CFD 1450 Lecture Notes - Lecture 34: Neuroplasticity, Muscle Tissue, Human Brain
CHAPTER 5- PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN INFANTS
Body Growth
• Typical gain in height is 50% by age 1, 75% by age 2.
• “baby fat” peaks at about 9 months.
• Muscle tissue increases slowly, peaking in adolescence.
Physical Growth Trends
• Cephalocaudal trend
o “head to tail”
o Head develops more rapidly than lower part of the body
• Proximodistal trend
o “near to far”
o Head, chest, and trunk grow ahead of extremities.
Brain Development
• At birth, the brain is nearer to adult size than any other physical structure
• Human brain has 100 to 200 billion neurons that store/transmit information
• Synapses are tiny gaps between neurons
• Neurons send messages by releasing chemicals called neurotransmitters
Lateralization of The Cerebral Cortex
• Lateralization: specialization of the two hemispheres
o Left hemisphere
▪ Better at sequential, analytic processing
▪ Good approach for communicative information
o Right hemisphere
▪ Specialized for holistic, integrative processing
▪ Good for spatial abilities and regulating negative emotion
Brain Plasticity
• Brain plasticity:
o If part of the cerebral cortex is damaged, other parts can take over tasks it
would have handled.
• Brain is highly plastic during the first few years.
• In one study, after early brain injury, language skills recovered by age 5; spatial skills
were more impaired.
• Despite recovery, a “crowding effect” hindered cognitive progress: complex abilities
suffered.
• Plasticity can occur at later ages but is far more limited
Appropriate Stimulation
• Experience-expectant brain growth
o Depends on ordinary experiences “expected” by brain for normal growth
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Document Summary
Body growth: typical gain in height is 50% by age 1, 75% by age 2, baby fat peaks at about 9 months, muscle tissue increases slowly, peaking in adolescence. Physical growth trends: cephalocaudal trend, head to tail , head develops more rapidly than lower part of the body, proximodistal trend, near to far , head, chest, and trunk grow ahead of extremities. Lateralization of the cerebral cortex: lateralization: specialization of the two hemispheres, left hemisphere, better at sequential, analytic processing, good approach for communicative information, right hemisphere, specialized for holistic, integrative processing, good for spatial abilities and regulating negative emotion. Brain plasticity: brain plasticity, if part of the cerebral cortex is damaged, other parts can take over tasks it would have handled, brain is highly plastic during the first few years. The sequence of motor development: gross-motor development, crawling, standing, walking, fine-motor development, reaching, grasping. Gross- and fine-motor development in the first two years.
