Child Development and Memory Quiz

The increase in volume and complexity of brain regions involved in processing information, learning, and memory. It involves the growth of neurons, dendrites, and synapses.

The increase in the number and myelination of axons, which improves the efficiency of information transfer between brain regions. It enables faster communication and coordination.

Techniques like MRI, fMRI, and DTI are used to study brain development by visualizing changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity over time.

The gradual improvement of abilities like counting, number recognition, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. This involves the interplay of cognitive, perceptual, and memory processes.

Specific brain regions like the parietal lobe, prefrontal cortex, and intraparietal sulcus are involved in arithmetic computations and are activated during arithmetic tasks.

A learning disability characterized by difficulties in understanding and manipulating numbers, leading to challenges in arithmetic and math skills.

A standardized measure of cognitive ability, typically expressed as a single score, reflecting an individual's intellectual potential and performance in various cognitive domains.

IQ is composed of different cognitive abilities like verbal reasoning, spatial reasoning, working memory, and processing speed. Each component reflects a different aspect of intelligence.

The inability of adults to recall events from their early childhood, typically before the age of 3-4 years old.

Childhood amnesia has two phases: 1) Absence of memories from the first 2-3 years of life, and 2) Spotty recall of events from ages 3-7 years.

Children's ability to form and retrieve memories develops over time. Younger children can acquire memories but forget them faster than older children.

A theory of childhood amnesia that suggests that the brain is constantly updating and restructuring memories, which can lead to the loss of early memories.

Emerging brain structures like the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex play a crucial role in memory formation and are still developing in early childhood, which may contribute to the loss of early memories.

Working memory is the temporary storage system that holds information actively being used for cognitive tasks. It allows you to manipulate and process information in the present moment.

Working memory is temporary and limited in capacity, used for active processing. Long-term memory is vast, permanent storage for knowledge and experiences.

Central executive: controls attention, switches between tasks, inhibits distractions. Phonological loop: holds and manipulates auditory information. Visuospatial sketchpad: holds and manipulates visual and spatial information.

Miller proposed that working memory has a limited capacity of about 7 'chunks' of information.

The central executive is the control center of working memory, managing attention, switching tasks, and inhibiting distractions.

The phonological loop is responsible for holding and manipulating auditory information, like words and sounds.

The visuospatial sketchpad is responsible for holding and manipulating visual and spatial information, like images and locations.

Working memory capacity increases steadily throughout childhood, reaching peak performance around late childhood.

Factors include increased capacity, improved processing speed, acquisition of knowledge, and development of strategies for remembering.

Chunking, rehearsal, and mnemonics can help organize information, keep it active, and improve memory.

Tasks that require processing and storage of increasing amounts of information, until recall errors are made, are used to measure working memory capacity.

Short-term memory is purely about storage, while working memory involves active processing and manipulation of information.

Working memory is crucial for learning as it allows for processing new information, integrating it with existing knowledge, and applying it to new situations.

Individuals with working memory difficulties may struggle with listening, following instructions, organizing thoughts, and completing tasks efficiently.

The volume of grey matter in the cortex more than doubles in the first year, with significant expansion in areas related to sensory functions, such as the superior temporal, parietal, postcentral, and occipital cortices.

In the second year, grey matter expansion occurs in areas involved in higher cognitive functions, such as motor planning and visuospatial processing, including the superior frontal, inferior temporal, and inferior and superior parietal cortices.

Cortical thickness decreases between 3 and 21 years, while cortical surface area expands until the age of 12. This means different regions grow and shrink at different rates simultaneously.

FA measures the degree of directional restriction of water diffusion in white matter. Higher FA indicates more myelination and better connectivity.

Radial diffusion measures the diffusion of water perpendicular to the long axis of a white matter tract. Lower radial diffusivity indicates more myelination.

Different white matter tracts develop at different rates. Colossal tracts (connecting hemispheres) mature faster than association tracts (within a hemisphere) in the first two years.

The arcuate fasciculus, a language-related tract, shows greater development in the left hemisphere than the right in the first year, indicating the early emergence of language lateralization.

Brain development shifts from local regions to a more integrated network. This involves increasing white matter integrity, as shown by increased FA and decreased radial diffusivity.

Better working memory at 12 months is associated with higher FA and lower radial diffusivity, indicating a link between white matter development and cognitive abilities.

Decreases in grey matter in the fronto-parietal network are related to improvements in working memory and executive function in children and adolescents.

There are also positive relationships between grey matter volume in certain areas, such as the temporal, frontal, cingulate, precuneus, and early visual areas, and intellectual ability in children.

The relationship between grey matter and cognitive function is regional, with variations in different parts of the brain. For example, thinner parietal cortices predict better verbal learning, while thinner orbitofrontal cortex relates to better visuospatial recall.

There is a lot of variation in typical brain development, making it difficult to establish a standard volume for a particular age. This variability underscores the importance of individual differences in cognitive function.

Subtle deviations in early brain development can have long-term consequences for cognitive and emotional outcomes, with some effects becoming evident only later in life.

The development of key abilities like a sense of self, theory of mind, and language coincides with the emergence of enduring memories, suggesting a link between these cognitive milestones and the offset of childhood amnesia.

This theory explains childhood amnesia as a retrieval problem, suggesting that early memories are stored but inaccessible in adulthood.

The theory suggests that the brain's key memory structures, like the hippocampus and cortex, are not fully developed during early childhood, preventing the formation of lasting memories.

The dentate gyrus, a region in the hippocampus critical for memory formation, undergoes prolonged development after birth, potentially contributing to childhood amnesia.

While memories can form during infancy, the ongoing maturation of the brain after initial acquisition may disrupt the consolidation and stabilization of these memory traces, leading to childhood amnesia.

Information processing theories suggest that childhood amnesia arises from impairments in memory encoding (forming), storage (keeping), or retrieval (accessing) of memories early in life.

While information processing theories propose memory encoding, storage, or retrieval deficits as explanations, evidence suggests that these may not fully account for childhood amnesia.

The hippocampus binds experiences together by processing relationships between stimuli, and then strengthens these links with other brain areas, ultimately making the memory independent of the hippocampus for its maintenance.

As children age, the neural structures and network connections supporting memory develop, leading to more efficient memory formation and consolidation.

In the first two years, memory formation is fragile due to immature brain structures supporting memory.

As children age, their memories become more detailed, integrated, and less prone to forgetting due to improved brain structures and processing.

With time, memory representation develops, incorporating more features, leading to higher quality, autobiographical memories.

Brain development, particularly in the hippocampus and surrounding areas, plays a significant role in improving memory capacity and reducing memory loss.

Early brain structures and network connections are less efficient, making it harder to store memories for the long term.

Early memories are more vulnerable to fading as the rate of forgetting is faster than in adolescence and adulthood.

While early memories may be fragile, some do survive and become stronger over time due to improved brain function.