PSY3310 Lecture Notes on Prenatal Development and Early Cognition

These flashcards cover key concepts from the PSY3310 lecture notes on prenatal development, perception, cognition, and findings from related journal articles.

What provides a cushion for the developing embryo/fetus and also helps with temperature regulation?

Amnion/Amniotic sac/Amniotic Fluid

During what period of prenatal development do most miscarriages occur?

During the period of the embryo

What are three factors that impact the effects of teratogens?

Dose, Time of exposure (age), Genetic Predispositions/Heredity

What period of prenatal development is characterized by cell differentiation?

Embryonic Period

Which sense is the least developed at birth?

Vision

Why are reflexes important in infants?

They can assess health, help survival, and prepare for voluntary control.

What is depth perception linked to in infants?

Motor skill development.

Which part of the brain is involved in controlling motor actions?

Basal ganglia or parietal cortex.

At what age do infants first realize the A-not-B error?

Around coordination of Secondary Circular reactions.

What cognitive development approach believes children have innate capabilities?

Core Knowledge Theorists.

What is the example of accommodation when a child learns a new schema?

When a child sees a tomato and calls it an 'apple' but learns it is different from an apple.

During which substage of the sensorimotor period do infants first repeat interesting effects in their surroundings?

Secondary circular reactions (ages 4-8 months).

What does HPA axis represent?

Hypothalamus-Pituitary gland-Adrenal axis.

What was the key finding in Journal Article #3?

Emotion regulation at ages 3-5 mediates the relationship between early attachment security and later social interaction in preadolescence.

What conceptual framework was used in Journal Article #3?

Eisenberg’s conceptual framework.

What statistical design was used to test hypothesis in Journal Article #3?

Mediation model.

What do the figures in the journal article indicate about behavior inhibition and social functioning?

Higher scores in behavior inhibition at 14 months lead to lower levels of social functioning at 26 years.

What does the non-significant finding in the journal article indicate?

It cannot be interpreted.

condition in which the spinal cord is not fully encased in the spinal column's protective covering

spina bifida

fetal death that occurs late in pregnancy when survival outside womb would normally have been possible

stillbirth

process in which neurons move to locations throughout the brain to become part of specialized functioning units

migration

delivery in which the fetus emerges feet first or buttocks first rather than head first

breech delivery

process in early brain development in which neurons multiply at a staggering rate

proliferation

method of holding a young infant skin-to-skin on a parent's chest; often used with premature babies

kangaroo care

condition arising when bits of tissue lining the uterus grow outside the uterus

endometriosis

any disease, drug, or other environmental agent that can harm a developing fetus

teratogen

death of a sleeping baby because of respiratory system failure; linked to maternal smoking

sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

assessment to determine a newborn's heart rate, respiration, color, muscle tone, and reflexes immediately after birth

Apgar test

outermost membrane that becomes attached to the uterine lining to gather nourishment for the embryo

chorion

watertight membrane that surrounds the developing embryo, regulating its temperature and cushioning it against injuries

amnion

couple's inability to get pregnant after a year of trying to do so

infertility

sphere of cells the zygote forms by rapid cell division while moving through the fallopian tube

blastocyst

point when a fetus may survive outside the uterus; occurs around the 24th prenatal week

age of viability

substance that aids breathing by preventing the air sacs of the lungs from sticking together

surfactant

procedure in which the baby is removed via incision made in the mother's abdomen and uterus

cesarean section

loss of a pregnancy before survival of the baby outside the womb is possible

miscarriage

group of symptoms commonly observed in the offspring of mothers who drink liquor heavily during pregnancy

fetal alcohol syndrome

mass when born of less than 2500 grams, associated with increased risk of developmental problems

low birth weight

organ that provides for nourishment of the unborn child and elimination of its metabolic wastes

placenta

defined stage in an organism's development when it is particularly sensitive to certain environmental influences

critical period

episode of extreme sadness and exhaustion lasting months in a woman who has just given birth

postpartum depression

condition in which the main portion of the brain above the brain stem develops improperly

