PSY 479 Exam 2

According to Bowlby, attachment develops in four phases:

1. Preattachment phase (birth to 6 weeks) 2. "Attachment-in-the-making" phase (6 weeks to 6-8 months) 3. "Clear-cut" attachment phase (6-8 months to 18 months-2 years) 4. Formation of a reciprocal relationship (18 months to 2 years and on)

synaptic pruning

Synaptic pruning is a natural process that occurs in the brain between early childhood and adulthood. During synaptic pruning, the brain eliminates extra synapses. ... Synaptic pruning is thought to be the brain's way of removing connections in the brain that are no longer needed. Synaptic pruning Connections that are not stimulated are eliminated or pruned Use it or lose it process About 40% of synapses are pruned during childhood and adolescence Advantage = allows for synaptic connections being used to become stronger

Synaptogenesis

Synaptogenesis refers to the formation of synapses, the points of contact where information is transmitted between neurons. This is integral for creating brain networks, and for the overall architecture of brain connectivity. Synapses can be electrochemical in nature There is an explosion of synapse formation between neurons during early brain development. This is called synaptogenesis. ... At about 2 to 3 years of age, the number of synapses hits a peak level. But then shortly after this period of synaptic growth, the brain starts to remove synapses that it no longer needs.

neurogenesis

Neurogenesis is the process by which new neurons are formed in the brain. Neurogenesis is crucial when an embryo is developing, but also continues in certain brain regions after birth and throughout our lifespan. ... These progenitor cells themselves differentiate into specific types of neurons Neurogenesis occurs during embryonic development, and also in parts of the adult brain following birth

How does a baby get tuned to their language?

From birth, newborns gradually acquire specific knowledge about what their native language sounds like by listening to the language around them. Around 6 months, when infants have had the chance to acquire more language experience, changes start to occur in the way speech sounds are perceived.

Describe the characteristics of infants' first words and two-word phrases, and explain why language comprehension develops ahead of language production

Around 12 months, toddlers say their first word. Young children often make errors of underextension and overextension. Rate of word learning increases steadily, and once vocabulary reaches about 200 words, two-word utterances called telegraphic speech appear. At all ages, language comprehension develops ahead of production.

Social smile

Around 2 months of age, your baby will have a "social" smile. That is a smile made with purpose as a way to engage others. ... They draw people to them by making and keeping eye contact, moving their arms, and smiling. By about 4 to 6 months of age, babies become increasingly social and love to cuddle and laugh. The infant's broad grin, evoked by the parent's communication, first appears between 6 and 10 weeks of age.

Explain how child-directed speech and conversation support early language development. What is motherese (or parentese)? Is it useful?

Child-directed speech helps unpack this for children and gives them the tools to help them identify sounds, syllables and finally words and sentences," says Demuth. ... "You aren't teaching them language, you are just interacting with them, using words that help them develop their vocabulary sooner." - Supports for language development From 2 months of age, babies seem highly sensitive to how others interact with them Infant-directed speech (motherese/parentese): prosody, intonation and speech sounds are exaggerated and average pitch is higher - infants look and smile more Infants look and smile more when adults are producing exaggerated behavior such as infant-directed speech (motherese) The prosody, intonation and speech sounds of infant-directed speech are exaggerated and overall average pitch is higher Across many languages, vowel stretch is observed in infant-directed speech Not necessary to know, but F1 maps onto how open the mouth is, and F2 maps onto how far back the tongue is Contingent: when responses are contingent, infants tend to smile and look more at adults When responses are noncontingent, infants are more likely to fuss, cry or look away Child-directed speech (CDS), or speech adjustments made by adults when interacting with children, is characterized by higher pitch, more repetition, simplified vocabulary, and exaggerated intonation patterns. It helps the infants learn the language as babies pick up words faster than usual with CDS. Infants pay more attention to the slower and repetitive tone of CDS compared to ADS/ regular conversation - Motherese the simplified and repetitive type of speech, with exaggerated intonation and rhythm, often used by adults when speaking to babies. Motherese, also known as infant-directed speech (IDS) or "baby-talk", refers to the spontaneous way in which mothers, fathers, and caregivers speak with infants and young children

Different levels of emotion regulation - what is being regulated and how is it measured?

