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Vocabulary plus additional information from the Psych 24 shell (Lally and Valentine-French) textbook
Dendrites
Branching extensions that collect information from other neurons
Synaptogenesis
The formation of connections between neurons
Synaptic blooming
The period of rapid neural growth
When does synaptic blooming occur?
During infancy to toddlerhood
Synaptic pruning
The period of reduced neural connections
What is the purpose of synaptic pruning?
To encourage the brain, allowing for mastery of more complex skills
Axon
Passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands
Terminal buttons
Form junctions with other cells
Myelin
A coating of fatty tissues around the axon of the neuron
What are some purposes of Myelin
Insulate the nerve cell and speed the rate of transmission of impulses from one cell to another
What is the Cortex?
The thin outer covering of the brain involved in voluntary activity and thinking
The Frontal Lobe is responsible for_______
Thinking, planning, memory, and judgment
Where is the frontal lobe located?
Behind the forehead
The Parietal Lobe is responsible for______
Processing information about touch
Where the parietal lobe located?
Extends from the middle to the back of the skull
The Occipital Lobe is responsible for_____
Processes visual information
Where is the occipital lobe located?
At the back of the skull
The Temporal Lobe is responsible for ______
Hearing and language
Where is the temporal lobe is located?
In front of the occipital lobe, between the ears
Broca's area
An area in front of the left hemisphere near the motor cortex, is responsible for language production
Wernicke's area
An area of the brain next to the auditory cortex, is responsible for language comprehension.
Lateralization
The process in which different functions become localized primarily on one side of the brain
Neuroplasticity
the brain's ability to change, both physically and chemically
Polyphasic sleep
Several periods of sleep opposed to one long rest
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
The death of a healthy infant occurs suddenly and unexpectedly, and medical and forensic investigation findings (including an autopsy) are inconclusive.
What theory did the American Academy of Pediatrics suggest that reduced the rate of SIDS?
They proposed that baby be placed on their backs instead of stomachs when laid to sleep
Reflexes
Involuntary movements in response to stimulation
Sucking
Suck on anything that touches the lips
Rooting
Turning the head when the cheek is touched
Grasp
Fingers automatically grip anything that touches the palm of the hand
Babinski
The toes will fan out and curl when the sole of the foot is stroked from heel to toe
Moro
A sudden noise or loss of support to the head and neck will cause infants to spread out their arms and legs then quickly contract the limbs inward
Tonic Neck
When lying on the back with the head to one side, infants will extend the arm and leg on that side while flexing the limbs on the opposite side (looks like a fencer pose).
Stepping
Legs move in stepping like motion when feet touch a smooth surface
Cephalocaudal
Head to tail
Proximodistal
Middle outward
Motor Skills
Our ability to move our bodies and manipulate objects
Gross Motor skills
Focus on large muscle groups that control our head, torso, arms and legs and involve larger movements
Fine motor skills
Focuses on the muscles in our fingers, toes, and eyes, and enable coordination of small actions
Palmers Grasp
Grasping an object involves the use of the fingers and palm, but no thumbs
Pincer Grasp
Grasping an object using the forefinger and thumb
Fovea
The central field of vision in the retina and allows us to see sharp detail
Binocular vision
Requires input from both eyes
A newborn is sensitive to ______ and __________ , and is also highly sensitive to ____.
Touch; Temperature; Pain
How do newborns respond to pain?
