infancy

what did Shonkoff find about postnatal experiences

that postnatal experineces with adversity affect future reactivity to stress

what 3 categories is stress infants sorted in to

positive stress, tolerable stress and toxic stress

what is positive stress

brief increases in heart rate, mild elevations in stress and hormone levels

what is tolerable stress

serious temporary stress, buffered by supportive relationships

what is toxic stress

prolonged activation of stress and absence of protective relationships

how many neurons compared to adults do newborns have

adults have 6 million but infants have 11 million, however they lack synapses

newborn sleep patterns

when newborns are born they have no circadian rhythm and learn it over the 1st year of their life- they are asleep 70% of the time

shaken baby syndrome

when parents get very sleep deprived and frustrated they can shake a baby to stop them crying, however babies heads aren’t developed as adults so theyre brains aren’t as protected and can cause severe brain damage and even death

contingency learning

When babies learn that their actions have consequences e.g. watching their leg kicking make a mobile move

how long does contingency least in babies at 2 months old

1-3 days

how long does contingency least in babies at 6 months old

2 weeks

baby synchrony

in an experiment where babies were bounced in synchrony with an adult or not, babies who were synchronised were 50% more likely to help an experimenter later on

what does the synchrony experiment show

babies aren’t just reacting they align and tune into the world around them