How would you connect the concepts of the overproduction of synaptic connections and their subsequent retraction, or pruning, with the nature-versus-nurture issue?
What will be an ideal response?
Nearly twice as many synaptic connections are made as will ever be used. The connections that are used become strengthened and survive, while the unused ones are replaced by other pathways or disappear. In the language of neuroscience, these connections will be "pruned." For example, the more babies engage in physical activity or use language, the more those pathways will be strengthened. This indicates that while brain development is initially a product of genes (or nature), in time, the environment (or nurture) will also partly determine the course of brain development. Thus, both heredity and environment are thought to influence the timing and course of synaptic overproduction and subsequent retraction.
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In autism spectrum disorder, a condition that involves deficits in language, sensory processing, and social behavior, abnormalities in the ________ are common
a. ?putamen b. ?reticular activating system c. ?hippocampus d. ?cerebellum
The main problem with evaluating research-based specialized clinics versus general private practice treatment is that researchers tend to be
a. too withdrawn from everyday realities. b. focused on one specific disorder and do not address comorbidity. c. unable to consider psychosocial variables. d. only concerned with research reports.
Serja has just started a new job and is highly anxious. Her psychologist friend, Frieda, tells Serja that to cope with the stress she should say to herself,
A. "I have no control over this situation, so I'm not going to worry about it." B. "I can throw myself into this job full-time since I have very few friends." C. "This job is a challenge that I know I can rise to!" D. "If I fail at this job, it won't be the first time."
Socialinteractionists ________
A) note that the brain regions housing language also govern similar perceptual and cognitive abilities, such as the capacity to analyze musical patterns B) point out that grammatical competence may depend more on specific brain structures than do other components of language C) hold that an active child strives to communicate, which cues caregivers to provide appropriate language experiences D) assume that children make sense of their complex language environments by applying powerful cognitive capacities of a general kind