Chapter 6

The Developing Brain

 Nature vs. Nurture
• The extent to which
cognition and behavior can
be attributed to genes or
environment
• Nature: Galton’s study of
Victorian genius
• Nurture: Freud; Vygotsky;
Skinner’s behaviorism
 Nature vs. Nurture: A
Middle Ground
• Piaget considered development as a cyclical process of
interactions between the child and his or her
environment leading to a progression through stages
• Genetic contribution = developing a brain that is ready
to learn in certain ways
• Environment = assimilating evidence via experience and
then developing new mechanisms in light of the
feedback obtained.
• Modern approach of neuroconstructivism is similar
although no strict adherence to stages, and emphasis
on brain-based constraints
Development of the Brain
 Prenatal Development of
the Brain
• Rapid cell division followed by differentiation into
different tissues
• Nervous system formed out of neural tube
containing proliferating cells (neuroblasts)
• Newly formed neurons either passively pushed to
their destination or actively carried via radial glial
cells
• Molecular gradients affect neural migration and
differentiation (connectivity profile)
From Cowan (1979). Copyright ©
1979 by Scientific American, Inc. All
rights reserved.
 Prenatal Development of
the Brain
• The connectome (86 billion neurons, each with 10,000
synapses) is far bigger than the genome: so genes cannot
provide a ‘blueprint’ at this scale
• Many structural features of the brain emerge from other
constraints
• Folded cortex emerges from having lots of neurons (evidence from
mice engineered to proeduce extra neurons)
• Pattern of gyri/sulci pulled into shape by tension of axon bundles
• Spontaneous electrical activity from retina strengthens synapses in
visual pathway (ready for sight)
 Prenatal Development of
the Brain
• DTI of premature infants shows
major tracts in place by 7
months
• Prenatal brain damage can lead
to major reorganisation of
tracts
• Rear: The structural MRI scan of a 10-year
old girl who failed to develop a right
hemisphere in the womb, showing the
intact LGN in the left hemisphere
(yellow). Front: fMRI brain activity in her
intact left visual cortex to stimuli
presented in both the right visual field
(green-blue) and – unusually – the left
visual field (yellow-red) 
 Postnatal Development of
the Brain
From Huttenlocher
and Dabholkar
(1997). Reprinted
with permission of
John Wiley & Sons
Inc.

• Vast majority of neurons formed prior to birth

• Postnatal increase in brain size related to: myelination; synaptogenesis;
glial cell proliferation
 Postnatal Development of
the Brain
• Even in adulthood, experience alone can lead to
small but observable structural changes (e.g.
juggling, driving a cab)
 Critical/Sensitive Periods
• Filial imprinting (Lorenz): Chicks identify parent by
forming attachment to moving object seen in a
particular time window; hard to form attachments
to new “parents” after this time  Suggests a
critical period
• Subsequent research suggests timing of window is
flexible (e.g. if no moving object is seen), and can
be changed, albeit gradually  Suggests a sensitive
period
 Critical/Sensitive Periods
(cont.)
• Vision: Sensitive period (in cats) at 4–5 weeks, in which
visual deprivation in one eye can lead to significant
drop in cells responding to both eyes
• Language: Lenneburg (1967) suggests adolescence is
critical:
• But different aspects of language may have different
windows (e.g. infancy crucial for phoneme perception)
• Case of Genie – evidence mixed for critical period
• Second language learning: fMRI/MRI suggests that second
language learning may depend on age of acquisition for
grammar
 Critical/Sensitive Periods
(cont.)

• When brain activity linked to grammatical processing is contrasted for first (L1) and
second (L2) languages, there are no differences for early bilinguals (L2 from birth).
However, L2 (relative to L1) is linked to more activity in language-related regions
when late bilinguals (L2 after 6 years) make grammatical judgments, irrespective of
their proficiency in that language. This suggests a sensitive period for efficient
grammatical acquisition. From Perani & Abutalebi, 2005
 Critical/Sensitive Periods
(cont.)
• What is the mechanism?
• A possibility: Genetically programmed synaptogenesis
(readies brain for learning), followed by reduced plasticity
(learned information is then “fossilized”)
• Closure of window could either be initiated by a pre-set
timetable or could, more flexibly, be initiated by learning
itself, i.e. an environmental cue
• Some evidence in favor of the latter (e.g. removal of
cataracts in infancy)
 Innate Knowledge?
• Different meanings of innate:
1. Innate = instinct, i.e. behavior selected by
evolution:
• Does not rule out a role for environment
• E.g. language learning requires exposure to words;
imprinting requires exposure to moving stimulus
2. Innate = arises without need for environmental
guidance
• This is the more controversial meaning
 Innate Knowledge?: Vision

Adapted from Crair et

al. (1998).

