PSYC 3101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Synaptic Pruning, Stuffed Toy, Comfort Object
16 Dec 2019
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Document Summary
Individual and gender differences height and weight emerge. Differences due to socioeconomic status (poverty, poor access to healthcare) Differ in shape- become less chubby and round, more slender (bodyfat disappears) size relationship between head and body. By age 6 -> brain is 90% of average adult brain weight (total body weight is 30%) Myelination is what causes increased brain weight (fatty coating on larger axons to increase speed) Brain reshaping & refining- age 4 too many synapses in cerebral cortex (nearly 2x what adults have). Overabundance- plasticity, child acquire certain abilities even if brain damage in some area: synaptic pruning follows. Growth in prefrontal areas which affect inhibition of impulses devoted to attention, working memory, planning and organizing. Lateralization- some language functions more in left, spatial more right, differences in the hemispheres happen. Eye movements and focusing- better at recognizing letters as they read, improve eye-hand coordination. Benefits of sleep: better able to play and learn.