anencephaly

process through which the prenatal environment affects the genetic unfolding of the embryo/fetus

fetal programming

individual who lives to be 100 years of age

centenarian

slower and less-dramatic male counterpart of menopause, characterized by decreasing levels of testosterone

andropause

hormone involved in regulating a woman's menstrual cycle and preparing the uterus for a pregnancy

progesterone

combination of risk factors that can lead to heart disease

metabolic syndrome

hormone that stimulates childhood physical growth and the adolescent growth spurt

growth hormone

specialization of the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex of the brain

lateralization

period of biological change that results in an individual's attaining sexual maturity

puberty

unlearned and automatic response to a stimulus

reflex

Werner's principle that development proceeds from global and undifferentiated states toward differentiated and integrated response patterns

orthogenetic principle

inherited digestive problem in which gluten triggers an immune response that damages a person's small intestine

Celiac disease

male's first ejaculation

spermarche

phenomenon whereby children who experienced growth deficits grow rapidly and resume their genetically programmed growth trajectory

catch-up growth

female's first menstrual period

menarche

removal of unnecessary connections between neurons in response to experience

synaptic pruning

use of estrogen and progestin to compensate for loss of natural regulatory substances from menopause

Hormone replacement therapy

organ that secretes chemicals called hormones directly into the bloodstream

endocrine gland

female hormone responsible for the development of the breasts, female sex organs, and secondary sex characteristics

estrogen

process of generating new neurons across the life span

neurogenesis

principle that growth proceeds from the center of the body to the extremities

proximodistal principle

“master gland” at the base of the brain that regulates other glands and produces growth hormone

pituitary gland

defect present at birth that is caused by genetic factors, prenatal events, or both

congenital malformation

nerve cell

neuron

degenerative brain disease with symptoms of memory loss, poor impulse control, depression, and eventually dementia

chronic traumatic encephalopathy

growth of connections between neurons

synaptogenesis

ending of a woman's menstrual periods and reproductive capacity around age 51

menopause

postformal operational thought in which knowledge depends on context and the subjective perspective of the knower

relativistic thinking

concept that people's abilities vary depending on the context

developmental range

deliberation fixed on end states rather than on changes that transform one state into another

static thought

ability to conceptualize processes of change from one state to another

transformational thought

phenomenon that involves confusing one's own thoughts with the thoughts of a hypothesized gathering for behavior

imaginary audience

cognitive structure or organized pattern of action or thought used to deal with experiences

schema

verbal communication for the self, commonly used by preschoolers to guide their activities

private speech

friend invented by a child in the preoperational stage who has developed capacity for symbolic thought

imaginary companion

concept that new knowledge is created through changes in neural structures in response to experience

neuroconstructivism theory

process of modifying existing schemes to incorporate or adapt to new experiences

called accommodation.

phenomenon in which obvious features of a situation have disproportionate influence on perceptions of young children

perceptual salience

person's inborn tendency to adjust to the demands of the environment

adaptation

ability to focus on two or more dimensions of a problem at one time

decentration

phenomenon that involves thinking that oneself and one's thoughts and feelings are unique

personal fable

logical operation allowing a person to mentally order a set of stimuli along a quantifiable dimension

seriation

proposed stages of cognitive development that lie beyond formal operations

postformal thought

tendency to seek and interpret new information that confirms our existing beliefs about something

confirmation bias

ability to use words, images, or actions to represent or stand for objects and experiences

symbolic capacity

problem solving in which a person starts with general ideas and traces to their specific implications

hypothetical- deductive reasoning

tendency to focus on only one aspect of a problem when multiple aspects are relevant

centration

understanding that items continue to exist when they are no longer detectable to the senses

object permanence

ability to negate an action by mentally performing the opposite action

reversibility

tendency of infants to search for an object where they last found it versus its new hiding place

A- not- B error

during Piaget's sensorimotor period, infant's experimenting with actions to find new ways to solve problems

tertiary circular reaction

during Piaget's sensorimotor period, infant's repetition of interesting actions on objects

secondary circular reaction