PSYCH101 Lecture Notes - Prenatal Development, Habituation, Fetus

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH101
• Professor: Martha Savage

Document Summary

Lecture 21 building a brain module 13 and 14. 1. Upon reaching egg, sperm releases digestive enzymes that eat away protective coating. Zygote (conception to 2 weeks) --> embryo (2 - 8 weeks) --> fetus (9 weeks to birth) Fetus experiences certain events experienced by mother (alcohol abuse, drug abuse, etc) which would affect the fetus"s development. What are some newborn abilities, and how do researchers explore infants" mental abilities? habituation - decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner. We are born preferring sights and sounds. In humans, the brain is immature at birth but as the child matures, the neural networks grow increasingly more complex. Age 3-6, most rapid growth in frontal lobes (rational planning ie: control attention and behaviour) Association areas (thinking, memory, language) - are the last cortical areas to develop.