PSYC 2012: Biological

Psychology I
Week 5: Developmental
Neurogenesis, and Brain
Development and
Environment

Goals of This Weeks

Lectures:
To learn how a structure as
complex and incredible as our
brain is formed and how brain
development is affected by
postnatal influences

The Human Brain

Has ~100 billion
neurons
It has even more
glial cells
All of these cells
have specialized
structure and
function

Where do all these cells come from,

and how do they become specialized
during development?
Developmental Neurogenesis

Developmental
Neurogenesis
The process by which neurons
are formed and specialize
during development

Gross Development of the

Human Nervous System

Early Stages of Human

Development
Zygote---from
fertilization to 4 days old
Blastula or Blastocyst
hollow ball of cells
forms around 4-5 days
Gastrula3-layered
ball of cells, forms 7-10
days

3 layers of the gastrula will

eventually form different
tissues
1) Ectoderm

outer layer, forms

skin and nervous
system
2) Mesoderm
middle layer,
forms muscle,
blood and bone
3) Endoderm
inner layer, forms
internal organs
lungs, liver,
intestines, etc.

Ectoderm then forms other

neural structures
Neural plate part of the
back ectoderm that forms
the neural tube and neural
crest by folding in on itself
Neural tubehollow tube
of cells that eventually
forms the spinal cord and
brain
Neural crestthese cells
eventually migrate out and
form the peripheral nerves
Incomplete folding of the
neural tube can result in
anencephaly (lack of brain
formation) or spina bifida

Formation of the Nervous

System

6 Main Processes That

Form the Nervous System
Cell proliferation
Cell migration
Cell differentiation & maturation
Synaptogenesis
Cell death and synaptic pruning
Myelination

Cell Proliferation:
The formation of two new
cells from one cell

Neural Stem Cell

Proliferation
Starts shortly after
conception and is mostly
complete 4-5 months
post-conception
Forms >100 billion
neuronal precursor cells
More neurons are
actually formed than are
needed

PNETPrimitive
Neuroectodermal Tumor
A rare but dangerous
tumor found in children
Forms because rarely
neural stem cells may
refuse to stop
proliferating like normal
5-year survival rate is
usually around 50%

Cell Migration:
The movement of cells from
one place to another

Neural Cell Migration

Starts around 8-9
weeks postconception and is
complete 2-3
months before
birth
Two main types of
migration:
1) Tangential
moving up/down
or around
2) Radialmoving
out from center

2 Main Migration Events in Neural

Development:
Tangential migration of
neural crest cells to form
Schwann cells and neurons
in peripheral nerves

Radial migration of
cerebral cortical neurons to
form the layers of the
cerebral cortexdefects in
radial migration of cortical
neurons can cause
lissencephaly, formation
of a brain without folds and
cortical layers

Differentiation:
The process by which
unspecialized stem cells or
precursor cells take on their final
specialized state

2 Types of Differentiation
Chemical differentiation:
hormones and other
chemical signals activate
master regulatory genes
genes that produce a
protein that then turns on
neuron-specific proteins
what are some examples
of neuron-specific
proteins?

Morphological
differentiation: cell taking
on its adult formdendrites
& axons begin to form
continues into childhood

2 Types of Differentiation
Chemical differentiation:
hormones and other chemical
signals activate master
regulatory genesgenes
that produce a protein that
then turns on neuron-specific
proteinsvoltage-gated ion
channels,
neurotransmitter
receptors,
neurotransmitter
synthesis enzymes, etc.
done by birth
Morphological
differentiation: cell taking
on its adult formdendrites &
axons begin to form
continues into childhood

2 Main Processes of
Morphological
Differentiation:

Grow dendrites
Extend axons

Growing Dendrites
Increase in the
length and
branching of
dendrites
Larger, more
complex dendrites
increases the
surface area for
synapse formation

Extending Axons
May need to extend
millimeters
Requires 2 cues:
1)Secretion of
chemoattractants from
the target cell that guide
the axon to them
2)Cell adhesion
molecules that then
grasp the axon and adhere
it to the target cell

Synaptogenesis:
The formation of a functional
synapse between an axon from
a presynaptic neuron and the
dendrites of a postsynaptic
neuron

Synaptogenesis

Starts during prenatal

development and continues into
late childhood

Creation of proper synaptic

structure by cellular activities in
both neurons:
1)Pre-synaptic neuron
needs
to synthesize and store
neurotransmitter vesicles
2)Post-synaptic neuron
needs
to form and insert
neurotransmitter receptors
into membrane

Number of synapses in the

human brain exceeds 100
quadrillion

Cell Death and Synaptic

Pruning

Key Point:
More neurons, and more
synapses, are formed during
development than are
actually needed

Neuronal Cell Death &

Neurotrophins
Neurotrophins
special hormone-like
chemicals secreted by
postysnaptic neurons
in response to
electrical activation by
presynaptic neurons
Neurotrophins are NOT
neurotransmitters but
instead promote
neuronal growth &
survival of presynaptic
neurons and
maintenance of their
synapses

Neurotophins & Neuronal

Cell Death
Post-synaptic cells
secrete neurotrophins
Neurotrophins promote
the survival of neurons
Neurons with a
stronger connection
get more neurotrophic
support; those with
weaker connections
dont and eventually
die
This sculpts away
neurons with weaker
connections, leaving
only ones with strong,
functional connections

Target
cell

(2)Strong
Neurotrophin
Support

Target
cell

(2)Weak
Neurotrophin
Support

(3) Continued
Survival
(1)Strong (1) Weak
Synaptic
Synaptic
Connection Connection

