8.6.3 Critical Periods in Development

    Cards (53)

    • A young child who isn't exposed to language during their critical period may never fully develop linguistic skills
    • What are critical periods in neural development characterized by?
      High sensitivity to environmental influences
    • Environmental input is crucial during critical periods for shaping neuronal connections and circuits.
    • What happens if a critical period is missed during neural development?
      Necessary pathways may not develop
    • Critical periods are irreversible, while sensitive periods are reversible to some extent.
    • Why are critical periods essential for the development of the nervous system?
      Wiring up sensory, motor, and cognitive circuits
    • Young children learn languages more easily during their language critical period
    • Order the processes involved in synaptic plasticity during critical periods:
      1️⃣ Long-term potentiation (LTP)
      2️⃣ Long-term depression (LTD)
      3️⃣ Synaptic pruning
    • What is the role of epigenetic modifications during critical periods?
      Regulate gene expression
    • Histone deacetylation reduces protein synthesis during synaptic pruning.
    • Critical periods are essential for the development of the nervous system
    • Which sensory pathways develop during critical periods?
      Visual, auditory, tactile
    • Language acquisition is a key cognitive process influenced by critical periods
    • Young children learn languages more easily during their language critical period.
    • What is essential for proper vision development during early infancy?
      Exposure to light
    • Critical periods are specific and irreversible
    • Sensitive periods are flexible and reversible to some extent.
    • Match the feature with the correct period:
      Sensitivity ↔️ Highest in critical periods
      Impact ↔️ Profound and lasting in critical periods
      Reversibility ↔️ Possible in sensitive periods
    • When are critical periods in human development most responsive to environmental influences?
      Specific times
    • Critical periods involve synaptic plasticity and epigenetic modifications
    • What are the two types of synaptic plasticity based on experience?
      LTP and LTD
    • Epigenetic modifications alter the DNA sequence during critical periods.
      False
    • Epigenetic modifications control the timing and duration of critical periods
    • Match the mechanism with its function:
      Synaptic Plasticity ↔️ Strengthens or weakens neuronal connections
      Long-term Potentiation ↔️ Amplifies synaptic strength
      Long-term Depression ↔️ Reduces synaptic strength
    • What can disruptions of critical periods lead to in sensory development?
      Vision impairments
    • Deficits from critical period disruptions are irreversible and severe
    • What is the process called when neural circuits are shaped by experience during critical periods?
      Experience-dependent plasticity
    • Experience-dependent plasticity is essential for refining neural connections during critical periods.
    • Critical periods in neural development are time frames when the nervous system is highly sensitive to environmental influences.
    • How do critical periods differ from sensitive periods in reversibility?
      Critical periods are irreversible
    • Order the functions influenced by critical periods from sensory to cognitive:
      1️⃣ Sensory: Vision, hearing, and tactile pathways
      2️⃣ Motor: Fine motor skills
      3️⃣ Cognitive: Language acquisition, abstract thought
    • Early childhood is the key critical period for fluent language learning
    • Critical periods are essential developmental phases when the nervous system is most sensitive to environmental stimuli
    • Which sensory pathways are influenced by critical periods?
      Vision, hearing, tactile
    • Early childhood is a critical period for fluent language learning.
    • Exposure to light is necessary for proper visual development
    • Missing critical periods can result in irreversible deficits.
    • Critical periods are specific developmental phases when the brain is most responsive to environmental stimuli
    • Match the developmental type with its critical period, consequences, and environmental need:
      Language Acquisition ↔️ Early childhood, Permanent language deficits, Rich linguistic environment
      Visual Development ↔️ Early infancy, Vision impairment, Exposure to light
    • Synaptic plasticity includes long-term potentiation, which amplifies synaptic strength
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