Question 1

Specialized cells that support the neurons are called

Accepted Answer

Glial cells are specialized cells that support the neurons in the nervous system. They provide nutrients, remove waste products, and insulate the neurons.

Question 2

Which of the following is a function of glial cells?

Accepted Answer

Glial cells help maintain homeostasis, form myelin, and provide support and protection for neurons, including removing waste products.

Question 3

Synaptogenesis leads to

Accepted Answer

Synaptogenesis is the process of forming new synapses between neurons, which often results in an overproduction of synapses during early development.

Question 4

Synaptic pruning involves

Accepted Answer

Synaptic pruning is the process where the brain eliminates excess or unused synapses, which helps to improve the efficiency of neuronal transmissions.

Question 5

During childhood, as many as 100,000 synapses can be lost every _____.

Accepted Answer

During childhood, synaptic pruning occurs rapidly, and as many as 100,000 synapses can be lost every second.

Question 6

About _____ percent of the synapses that existed at 2 years of age are lost by adulthood.

Accepted Answer

By adulthood, approximately 40 percent of the synapses that existed at 2 years of age are lost due to synaptic pruning, a process that eliminates weaker synaptic connections while strengthening others.

Question 7

When extra synapses form in the brain so that the child is ready to learn new skills, it is called

Accepted Answer

Experience-expectant development refers to the process where the brain forms extra synapses in anticipation of experiences that are expected to occur in a typical environment, preparing the child to learn new skills.

Question 8

When a baby is born, its brain does not know what skills it will need to learn in its culture and environment. Extra synapses are formed just in case they are needed. This is referred to as

Accepted Answer

Experience-expectant development refers to the process where the brain forms extra synapses in anticipation of experiences that are common to all humans, allowing it to adapt to the environment and culture it is born into.

Question 9

When new synapses are formed in the brain because of experiences a child has, it is called

Accepted Answer

Experience-dependent development refers to the formation of synapses in response to specific experiences, which are unique to the individual.

Question 10

Maya was born in China. Her parents were very poor and left her in an orphanage. She was adopted at 18 months by an American couple and came to the United States to live. When she was in the orphanage, Maya started learning to speak in Chinese. When she came to the United States with her adoptive parents, she learned English. New synapses formed in her brain as she learned English. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

Experience-dependent development refers to the process where new synapses form in response to unique experiences, such as learning a new language.

Question 11

Experience-dependent brain development leads to

Accepted Answer

The answer of Experience-dependent brain development leads to
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Question 12

In recent studies of children with fragile X syndrome, the reason for the disorder seems to be

Accepted Answer

Recent studies suggest that fragile X syndrome is associated with a lack of synaptic pruning, which leads to an excess of synapses and neural connections that are not efficiently organized.

Question 13

The visual area of the brain is located in which lobe of the cerebral cortex?

Accepted Answer

The visual area of the brain is located in the occipital lobe of the cerebral cortex. The occipital lobe is responsible for processing visual information from the eyes.

Question 14

Which lobe of the brain is associated with language development?

Accepted Answer

The temporal lobe is primarily responsible for processing auditory information and is crucial for language development and comprehension.

Question 15

The visual area reaches its peak in synapse density within _____ months after birth.

Accepted Answer

The visual area of the brain reaches its peak in synapse density around 4 months after birth, as this is a critical period for visual development.

Question 16

Synapse density decreases to adult levels by approximately _____ years of age.

Accepted Answer

Synapse density decreases to adult levels by approximately 10 years of age as the brain undergoes synaptic pruning, which refines neural connections.

Question 17

After the age of _____, plasticity in the visual area decreases.

Accepted Answer

The answer of After the age of _____, plasticity in...

Question 18

Olivia is a college student. She can remember her first day of kindergarten and getting a puppy when she was 5. Olivia can't really remember anything that happened before she was 4. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

Infantile amnesia refers to the inability of adults to recall memories from the early years of life, typically before the age of 3 or 4. Olivia's inability to remember events before she was 4 is an example of this phenomenon.

Question 19

Improved communication between Wernicke's area in the temporal lobe and _____ area in the frontal lobe helps children transform the language they hear into a language that they can speak and produce themselves.

Accepted Answer

Broca's area in the frontal lobe is responsible for speech production, and its communication with Wernicke's area, which is involved in language comprehension, is crucial for transforming heard language into spoken language.

Question 20

Heavy growth in the frontal lobe occurs between the ages of _____ years.

Accepted Answer

The frontal lobe experiences significant growth and development between the ages of 3 to 6 years, which is crucial for cognitive functions such as planning, attention, and problem-solving.

Quiz 7: Physical Development in Early Childhood