5 Infancy Physical Development Brain (1)

Infancy - Physical Development Overview

  • Focus of Chapter 4 from Santrock, 19th ed.

    • Topics include physical growth and development, motor development, and sensory and perceptual development.

Physical Growth and Development: Patterns

  • Head size as a proportion of total body length varies with age.

Physical Growth and Development: Brain Mapping I

  • The brain is composed of two hemispheres.

  • Four lobes located within the brain work together:

    • Frontal Lobe

    • Parietal Lobe

    • Temporal Lobe

    • Occipital Lobe

Physical Growth and Development: Brain Mapping II

Differences between Cerebellum and Cerebrum

  • Cerebellum:

    • Appears as a separate structure beneath the cerebral hemispheres.

    • Positioned in the hindbrain.

  • Cerebrum:

    • Largest part of the brain, encompassing the cerebral cortex.

    • Located in the upper part of the central nervous system.

Physical Growth and Development: Brain Mapping III

Cerebellum vs. Cerebrum

  • Cerebellum:

    • Second largest brain region.

    • Has two hemispheres and a medial vermis.

    • Responsible for coordination, precision, and timing.

  • Cerebrum:

    • Composed of two hemispheres with four lobes (frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal).

    • Controls voluntary movement, intelligence, and memory.

Physical Growth and Development: Brain Development

  • Brain develops sequentially from the bottom-up:

    • Primitive Functions: Appetite, blood pressure, heart rate

    • Midbrain Functions: Emotional reactivity, attachment

    • Cortical Functions: Abstract thought, complex abilities

Physical Growth and Development: Brain Structure and Function I

  • Brainstem: Fully functional at birth, managing basic reflexes.

  • Continues development and reorganization seen in:

    • Thalamus

    • Cerebellum

    • Hippocampus

    • Cerebral cortex

Physical Growth and Development: Brain Structure and Function II

Functions of Brain Areas

  • Frontal Lobes: Planning, reasoning, problem-solving.

  • Occipital Lobes: Visual processing.

  • Temporal Lobes: Auditory processing, memory.

  • Parietal Lobes: Sensory perception, spatial orientation.

Physical Growth and Development: Neuronal Changes

  • Key processes in early brain development:

    • Myelination: Formation of the myelin sheath around the neurons.

    • Pruning: Elimination of excess neurons and synapses to increase efficiency.

Physical Growth and Development: Early Brain Development and the Environment I

  • Deprived environments may result in reduced brain activity.

  • Some effects of deprivation may be reversible.

  • Shaken Baby Syndrome: A critical concern affecting brain health.

  • Key Terms:

    • Plasticity

    • Neuronal migration

Physical Growth and Development: Early Brain Development and the Environment II

Stress Impact on the Brain

  • Positive Stress: Moderate and brief; part of normal life.

  • Tolerable Stress: Occurs infrequently, allowing recovery time.

  • Toxic Stress: Frequent and prolonged stress, such as chronic neglect, severely impacts brain development.

Physical Growth and Development: Brain and Environment II

  • PET Scans:

    • Used to visualize blood flow and metabolic activity in the brain.

    • Comparison between a typically developing child and an institutionalized Romanian orphan indicates substantial differences in brain activity reflected in color coded results.

Physical Growth and Development: Brain TBI

  • Includes discussion on brain plasticity within the brain’s hemispheres.

Physical Growth and Development: Understanding the Brain

  • Noninvasive brain activity measurement tools include:

    • Electroencephalogram (EEG)

    • Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS)

    • Magnetoencephalography (MEG).