PHYSICAL
DEVELOPMENT I
Counseling 5670D
Dr. Cyndi Matthews
Life’s beginnings
PRE-NATAL
DEVELOPMENT
WHAT ARE THE 3
STAGES?
The Germinal Period
• The period of development that takes place two weeks after
conception
• Significant biological developments that occur in this stage
include
• Creation of the fertilized egg
• Cell division
• Attachment of the zygote to the uterine wall (approximately 10-14
days after conception.
• During the cell division that occurs is vary rapid, and results
in:
• The formation of the blastocyst
• The inner group of cells will develop into the embryo
• The outer group of cells (the trophoblast) will provide nutrition
and support for the embryo.
Blastocyst at 5 days
The Embryonic Period
• Occurs 2-8 weeks after conceptions, during
which rate of cell differentiation intensifies,
support systems form, and organs appear.
• Embryo’s three layers form
• Endoderm-inner layer of cells which will develop
into digestive/respiratory systems.
• The ectoderm is the outermost layer which
becomes nervous system, sensory receptors, and
skin parts.
• Mesoderm- middle layer, which becomes the,
bones and muscles, as well as the circulatory,
excretion, and reproductive systems.
Embryo at 30 days
Embryonic stage (Cont’d)
• Development of support systems
• Amnion (Amniotic Fluid)
• An envelope which contains clear fluid in which the embryo floats.
• It provide temperature control, humidity control, and resistance to shock.
• Umbilical Cord
• Two arteries and a vein which the embryo develops that connect it to the
placenta.
• Placenta
• A disk shaped group of tissues in which samll blodd vessels from the mother and
offspring intertwine but do not join.
• Very small molecules of O2, H2O, Salt, and nutrients from the mother’s blood pass
to the embryo. Virtually any harmful chemical can cross the placenta to some
degree, unless it is metabolized or too large.
The Fetal Period
• This period lasts about 7 months, and extends from 2
months after conception to birth. It is typified by growth
and development of a dramatic rate.
• 3 months
• The fetus is 3 inches long and about 3 oz.
• Most features of the face are distinguishable, as well as the
limbs.
• Primary sexual characteristics are distinguishable
• 4 months
• Fetus is 6 inches long and about 4-7 oz.
• Growth spurts occur in the body’s lower parts, leg/arm
movements can be felt by mother.
• 5 months
• The fetus is 12 inches long and weighs approximately 1lbs.
• Skins structures have formed, and fetus displays more activity .
Fetal Development (cont.)
• 6 months
• Fetus is 14 inches long and weighs approximately 1lb and 6-12 oz.
• Eyes and eyelids are completely formed with a fine layer of hair covering
head.
• At six months, the fetus is for the first time viable (able to exist outside the
womb)
• Last months before pregnancy
• Fatty tissues develop and the functioning of various organs develop
rapidly
• The fetus grows rapidly in length and gains approx. 4 more pounds.
HAZARDS TO
PRENATAL
DEVELOPMENT
What is a teratogen? Examples?
• A teratogen is any substance that can potentially cause a birth
defect or negatively alter cognitive or behavioral outcomes.
• Teratogens include
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Drugs
incompatible blood types
environmental pollutants
infectious diseases
nutritional deficiencies
maternal stress
advanced age of biological parents
Teratogens:
What Influences the severity of damage?
• Dosage (increased if exposed to multiple teratogens)
• The greater a dose of a substance, the greater the effect
• Genetic Susceptibility
• The genetic predisposition of a mother and her ability to metabolize the drug
affects the severity of damage.
• As well, differences in the placental can affect exposure.
• For unknown reasons, male fetus are more susceptible to damage by teratogens
than female fetuses (DiPietro, 2008)
• Time of Exposure
• Damage during the germinal period may prevent implantation
• In general the embryonic period is the more vulnerable period.
What kinds of Drugs?
• Prescription/Non-Prescription Drugs
• Not all prescription/OTC drugs are
teratogens, but some can function as
teratogens.
• Can include antibiotics, anti-depressants,
some hormones, diet pills, and aspirin.
• Always talk to doctor about taking
• Psychoactive Drugs - drugs that act
on the nervous system to alter
consciousness, perceptions, and
moods.
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Caffeine
Alcohol
Nicotine
Cocaine
Methamphetamine
Marijuana
Heroin
What about Caffeine?
• This substance is often consumed in coffee, tea, soft drinks, or in chocolate.
• Studies currently conflict on recommendations about high levels of caffeine consumption and pregnancy
• A 2008 study (Weng, Odouli, & Li) reported increase risk of miscarriage in women who consumed more than 200mgs
of caffeine a day.
• A 2011 study (Brent, Christian, & Diener) reported no increased risk of miscarriage, malformations, or retardants of
growth.
• The FDA still recommends either abstaining from caffeine or sparing use of caffeine during pregnancy.
• Common Caffeine dosages
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16 oz coffee- 140-206 mg.
7 oz tea-58mg
8 oz Soda-35 mg
8.4 oz Red Bull-80 mg
What about Alcohol?
