502 Ch. 4 Physical Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood
development of hearing
4‒7 months Sense of musical phrasing 6‒7 months Distinguishes musical tunes based on variations in rhythmic patterns 6‒8 months "Screens out" sounds not used in native languages 6‒12 months Detects sound regularities in human speech 7‒9 months Begins to divide speech stream into wordlike units
recovery
:a new stimulus causes responsiveness to return to a high level
True: proximodistal trend
T/F: growth proceeds from center of body outward
False: grows cephalocaudal
T/F: lower body develops more rapidly than head
amodal sensory properties
information that overlaps multiple sensory systems - Example: the sight and sound of a bouncing ball
3 months, 3 weeks
the motor skill of grasping a cube usually occurs at what age
programmed cell death
Neurons die to make space for new connective structures (more synapses)
yes - 90%
Is parent-infant cosleeping normal for most of the world?
perceptual narrowing effect
Perceptual sensitivity becomes attuned with age to information most often encountered - Example: discriminating human and monkey faces at 6 months, but only human faces at 9 months
myelin
____ is an insulating, fatty sheath that coats neural fibers and improves efficiency of message transfer
stimulation
____ is vital for survival of neurons and formation of new synapses, especially during times when the formation of synapses is at its peak. This counteracts negative effects of depleted environment.
glial cells
_____ cells are responsible for myelination and account for half of the brain's volume. They multiply rapidly in the first two years and then again during adolescence
cortical
______ regions develop as capacities emerge
3 months
as early as __ months, an infant prefers and more easily discriminates female faces than male (unless caregiver is male)
2-3 months
at what age are infants sensitive to binocular depth? (binocular = brain blends both views from eyes)
5-7 months
at what age are infants sensitive to pictorial depth (shadows, overlapping depth)
operant conditioning
infant acts on the environment; influenced through reinforcers and punishments
9 months, 3 weeks
playing pat a cake occurs at what age on average
lateralization
process of hemispheres gradually specializing
7 months
sitting up alone and crawling usually occurs at what age
ulnar grasp (fingers close against palm)
what is the grasping milestone at 3-4 months?
transferring object from hand to hand
what is the grasping milestone at 4-5 months?
pincer grasp
what is the grasping milestone at 9 months?
focus
what visual milestone should a 2 month old achieve?
color vision
what visual milestone should a 4 month old achieve?
acuity, scanning, and tracking
what visual milestone should a 6 month old achieve?
depth perception
what visual milestone should a 6-7 month old achieve?
spurts
Body growth of infants occurs in ____
intermodal perception
Capacity to perceive streams of simultaneous, multisensory input as integrated whole
motor development
During ____ _____, new achievements build on previous ones
permanent brain damage and loss of functions
Early, extreme sensory deprivation results in
differentiation theory
Infants actively seek features that remain stable amid an ever-changing environment - Example: analyzing speech stream for regularities - Over time, detect finer and finer invariant features
- Perceptual understanding of physical world - Social and language processing
Rapid development during first six months supports
prefrontal cortex
Responsible for complex thought - Functions more effectively from age 2 months on
synaptic pruning
Returns seldom-stimulated neurons to an uncommitted state to support future development somewhere else
3-4 weeks
What age does sensitivity to motion occur (blinks when objects come close)
crowding effect and complex mental abilities suffer
What are negative consequences of healthy regions of the brain assuming functions of damaged regions?
there is a high capacity for learning, many areas are not committed to specific functions, so other areas can take over if something is damage. Early experiences also influence its organization
What are the benefits of the cerebral cortex being highly plastic within the first few years?
• Breastfeed exclusively for the first six months • Avoid giving foods rich in sugar, salt, and saturated fats • Provide opportunities for energetic play; limit TV viewing
What are ways to prevent children becoming overweight?
auditory and visual; body movement areas
What capacities develop in the first year?
- Age at time of injury - Site and severity of damage, skill area affected - Environmental supports for recovery
What does plasticity depend on?
prereaching - swiping
What is the newborn's milestone as far as reaching and grasping?
mirror neurons
What may provide the biological basis for imitation?
skeletal age
With many gender and cultural differences in height and weight, what is the best estimate of physical maturity?
depth perception
ability to judge the distance of objects from one another and ourselves
Electroenchephalogram (EEG)
allows researchers to examine brain wave patterns for stability and organization - signs of mature functioning of the cortex
ensures nutritional completeness provides correct fat-protein balance ensures healthy physical growth protects against disease ensures digestibility smooth transition to solid foods
benefits of breastfeeding
6-12months
between ___ - ____ months, infants are biologically prepared to "zero in" on socially meaningful perceptual distinctions (speech, faces, music)
statistical learning capacity
biologically prepared to "zero in" on socially meaningful perceptual distinctions (speech, faces, music)
language & especially prefrontal cortex
brain fibers myelinate over a longer period in what areas?
