5.1A

• neuroplasticity refers to the brains ability to change its structure and function as a result of internal or external stimuli
• the brain is made up of interconnected neurons
• a neuron is made up of dendrites, a soma and an axon, which is often myelinated
• impulses move through a neuron via electricity and between neurons via chemical called neurotransmitters
• developmental plasticity refers to the changes in brain neurons and synaptic connections that occur as a result of experience during specific developmental stages
• the stages of developmental plasticity are neurogenesis, neural migration, neural maturation, synaptogenesis, synaptic pruning and myelination
• an adolescents frontal lobe and not fully myelinated, so they have not yet developed the capacity to fully integrate information and think in the same complex, logical or abstract ways that can adult can
• neuroplasticity occurs throughout the lifespan
• there are strategies to help people maintain their mental functioning across the lifespan