Conceptualization of emotional regulation Most researchers agree that emotion regulation can occur on 3 levels: > Input regulation > Cognitive level > Behavioral level Function of emotion system: To motivate and organize behavior

Underextension

Underextension occurs when a categorical term (a word used to describe a group of things) is used in language improperly by only using it for one object instead of all objects that belong in that category. This often occurs in children when they are initially acquiring and developing language. Children will frequently not apply a new word to objects that it should be applied to. An example would be a toddler learning the word ball to describe their toy ball. Underextension occurs when the child uses the word ball in reference to only their specific individual ball and not use it as a term for all balls. Another example would be a child using the word cat for only their family's lone pet cat instead of using it to apply to all cats. Underextension declines as children develop and refine their vocabulary.

Social referencing

evaluating one's own modes of thinking, expression, or behavior by comparing them with those of other people so as to understand how to react in a particular situation and to adapt one's actions and reactions in ways that are perceived to be appropriate. Social referencing refers to the process whereby infants use the affective displays of an adult to regulate their behaviors toward environmental objects, persons, and situations. Social referencing represents one of the major mecha- nisms by which infants come to understand the world around them. Actively seeking emotional information from a trusted person in an uncertain situation. Toddlers use others' emotional messages to evaluate the safety and security of their surroundings, to guide their own actions, and to gather information about others' intentions and preferences. - Beginning at 8 to 10 months - Many studies show that the caregiver's emotional expression influences their child's actions - Social referencing allows toddlers to compare their own and others' assessments of events

Internal working model

attempts to describe the development of mental representations, specifically the worthiness of the self and expectations of others' reactions to the self An internal working model of attachment is a mental representation formed through a child's early experiences with their primary caregiver. This mental representation influences how the child interacts and builds relationships with others as they grow. It also explains the differences in human behavior among people. A set of expectations about the availability of attachment figures and their likelihood of providing support in times of stress. It becomes a vital part of personality, serving as a guide for all future close relationships. - Internal working models are reconstructed memories affected by many factors, including relationship experiences over the life course, personality, and current life satisfaction. With age, children continually revise and expand their internal working model as their cognitive, emotional, and social capacities increase and as they interact with parents and form other close bonds with adults, siblings, and friends.

Visual and auditory development have strikingly different developmental profiles

- Auditory cortex Begins developing in utero Access to sounds before birth Firing at birth - Visual cortex Little visual information before birth Little activity at birth - At birth, auditory cortex is very active and infants already have significant linguistic expertise > Preference for their mother's voice based on prenatal auditory experience, even though this requires detecting a "transformed" version of that voice > Preference for language over a complexity-matched non-language analog > Preference for complex prosodic (rhythmic/intonational) patterns encountered in utero such as the native language and even familiar stories

Preattachment phase (birth to 6 weeks)

- Built-in signals (grasping, smiling, crying, and gazing into the adult's eye) help bring newborn babies into close contact with other humans, who comfort them. - Newborns prefer their own mother's smell, voice and face but are not yet attached to her.

Formation of a reciprocal relationship (18 months to 2 years and on)

- By the end of the second year, rapid growth in representation and language enables toddlers to understand some of the factors that influence the parent's coming and going and to predict her return (thus separation protest declines). - Children negotiate with the caregiver.

"Clear-cut" attachment phase (6-8 months to 18 months-2 years).

- Display of separation anxiety (doesn't always occur; depends on temperament and situation). - Attachment to caregiver is evident.

"Attachment-in-the-making" phase (6 weeks to 6-8 months)

- Infants respond differently to a familiar caregiver than to a stranger. - Begin to develop a sense of trust. - Still doesn't protest when separated from mother.

