABA receptor blockade

Development of PNNs in the amygdala play a role in transition from infantile extinction (erasure) to adult extinction