1. A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development 6e
Chapter Three:
Physical Development
and Biological Aging
Part 2: Brain Development
John W. Santrock

2. The Brain and Development

3. Figure 3.6 - The Brain’s Four Lobes
Frontal
Attention, thinking, personality, intentionality or purpose
Motor cortex: voluntary movement
Occipital
Visual cortex
Parietal
Somatosensory cortex: Processing body sensations (sense of touch); spatial location
Link to motor cortex – body & movement control
Role in attention
Temporal
Auditory cortex: hearing
Language processing, memory

4. Functions of Cortical Lobes
Frontal
Motor cortex:
Parietal
Somatosensory cortex:
Occipital
Visual cortex:
Temporal
Auditory cortex:
Use this slide to quiz yourself: Fill in the various functions of the 4 lobes, according to notes on the last slide.

5. Nervous System and Brain
the brain, spinal cord, and nerves that extend throughout the body
Central nervous system (CNS) =
Peripheral nervous system =
Define: Which parts of the nervous system make up the CNS vs. the PNS?

6. Brain Cells: Neurons Neurons: Nerve cells that…
Complete the definition

7. Figure The Neuron

8. Parts of the Neuron dendrites cell body axon
receive info from other cells
cell body
receives info from dendrites, keeps neuron alive
axon
carries message and sends it to other cells 5

9. Parts of the Neuron myelin sheath myelination
“insulation” that helps impulses travel faster
myelination
process of encasing axons with a myelin sheath 5

10. How Neurons Communicate
An electrical impulse travels within a neuron
BUT
neurons communicate with other neurons chemically:
neurotransmitters
chemical messengers that carry signals
across the synapse (gap) between neurons 7

12. Neural circuits = groups of specialized neurons

13. Neural Growth in Infancy
Born with about 100 billion neurons
Age 0-2:
Blooming:
2x as many connections are made than will be used
Pruning:
Prenatal blooming: Neurons multiply at an amazing rate prior to birth. At some points in prenatal development, cell division creates some 250,000 additional neurons every minute.
Birth to age 2:
Not all of the connections that have been made will be used. Pruning is the process by which…
The intricacy of neural connections continues to increase throughout life. In fact, in adulthood a single neuron is likely to have a minimum of 5,000 connections to other neurons or other body parts.

14. Figure 3.12 - Dendritic Spreading
Blooming!

15. The Brain in Infancy Brain areas do not mature uniformly
Visual and auditory systems
Motor control
Speech centers

16. Figure 3.13 - Synaptic Density in Human Brain from Infancy to Adulthood

17. Figure 3.14 - Growth Curves for Head and Brain and for Height and Weight
During childhood, the brain and head continue to grow more rapidly than any other part of the body

18. The Brain in Childhood Age 3 – 6: most rapid growth in which lobes?
Functions of these lobes include:
Age 6 – puberty: most growth in:

19. The Brain in Adolescence
Growth in:
corpus callosum
Consists of:
Function:

20. The Brain in Adolescence
amygdala
Located:
Function:

21. The Brain in Adolescence
prefrontal cortex
myelination in which lobe?
Functions =
follows amygdala development
Result?

22. The Brain in Adulthood General slowing of which functions?
Begins in middle age, accelerates with age
Brain loses _____% of weight from age
Shrinkage is not uniform; most in:

23. The Brain Can Adapt! Remarkable repair capability
Neurogenesis:
How can we maintain functions & slow decline?