The principle that growth follows a pattern that begins with the head and upper body parts and then proceeds down to the rest of the body.
Repetitive, cyclical patterns of behavior
The principle that development proceeds from the center of the body outward.
The principle that simple skills typically develop separately and independently but are later integrated into more complex skills.
The principle that different body systems grow at different rates.
The basic nerve cell of the nervous system.
The gap at the connection between neurons, through which neurons chemically communicate with one another.
A fatty substance that helps insulate neurons and speeds the transmission of nerve impulses.
The upper layer of the brain.
The degree to which a developing behavior or physical structure is modifiable.
A specific time when organisms are particularly susceptible to certain kinds of stimuli in their environment.
The degree of awareness an infant displays to both internal and external stimulation.
The period of sleep that is found in older children and adults and is associated with dreaming.
The unexplained death of a seemingly healthy baby.
Unlearned, organized, involuntary responses that occur automatically in the presence of certain stimuli.
A theory of how motor skills develop and are coordinated.
The average performance of a large sample of children of a given age.
A measure designed to determine infants’ neurological and behavioral responses to their environment.
A disorder in which infants stop growing due to a lack of stimulation and attention as the result of inadequate parenting.
The physical stimulation of the sense organs.
The sorting out, interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli involving the sense organs and brain.
The approach that considers how information that is collected by various individual sensory systems is integrated and coordinated.
The action possibilities that a given situation or stimulus provides.