Chapter 3: Physical Growth and Aging Across the Lifespan

Exam 1 covers chapters 1-5

REM (rapid eye movement)

the period of sleep found in older children and is associated with dreaming, infants have a cycle of sleep similar to but different from REM

puberty

a period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing

menarche

first menstrual period

spermarche

first ejaculation

primary sex characteristics

body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible

secondary sex characteristics

nonreproductive sexual traits, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair

senescence

the natural physical decline brought about by increasing age

primary aging

or senescence, is aging that involves universal and irreversible changes that, due to genetic programming, occur as people get older

secondary aging

changes in physical and cognitive functioning that are due to illness, health habits, and other individual differences, but that are not due to increased age itself and are not inevitable

osteoporosis

a condition in which the bones become brittle, fragile, and thin, often brought about by a lack of calcium in the diet

gerontologists

specialists who study aging

neurogenesis

birth of a new neuron

myelination

fatty substance wraps around and insulates the axons of the neurons, speeding transmission of nerve impulses

synaptic pruning

neurons that do not become interconnected become unnecessary and die off

plasticity

the degree to which a developing structure of behavior is modifiable due to experience and is relatively great for the brain

sensitive period

relates to plasticity

lateralization

the process in which certain cognitive functions are located more in one hemisphere of the brain than the other

reflexes

unlearned, organized involuntary responses that occur automatically in the presence of certain stimuli

handedness

a clear preference for using one hand over the other

norms

the average performance of a large sample of children of a given age

Brazelton neonatal assessment scale (NBAS)

a measure used to determine infants’ neurological and behavioral responses to their environment

sensation

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

multimodal approach to perception

information collected by various individual sensory systems is integrated and coordinated

affordances

the option that a given situation or stimulus provides

auditory impairment

a special need that involves the loss of hearing or some aspect of hearing

speech impairment

abnormal speech that it calls attention to itself, interferes with communication, or produces maladjustments in the speaker

childhood-onset fluency disorder

(or stuttering) a substantial disruption in the rhythm and fluency of speech

presbyopia

a nearly universal change in eyesight during middle adulthood is the loss of near vision

glaucoma

a condition in which pressure in the fluid of the eye increases, either because the fluid cannot drain properly or because too much fluid is produced

presbycusis

the primary sort of loss is the ability to hear sounds of high frequencies

peripheral slowing hypothesis

overall processing speed declines in the peripheral nervous system with increasing age

generalized slowing hypothesis

processing in all parts of the nervous system, including the brain, is less efficient