| brain growth spurts | periods of rapid growth and development
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| cell death | elimination of excess brain cells to achieve more efficient functioning.
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| central nervous system | brain and spinal cord
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| Denver Developmental Test | screening test given to children 1 month to 6 years old to determine whether they are developing normally.
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| depth perception | ability to perceive objects and surfaces three-dimensionally.
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| differentiation | process by which neurons acquire specialized structure and function.
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| fine motor skills | abilities that involve the small muscles and eye-hand coordination.
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| gross motor skills | physical skills that involve the large muscles.
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| infant mortality rate | proportion of babies born alive who die within the first year.
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| integration | process by which neurons coordinate the activities of muscle groups.
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| lateralization | tendency of each of the brain's hemispheres to have specialized functions
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| myelination | process of coating neurons with a fatty substance (myelin) that enables faster communication between cells.
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| neurons | nerve cells
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| plasticity | modifiability or "molding" of the brain through experience.
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| reflex behaviors | automatic, involuntary, innate responses to stimulation.
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| sudden infant death syndrome | sudden and unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant.
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| systems of action | increasingly complex combinations of skills, which permit a wider or more precise range of movement and more control of the environment.
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| visual cliff | apparatus designed to give an illusion of depth and used to assess depth perception in infants.
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