Intro to DCN
A field of interdisciplinary study examining cognitive development in relation to brain development
Developmental cognitive neuroscience
Technique used to measure long segments of electrical activity produced in the brain on the scalp
Electroencephalogram
The neural tube develops during this stage of prenatal development
Embryonic
Specific period of development when certain input is required or typical development will not be observed
Critical period
This may mark the onset of developmental brain changes associated with adolescence
Puberty
Developmental changes in the brain that are expected to be due to experiences specific to an individual, such as training with a musical instrument
Experience-dependent
The primary benefit of using fMRI
Spatial resolution
Birthplace of neurons
Ventricular zone
Within the maturational perspective, changes in levels of these may cause the end of sensitive periods
Neurotransmitters
Area of the brain implicated in impulsive behavior in adolescence
Prefrontal cortex
A view prevalent in the 17th century, proposing that a complete human is already contained in the male sperm or the female egg
Preformationism
Event-related potential components vary in timing, direction of amplitude, and spatial characteristics, and are expected to reflect this
Distinct cognitive processes
This portion of the neural tube develops into the sensory cortex
Dorsal
According to the interactive specialization perspective, this process leads to the closure of sensitive periods
Specialization/differentiation
Includes the nucleus accumbens and is found to be more active in adolescents than children and adults
Reward network
This viewpoint of human functional brain development holds that cognitive change is the result of growth of specific brain areas
Maturational viewpoint
Although infants are unlikely to cooperate during an fMRI study, they may complete a structural MRI, which is recommended for use with these two methods
ERPs and fNIRs
Seen when newly born neurons push older neurons towards the surface of the brain
Passive cell displacement
Prior experience making a brain region non-optimal for new learning
Entrenchment
Research from this perspective seeks to understand the many factors contributing to individual differences in adolescent brain development
Constructivist
Probabilistic epigenesis
Using this technique researchers attempt to solve the “inverse problem” of brain activity
Cortical source analysis
During the prenatal period, cells demonstrate great flexibility in their ability to differentiate, evidence of this
Plasticity
The presence of this may increase awareness of plasticity in adulthood
System instability
Function within this brain region indicates that females may develop a more mature “social brain” earlier in adolescence
Amygdala