Through crying and cardiovascular responses
Circumcised
The surgical removal of the foreskin of the penis
Babies circumcised without anesthesia demonstrate pain by
increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, decreased oxygen in the blood, and a surge of stress hormones
Newborns can distinguish between sour, bitter, sweet, and salty flavors and show a preference for _____ flavors
Sweet
Intermodal
Stimulation from more than one sensory modality
Habituation procedures
Measuring decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations
Colostrum
The first breast milk produced during pregnancy and just after birth. Aka “liquid gold”
Infantile marasmus
Starvation due to a lack of calories and protein
Kwashiorkor
After weaning, a disease children who have diets deficient in protein "disease of the displaced child"
Schema
Framework for organizing information
Assimilation
Fitting the new information into an existing schema
Accommodation
Expanding the framework of knowledge to situation
Sensorimotor stage
The first stage of cognitive development
Substage One: Reflexes
Newborns learn about their world through the use of their reflexes, such as when sucking, reaching, and grasping. Eventually the use of these reflexes becomes more deliberate and purposeful.
What is the Age Range for substage 1?
0-1 months
Substage Two: Primary Circular Reactions
The infant begins to actively involve his or her own body in some form of repeated activity. An infant may accidentally engage in a behavior and find it interesting such as making a vocalization. This interest motivates trying to do it again and helps the infant learn a new behavior that originally occurred by chance.
What is the age range for substage 2
1-4 months
Substage Three: Secondary Circular Reactions
At first the infant interacts with objects accidentally, but then these contacts with the objects are deliberate and become a repeated activity. The infant becomes more and more actively engaged in the outside world and takes delight in being able to make things happen.
What is the age range for substage 3?
4-8 months
Substage Four: Coordination of Secondary Circular Reactions
The infant combines these basic reflexes and simple behaviors and uses planning and coordination to achieve a specific goal.
What is the age range for substage 4?
8-12 months
Substage Five: Tertiary Circular Reactions
The toddler is considered a "little scientist" and begins exploring the world in a trial-and-error manner, using both motor skills and planning abilities
What is the age range for substage 5?
12-18 months
Substage Six: Beginning of Representational Thought
The sensorimotor period ends with the appearance of symbolic or representational thought. The toddler now has a basic understanding that objects can be used as symbols.
What is the age range for substage 6?
18-24 months
A critical milestone during the sensorimotor period is ________
Object permanence
Object permanence
The understanding that even if something is out of sight, it still exists
Stranger anxiety
a fear of unfamiliar people
Infantile amnesia
The inability to recall memories from the first few years of life
Deferred imitation
The imitation of actions after a time delay
Language
A system of communication that uses symbols in a regular way to create meaning
Phoneme
The smallest unit of sound that makes a meaningful difference in a language
Morpheme
a string of one or more phonemes that makes up the smallest units of meaning
Semantics
The set of rules we use to obtain meaning from morphemes
Syntax
The set of rules of a language by which we construct sentences.
Pragmatics
how we communicate effectively and appropriately with others
Contextual information
the information surrounding language
Cooing
a one-syllable combination of a consonant and a vowel sound (e.g., "coo" or "ba")
Babbling
Engaging in intentional vocalizations that lack specific meaning and comprise a consonant-vowel repeated sequence, such as "ma-ma-ma," "da-da-da."
When do Babies start babbling`
At around 7 months
Receptive language
The infant can understand more than he or she can say
Holophrastic speech
one-word expressions
Underextension
The word can be used for only that particular object
Overextension
A label applies to all objects that are similar to the original object
Telegraphic speech/text message speech
When unnecessary words are not used
What is an example of telegraphic speech
"Give baby ball" is used rather than "Give the baby the ball."
Infant-directed speech
exaggerating the vowel and consonant sounds, using a high-pitched voice, and delivering the phrase with great facial expression. Aka ‘Baby Talk”
Why is infant-directed speech done?
Infants are frequently more attuned to the tone of voice of the person speaking than to the content of the words themselves and are aware of the target of speech.
Language acquisition device
A universal grammar that underlies all human language
Who argued in favor of the brain’s language acquisition device?
Noam Chomsky
Deep structure
How the idea is represented in the fundamental universal grammar that is common to all languages
Surface structure
How it is expressed in any one language
Critical period
A time in which learning can easily occur
Bandura described the _____________ in learning language
importance of observation and imitation of others
