Influence of Early Experience on Adult Brain Organization and Function

Early experience impacts adult brain structure and function but the extent of this influence and the mechanisms by which developmental neuronal plasticity affects adult brain function are unclear. Discussions of healthy and dysregulated development will help to define the questions that will be further addressed in animal models, and mechanisms responsible for developmental consequences will be analyzed at cellular and molecular levels. Some of the questions that will be addressed include: How do events of early development show up in our behavior as we age? What are the opportunities and risks during early development and their consequences for adult behavior? Can the identification of windows of “critical periods” in early development be used to reopen these windows at later points in the lifetime to enhance or regenerate adult function? The developmental origins of neurological and psychiatric disorders will frame many of the issues being addressed in this symposium.

Event Sessions

Media for each talk can be played by clicking on icons in the "Media" column, or by clicking on the individual talk titles below and then the attachment file at the bottom of the page.

Speakers	Media	Session Title
Nick Spitzer University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Terry Sejnowski Salk Institute for Biological Studies		Welcome & Opening Remarks
April Benasich Rutgers University-Newark		Early Brain Trajectories & Evolving Oscillations: Template for Mature Function?
BJ Casey Yale University		The Effects of Early Life Stress on Brain and Behavior
Catherine Dulac Harvard University		Neurobiology of the Parental Brain
Jay Giedd University of California, San Diego (UCSD)		The Amazing Teen Brain
Carla Shatz Stanford University		Making an Old Brain Young? From Developmental Critical Periods to Alzheimer’s Disease
Beth Stevens Harvard Medical School - Boston Children's Hospital		How Immune Cells Sculpt Developing Synaptic Circuits
Mark Bear Massachusetts Institute of Technology		Using Neurobiology to Overcome Genetic and Environmental Adversity
Matthew State University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)		Tracing the Path from Spontaneous Mutation to Neurobiology in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Terry Sejnowski Salk Institute for Biological Studies		The Challenge of Integration
Carla Shatz Stanford University Fred Gage Salk Institute for Biological Studies		Question and Answer Session, Closing Remarks