Download Chapter 4

Physical Development in Infancy
Lecture Prepared by
Dr. M. Sawhney
Physical Growth Patterns
Cephalocaudal pattern
Proximodistal pattern
Height & Weight Growth
Brain’s Four Lobes
 Frontal Lobe
 Parietal Lobe
 Occipital Lobe
 Temporal Lobe
 Brain Lateralization
Brain Development: Neuron
Dendrites: of neuron that receives
inputs from other neurons
Axon: part of neuron that transmits
electrical signals to other neurons
Synapses: point where connections
between neurons are made
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c
UGuWh2UeMk
Myelination
 It is growth of the
myelin around the
axons.
Blooming and Pruning
 Blooming
is
when neurons
form connection
with
other
neurons
 Pruning:
connections that
are
unused
wither away
Synaptic Density
The Neuroconstructivist View
 Biological processes
and environmental
conditions influence
the brain’s
development
 Brain has plasticity
and is context
dependent
 https://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=i9JPkUE2
IJw
Sleep
•
Newborns sleep approximately
18hrs a day
•
Cultural variations influence
sleep patterns
•
50 percent of the time is spent
in rapid eye movement sleep
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
•
•
90 percent of SIDS death occur between 2-4 months
Seen more often in premature and low birth weight
babies
•
Causes:
• Low birth weight
• Sleeping on stomach
• Co-sleeping
• Soft bedding
Nutrition
• Nutrition:
• Infants should
consume 50calories
per day for each
pound they weigh
Malnutrition in infancy:
• Marasmus
• Kwashioror
Motor Development
 Dynamic Systems View
 Motor skills are a result of solutions to
complex systems of actions
 Each skill is acquired through:
 Central nervous system
 Body’s physical properties
 Child’s goals
 Environmental support for the skill
Motor Development
 Reflexes
 Sucking reflex
 Rooting reflex
 Moro reflex
 Grasping reflex
Gross Motor Skills
 Is Gross motor development genetic or environmental
Fine Motor Skills
 Reaching
 Grasping
 Palmer grasp
 Pincer grasp
Sensory & Perceptual Development
 Sensation
 Perception
 Visual Perception:
 Newborn can
focus till 20ft
 Color vision
Depth Perception
 Visual Cliff Experiment
 http://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=1VPaBcT1KdY