PSYC 304 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Microcephaly, Synaptogenesis, Teratology
Document Summary
How does my body grow: top-down, cephalocaudal pattern. Head end first, feet end last: inside-out, proximal-distal pattern. Control of trunk before control of hands: norms-percentiles, head sparing. A word about the zika virus: mosquito borne virus leading to microencephaly (shrinking of head, brain, before zika: 0. 5 caes per 10,000 births, after zika: 20 cases per 10,000 (3900 cases since october, timing. As with every teratogen, not everyone infected will be affected. Synaptogenesis (proclivity for connections between neurons, synapses formed) and pruning (pathways weakened, removed) Pathways from in the brain: paths between neurons, brain is ready to form these (nature, experience is necessary (nurture, we make new pathways all our lives. Influences on brain development: maturation (genes) and experiences, experience-expectant brain functions require basic common experiences, necessary for the brain to develop. Example: no matter where an infant lives, he or she hears sounds and language: experience-dependent brain fucntions depend on exposure to particular events, certain experiences might happen.
