Download Chapter 4 - (www.forensicconsultation.org).

Chapter 4
Physical Development During the
First Three Years
Development of the Brain
• By age 6, almost adult size.
• Brain growth spurts: coincide with changes in
cognitive behavior
• Cerebrum, largest part of brain, divides into
halves
• Lateralization, specialties of each hemisphere;
left: language and logical thinking; right: visual
and spatial functions
• Integration: groups of coordinated cells
• Differentiation: each neuron becomes specialized
Development of the Brain
• Corpus callosum, joins the two hemispheres with
visual and spatial functions
• Each cerebral hemisphere has four lobes:
occipital (visual), parietal (touch sensations and
spatial information and facilitates eye-hand
coordination), temporal (hearing and language),
frontal (higher functions, speech, reasoning)
Brain cells
Neurons: nerve cells- send and receive information
• Glial cells: support and protect the neurons
• Myelination: coats the neural pathways, allows for
efficient and fast signals to travel
• Reflex behavior: controlled by lower brain centers,
involuntary (breathing, heart rate)
• Plasticity: malleability, modification, specificities
•
•
•
•
Senses
Touch and pain develop first (rooting reflex)
Smell and taste develop in the womb
Hearing develops in the womb
Sight develops at birth
Motor development
Milestones: see Table 4-5 (page 142)
Conception
• Embryo: after about two weeks following
conception.
• Fetus: Recognizable as a human after about
2 months (at 1 inch!)
• Most significant brain development occurs
within the first 3 years of life
Apgar Scale
Sign
0
1
2
Appearance
Blue & Pale
Body Pink,
Limbs Blue
All Pink
Pulse
Absent
Slow (<100)
Rapid
Grimace
None
Grimace
Coughing &
Crying
Activity
Limp
Weak
Strong
Respiration
Absent
Irregular,
slow
Good, Crying
Between ages 10-12, the brain appears to undergo
other significant changes (for executive functions:
judgment, self-control, emotional regulation, and
planning)
The temporal lobes (responsible for language and
emotional control) do not fully develop until age
16)
Perceptual development occurs during the first two
years
Within first 6 months, strong attachment to caregivers
Shows preference for people they want to be near,
especially when stressed, at about 7 or 8 months
Newborn
Nutrition: most important factor for physical
growth and development. Importance of
antibodies.
Failure to thrive: 4 to 8 months following
birth (r/o nutritional disorders vs. neglect)
Scheduling: putting baby on feeding schedule
(4 hours); not recommended now as much.
Recommended now: Comfort your baby:
• comfort baby when they cry
• feed them when they are hungry
• play with them when they are awake
• “spoil” them as much as you can! (studies
show that baby must learn that they have an
effect on their environment, and therefore
control over their own experience. Important
for cognitive and social development
• babies need to know that they can make
things happen
• being responsive to baby
Encouraging frequent associations between:
• crying and being picked up
• sucking and obtaining nourishment
• gurgling and hearing another voice reply
• Some evidence that babies who cannot
predict if or how their behavior will affect
their caregivers are slower to develop than
those whose caregivers react to their
demands with relevant actions.
• infants must experience the benefits of selfmotivation
• babies thrive where there are many
opportunities to watch, touch, and manipulate
things for themselves.
• babies who are restricted in their play and put
on rigid schedules from birth may be
apathetic.
• repeated frustration teaches them that their
own actions do not matter.
The emergence of social smiling is a milestone
because smiling serves the adaptive function
of drawing adults to them.
After about 6 months, generally friendly
towards strangers.
Between 6 – 8 months, stranger anxiety occurs.
Separation protest (separation anxiety) appears
at about the same age.
Nutrition: Breastfeeding
• Breast milk almost always the best
food
• Milk is more digestible
• Reduces allergic reactions
• Minimizes numerous infections
• May reduce risk of SIDS
• Better cognitive performance
Brain Growth
Regions of the Cerebral Cortex
Regions of the Cerebral Cortex