Module 5- Neuroplasticity and Neurodevelopment across the lifespan

True beta activity is not seen until ages _______

10-13

What is the biggest brain change during the 20s?

brain regions strengthen their connections with each other, and the major nerve tracts become wrapped in insulating myelin, which increases the brain's white matter; much of the added white matter represents increased connections between widely separated brain areas

Glia

cells found throughout the nervous system that provide various types of support for neurons

Kennard Principle

children are able to overcome far more dramatic brain damage than adults, thus, it is often the case that the earlier in life the brain damage occurs, the better the recovery. This observed influence of age on brain damage recovery is called the Kennard Principle.

The rate of change in the brain, or neuroplasticity, _________ but does not come to a halt.

declines

Neurodegeneration

declining brain functioning due to progressive loss of brain structure, neurochemical abnormalities, or the death of neurons. It is, to some extent, a natural process occurring towards the end of life

Which specific brain regions show increased interconnectedness during the 20s?

development of the corpus callosum leads to greater interhemispheric interaction increased neuro-efficiency and interconnectedness within the prefrontal cortex increase in interconnectivity between frontal love and other brain structures throughout the rest of the brain, which influences even basic functions like sensory integration and memory consolidation

When does the most profound synaptic activity occur?

during the initial five years of life

Brain plasticity is more pronounced in ________ than in any other time in our life (post-birth).

early childhood

How does the brain develop?

early in development, during the first month, along the dorsal midline, a hollow tube of nerve tissue will form. During the next stage, this tissue differentiates to become nerve and glial tissue. Then the tissue is divided into ventricular, intermediate, and marginal layers.

List neurodevelopmental milestones other than motor behaviors

executive functions, attention, visual acuity, receptive and expressive language, positive and negative behaviors (pro-social VS. anti-social behaviors), emotional reactivity, etc

Changes in the pre-frontal cortex during adolescence are responsible for

executive functions: decision-making, organization, impulse control and planning for the future

The Kennard Principle always holds true. True or False?

false; in research which compares congenital versus acquired brain damaged subjects, an interesting long-term effect has been observed

Which glial cells continue to be generated during the post-birth period?

glial cells, particularly the oligodendrocytes, continue to be generated and form the myelin around the nerves

Synaptogenesis

growth of new synapses; the number of synapses in the baby brain increases 10=fold during the first year

Denervation supersensitivity

heightened sensitivity to a neurotransmitter after the destruction of an incoming axon; an increase in synaptic sensitivity in the remaining neurons

The brain is __________ to traumatic and environmental experiences, with neural connections and activations growing and being _______ based on these experiences (positive or negative).

hypersensitive, strengthened

Brains are not ____________

identical

What is said about neurodegeneration and end of life?

if something else does not kill us first, we will all develop a neurodegenerative disease, which will end our lives

What was the major finding of Draganski's study related to German medical students in 2006?

in 2006, Draganski and his colleagues imaged the brains of German medical students three months before their medical exam and right after the exam. They compared the brains of these students to the brains of those who were not studying at the time. Medical students' brains showed changes in regions of the parietal cortex as well as in the posterior hippocampus, regions of the brain that are known to be involved in memory and learning

How is animal research related to developmental environment affecting both physiological and behavioral milestones?

in animal research, there is clear evidence that synaptogenesis (growth of new synapses) and the degree of dendrite branching are influenced by environment. For example, if a young rat is raised in a complex environment, they show greater synaptogenesis and more complex dendritic development. Animals with a smaller degree of dendritic branching show less behavioral ability later in life

What was a major finding of the study regarding musicians' brains by Gaser and Schlaug (2003)?

in several brain areas involved in playing music (motor regions, anterior superior parietal areas and inferior temporal areas), the volume of cortex was highest in professional musicians (who practice at least one hour per day), intermediate in amateur musicians, and lowest in non-musicians

What cognitive skills tend to be stronger at midlife (35-60) than seen in younger adults?

inductive reasoning (for example, planning the most efficient way to do errands), verbal abilities, spatial reasoning, basic math, etc

Neurodevelopmental research demonstrates the threshold of adulthood is probably best set at the _____

mid to late 20s

How many neural connections are formed in the first few years of life?

more than 1 million new neural connections are formed every second

List some neurophysiological responses to brain injury

necrosis and gliosis, calcification, edema, etc

Children raised in adverse conditions are at risk for

negative health and social outcomes during their life course, neurodevelopmental delays, poor academic functioning, chronic diseases, mental illness, lack of economic productivity, etc

The release of ___________, which is a chemical produced by the glial that aids in rerouting and sprouting, can ________ the amount of cell death after injury

nerve growth factor, decrease

All aged brains exhibit small distinctive alterations linked to ________.

neurodegeneration

Research suggests that the sequence and timing of attainment of ______________ and associated behaviors in ____________ are, therefore, likely _______ and _______ , as long as ________________ are met.

neurodevelopmental milestones, early childhood, innate, universal, nutritional and health needs

Cells are generated via ________

neurogenesis

It is the brain's ___________ that allows for physiological and behavioral recovery.

