The Fundamentals of Brain Development: Integrating Nature and Nurture
In a remarkable synthesis of the research of the last two decades, a leading developmental neuroscientist provides psychologists with a sophisticated introduction to the brain--the system that underpins the functions that they study.In clear terms, with ample illustrations, Joan Stiles explains the complexities of genetic variation and transcription, and the variable paths of neural development, from embryology through early childhood. She describes early developmental processes from gene expression to physiology to behavior. Sections on clinical correlations show the consequences for later physiological, neurological, or psychological disturbances in neural development.As Stiles shows, brain development is far more complex and dynamic than is often assumed in debates about nature vs. nurture, nativism vs. cultural learning. Inherited and experienced factors interact constantly in an ever-changing organism. The key question is, what developmental processes give rise to particular structures or mechanisms?A landmark of synthesis and interdisciplinary illumination, The Fundamentals of Brain Development will enrich discussion of developmental processes and more rigorously define the terms that are central to psychological debates.The central questions about psychological and biological development -- The gene: evolution of a concept -- Formation of the neural plate -- Formation of the neural tube -- Molecular patterning of the primary spatial dimensions of the embryo -- The production of brain cells: neurons and glia -- Neuronal migration and neuronal differentiation -- Shaping the emerging cortical network: the role of intrinsic and extrinsic factors -- Late prenatal and postnatal changes in human brain structure -- Plasticity and the role of experience in neocortical development -- The importance of brain development for psychology
