Question

Physical Development

1. Describe the changes in brain development that take place during toddlerhood, and identify the two most common methods of measuring brain activity.

2. Discuss how growth rate affects the eating habits of preschool children, and examine the most common nutritional problems of preschoolers.

Answer 1

1.Early childhood period years are a period of rapid changes in the brain. Tooddlerhood is the period from 1 to 3 years. The network of synapses grows rapidly during the first year and continues to do so during early childhood. Life experiences will activate certain neurons, create new neural connections among them and strengthen existing connections called myleination. Unused neurons and neural connections will be eliminated to increase the efficiency in neuronal transmission. This process is called synaptic pruning.

The most common methods to measure brain activity include EEG, fMRI and MEG

EEG ( Electroencephalograph)- measures the electrical activity generated by various cortical layers of the human brain.

fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging)- measures brain function by detecting changes in blood flow associated with neural activity.

2. Children grow more slowly between the ages of 2 and 6 than they did in the first 2 years of life, due to reduced appetite. The most common nutritional problems among preschoolers are insufficient intake of iron , zinc and calcium which can be attained from a proper diet. Overconsumption sweets is another problem that results in excess weight and tooth decay.