neuroplasticity

List some factors that contribute to impaired child neurodevelopment

nutritional deficiencies, infection and inflammation, toxic levels of stress, impoverished environments, etc

What are some things we can do to promote continued neuroplasticity into later life?

physical exercise (most well established strategy for both slowing and even reversing the aging process to some degree) being actively attentive (e.g., mindfulness exercises and meditation) continuing to learn new things (lifelong learning) controlling blood pressure (treating hypertension in midlife)

Changes in the limbic system during adolescence are responsible for

pleasure seeking and reward processing, emotional responses, sleep regulation

What do population-based autopsy studies of the brains of aged people who had not been diagnosed with a neurological diseases consistently report?

presence of amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and Lewy bodies (all changes within or around neurons that are thought to disrupt normal neuronal function and communication) degeneration of nerve synapses loss of neurons loss of brain volume

Where is the most well established example of regional cortical reorganization?

primary sensory and motor areas following the loss of sensory input or the control of a part of the peripheral system, such as a limb

List some mechanisms of brain damage recovery

regeneration, denervation supersensitivity, rerouting, sprouting, the release of nerve growth factor, etc

Regeneration

regrowth of neurons, generally only going to occur in peripheral nervous system

One important behavior that babies engage in that might be critical for the early brain development is _____

sleep

Why do the EEG signals change within the brain?

so that the frequency of brain electrical activity increases and the signals become more cyclical

During the first years of childhood, the developmental milestones or behavioral changes occur in a very _______ order

specific

Edema is the ________ of tissue, which leads to an increase in __________ pressure which can lead to further __________ damage and in extreme cases, even death.

swelling, intracranial, nerve cell

Calcification is ____

the accumulation of calcium in areas of cell death

Explain how the adolescent brain retains significant neural plasticity.

the adolescent brain is still able to change as there is the potential to improve the impact of negative experiences earlier in life, for example, child abuse, and to promote positive developments that will enhance intellectual ability and emotional functioning

Marginal zone is ______

the cells that are generated in the intermediate zone, which later become white matter

Ventricular zone is _______

the center of the tube

Necrosis and gliosis is ______

the death of neurons and glial cells

Intermediate zone is made up of ______

the early radial cells and the cells that later become gray matter (unmyelinated)

Compensatory and alternative strategies

the employment of new behaviors to overcome a loss in skill due to brain damage

Chemoaffinity

the fact that cells like to be in a specific chemical environment and so they will migrate to the preferred environment

Sprouting

the growth of additional branches on axons or dendrites to enable new connections and increase communication at a synapse

London taxi drivers have a larger hippocampus than London bus drivers (Maguire, Woolett, & Spiers, 2006). What explains this intriguing study?

the hippocampus is important for forming and accessing complex memories, including spatial memories necessary to navigate efficiently. Taxi drivers have to navigate around London whereas bus drivers follow a limited set of routes. Thus, the hippocampus of taxi drivers is particularly stimulated and gets to change over time

sensitive period hypothesis

the idea that certain kinds of experience are especially important at particular points in development., for example, we must learn to use binocular disparity during the first four years of life or we will not learn to use this information

What structural changes in the brain is learning a second language associated with?

the left inferior parietal cortex is larger in bilingual areas than in monolingual areas

Neuroplasticity refers to __________

the lifelong capacity of the brain to change and rewire itself in response to the stimulation of learning and experience

What is the most important brain area to become fully "wired up" during the 20s?

the prefrontal cortex

Synaptic pruning

the process by which extra neurons and synaptic connections are eliminated in order to increase the efficiency of neuronal transmissions

What happens as we age from 1 year to puberty in terms of neural pathways?

there is a lot of pruning of neural pathways that occurs mostly due to decreases in axons and synapses, but also due to some cell death

Neuroplasticity stops after age 25, at which point, the brain is fully wired and mature. True or False?

False

List the developmental milestones in order

HRHSM Holding up the head Ability to roll over The ability to use hands and arms to pickup their body Sitting, once helped into a sitting position Ability to move themselves in a sitting position

Cells are generated in the intermediate zone and must migrate to the outer parts of the forming brain. True or False?

True

Humans are not like computers or machines that all have the same "wiring diagram." True or False?

True

The brain, while it is done "developing" during adulthood, remains quite plastic in many ways. True or False?

True

The human brain is now considered to be a highly dynamic and constantly reorganizing system capable of being shaped and reshaped across an entire lifespan. True or False?

True

The more extreme kinds of recovery mechanisms are generally more likely to occur in very young children. True or False?

True

What are two main areas of research looking at neuroplasticity across the lifespan?

brain changes as a result of cognitive activity (thanks to brain imaging) brain plasticity following head injury

Radial glial

a type of glia that acts as a guide or path for the newly formed cells to follow so that they can end up in the right location

Differentiate between a typical neuron and damaged neuron

a typical neuron has many connections whereas a damaged neuron has fewer connections

When does neurogenesis stop?

almost entirely at birth

Rerouting

an undamaged neuron that has lost a connection with an active neuron may seek a new active neuron and connect with it instead

Why is optimal pediatric sleep management important?

both Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and non-REM sleep states are important for brain development. Large amounts of sleep in early life likely plays a role in brain maturation