neurotransmitters
chemicals released by neurons that send messages across the synapse
The left hemisphere sequentially analyzes, processes verbal communication and positive emotion. Right side regulates negative emotion, spatial information, and holistic, integrative processing
compare the left and right hemisphere
imitation
copying the behaviors of another person; powerful means of learning and exploring the social world
gross motor development
crawling, standing, walking are examples of
interdependence vs. independence
cultural values of ____ vs _____- influence sleeping arrangements
punishment
decreases occurrence of response • Presenting unpleasant stimulus • Removing desirable stimulus
habituation
gradual reduction in the strength of a response due to repetitive stimulation
infant perception and cognition
habituation and recovery are used to study what?
British and Romanian test score example
if there is no stimulation before 6 months, it will cause a loss in functions later in life
reinforcer
increases occurrence of response • Presenting desirable stimulus • Removing unpleasant stimulus
language
is it easier to recover from an injury in language skills or spatial?
prefrontal cortex
is one of the last areas to attain adult levels of synapatic connections in mid to late adolescence
23 months, 2 weeks
jumping in place usually occurs at what age
language = 9 months prefrontal cortex = 1-2 years auditory/visual = 4-5 months
language areas of the cerebral cortex peak in growth around ____ months, prefrontal cortex peaks in growth around ____ years, and the auditory and visual areas of the cerebral cortex peak around ____ months
cerebral cortex
largest brain structure, surrounds rest of brain
-Newborn Prefers simplified drawings of faces with naturally arranged features, with eyes open and a directgaze -2 months Prefers complex facial patterns to other complex stimulus arrangements, and mother's detailed facial features to another woman's -3 months Makes fine distinctions among the features of different, moderately similar faces -5 months Perceives emotional expressions as meaningful wholes -7 months Discriminates among a wider range of facial expressions (e.g., happiness, surprise, anger)
milestones in face perception
Newborn Perceives amodal sensory properties 3-5 months Matches faces with voices on basis of lip‒voice synchrony, emotional expression, and speaker's age and gender 6 months Perceives and remembers unique face‒voice pairings of unfamiliar adults
milestones in intermodal perception
2 months Detection of detail: sensitive to contrast in complex patterns; prefers patterns with more contrast 2‒3 months Improved scanning ability: explores pattern features, pausing briefly to look at each part 4 months Detects pattern organization: perceives subjective boundaries that are not really present 12 months Detects familiar objects represented by incomplete drawings
milestones in pattern perception
dynamic
motor skills are seen as ____ systems: crawling, to standing, to stepping all unite to walking
neurons
nerve cells that store and transmit information
experience-dependent brain growth
occurs throughout our lives and consists of additional growth and refinement of established brain structures as a result of specific learning experiences that vary widely across individuals and cultures
reaching
of all motor skills, ____ may play the greatest role in infant cognitive development.
8 months
pulls to stand occurs at what age
fine motor development
reaching and grasping are examples of
experience-expectant brain growth
refers to the young brain's rapidly developing organization which depends on ordinary experiences - opportunities to explore the environment, interact with people, hear language and other sounds
catch up growth
return to genetically influenced growth path once negative conditions corrected
14 months
scribbling vigorously usually occurs at what age
Kwashiorkor
this dietary disease occurs after weaning, due to low-protein diet
Marasmus
this dietary disease occurs during first year, due to inadequate feeding
synapses
tiny gaps between neurons where fibers from different neurons come close together but do not touch
event-related potentials (ERPs)
using the EEG, the frequency and amplitude of brain waves in responses to particular stimuli (such as picture, music, or speech) enables identification of general regions of stimulus-induced activity
11 months, 3 weeks
walking alone usually occurs at what age
- Promotes three-dimensional understanding - Helps infants remember object locations and find hidden objects
what are benefits of independent movement?
brain development parents' schedule increased melatonin secretion cultural beliefs and practices
what are some causes of a change in sleep wake patterns to night-day patterns?
language areas
what areas develop during infancy through preschool?
- Intermodal perception - Pattern perception - Depth perception
what does the differentiation theory apply to?
heredity
• Large influence on rate of physical growth when diet and health are adequate • Also affects height and weight
classical conditioning
• Pairs neutral stimulus with one that prompts reflexive response • Helps infants recognize which events usually occur together • Environment becomes more orderly and predictable