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
• Cluster of abnormalities that appear in the children of pregnant women who drink
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Facial deformities
Defective limbs , face and heart
Learning disabilities
Intellectual Disabilities
• 1-2 servings of beer/wine or 1 serving hard alcohol can have an effect on the fetus
• The Surgeon General recommends no alcohol be consumed during pregnancy, and
some studies recommend not consuming alcohol at the time of conception.
What about Nicotine?
• Cigarette smoking is one of the primary methods
of ingesting nicotine, and carries the following
risks:
• Preterm births and low birth weights (Blood-Siegried &
Rende, 2010)
• Sudden infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
• Cardiovascular problems (Beyerlein et al., 2011)
• Links to childhood non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (Antonopoulos
et al., 2011)
• Links to development of ADHD (Knopik, 2009)
Cocaine
• Cocaine
• Risks
• Linked to lower arousal, reflexes, and self-regulation at
1 month of age
• Impaired motor development at 2 years of age
• Decreased rate of growth through 10 years of age
• Impaired language development and information
processing
• Susceptibility to developing ADHD
• Increased Behavioral problems, and likelihood being in
Special Education.
• Cautions regarding cocaine pregnancy research
• Social-Emotional factors in cocaine users lives
• Likelihood to use other substances
Methamphetamine, Marijuana, and Heroin
• Methamphetamine
• Is a stimulant that speeds up an individual's nervous system.
• Has been correlated with infant morality, low birth weight, memory
deficits, and various developmental problems.
• Marijuana
• Studies link exposure to lower intelligence, increased use of marijuana, and
other problems.
• Heroin
• Studies link exposure to behavioral difficulties, withdrawal symptoms,
attention problems.
What about Emotional Stress?
Implications?
• Potential impacts of emotional
stress
• Smaller hippocampus (reaction to
stress)
• Oxygen reduced to fetus
• Possible sexual orientation (3rd
trimester)
• Frequently mood disturbances or stress
lead to unhealthy behaviors such as
• Psychopathology
using chemicals to regulate mood and
failing to engage in appropriate pre• Find support (partner, spouse,
natal care.
church, family, friends, counseling)
• A 2011 study (Class et al.) found that
mothers with high levels of stress during
the 5th and 6th month of pregnancy were
more likely to deliver pre-term
• Maternal depression was found in two
research reviews to be linked to preterm birth and low-birth weight
Discuss in Groups:
• You have been asked to put
together a program for a local high
school to assist pregnant teens
stay in school and graduate.
• Who would you include in your
design team?
• What factors would you make sure
were a part of the program? And
Why?
• How long would you keep those
teens in the program? Why?
• How would you advertise it to the
teens?
Interpersonal Neuropsychology
for Counselors
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
COUNSELING 5670D
DR. CYNDI MATTHEWS
Fetal Brain Development
http://proxy.tamu-commerce.edu:13452/view/1779096
Size of the Brain
Parietal Lobe
(Knuckles)
Frontal Lobe
(Fingers)
Occipital Lobe
(Wrist)
Temporal Lobe
(Thumb)
Lobes of the brainBrain
• The Different Lobes of the brain may be remembered using this
simple mnemonic
• Friends
• Frontal Lobe
• Pleasant
• Parietal Lobe
• Opponents
• Occipital Lobe
• Tense
• Temporal Lobe
Lobes of the Human Brain
• Parietal Lobe
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Spatial locations and attention to spatial locations
Receives input from senses
Locations in Reach-Target
Shape/Size/Orientation of Objects to be manipulated.
• Frontal Lobe
• Contains most of the dopamine sensitive receptors in the brain (associated w/
reward, attention, long-term memory, and planning)
• Associated with Executive Function
• Language function’s in Broca’s Area
• Occipital Lobe
• Location of the Primary Visual Cortex
• Temporal Lobe
• Processing Auditory signals
• Language functions in Wernicke’s area.
• Memory
Midsaggital view of the brain
Limbic System
• Thalamus
• Relays and processing sensory stimuli (except olfactory)
• Regulates sleeping and waking states
• Hypothalamus
• Controls emotion, pituitary glands, circadian rhythms.
• Autonomic responses: sweating, panting, thirst, etc..
• Amygdala
• Emotional learning and conditioning.
• Hippocampus
• Associated with long-term memories and spatial recognition.
Synaptic Firing
• Video
Neurons in the Human Brain
Structures of the Neuron
• Dendrites
• Projections from cell-body that send/receive messages
• Axon
• Long extension from the cell body of the neuron
• Myelin Sheath
• Sheath of glial cells that facilitate message conduction.
• Terminal Endings
• End of the axons which contain small sacs of chemicals called
neurotransmitters
Function of the Neurons
• Neurons “fire” an electrical impulse due to excitation due to stimuli
• The message runs down one of the terminals
• The neurotransmitter sacs burst in the gap between axons called the
Synaptic Gap
• Neurotransmitters stimulate or inhibit “firing” of messages
Growth & Pruning
• Synaptogenesis
• Overgrowth of neural material
• Neural Pruning
• Much of the neural material will die off over the next 12 years.