Psychology - Early Brain Development

• Neural tube


  Long and extended structure that forms the early brain and spinal cord
• Differentiation of neural tube

  1. Front swells into forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain

  2. Back forms spinal cord
• Forebrain

  • Develops into cerebrum/cerebral cortex
  • Thalamus also comes from forebrain
• Midbrain

  • Develops into part of brainstem
• Hindbrain

  • Develops into cerebellum and rest of brainstem
• Around 6 months into pregnancy, brain is very similar structurally to adult brain with as many neurons
• Brain areas mentioned in specification

  • Cerebrum/cerebral cortex
  • Thalamus
  • Brainstem
  • Cerebellum
• Cerebral cortex

  • Outer 2-4mm surface layer
  • Folded for extra surface area
  • Contains mostly cell bodies
• Cerebral hemisphere lobes

  • Frontal lobe
  • Parietal lobe
  • Occipital lobe
  • Temporal lobe
• Frontal lobe

  Responsible for thought, planning, social behaviour
• Parietal lobe

  Used for touch sensors, integrating information
• Occipital lobe


  For visual information
• Temporal lobe

  For understanding spoken language
• Thalamus

  Acts as hub sending sensory information to correct cortex areas
• Brainstem


  Connects brain to spinal cord, provides basic autonomic functions
• Cerebellum

  Involved in balance and coordination
• Brain development

  Linked to function
• Autonomic functions

  Controlled by brainstem, not consciously (e.g. breathing, heart rate)
• Sensory processing


  Requires cortex and thalamus
• Voluntary movement


  Controlled by motor cortex, cerebellum also involved
• Cognition/thinking

  Requires frontal lobe development
• Nature


  Brain development influenced by inherited genetic factors
• Nurture


  Brain development results from interaction with environment
• Psychologists take interactionist approach - brain development influenced by complex combination of nature and nurture