Developmental psychobiology - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Developmental_psychobiology

Developmental psychobiology
Developmental psychobiology is an interdisciplinary field, encompassing developmental
psychology, biological psychology, neuroscience and many other areas of biology. The field covers
all phases of ontogeny, with particular emphasis on prenatal, perinatal and early childhood
development. Conducting research into basic aspects of development, for example, the
development of infant attachment, sleep, eating, thermoregulation, learning, attention and
acquisition of language occupies most developmental psychobiologists. At the same time, they are
actively engaged in research on applied problems such as sudden infant death syndrome, the
development and care of the preterm infant, autism, and the effects of various prenatal insults
(e.g., maternal stress, alcohol exposure) on the development of brain and behavior (see Michel &
Moore, 1995).

Developmental psychobiologists employ and integrate both biological and psychological concepts
and methods (cf. Michel & Moore, 1995) and have historically been highly concerned with the
interrelation between ontogeny and phylogeny (or individual development and evolutionary
processes; see, e.g., Blumberg, 2002, 2005; Gottlieb, 1991).

Developmental psychobiologists also tend to be systems thinkers, avoiding the reification of

artificial dichotomies (e.g., "nature" vs. "nurture"). Many developmental psychobiologists thus take
exception to both the favored methods and theoretical underpinnings of fields like evolutionary
psychology (see, e.g., Lickliter & Honeycutt, 2003).

One of the goals of developmental psychobiology is to explain the physical development of the
nervous system and how that affects the individual's development in the long term. As seen in a
study performed by Molly J. Goodfellow and Derick H. Lindquist, rats exposed to ethanol during
early postnatal development experience structural and functional impairments throughout the
brain, including the hypothalamus. These developmental complications caused the ethanol-
exposed rats to lose their long-term memory capabilities, but maintain a nearly equal short-term
memory capacity to that of the control rats. For more information about how ethanol affects the
postnatal development of rats, see (e.g., Molly J. Goodfellow and Derick H. Lindquist, 2014).

See also
▪ Behavioral neuroscience
▪ Pre- and perinatal psychology
▪ Childbirth
▪ Pregnancy

References
▪ Michel, G. F., & Moore, C. L. (1995). Developmental Psychobiology: An Interdisciplinary
Science. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press ISBN 978-0262133128

1 of 2 1/07/2022, 8:38 am
Developmental psychobiology - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developmental_psychobiology

▪ Blumberg, M.S. (2002). Body Heat: Temperature and Life On Earth. Harvard University Press
ISBN 978-0674013698
▪ Blumberg, M.S. (2005). Basic Instinct: The Genesis of Behavior. Basic Books
ISBN 978-1560259008
▪ Gottlieb, G. (1991). Individual Development and Evolution: The Genesis of Novel Behavior.
Oxford University Press ISBN 978-0195068931
▪ Goodfellow, Molly J.; Lindquist, Derick H. (March 2014). "Significant long-term, but not short-
term, hippocampal-dependent memory impairment in adult rats exposed to alcohol in early
postnatal life". Developmental Psychobiology. 56 (6): 1316–26. doi:10.1002/dev.21210 (https://
doi.org/10.1002%2Fdev.21210). PMID 24691725 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24691725).
▪ Lickliter, Robert; Honeycutt, Hunter (2003). "Developmental Dynamics: Toward a Biologically
Plausible Evolutionary Psychology". Psychological Bulletin. 129 (6): 819–835.
doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.6.819 (https://doi.org/10.1037%2F0033-2909.129.6.819).
PMID 14599279 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14599279).

External links
▪ The International Society for Developmental Psychobiology (http://www.isdp.org) - An annual
forum for the presentation and dissemination of new research and findings in developmental
psychobiology.
▪ Developmental Psychobiology journal (https://archive.today/20130105083728/http://www3.inter
science.wiley.com/journal/29287/home)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Developmental_psychobiology&oldid=884774886"

This page was last edited on 23 February 2019, at 22:48 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; additional terms may apply. By
using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

2 of 2 1/07/2022, 8:38 am