Physical & Brain Development
3 important questions on Physical & Brain Development
What visual development experiment shows that the growth of synapses depend on experience?
Studies with monkeys and children - if one eye has poor vision in infancy, neurons in the visual cortex develop connections mainly to receive input from the good eye = leads to permanant vision loss to the poor eye even if it is treated.
Links to critical periods of brain development: "patching" the poorer eye to force the brain to process signals from the weaker eye works better for infants than adults
Links to critical periods of brain development: "patching" the poorer eye to force the brain to process signals from the weaker eye works better for infants than adults
How is the brain specialised? (2 things)
1) Anatomically - different parts of the cortex is specialised for different types of learning
e.g. the motor cortex is thicker and cells are less sparsely packed (compared to the sensory cortex) to leave room for connections to form = allows more flexibility due to the consistent need to learn new motor skills throughout life.
2) Functionally - specific areas of the brain perform specific functions e.g. Phineas Gage
e.g. the motor cortex is thicker and cells are less sparsely packed (compared to the sensory cortex) to leave room for connections to form = allows more flexibility due to the consistent need to learn new motor skills throughout life.
2) Functionally - specific areas of the brain perform specific functions e.g. Phineas Gage
What 3 theories try to explain how the young brain might accomplish functional specialisation?
1. Protomap - cell specialisation and organisation is pre-programmed (driven by gene expression, chemical signals) - Rakic, 1988
Evidence: growth of brain tissue in petri dishes
2. Protocortex - brain areas become distinct because of brain activity - O'Leary, 2002; Shatz, 2002)
Evidence: experience-dependant changes
3. Interactive specialisation - an interaction between genetics (protomap) and experience (protocortex). There are innate growth patterns, but these can change and adapt as a result of experience and its resulting neural activity (Johnson, 2005)
Evidence: growth of brain tissue in petri dishes
2. Protocortex - brain areas become distinct because of brain activity - O'Leary, 2002; Shatz, 2002)
Evidence: experience-dependant changes
3. Interactive specialisation - an interaction between genetics (protomap) and experience (protocortex). There are innate growth patterns, but these can change and adapt as a result of experience and its resulting neural activity (Johnson, 2005)
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