FRHD 2280 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Prefrontal Cortex, Synaptic Pruning, Limbic System

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Family Relations and Human Development
• Course: FRHD 2280
• Professor: Jenny Glozman

Document Summary

First assignment due next friday instructions are already posted. Ted talk: sarah-jayne blakemore: the mysterious workings of the adolescent brain. This has changed how we view brain development. Prefrontal cortex is one of the areas that changes most radically in adolescence. Lots of tasks including social interactions, inhibiting inappropriate behaviour, etc. Grey matter increases to a peak in early adolescence and then begins to significantly decline. This is a really important developmental process contains brain connections (synapses) so the decline is thought to come from synaptic pruning, which actually strengthens the wanted synapses. Her lab focuses on the social brain those aspects which relate to understanding and communicating with other people. We also tend to recognize social emotions in others easily. Found activity in medial prefrontal cortex decreases in adolescence. Seems that adults and adolescents use a different process for understanding social interactions. Takes longer for adolescents to understand other"s perspectives or take them into account.