PSYA02H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Zygote, Sexual Differentiation, Teratology
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PSYA02H3 Full Course Notes
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No other animal is born so helpless. Other animals such as sea turtles birth thousands of babies. As soon as they hatch they head towards water---not many survive to adulthood. A lot of physical development occurs prior to birth, and it continues until long thereafter. But perhaps as important, and even more interesting, is that the physical dependence sets the stage for social development. Longitudinal: following one indiv throughout the years. Cross-section: diff grps at diff times (grp of 3 yr olds compared to grp of 4 yr olds etc) Hopefully finding an average in each group. Adolescence (harder to define--there is a bit of variability with certain milestones, i. e. walking) Initial single begins cell dividing and differentiating. Eventually forming 200 different kind of cells (blood cells, nerve cells, muscle cells, bone cells, etc. ) all with the same dna. Critical stage with respect to the avoidance of so-called teratogens (cocaine, tobacco, alcohol, and environmental toxins)