What is joint attention, and how does it contribute to early language development?

- Joint attention Joint attention involves sharing a common focus on something (such as other people, objects, a concept, or an event) with someone else. It requires the ability to gain, maintain, and shift attention. For example, a parent and child may both look at a toy they're playing with or observe a train passing by. When does joint attention develop? The earliest beginnings of joint attention are seen in the newborn and develop throughout early childhood and is typically well established by 18 months. Eye Gaze - beginning of eye gaze can be seen as early as 4 days old when a baby recognises his/her mother's face. While engaged in joint attention, an individual is able to (non-verbally) communicate to another by using their eyes and looking at an object, and back at the other person. This shared moment not only allows for individuals to communicate, but also fosters development of social skills.

Describe the body growth patterns of infants, i.e., the cephalocaudal trend and the proximodistal trend

- Physical development Growth is asynchronous Height and weight increases most rapidly within first 6 months of life Infant increases in size by 1.5 times Infants grow in spurts > spurts happen at night bc that's when hormones are released - Cephalocaudal development refers to the pattern of changing spatial proportions over time during growth. One example of this is the gradual change in head size relative to body size during human growth Head grows earlier than body - Proximodistal development Growth proceeds outward Central part of the body then outward to limbs Babies control neck and torso before control of their fingers

What are the 3 levels of stress?

- Positive stress Brief increases in heart rate, mild elevations in stress hormone levels Necessary aspect of healthy development that occurs in the context of stable, supportive relationships -Tolerable stress Could disrupt brain architecture Allows brain to recover from potentially damaging effects Allostasis - the normal process that the body undergoes to bring body homeostasis Serious, temporary stress responses, buffered by supportive relationships To be 'tolerable', stress requires: Social support Supportive resources Economic stability - Toxic stress Prolonged activation of stress response systems in the absence of protective relationships Damages brain architecture > damaged neurons with fewer connections

Prenatal to postnatal brain development

- Prenatal brain development Neurogenesis Virtually all of one's lifetime supply of neurons are produced during the first 4 prenatal months Radial glial cells help the new neurons migrate to the right place After the 4th prenatal month, most of the brain's development occurs by making connections between cells by pruning - selective death of unused neurons - Period of the fetus Rapid brain development The brain continues to develop throughout gestation By 36 weeks neurogenesis, the process of generating neurons, is almost complete Neurons migrate to areas of the brain they are most specialized for, resulting in a layered brain with specialized areas - Prenatal development During the first four weeks after conception, the outermost layer of embryonic cells start to turn into the neural tube, the precursor of the brain By week 8, the neural tube has differentiated into three different parts, which will become: The forebrain - cerebral cortex Midbrain - brain's relay station Hindbrain - basic physiological regulation

How can caregivers support conversational give-and-take in babies?

- Respond to your baby's gestures, looks and sounds. When he gazes at you, make eye contact and talk with him. These immediate and attuned responses tell your baby that his communications are important and effective. This will encourage him to continue to develop these skills.

What are some effects associated with long-term exposure to chronic stress and/or neglect (lack of stimulation)?

- Toxic stress Prolonged activation of stress response systems in the absence of protective relationships Damages brain architecture > damaged neurons with fewer connections - Toxic stress = chronic stress When adaptive becomes maladaptive Our ability to respond to stress adaptive (allostasis), but when used too often can lead to breakdown Acute stress (sudden, severe) vs chronic stress (frequent, repeated) Long-term, repeated activation of the stress response Can damage developing brain architecture and create a short fuse for the body's stress response systems, leading to lifelong problems in learning, behavior and both physical + mental health = allostatic load

Explain brain plasticity, and when it is most plastic? What are the positive and negative consequences of brain plasticity?

