Neurodevelopment

Question 1

What did Jean Piaget believe about how children learn?

Answer 1

Piaget believed that children actively construct their knowledge through interaction with their environment.

Question 2

What are Jean Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development and their key features?

Answer 2

Sensorimotor (0–2 yrs): Learn through senses and actions.

Preoperational (2–7 yrs): Symbolic thinking, egocentric, no logic.

Concrete Operational (7–11 yrs): Logical thinking about concrete events, understands conservation.

Formal Operational (11+ yrs): Abstract reasoning, hypothetical thinking.

Question 3

What is synaptic pruning and why is it important?

Answer 3

t’s the brain’s process of eliminating unused neural connections, making the remaining ones stronger and more efficient.

Question 4

What is myelination and its function?

Answer 4

Myelination is the insulation of neural connections, which speeds up signal transmission between neurons.

Question 5

What is neuroplasticity and when does it occur?

Answer 5

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize neural pathways. It occurs:

During normal development and learning.

After injury, to compensate for lost functions.