Question | Answer |
Child brain is __% of adult brain weight by 6 years | 90% |
How do brains become bigger? (1) Because of more neurons or (2) Because neurons grow larger or (3) because neurons increase their connections?? | (2) and (3). NOT (1) |
What is this defining? "growth of axonal and dendritic fibres" | Synaptogenesis |
Does the process of synaptognesis increase or decline as we get older? | Declines |
Look at notes at Curvilinear Trend in Synaptic Density. What does it show? | That when we are younger and when we are older we have less synaptic density |
An old idea about the brain is that brain circuitry(connections) is pre-determined by DNA. What is the new idea for this? = That brain connections are determined through....? | Through interaction with the world - our experience |
In the brain there is an initial ______production of synapses and this gives us a kind of readiness to learn. The brain has been primed for learning | overproduction |
So initially our brains have an overproduction of synapses and then.....this experience guides the development of the brain because certain synapses are p__________ and others are s_______________ | pruned, strengthens |
Another example of how experience effects the brain...the brain needs to be exposed to certain kinds of input to be able to eventually produce that input. | .... |
Cortisol production interferes with the neural/brains development. Cortisol is a h__________. Children who receive nurturing care in their first year are (less or more?) likely to respond to minor stresses by producing _________. | less, cotrisol |
So production of cortisol (from nurturing care) provides a form of protection - as it is helping them cope with ______ later in life | stress |
At age two, a childs brain has twice as many synapses as an adult brain. True or false? | False, its actually at age three |
The number of synapses we have then stays steady for the next decade (10years) so some synapses __________ and others _________ but the overall number holds steady | increase, decrease |
There are fewer changes in more hard-wired areas of the brain such as the brain stem - this is one of the first areas to evolve with evolution | .... |
Where do the most dramatic changes in synapse development take place? | In the cerebral cortex |
What is this referring to? "getting rid of synapses that are not helpful" | Synaptic pruning |
There is an incredible rate of synaptic pruning during the _________ decade of life | second |
An old idea about the brain is that experiences before 3 years have limited impact. What is the new idea? | That early experiences do influence the brain - the architecture of the brain and the nature and extent of adult capabilities. |
Years ago in Romani, many children were neglected, physically and sexually abused etc. Years later their brain scans were compared with normal children's. A PET scan of child at 9.5 years shows ____ activity of a normal child. | less |
An old idea about the brain is that brain development is linear, slowly progressing towards adulthood. What is the new idea for this? And why does this mean we need a good environment when younger. | That brain development is non-linear - there are prime times for acquiring difference kinds of knowledge - early childhood being the biggest prime time. So therefore we need a good environment at that point. |
Look at graph in notes to answer the following question...in the visual cortex there is a peak in synapse density at ____ year old and in the prefrontal cortex there is a peak at _____ years old | one, four |
In the first year of life there is major development in the _______ cortex (which controls body movement), in the v______ cortex and in the hippocampus (important for m_________) | motor, visual, memory |
Which part of the brain has slower development? And which part of the brain has possibly even later development? | The prefrontal cortex, the frontal cortex |
What is the timing of formation of myelination in different areas? | First occurs in sensory cortex --> then motor cortex --> then frontal cortex |
Myelination is not complete until adolescents and possible even early adulthood! true or false? | True |
Why is myelination important? | Because it speeds up the transmission of information in the brain |
What is the extreme illness caused by lack of myelination? | Multiple Sclerosis |
An old idea of the brain is that a toddler's brain is much less active than the brain of a university student. What is the new idea for this? | By the time children are 3 years old, their brains are twice as active as those of adults. Activity levels drop during adolescence because we are losing synapses. |
Children are primed for learning. Read over the reasons why this is... | ... |
Glucose metabolic rate increases until about 9 years if age and then begins to decline in adulthood in the _________ decade of life | second |
What three things does the brain need? | Nourishment, Care and Surroundings (stimulation - new things, new language etc) |
Study the feedback loop diagram in notes | .... |
Malnutrition directly effects brain development. What else does malnutrition do? Read and write out study notes | ..... |
Study the graph with 'Brain and Weight Across the Lifespan' | |
The physical changes that take place during adolescence/puberty are controlled by the h___________? | Hypothalamus |
The timing of puberty is dependent on things such as h_______(genes), g______ and n__________ | heredity, gender, nutrition |
Who goes through puberty earlier - girls or boys? | girls |
Girls and boys reach puberty before they used to. True or false? | True |
What is one of the key components that seem to be involved in the way puberty is hitting children earlier? | Nutrition - we are supplied with more nutrition than we used to be years ago - better acces to meat and milk products |
The peak of puberty being 12 years old is for what gender? And the peak being 14 to 15 years old is for what gender? | Girls, Boys |
Study the various subcomponents of timing of puberty | ..... |
What does Menarche refer to? | Getting your period |
The adolescent brain continues to develop until 22-25 years old. The areas of the greatest development during adolescence are the pre_______ cortex, C________ C______ and the c___________ | Prefrontal cortex, Corpus Callosum and the Cerebellum |
Adolescence is a time of "fewer but ______" neural connections. | faster |