CRITICAL PERIODS IN BRAIN

4.00 points · University catalogue

CC/GS: Partial Fulfillment of Science Requirement The majority of our mental capacities—ranging from basic sensory functions to more advanced social, emotional and cognitive capabilities—take many years to develop and are highly influenced by environmental signals encountered during particular developmental ‘critical periods’. In this seminar we will explore examples of these periods across diverse brain systems and behaviors, ranging from vision and audition to social, emotional and cognitive development, by considering each example in the context of human brain function and behavior as well as at the level of more detailed neurobiological mechanisms underlying these changes elucidated by studies using non-human animal systems.