Neuropsychological Development

Piaget’s model of conitive development

Focus on cognitive development through resolution of cognitive conflicts (whennew information challenges and existing schema)

Stages in Piaget’s model

• 0-2 yrs: sensorimotor stage

• 2-7 years: preoperational stage

• 7-11 years: concrete operational stage

• 12+: formal operational stage

Sensoimotor stage

0-2 yrs: understanding world through sensations, object permanence

Preoperational stage

2-7 yrs: thinking symbolically, egocentric, rapid language development

Concrete operational stage

7-11 yrs: logical thinking, conservation

Functional operational stage

12+ yrs: thinking logically and hypotherically, abstract thought, deduction

Erikson’s stages of psychological development

Focuses on how social relationships shape personality and identity across the lifespan; where the resolution to each psychological crisis shapes identity

When does brain development occur?

Before birth - adulthood

Pruning

Neural connections are reduced after a period of rapid proliferation to allow brain to be more efficient

Fetal brain development

• 17 weeks: germinal matrix formed

• 23 weeks: germinal matrix thinned and cerebral sulcus forms

• Full-term: maximal infolding of brain and myelination

Te Whare o Oro

Matauranga Maori framwork for understanding the brain - building a whare to model the brain

Factors influencing brain development

• Sex

• Parenting

• Responsiveness in relationships

• Environment

• Infections

• Adverse events

• Teratogens

• Drug abuse

• Maternal stress