Human Growth And Development/chapter 3

Front 1

An average, or standard, measurement, calculated from the measurements of many individuals within a specific group or population.

Back 1

norm

Front 2

A biological mechanism that protects the brain when malnutrition disrupts body growth. The brain is the last part of the body to be damaged by malnutrition.

Back 2

head-sparing

Front 3

One of billions of nerve cells in the central nervous system, especially in the brain.

Back 3

neuron

Front 4

The outer layers of the brain in humans and other mammals. Most thinking, feeling, and sensing involve this apparatus.

Back 4

cortex (sometimes called the neocortex.)

Front 5

A fiber that extends from a neuron and transmits electrochemical impulses from that neuron to the dendrites of other neurons.

Back 5

axon

Front 6

A fiber that extends from a neuron and receives electrochemical impulses transmitted from other neurons via their axons.

Back 6

dendrite

Front 7

The intersection between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites of other neurons.

Back 7

synapse

Front 8

A brain chemical that carries information from the axon of a sending neuron to the dendrites of a receiving neuron.

Back 8

neurotransmitter

Front 9

The area of the cortex at the front of the brain that specializes in anticipation, planning, and impulse control.

Back 9

prefrontal cortex

Front 10

A life-threatening injury that occurs when an infant is forcefully shaken back and forth, a motion that ruptures blood vessels in the brain and breaks neural connections.

Back 10

shaken baby syndrome

Front 11

A stage of sleep characterized by flickering eyes behind closed lids, dreaming, and rapid brain waves.

Back 11

REM (rapid eye movement) sleep

Front 12

An unlearned, involuntary action or movement emitted in response to a particular stimulus. This is an automatic response that is built into the nervous system and occurs without conscious thought.

Back 12

reflex

Front 13

Physical abilities involving large body movements, such as walking and jumping.

Back 13

gross motor skills (The word gross here means "big.")

Front 14

Physical abilities involving small body movements, especially of the hands and fingers, such as drawing and picking up coins.

Back 14

fine motor skills (The word fine here means "small.")

Front 15

The response of a sensory system when it detects a stimulus.

Back 15

sensation (eyes, ears, skin, tongue, and nose)

Front 16

The mental processing of sensory information when the brain interprets a sensation.

Back 16

perception

Front 17

The ability to focus the two eyes in a coordinated manner in order to see one image.

Back 17

binocular vision

Front 18

A process that stimulates the body's immune system to defend against attack by particular contagious disease. This may be accomplished either naturally (by having the disease) or through vaccination (often by having an injection).

Back 18

immunization (also called inoculation or vaccination.)

Front 19

A situation in which a seemingly healthy infant, at least 2 months of age, suddenly stops breathing and dies unexpectedly while asleep.

Back 19

sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Front 20

A custom in which parents and their children (usually infants) sleep together in the same bed.

Back 20

co-sleeping (also called bed-sharing.)

Front 21

Piaget's term for the way infants think--by using their senses and motor skills--during the first period of cognitive development.

Back 21

sensorimotor intelligence

Front 22

Piaget's term for a type of adaptation in which new experiences are interpreted to fit into, or assimilate with, old ideas.

Back 22

assimilation

Front 23

Piaget's term for the type of adaptation in which old ideas are restructured to include, or accommodate, new experiences.

Back 23

accommodation

Front 24

The realization that objects (including people) still exist when they can no longer be seen, touched, or heard.

Back 24

object permanence

Front 25

The stage-five toddler (age 12 to 18 months) who experiments without anticipating the results, using trial and error in active and creative exploration.

Back 25

"little scientist"

Front 26

A perspective that compares human thinking processes, by analogy, to computer analysis of data, including sensory input, connections, stored memories, and output.

Back 26

information-processing theory

Front 27

An experimental apparatus that gives an illusion of a sudden dropoff between one horizontal surface and another.

Back 27

visual cliff

Front 28

A perceptual experience that is intended to help a person recollect an idea, a thing, or an experience, without testing whether the person remembers it at the moment.

Back 28

reminder session

Front 29

The high-pitched, simplified, and repetitive way adults speak to infants.

Back 29

child-directed speech (also called baby talk or motherese.)

Front 30

The extended repetition of certain syllables, such as ba-ba-ba, that begins when babies are between 6 and 9 months old.

Back 30

babbling

Front 31

A sudden increase in an infant's vocabulary, especially in the number of nouns, that begins at about 18 months of age.

Back 31

naming explosion

Front 32

A single word that is used to express a complete, meaningful thought.

Back 32

holophrase

Front 33

Chomsky's term for a hypothesized mental structure that enables humans to learn language, including the basic aspects of grammar, vocabulary, and intonation.

Back 33

language acquisition device (LAD)