week 3 lecture 1 - brain development Flashcards
1
Q
neuron
A
basic unit of the brain
2
Q
cerebral cortex
A
- makes up 80% of adult brain
- two hemispheres
3
Q
neurogensis
A
- proliferation of neurons by cell division complete before birth
- worst time for brain damage
- prenatal to 1st year
4
Q
myelination
A
- white matter
- allows for fast communication
5
Q
brain maturation
A
a slow continuous process (quantitative) of decreasing gray matter
6
Q
synaptogenesis
A
- the formation of synapses
- best time for brain damage
- infancy to early childhood
7
Q
synaptic pruning
A
- brain removes neurons and synapses that are not needed
- early childhood to adulthood
8
Q
Why is proliferation and pruning important?
A
- adult brains have developed to have spotlight attention; some things are inhibited
- kids’ brains are not fully pruned, so they see the world by having lantern attention (more conscious)
9
Q
How does brain structure develop?
A
- baby brains are unique and different form adult brains in important and adaptive ways
- 2nd period of flexibility occurs during adolescence
- structure of the brain is the produce of the interaction between nature/nurture
10
Q
prefrontal cortex
A
late development; “executive function”
11
Q
executive function
A
- facilitates working memory/learning strategies
- cognitive flexibility/planning
- inhibition of a response
- delay of gratification
12
Q
how can executive funciton be taught?
A
- in preschool (learning to be students, sharing, taking turns, planning activities, etc.)
13
Q
Experience-expectant processes
A
- Results from experiences that are universal to the species
- Certain windows of development that close, therefore, we must gain those experiences in order to develop correctly
14
Q
Experience-dependent processes
A
- two mice raised in different cages
- One with basics (food and water)
- Another with more complex environments (wheels, structures, toys, etc.)
- Mice raised in enriched cage contained more dendrites in their neurons
