9: Nervous system development Flashcards Preview

Child Health Week 1 2017/18 > 9: Nervous system development > Flashcards

Flashcards in 9: Nervous system development Deck (43)
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1
Q

When does the brain begin to develop?

A

3rd week

2
Q

What are two factors affecting brain development?

A

Genetics

Environment

3
Q

What is a metabolic disease which can cause developmental delay or regression?

A

PKU

4
Q

Exposure to what environmental factors can affect brain development?

A

Alcohol, drugs

Nutrition in general

Viruses, bacteria

5
Q

When is the embryonic period?

A

Conception to Week 9

6
Q

When is the foetal period?

A

Week 9 to Birth (on average Week 40)

7
Q

What are the two initial layers of an embryo?

A

Epiblast

Hypoblast

8
Q

Cells migrate through what to form the mesoderm?

A

Primitive streak

9
Q

What are the three layers remaining after cells have migrated through the primitive streak?

A

Epiderm

Mesoderm

Endoderm

10
Q

Which germ layer develops into bone, muscle, cartilage and the vascular system?

A

Mesoderm

11
Q

Which germ layer develops into the skin, hair, nails and nervous system?

A

Ectoderm

12
Q

Which germ layer forms the skin, hair, nails and neural tissue?

A

Ectoderm

13
Q

Which germ layer develops into the gut and respiratory system?

A

Endoderm

14
Q

Why is it significant that the skin, hair, nails and brain develop from the same germ layer?

A

Neurocutaneous diseases e.g NF

15
Q

What is the first neural structure to form?

A

Neural tube

16
Q

What disorders occur if the neural tube doesn’t close properly during development?

A

Neural tube defects e.g spina bifida, anencephaly

17
Q

What zone is found inside the neural tube?

What does the outside of the tube form?

A

Ventricular zone

Cerebral cortex, i.e the brain itself

18
Q

The caudal part of the neural tube forms what?

A

Spinal cord

19
Q

What is neural patterning?

A

Cells in the brain develop specific functions depending on their position

20
Q

When is the foetal period?

A

Week 9 till birth

21
Q

Why does the brain develop sulci and gyri?

A

Originally flat but needs to fit through birth canal, so folds to maximise surface area

22
Q

Neurones ___ and then ___.

A

divide

migrate

23
Q

Can neurons multiply once they have migrated?

A

No

24
Q

Neurons migrate from the ___ of the brain to the ___.

A

ventricles to cortex

25
Q

What are two types of process found in neurons which allow them to communicate with each other?

A

Dendrites

Axons (much bigger)

26
Q

What percentage of neurons die off before birth?

A

50%

27
Q

If division and migration are the important processes of the prenatal period, what is the important process in the postnatal period?

A

Myelination

28
Q

What is myelin?

A

Fatty substances which insulates axons (allows nerve impulses to travel further and quicker)

29
Q

What directions does myelination occur in?

A

Bottom to top

Back to front

30
Q

Apart from myelination, what is required for the brain to develop in the postnatal period?

A

EXPERIENCE

i.e brain input

31
Q

In the postnatal period, a lack of ___ deprives the brain of the input it needs to develop.

A

experience

32
Q

Brain development is ___ by positive inputs.

A

enriched

33
Q

What period of life is very important for brain development?

A

Adolescence

(10-19 years-ish)

34
Q

What process describes the loss of neurons which aren’t used in order the maximise the efficiency of the brain?

A

Synaptic pruning

35
Q

Why do your emotions and brain function change so much during adolescence?

A

Anatomical reorganisation

36
Q

Supposedly…

oestrogen makes girls (more / less) stressed

androgen makes boys (more / less) stressed.

A

oestrogen - more

androgen - less

37
Q

Are brain insults in the first weeks of gestation compatible with life?

A

No - foetus will spontaneously abort

38
Q

What embryological structure causes major disease if it doesn’t form correctly?

A

Neural tube

39
Q

Name two neural tube defects.

A

Anencephaly (no brain)

Spina bifida

40
Q

What process, important for development in the postnatal period, may be disordered?

A

Myelination

41
Q

What are three types of myelination disorder?

A

Hypomyelination (not enough)

Dysmyelination

Demyelination

42
Q

What dietary problem has a huge impact on brain development?

A

Malnutrition

43
Q

Malnutrition has an effect in which period of life?

A

All of them

prenatal, postnatal, adolescence, adulthood, old age