PSY210H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Pubic Hair, Attention Seeking, Spermarche
Document Summary
The prenatal period: brain grows rapidly b. Infant"s brain weighs as much as a mature brain, a 6 month old"s weighs , and a 2 year old"s weighs . Baby"s brain has most of neurons at birth. During the embryonic period, neurons multiply rapid pace in a process called neuron proliferation. Brain gets bigger b/c existing neurons grow and the connections between them proliferate. Viii: beings early in prenatal life (as soon as neurons begin to evolve, brain forms more synapses than neurons. Increases speed, efficiency, and complexity of transmissions b/w neurons and allows room for new connections that develop as the child encounters new experiences. In the visual cortex, the number of synapses per neuron is multiplied some six times within the first two years of life. Infants" visual capacities are greatly enhanced (ex. become more skilled at focusing on objects at different distances)