Experience dependent throughout our lives specific learning experiences Experience expectant brain growth depends on ordinary experiences naturally Distance curve average size of children at each age shows yearly progress toward maturity Velocity curve average amount of growth at yearly interval shows timing of growth spurts Kwashiorkor unbalanced diet very low in protein between 1 and 3 years of age belly enlarges feet swell rash Marasmus caused by low nutrient diet appears in the first year of life when a baby s mother is too malnourished to produce enough breast milk and bottle feeding is also inadequate Novel preference assesses recent memory Familiarity preference assesses remote memory Cephalocaudal trend head to tail Proximodistal trend growth proceeds literally from near to far from center of the body outward Growth hormone GH the only pituitary secretion produced continuously throughout life affects development of all tissues EXCEPT the central nervous system and the genitals increases at puberty indirectly triggers cell duplication 1GE 1 Thyroid stimulating hormone TSH pituitary hormone prompts the thyroid gland to release thyroxine which is necessary for brain development and for GH to have its full impact on body size Intermodal perception how we make sense of our senses we make sense of these running streams of light sound tactile odor and taste info perceiving them as integrated wholes Amodal sensory properties info that overlaps two or more sensory systems rate rhythm intensity newborns partially have this ability BRAIN PARTS Amygdala emotional learning Corpus Collosum a large bundle of fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres smooth motor coordination and integration of cog activities peak at 3 6 years Pituitary gland release the most important hormones for human growth and is located at the base of brain Hippocampus memory analyze and remember spatial relationships allowing for accurate movements Hypothalamus controls mood thirst hunger and temperature initiates and regulates pituitary secretions Cerebrum Cortex largest tools which are responsible for most of the brain s function hemispheres walnut greatest number of neurons and synapse last part of brain to stop growing perception language cognition Prefrontalcortex Frontal Lobe executive controls several elements including creative thought problem solving intellect judgment behavior attention abstract thinking physical reactions muscle movements coordinated movements smell and personality this and retic form are the last to be mylenated Cerebellum little brain regulation and coordination of movement posture and balance Growth faltering below aged growth norms often due to a disturbed parent infant relationship cold parents abnormal baby feeding Dynamic systems theory of motor development mastery of motor skills involves acquiring complex systems of actions abilities cooperate to Epiphyses special growth centers at the two extreme ends of long bones of the body cartilage is produced here disappear after childhood no increased parental stress increase overall efficacy more bone length possible Proprioception sense of movement and location Subcortical brain centers most developed at birth Neurons nerve cells that store and transmit information Synaptic pruning unstimulated neurons lose synapses and return to uncommitted state to support future development Statistical Learning Capacity enables infant to detect speech on which they will later place meaning Synapses gaps between neurons where they come together but do not touch where neurotransmitters cross Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale evaluates reflexes muscle tone state change and responsiveness understand of differences in newborn behavior