I. Development of the Brain

A. The role of environment in brain development
1. Rosenzweig--Rats in impoverished vs. rich environment--changes in the brain

2. Greenough--Similar effects, even in middle-aged and elderly rats

3. Effects of handling

4. Negative effects--fetal alcohol syndrome

B. Neurogenesis
1. Nottebohm--research on songbirds: evidence for neurogenesis

2. Gould (and Gross and colleagues)--evidence for neurogenesis in other animals including New World monkeys and Old World monkeys, and primates

3. Reaction to these findings--e.g., Rakic: little/no evidence

4. Gage (descendent of Phineas Gage)--fetal cell transplants in PD; evidence for neurogenesis in adult humans (cancer patients)

C. Negative environmental effects--teratogens

1. Radiation

2. Alcohol--fetal alcohol syndrome

3. Other substances

A. Distinction between sensation and perception

B. Empiricists (Locke, James)--newborns have little sensory/perceptual abilities

C. Nativists (Descartes, Kant)--newborns have innate sesnsory/perceptual abilities

A. Preference method

B. Habituation paradigm

C. Evoked potentials

D. High-amplitude sucking procedure