PSYC 100 Final: Week 14.docx

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 100
• Professor: Jill L Atkinson

Document Summary

Week 14: developmental psychology i: physical and lifespan development: The phase of the life-span characterized by the most rapid growth in development of the nervous system and the body is the ___prenatal______ phase: germinal period-the first two weeks after the sperm and egg unite. Sperm and ova are both a specialized type of reproductive cell called a gamete. Gametes are haploid, meaning that each contains only half of the genetic complement required for life; gametes are the only haploid cells in your body. The result of the merging of male and female gametes is the zygote. Because the zygote has received half a genome from each gamete, it now has a full genetic load, which makes it diploid. During the germinal period, the zygotic cell divides multiple times, creating numerous identical copies that hold together in a spherical shape. These divisions occur through a process called cleavage, which begins roughly 24 hours after conception.