1.3 Neuroplasticity (pt 2 - Ch.6)

What does synapse formation during learning involve?

• circuit pruning
• pruning
• the process of myelination
• development of neural pathways

What does the process of developmental plasticity involve?

• a proliferation, experience, pruning and myelination
• proliferation, migration, pruning and myelination
• migration, pruning, learning and experience
• pruning, priming, experience and learning

When does plasticity of the brain occur?

• only in childhood
• only in response to medication
• as a result of a head injury
• throughout life

What happens in the circuit formation stage of development of the nervous system?

• Correct connection of each neuron is necessary.
• Neurons grow to their targets and form connections.
• Neurons continue dividing around a central neuron and form a circuit.
• Neurons that don’t make connections die.

Jade and her parents moved to Australia from Vietnam when Jade was an infant. Now that she is an adult, Jade speaks English fluently whereas her parents still struggle to speak English. Why might this be?

• Jade’s parents were too old for their brains to form any new neurological pathways when they moved to Australia.
• Adult brains display less plasticity for language acquisition than a young child’s brain.
• Adult brains display more plasticity for language acquisition than a young child’s brain.
• The development of brain plasticity means that it is impossible to learn a new language after childhood.

Which statement is true about developmental plasticity?

• It is a typical feature of childhood.
• It is evident in both a child’s brain and an adult’s brain.
• It occurs only in people recovering from serious brain injuries.
• It is more evident in some areas of the brain than in other areas of the brain.

The development of neural pathways in response to new experiences is known as:

• adaptive plasticity, which occurs in episodes of amnesia.
• adaptive plasticity, which occurs only in elderly people.
• adaptive plasticity, which occurs only in early childhood.
• developmental plasticity, which occurs only in early childhood.

What happens to the corpus callosum during adolescence?

• It thickens and there is an increase in connections between the two hemispheres.
• It thins out as more synapses are pruned.
• It becomes more active.
• It thickens and there is an increase in connections between the brain and the peripheral nervous system

Kristen is 15 and often becomes very emotional and cries in response to stress. Liana is 25 and can deal with stress calmly and rationally. Which structure of the brain has not yet developed in Kristen’s brain, but has in Liana’s?

• cerebellum
• amygdala
• corpus callosum
• frontal lobe

What does the term ‘adaptive plasticity’ refer to?

• changes in the brain in response to hormones
• changes in a newborn baby’s brain
• changes in the brain in response to learning
• changes in the size of the brain