PSY-B - Psychology PSY-B 320 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Anencephaly, Cell Migration, Birth Weight
22 Feb 2017
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Critical periods: de(cid:448)elop(cid:373)e(cid:374)tal (cid:862)(cid:449)i(cid:374)do(cid:449)(cid:863) duri(cid:374)g (cid:449)hi(cid:272)h so(cid:373)e e(cid:448)e(cid:374)t has a lo(cid:374)g-lasting influence on the brain; often referred to as a sensitive period. Example: imprinting: process that predisposes an animal to form an attachment to objects or animals at a critical period in development, enlargement of synapses in chick forebrain. Prenatally: chemoaffinity hypothesis: specific chemical signals sent out by different cells organize neural connections (e. g. , tropic molecules) Postnatally: experience the connections from eye (retina) to midbrain become more precise with the passage of time due to the correlated activity of their inputs. Postnatal experience: fine-tuning of connections proceeds in an activity-dependent manner (axons from the eye to the cortex, hebb (1947) Cognitively stimulating environments help maximize intellectual development: compared with rats raised in standard la(cid:271) (cid:272)ages, those raised i(cid:374) (cid:862)e(cid:374)ri(cid:272)hed e(cid:374)(cid:448)iro(cid:374)(cid:373)e(cid:374)ts(cid:863) ha(cid:448)e: Behaviorally, they solve mazes faster than rats raised in laboratory environments. Impaired cognitive functioning due to abnormal brain development: many causes.
