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The fundamentals of brain development: integrating nature and nurture

Published on September 15, 2010   40 min

A selection of talks on Neuroscience

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0:00
My name is Joan Stiles. I'm a professor of cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego, and Director of the UCSD Human Development Program. The title of my talk is 'Fundamentals of Brain Development: Integrating Nature and Nurture'. In the past two to three decades, there have been tremendous advances within developmental neurobiology in our understanding of brain development. These advances extend to all levels of the developing system from understanding the role of gene expression to the organization of neocortex. With those advances have come fundamental changes in the underlying models of how this complex biological system emerges. In contrast to older maturational models in which inherited factors prescribe the course of development and determine developmental outcomes, the emerging picture of brain development is of a dynamic and adaptive system that is constrained both by inherited factors and by the experience of the organism. Normal brain development requires the expression of very specific genes, but just as important are the specific input the organism receives. While this progress in understanding the biological basis of brain development is perhaps inherently interesting, it is legitimate to ask whether these developments in neurobiology have implications for other fields. Specifically, is it important for investigators studying other aspects of human development, in particular psychologists, to know about brain development?
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I will argue in this talk that it is. But the question is why. Knowledge of contemporary models of brain development is important. Because in fact, most traditional models of behavioral development rely on assumptions about biological development. But the models behavioral scientists evoke are not current. Thus, the underlying assumptions about critical issues concerning the origins of behavior are out of date. Alignment of our models of brain and behavioral development is essential for progress in understanding how humans develop biologically, cognitively or socially. The purpose of this talk is to provide an overview of some very basic principles of brain development drawn from contemporary developments of neurobiology that may be of use to investigators from a wide range of disciplines, and in particular to developmental psychologists, whose specific focus is the origin of knowledge and its biological underpinnings.

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