Brain plasticity, also known as neuroplasticity, is a term that refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience. Neuroplasticity - or brain plasticity - is the ability of the brain to modify its connections or re-wire itself. Without this ability, any brain, not just the human brain, would be unable to develop from infancy through to adulthood or recover from brain injury

Motor development milestones (order and approximate age)

Development of the brain, body, senses, motor skills, cognitive skills, emotions and social relationships are intimately connected Each new skill is the joint product of: Development of the central nervous system The body's movement capacities The goals of the child Environmental support for the skill

What is emotion regulation?

Dynamic process Involves maintenance, inhibition, or enhancing emotions - negative and positive Why is it important? > Social strategies > Cognitive performance > Management of stressful experiences - Development of emotional regulation Individual and social process that changes with developmental age Newborns Social - other-directed regulatory behaviors = rely on parents for soothing, organization of physiological processes Intraindividual - self-directed regulatory behaviors = sucking, scanning > visual fixation - Infants Social - other-directed regulatory behaviors = parents, social referencing, emotional contagion, distraction, parents control over exposure Intraindividual - self-directed regulatory behaviors = development of visual control, gaze aversion, thumb-sucking, mobile infants can move away

Emotional contagion

Emotional contagion refers to a phenomenon of an automatic adoption of an emotional state of another person Emotional contagion is a form of social contagion involving the spontaneous spread of emotions and related behaviors. Such emotional convergence can happen from one person to another, or in a larger group. Emotions can be shared across individuals in many different ways both implicitly or explicitly.

Distinguish between gene-driven ontogeny, experience-expectant and experience-dependent brain growth.

Experience-expectant and experience-dependent brain functions have been used to emphasize the importance of how experiences impact motor, cognitive and brain development The major motor milestones describe how, on average, infants develop gross and fine motor abilities but there is substantial variation between individuals and across cultures Experience-expectant development Critical or sensitive periods early on - brain is primed to receive particular classes for information from the EV: the brain builds an overabundance of synapses that are pruned back; language systems in brain requires appropriate timing Brains are built from the bottom up: skills beget skills Rapid, early development followed by slower development Brains are built in hierarchical fashion > gene driven Hearing = most developed sense at birth > develops in utero Sensory pathways > vision and hearing Language Higher cognitive function In the postnatal period, there is an overabundance of synapses, which gradually becomes pruned back to the stronger connections At age 12 months, the baby's brain has 150% of the synapses that an adult has This number begins to decline in the 2nd year Experience-dependent development Brains adaptation to information that is unique to the individual, no specific timing, across the lifespan Thirty million word gap Number of words heard by children differs across income groups Welfare = 616 Working class = 1200 Professional = 2000+ Children raised in middle-upper class entered school with far more exposure and had higher academic performance Measures at 3 yrs old were highly indicative of 9 yrs old performance > by 3rd grade, gaps in children test scores and across SES were stable; variations in schooling quality did not reduce gap > foundation built by age 3 had significant limitations to progress going forward

How does Patricia Kuhl's work provide evidence for a critical period of learning a language? What is this period?

In the two studies, infants were tested to see if they could distinguish between two Mandarin sounds that do not occur in English. ... The infants exposed to Mandarin were significantly better at distinguishing the two target sounds than were infants who only heard English. Between 8-10 months of age, when babies are trying to master the sounds used in their native language, they enter a critical period for sound development. ... Kuhl explains these results by suggesting that babies "take statistics" on how frequently they hear sounds in their native and non-native languages.

Understand how infants learn through classical conditioning, operant conditioning, habituation and recovery (dis-habituation), imitation and mirror neurons

