PSYC 3120 Chapter 5

What are 'neurons' composed of?

A cell body, an axon, and dendrites.

What is 'kwashiorkor'?

A disease that occurs after age one, when protein deficiency makes children more susceptible to diseases.

What is 'head-sparing'?

A mechanism that protects the brain from malnutrition; if weight gain is interrupted, only body growth will slow.

What is a 'sensation'?

A response of a sensory system to a stimulus.

What is 'marasmus'?

A severe wasting during the first year of growth.

What is 'breast milk' and what can it do?

Breast milk is a sterile, vitamin and mineral rich, easily digestible, ready to eat milk created by the mother. Breast milk enhances infant growth and development, it provides nutrients that contribute to better immune systems development, and decreases the chance of illness. Breastfeeding also allows babies to use many of their senses; sight, smell, tough, taste, while still bonding with their mothers.

What is suggested about breastfeeding, what does it reduce?

Breastfeeding is said to reduce the risk of being overweight and obesity in babies.

What is believe to be the optimal method of feeding?

Breastfeeding.

When does initial growth taper off?

By age two.

What does sensation and perception lead to?

Cognition.

When does hearing develop?

During the last trimester of pregnancy.

When does the central nervous system begin to develop?

During utero.

What's the mod of neural communication?

Electrochemical impulses are transmitted along neurons with the help of myelin, impulses are then transferred between neurons by chemical neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters carry messages across the synaptic gap from one neuron to the next, receptor sites on the second neuron receive the neurotransmitters message and passes the impulse along.

True or False: Hand grasping is weak in newborns.

False; hand grasping is strong in newborns; muscle control develops over months.

True or False: Malnourished brains develop normally.

False; malnourished brains do not develop normally.

True or False: Newborn brains have more dendrites and synapses than they will eventually have.

False; newborn brains have far fewer dendrites and synapses than they will eventually have, neural connections are formed continuously over the life span.

True or False: Newborns have less neurons than a person needs.

False; newborns have far more neurons than a person will en up needing, dendrite growth is rapid and sometimes temporary.

True or False: Sleep isn't critical to grown and development.

False; sleep is critical to growth and development.

True or False: The sense of touch is under-developed in infancy?

False; the sense of touch is well-developed in infancy. Infants even respond readily to being held, wrapped, massaged, and cradled.

What is the most valuable 'fine motor' skill?

Finger movement.

What forms of 'motor development' are there?

Gross, and fine motor development.

How much of newborn sleep is REM sleep?

Half of sleep for newborns is REM sleep.

Bye age two, what have children reached in regards to their adulthood?

Half their adult height, and one-fifth their adult weight.

What measurements are put against norms in regards to infancy growth?

Height, weight, and head circumference are all taken into account.

What does the immune system do?

It develops antibodies that prevent the re-occurrence of a particular disease.

What is weight gain in infancy due to?

Mainly it's due to fat.

What are some diseases that are a direct result of malnutrition?

Marasmus, and Kwasiorkor.

What is the most visible physical change in infancy?

Motor development.

What are some motor development milestones?

Muscle strength, brain maturation, and practice: these all being hit at certain ages.

How many of the world's children, in developing countries, are affected by 'malnutrition'?

One-third of the world's children, in developing countries, are affected by malnutrition.

What is the 'prefrontal cortex' responsible for?

Planning, reasoning, impulse control, and anticipation.

How many neurons are found in the cortex?

Roughly 70% of all neurons are found in the cortex.

What is the average birthweight of a newborn?

Seven and a half pounds, and twenty inches in length.

What are some effects of malnutrition?

Stunting and wasting.

What is brain maturation marked by?

The ability to sleep through the night.

What is 'pruning'?

The expansive growth of dendrites by death of unused brain connections, this creates spacing among dendrites which improves brain functioning.

What is 'stunting'?

The height of a person being shorter than expected for their age due to chronic malnourishment; occurring most often in the poorest nations.

What is 'experience-expectant' brain development?

The idea that growth depends on basic common experiences that all babies have.

What is 'experience-dependent' brain development?

The idea that growth is based on specific and variable experiences unique to a particular person or group.

What is 'malnutrition'?

The lack of food to sustain normal growth.

What is 'perception'?

The mental processing of sensory information when the brain interprets a sensation. The brain processes a sensation often, connecting it with past knowledge, and making it more relevant.

What is 'gross motor' development?

The motor skills responsible for larger muscle movements, like crawling and running.

What is 'fine motor' development?

The motor skills responsible for smaller muscle movements, like grasping and writing.

What is REM sleep?

The phase of sleep characterized by flickering eyes behind closed lids, dreaming, and rapid brain waves.

What is the last portion of the brain to develop?

The prefrontal cortex.

What is 'tummy time'?

The time spent on an infants stomach during play, this provides an opportunity for babies to develop head, neck, and upper body muscle tone that is important to gross motor development.

What is 'wasting'?

The weight of a person being severely lower than it should be for their age and height; wasting has increased in African countries.

What does 'immunizations' do?

They prime the body to resist diseases, giving small doses of the disease stimulates the immune system to respond the same way it would if it were a full-blown disease.

True or False: All senses function at birth?

True.

True or False: Babies favor strangers that share the same language they are raised with.

True.

True or False: Babies first learn to control their head movements, then upper body, arms, legs, and feet.

True.

True or False: Birthweight is doubled by four months and tripled by a year.

True.

True or False: Fine motor skills in regards to the mouth precede those in regards to fingers.

True.

True or False: Half of childhood deaths occur due to malnutrition making diseases more lethal?

True.

True or False: Healthy development during infancy is determined by norms?

True.

True or False: Large changes in percentile ranks could indicate a problem.

True.

True or False: Malnutrition leads to reduced energy reserves.

True.

True or False: Sensation precedes perception?

True.

True or False: Tasting and smelling function at birth.

True.

True or False: Touch is connected to pain and temperature?

True.