Behavioral Neuroscience - Exam 2

what is a zygote?

A single fertilized cell

What are the three stages of prenatal development?

• germinal stage

• embryonic period

• fetal period

Germinal stage

conception through first two weeks of pregnancy.

embryonic period

2-8 weeks, the fetus begins to mature.

fetal period

8 weeks - birth

the fetus, eventually the baby, continues maturing.

blastocyst

clump of multiplying cells.

trophoblast

considered as the “life support”, consists of the placenta and the umbilical cord.

implantation

the egg goes into the uterus.

endoderm

digestive, respiratory systems

mesoderm

cirulatory, reproductive systems + bones

eetoderm

nervous system + skin

placenta

an organ that develops in the uterus. filters out the bad to protect the fetus

umbilical cord

a temporary organ that attaches the mom and the baby

amnion

the fluid that cushions the baby

when does the neural tube development start?

around the 3rd week of pregnancy

what does the neural tube eventually become?

the brain and the spinal cord

what is organogenesis?

the creation of organs

fetal development

2 months - birth

continued growth of the fetus and organ maturation of the organs that emerged from the previous period

when is a baby viable (able to breathe on its own)?

24 weeks

phases of neurodevelopment

• induction of the neuroplate

• neuralproliferation - making more neurons

• migration and aggregation - making a structure with connections

• axon growth and synapse formation

• neuron death + synapse arrangement

the neuron plate…

folds and diffuses

ventricular zone

neural stem cells, where neurons are made

totipotent vs. multipotent

totipotent cells can become any cell in an organism

multipotent cells are limited in what type of cell they can become

stem cells

are also in the nervous system

now come from the placenta and the umbilical cord

radial migration

newly formed neurons are perpendicular to the neural ventricular surface.

tangential migration

newly formed neurons are parallel to the pial surface (of the developing brain)

somal translocation

similar to radial migration excluding the grial cells 

glia-mediated migration

the neuron gets on an extended glial cell to the ventricular surface

aggregation

becoming a neural structure

growth cone

the tip of the growing axon

chemoaffinity hypothesis

the growth cone will be attached to certain chemicals

guidance molecules…

guide the growth cone to the target

pioneer growth cone

the cone that has found the path first.

synapse formation (synaptogenesis)

the process of forming synapses; it is important for the synapses to make connections for communication

at birth, the brain is about ____ the size of an adult brain

25%

brain weight ______ over the course of the first ____ years of life.

1. triples

2. two

when does pruning occur?

it occurs throughout development

why is it important for the prefrontal cortex to develop?

• to have a working memory

• to plan and carry out sequences of actions

• to inhibit responses that are inappropriate in the current context.

deprivation vs. enrichment

depriving resources, experiences, and stimuli can negatively affect brain structure, cognition and behavior.

allowing individuals to do so can assure proper growth of the brain structure, more appropriate behavior, and proper cognition.

competitive nature of the brain

if one part of the brain is not fully developed, another part of the brain takes over (plasticity), meaning that processing is less efficient.

topographic sensory cortex map

a map of the brain that shows the arrangement of sensory receptors preserved in the cortical area.

a representation of sensory information