Infants' learning... Really need their senses Perception - interpreting and putting order and meaning to our sensations Intermodal perception - using more than one mode of sensory input to gather information Associative learning Classical conditioning Builds upon natural reflexes Ex: watson and little albert UCS > UCR Neutral stimuli paired with UCS Neutral stimuli becomes CS, and reflexive response becomes CR Operant conditioning Builds upon things in the infant's EV Ex: a pacifier with which infants controlled, by sucking or stopping sucking, whether they heard the mother's voice or another woman's voice Allowed the researchers to determine that infants were capable of perceiving the difference between the voices Operant conditioning in development: When infants smile or vocalize, parents often respond by smiling or vocalizing in return The parent's response may reinforce the infant, increasing the likelihood that the behavior will recur Parents can be operant conditioned by their infants as well When a parent is effective in soothing a crying infant, the infant stops crying This removal of an unpleasant stimulus (crying) reinforces the parent's soothing technique, and the parent is more likely to use the same technique the next time the infant cries Habituation process: Orienting response Response when stimulus is first presented, involving behavioral and physiological changes Habituation Decrease in attention when the same stimulus is presented repeatedly Dis-habituation aka recovery Increased attention to a new stimulus after habituation to a previous stimulus Habituation as a measure of cognitive function? Measure of learning and memory Implies that the infant has encoded some of the properties of what it is looking at and retained them A decrease in response to repeated stimuli reveals that learning has occurred Habituation rate is linked to later achievement Individual differences in speed of habituation relates to later IQ scores Infants who habituate more rapidly have shorter looking time, better recognition memory, have higher IQ's later Bored faster > brighter??? Difficulties in assessing cognitive development in infancy Infants may become distracted, tired or bored It's hard to motivate infants to perform at their best Interpretation of measurable dependent variables is key Ex: looking time

Neural commitment, synaptic pruning

Kuhl has proposed the Native Language Magnet/Neural Commitment Theory to account for the developmental change by which infants' ability to discriminate speech sounds becomes increasingly specific to their native language as they age. Prelinguistic developments: Newborns come equipped to learn language: At birth infants distinguish basic sound units (phonemes) in all languages; most babies lose that ability between 6-12 months Neural commitment, synaptic pruning and statistics (and pattern-learning mechanisms) However, also evidence of neural plasticity

Explain "neural commitment" and how it supports learning of language.

Kuhl has proposed the Native Language Magnet/Neural Commitment Theory to account for the developmental change by which infants' ability to discriminate speech sounds becomes increasingly specific to their native language as they age. This shift from a language-general to a language-specific pattern of perception makes learning a second language more difficult. Once a sound category exists in memory, "it functions like a magnet for other sounds"

What is lateralization, and why does it occur?

Lateralization of brain function is the view that functions are performed by distinct regions of the brain. For instance, it is believed that there are different areas of the brain that are responsible for controlling language, formulating memories, and making movements.

How does maternal mental health (e.g., depression, anxiety) affect newborns and infants.

Maternal conditions: stress, anxiety and depression > Newborns Prematurity and smaller birth size = risk factors for cognitive and social developmental problems Lower scores on newborn neurobehavioral tests > infants/children More difficult infant temperament at 4 months More likely to develop ADHD symptoms, but also anxiety and externalizing problems in childhood and adolescence Lower scores on infant mental developmental index, language tests and grades in school Maternal depression An estimated 9-14% of women show depression during pregnancy and 11-20% experience symptoms of postnatal depression field, 2017 = infants of depressed moms Were more stressed and less able to focus their attention Ex: on adults' facial expressions Showed brain patterns characteristic of chronically depressed adults Had more stress hormones (cortisol and norepinephrine) in their blood than other newborns Luoma et al. (2017) = finnish study The worst problems arose for children whose mothers were depressed both birth and after birth Infants of depressed mothers: - sleep poorly - are less attentive to their surroundings - have elevated levels of cortisol (stress hormone) By age 6 months, symptoms common in babies of depressed mothers include: - delays in motor and cognitive development - poor emotion regulation - irritable mood - attachment difficulties Paternal depression Strong predictor of child behavior problems (like maternal depression) that include: - overactivity - defiance - aggression in boys

Early speech perception; Given the complexity and variability of speech, how do infants figure out the particular sound distinctions that matter in their native language? Example of the Japanese 'r' vs. English 'r'

