Physical Development
Cell Birth = Begins at 7 weeks and slows down around 20 weeks; Stem cells are formed in the neural tube; Process is complete after 5 months
Cell Death = The brain starts with many more cells than it needs, and gets rid of the unnecessary ones; Cell death is called apoptosis; The larger the brain, the more synaptic pruning goes on; The amount of synapses in the human brain peaks somewhere after the first year of birth, and then drops for the remaining lifetime; Basically, the idea of cell death and synaptic pruning is a “use it or lose it” concept. If synapses are not used in the brain, then the brain gets rid of it because it thinks it is excess.
Cell Differentiation = Occurs after a cell travels to its location; They “turn into” what they are supposed to be; Environmental signals and genes determine how the brain wires itself; When a stem cell is placed in a certain environment, it will model itself with neighboring cells.
Cell Maturation = Cell maturation begins around the 20th week, and continues even after the baby is born; Dendrites and axons are formed.
Axons grow at a fast pace, while dendrites grow at a slow pace.
In dendrite development, there are two different events that can take place: dendritic arborization and dendritic spines.
Dendritic Arborization is the growth of the branches in the dendrite, which allows synapses to be formed.
Cell Migration = Cells traveling (migrating) to their appropriate location; They know where to go because of a cell known as radial glial cell; They create a fiber, which extends to the cortex; Neural cells follow the fiber, which leads them to the appropriate location; Inner layers are formed before the outer layers
Dendrites = extensions of nerve cells that spread and promote the electrochemical stimulation received from other neural cells to the body.
Fine Motor Skills = Smaller actions that occur in the wrists, hands, fingers, feet and toes.
Functional Plasticity = the brain's ability to move functions from a damaged area of the brain to other undamaged areas
Gestation = refers to the process or period of developing inside the womb. This period happens between conception and birth.
Gross Motor Skills = larger movements the child makes with their arms, legs, feet and the entire body.
Limbic System = Emotional and impulsive, develop quicker in adolescence years.
Myelogenesis = This stage of brain development starts in the prenatal stage, and continues to occur throughout a lifetime; Myelin is formed on axons where connections are used often; Myelin is formed on the axon to increase the speed of impulses in the brain.
Physical Development = the process that starts in human infancy and continues into late adolescence.; Involves developing control over the body, with particular attention to muscles and physical coordination.
Pituitary Gland = connected to the hypothalamus of the brain; controls other endocrine glands in the body; secretes hormones that control sexual development + promote bone/muscle growth respond to stress and fight disease.
Reciprocal Interweaving = When a child is developing a preference for handedness, they will first use one hand, and then the other. The child eventually ends up with a preferred pattern of hand use.
Structural Plasticity = the brain’s ability to actually change its physical structure as a result of learning.
Synaptic Pruning = the removal of excess synapses. Synaptic pruning essentially removes the synapses that are not strong; Synaptic pruning allows us to adapt to our environment.
Synaptogenesis = Formation of synapses between neurons in the nervous system
Synapses allow signals from one neuron to another