(3) Cell Death

Neurotrophins & Synaptic

Pruning
(2)Strong
Neurotrophin
Support

Target
cell

(3) Synapse
Maintenance

Target
cell

(3) Synapse
Elimination

(2) Weak
Neurotrophin
Support

Myelination:
The formation of myelin
sheaths around neurons

Myelination
Myelination begins just after
birth and continues into
young adulthood (mid 20s)
Does not progress evenly
throughout the brain
which brain regions do
you think myelinate first?
Which myelinate last?
Myelination allows neurons
to fire more rapidly so
greatly improves neural
communication
Defects in myelination lead
to leukodystrophies

Myelination
Myelination begins just after
birth and continues into young
adulthood (mid 20s)
Does not progress evenly
throughout the brain--regions
controlling basic sensory
analysis and simple
movement myelinate first,
regions involved with
decision-making and impulse
control like the prefrontal
cortex myelinate last
Myelination allows neurons to
fire more rapidly so greatly
improves neural communication
Defects in myelination lead to
leukodystrophies

Correlating Behavior with

Nervous System
Development
Motor Behaviors, Language
Development, and Problem
Solving

Grasping Motor
Behaviors
~2 monthshand orients
toward object and gropes to
hold it
~4 monthsgrasps with
entire hand
~6-8 monthsmature
grasp using fingers
individually
~10 monthsfine pincer
grasp for holding small objects

Neural Changes and Grasping

Motor Behaviors
Increased dendritic
maturation in motor
cortex neurons
Increased myelination of
motor cortex neurons at
both later stages of
grasp development
Decreases in cortical
thickness in the hand
region of the motor
cortexmay reflect
pruning of less effective
motor neurons and
synapses and selection
of the strongest
connections

Language Development
12 monthsvocabulary
starts to form, 5-10
words
24 months200-300
words
36 months500-1000
words, now using them
in sentences
72 months2500
words
Language acquisition
depends on childhood
environment

Major Neural Changes and

Language Development
1) Increased cortical
thickness in speech areas
of cortex for the language
the child is hearing and
speakingmay represent
1) increase in glial cells &
myelination
2) Increased dendritic
branching and synaptogenesis
2) Pruning of neurons and
synapses in speech areas
of other languages the
child is not hearing or
speakingchildren who are
raised bilingual will keep
around more speech sound
synapses

Loss of speech sound synapses

development makes it harder b
not impossible to learn new lan
In adulthoodit will just requir
formation of new synapses, wh
is obviously more difficult than
or strengthening existing one

Problem SolvingPiagetian
Stages of Development
Sensorimotor stage
birth-2 years old: object
permanence, cause-andeffect
Preoperational stage-26 years old: form mental,
word, and drawing
representations of things
Concrete operations-7
to 11 years old: mentally
manipulate dimensions,
mathematics,
conservation of mass
Formal operations
abstract reasoning

Neural Changes &

Piagetian Stages
Spurts of brain growth
accompany or precede
the changes in
Piagetian development
Neuronal number
doesnt change but
glial cell number,
myelination, and
dendritic branching
and synaptic density
all increase in the
cerebral cortex

Brain Development & the

Postnatal Environment
Cerebral
cortex
Hippocampus

Enriched Environments &

Neural Development in
Animals
Rats raised in an enriched
environment perform better
on cognitive tasks like solving
mazes than rats raised in
standard cages

The brains of these animals

had thicker cerebral cortex
and larger structures involved
in memory and emotion
regulation like the
hippocampus

Enriched Environments &

Neural Development in
Humans

Children in poor environments show

severe cognitive, language, social, and
motor defects

Conversely, children who are bilingual or

who learn to play music early in life have
better emotional and impulse control,
decision-making, and academic
performance

The brains of these children also show

enlargements of the cerebral cortex and
hippocampus compared to children who
are not bilingual and dont play an
instrument

Environmental enrichment may reflect

the influence of our experiences on
the formation and/or pruning of
synapses

Neural Changes to Enriched

Environments
Increased dendritic
branching in neurons in
the cortex
Increased dendritic
branching in neurons of
the hippocampus
Postnatal Neurogenesis
new neuron formation in
the hippocampus only
is also increased in rats
raised in an enriched
environment and in
humans too!

Exercise also increases

postnatal hippocampal
neurogenesis

Rats given a cage

wheel to run on had
equal or greater
neuronal proliferation
as rats raised in an
enriched environment

This may explain some

of the well-established
cognitive benefits of
regular exercise

What are Some Other Factors

Negatively Influencing
Postnatal Hippocampal
Neurogenesis?

Developmental Disorder:
Autism Spectrum Disorder

What are Some Symptoms of

Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Autism now affects 1 in 68 male live birth

Key Neural Changes in Autism

Under-Connectivity
Hypothesis

Undergrowth/underconnectivity: some brain regions

are smaller or less well connected
in autistic brains:
1) the hippocampus &
amygdalaemotion processing
2) the insular cortexsocial
processing
3) some brainstem nuclei
hearing and facial expressions
Undergrowth may reflect
defective proliferation of
neurons, defects in dendritic
branching and synapse
formation, or excessive
pruning

Non-autistic brain

Autistic brain

Key Neural Changes in Autism

the Over-Connectivity
Hypothesis
Overgrowth/over-connectivity:
some brain regions are larger or
overly connected in autistic brains:
1) basal ganglia &motor cortex
repetitive movements

2) sensory cortexfixation with

certain sensory stimuli
3) prefrontal corteximmersion in
own thoughts
Overgrowth may reflect excessive
neuron or synapse formation
and/or defective pruning of cells
or synapses

How do any of us develop a

normal brain?