Prelinguistic developments Newborns come equipped to learn language: Different languages have different sound patterns Sounds are classified into categories called phonemes At birth infants distinguish basic sound units (phonemes) in all languages; most babies lose that ability between 6-12 months Examples: English /r/ and /l/ not recognized in japanese Spanish /r/ and /rr/ not recognized in english Patricia kuhl: the linguistic genius of babies They take statistics > leads to synaptic pruning Boosted by highly social input How do infants decipher among the phonemes they're hearing and become culture-bound speakers? Highly social context = when sounds are produced Phonotactic learning Phonology = branch of linguistics that deals with systems of sounds within a language or between languages Phonotactics = branch of phonology concerned with the analysis of the permitted sound sequences of a language English: n & k can only occur together at the end of a word and in that order (ex: sink) Sikn, nkis, knis are not possible Dutch: k frequently occurs before n (ex: knie, deurknop, knot) Neonates are able to discriminate between the different sound levels and duration, different phonemes and constants of all the languages they are exposed to. However when they turn 12 months of age this ability disappears and they are only able to discriminate the phonemes of their native language. A process of developmental reorganization: progressive neural commitment to the statistical structure of the native language 10-12 months = better able to detect native language sounds rather than nonnative sounds Exposure to native language stimulate connections that processes sounds Increased processing of native language = better accuracy, discrimination and more rapid > loss of nonnative contrasts, limits speech perception

N. Fox research on inhibition

Propensity to react fearfully to novelty Difficulty effectively modulating fear Continuity subject to EV Different brain patterns to different temperaments Shy infants = show greater activity in one hemisphere Outgoing infants = show greater activity in the other hemisphere Average children = show same amount of activity in both hemispheres > thought to be based on an underlying chemistry and physiology Even though chemistry is inherited, our biology is not our fate > EV and how parents respond shapes child development Temperament implies a genetic foundation - but subject to EV influence

3 aspects of emotional regulation and links to social development outcomes

Regulation of subjective experience > Measured with observation with infants > Older children can use self-report Regulation of physiological processes > Goal to reduce physiological arousal > Physiological arousal may be marker of temperamental ability to regulate emotion Internal state may have profound social development implications > J Kagan research on highly shy, anxious children Infancy = easily aroused > withdrawal from stimuli Toddlerhood = shy, withdrawn, heart rate high and very slow recovery Non-shy = heart rate rises and then recovers > Able to predict two types of children from a very simple behavior when the child is 4 months old Future actions within a 4 month old foreshadow future shyness or sociability Jordan @ four months = reacts with extreme distress > represents child who may become very quiet > motor tension, thrashing of arms & legs, and then irritability is a pattern that tends to be characteristic of a temperament biased to become quiet, reserved child at 1 or 2 yrs of age Katrina = quiet @ four months > indicates more outgoing as she ages > lack of tension in legs and arms > sociable, non-fearful 1 year old Observable behavioral indices of emotion (ex: facial expression, gestures, voice) > Two aspects of regulation with emotion Actively express emotion for communication Ex: social referencing, emotional contagion Development of emotion display rules knowledge Ability to mask unacceptable emotion Video example Baby is placed on a ledge and checks with mother's facial expressions to gauge how they should proceed/react scared/anxious expression = baby drops down onto tummy Even when the drop is shallow, the baby won't cross when warned off by his mother's facial expression Smiling mother = baby tries to cross ledge and tried to move His behavior changed when she smiled and let him know it was OK

When is stress good/useful

Some short-term stress is good for infants, children and adults: > Dealing with everyday frustrations > Adapting to new experiences > Waiting to get our needs met > Exploring uncertain EVs

Stranger anxiety

Stranger anxiety is manifested by crying when an unfamiliar person approaches. It is normal when it starts at about 8 to 9 months and usually abated by age 2 years. Stranger anxiety is linked with the infant's developmental task of distinguishing the familiar from the unfamiliar. The infant's expression of fear in response to unfamiliar adults, which appears in many babies in the second half of the first year. Two conflicting tendencies when infants encounter a stranger - Approach (indicated by interest and friendliness) - Avoidance (indicated by fear)

What is the cerebral cortex and its purpose?

