This term distinguishes parental care involving high amounts of holding and body contact from distal care, where infants are put down, and which is more common in Western cultures. The term derives from anthropological research, where hunter-gatherer bands have been found to carry their babies in slings more than 80% of daylight hours, to …
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Proton
Discovered by Ernest Rutherford in 1918). it is a positively charged particle to be found in an atomic nucleus. The number of protons in a nucleus gives the atomic number of an element, the latter being found in the periodic table of elements. A proton has a charge +1 that is the exact opposite of …
Protein tyrosine kinase
Tyrosine kinase receptor/pathwayA protein kinase phosphorylating tyrosine participating in numerous processes in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation. It also has a function in maintaining adult tissues. When tyrosine is phosophorylated, it results in a change in the function of protein The phosphorylation of tyrosine residues in turn results in a change in the function of …
Proteins
Any of a group of complex organic compounds or macromolecules containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and usually sulfur, the characteristic element being nitrogen. Widely distributed in plants and animals, they are the fundamental constituents of the protoplasm of all living cells, and include many substances, such as enzymes, hormones, and antibodies, necessary for the proper …
Protein-folding problem
The problem of determining the three-dimensional structure of a protein when the linear sequence of amino acids that identify the protein is known. Protein folding is the process, lasting a few tens of milliseconds, by which a protein evolves to this structure (termed its natural conformation) from an amino acid chain so that it can …
Prospective control (psychology)
The control of movements based on information about future events. It is thus the anticipation of what needs to be done in order to achieve an outcome based on perceptual information, and which in terms of an action to be performed to achieve this outcome such as prehension requiring a postural ‘set’ or preparation. It …
Protective factor
Influences on a child’s development that are likely to compensate for the effects of risk factors (e.g., sensitive parenting for a preterm child) or to protect a child from very likely risks (e.g., a reliable older sibling, positive teacher-student relationship). See Co-sleeping, Coping, Resilience, Risk factors, Self-concept
Prospective cohort
A longitudinal cohort of living individuals who are alike but who differ in terms certain well-defined characteristics followed over time, typically years, to gather information on changes as they occur. It is the gold standard design in epidemiology, for example, in the study of the etiology of disorders and diseases involving the measurement of risk …
Prospective control (neurophysiology)
Motor control relying on feedforward mechanisms. See Efference copy (or corollary discharge), Feedforward, Motor control
Prosopagnosia
Also known as ‘facial blindness’ and ‘facial agnosia’, it is a neurological disorder usually involving damage to the posterior right hemisphere (viz., fusiform gyrus) resulting in complete or partial loss of the ability to recognize familiar faces. However, some individuals with prosopagnosia are challenged in be able to distinguish between unknown faces and still others cannot …