The cerebral cortex, which is the outer surface of the brain, is associated with higher level processes such as consciousness, thought, emotion, reasoning, language, and memory. Each cerebral hemisphere can be subdivided into four lobes, each associated with different functions.

Allostatic load model

The concept of allostatic load was introduced by McEwen and Stellar in 1993 and refers to the cost of chronic exposure to fluctuating or heightened neural and neuroendocrine responses resulting from repeated or chronic environmental challenges that an individual reacts to as being particularly stressful. Types of allostatic load include: (1) frequent activation of allostatic systems; (2) failure to shut off allostatic activity after stress; (3) inadequate response of allostatic systems leading to elevated activity of other, normally counter-regulated allostatic systems after stress.

Attachment - what is it; what are the hallmarks of attachment

The strong affectionate ties we have with special people in our lives, which leads us to feel pleasure when interacting with them and to be comforted by their nearness in times of stress. Bowlby's theory, the most widely accepted view of attachment, which recognises the infant's emotional tie to the caregiver as an evolved response that promotes survival. - Quality of attachment to the caregiver has profound implications for the child's feelings of security and capacity to form trusting relationships.

How can child-rearing practices affect the course of extremely inhibited or emotionally reactive babies?

When caregivers fail to regulate stressful experiences for infants who cannot yet regulate such experiences for themselves, brain structures that buffer stress may fail to develop properly, resulting in an anxious, reactive child who has a reduced capacity for managing emotional problems. Child-rearing practices affect the chances that an emotionally reactive baby will become a fearful child. Warm, supportive parenting reduces shy infants' and preschoolers' intense physiological reactivity to novelty, whereas cold, intrusive parenting heightens anxiety. - if parents overprotect infants and young children who dislike novelty, they make it harder for the child to overcome an urge to retreat. - In adolescence, persistent shyness increases the risk of severe anxiety, depression, and other internalizing problems, including unrealistic worries about harm, illness, and criticism for mistakes as well as social phobia

Explain how language development begins to develop in utero. How do we know? And when does it begin?

While in the womb, babies begin learning language from their mothers. ... Sensory and brain mechanisms for hearing are developed at 30 weeks of gestational age, and the new study shows that unborn babies are listening to their mothers talk during the last 10 weeks of pregnancy and at birth can demonstrate what they've heard.

What does it mean that a baby takes statistics?

babies do this by "taking statistics" of the language being used around them. During those crucial two months, babies can identify which sounds they hear the most and which sounds often occur together, and start to weed out those that don't after that point. Infant statistical learning mechanisms facilitate the detection of structure. These abilities allow the infant to compute across elements in their environmental input, extracting patterns for further processing and subsequent learning

Telegraphic speech

condensed or abbreviated speech in which only the most central words, carrying the highest level of information, are spoken. Nouns and verbs are typically featured, whereas adjectives, adverbs, articles, and connective parts of speech are omitted. Telegraphic speech refers to taking away the grammar of a phrase and only leaving the content words. "Ball up," "foot in," and "more doll" are all examples of telegraphic speech. In addition to the videos provided by the state, I have heard many of my well-meaning colleagues using the same type of speech.

allostasis

maintaining levels of biological conditions that vary according to an individual's needs and circumstances the normal process that the body undergoes to bring body homeostasis

Overextension

the tendency of very young children to extend the use of a word beyond the scope of its specific meaning, such as by referring to all animals as "doggie." Overextension occurs when a categorical term (a word used to describe a group of things) is used in language to represent more categories than it actually does. This happens in particular with very young children Overextension is an error in early word use in which a child uses a single word to label multiple different things in a manner that is inconsistent with adult usage. ... Inferred similarities are most often perceptual, such as when a child uses ball to refer to all round objects (e.g. the moon).