• Vision: Development of cat visual cortex in first 3 weeks is same

irrespective of whether it receives visual input (neurons become
selective to lines of particular orientations)
• After 3 weeks, vision is needed for normal development
• Consistent with second definition of innate
 Innate Knowledge? Likes
and Dislikes
• Prepared learning: Fear of snakes but not objects
suggests innateness, but tends to be socially
learned (consistent with first definition)
• Taste preferences by infants
• Harlow’s studies of maternal love argue against
behaviorist account (i.e. a learned response to
having needs met)
 Nature and Nurture of
Individual Differences
• Traditional approaches disentangle genes from
environment using methods such as:
• Twin studies
• Adoption studies
 Nature and Nurture of
Individual Differences
• Twin studies: Compare concordance rates in MZ vs.
DZ twins; the greater the difference in concordance
rates, the greater the assumed genetic contribution
• Adoption studies: Adopted children have same
environment but different genes to their adopted
family
• Heritability is computed from such studies
 The Concept of Heritability
• A measure of the degree of variance in a trait in the
population that can be assigned to genetic rather than
environmental differences
• Not the same as causation; e.g. if heritability is .80 then
can’t necessarily conclude that it is “mainly caused by
genes”
• Differences in environment necessarily lead to differences in
heritability. For example:
1. In societies where only some children go to school, then heritability of
“reading ability” will be lower
2. The number of fingers on our hands has low heritability (because
variation in the number of fingers is mainly due to accidents, even though
the standard number of fingers [10] is strongly genetic)
The Concept of Heritability
(cont.) • The approximate heritability of
various psychological abilities
and conditions: Attention
Deficit and Hyperactivity
Disorder, ADHD (Eaves, et
al., 1997); schizophrenia
(Gottesman, 1991); dyslexia
(Hawke et al., 2006); autistic
traits (Hoekstra, Bartels,
Verweij, & Boosma, 2007); IQ
(Bouchard & McGue, 1981);
spatial visualization, memory,
verbal fluency (Nichols,
1978); reading ability in
elementary school
(Thompson et al., 1991);
creativity (Nichols, 1978); and
social phobia (Kendler, Neale,
Kessler, Heath, & Eaves,
1992).
 Heritability of Brain
Development

• Heritability estimates…
• total brain volume are 0.94 (Bartley et al., 1997).
• cortical surface area they range from .30 to .43
depending on the region (Chen et al., 2012)
• gray matter and white matter density using VBM they
range from .69 to .85 (Hulshoff Pol et al., 2006) 
Heritability of Brain
Development

Correlations in gray matter

density between pairs of
MZ twins (left column) and
DZ twins (right column) for
three different views of the
brain (F = frontal pole, W =
Wernicke’s area, S/M =
somatosensory/motor
cortex).
 Linking Genetic Differences to
Brain and Behaviour
• Heritability estimates say something
about genetic influences, but say
nothing about the role of individual
genes
• Genotype-first approaches:
• take variations in a candidate gene 
measure behaviour
• Phenotype-first approaches:
• take variations in behaviour  measure
the genome (includes GWAS)
 Linking Genetic Differences to
Brain and Behaviour
• A ‘genotype-first’ example…

The D4 dopamine
receptor gene (D4DR)
exists in short and long
(S, L) polymorphisms and
the long variant is linked
to higher questionnaire
scores of novelty seeking
(TPQ = tridimensional
personality
questionnaire).
 Linking Genetic Differences to
Brain and Behaviour
• A ‘phenotype-first’ example…
This genome-wide
association study
(GWAS) of autism divides
the genome into different
regions (Chr 1 to 22 refer
to the different
chromosomes) and
measures the statistical
probability of an
association to the trait
(e.g. 4 = 10-4 =.0001)
 Mechanisms of
Gene-Environment Interplay

(1) Epigenetics. Environment alters gene expression

(2) Gene–environment correlation (e.g. genes cause people to
seek out certain environments; one’s environment isn’t left
solely to chance)
(3) Gene X environment interaction (whole greater than sum
of parts)
 Epigenetics
• Changes expression of the DNA code (but not the code
itself): small molecules bind to it
• Can’t (yet) be measured in vivo from neurons
 Epigenetics

• Increased stress response

in neglected rat pups
linked to epigenetic
changes in a gene coding
the glucocortcoid
receptor
• In humans, early abuse
has a similar effect lasting
into adulthood 
 Mechanisms of
Gene-Environment Interplay

(1) Epigenetics. Environment alters gene expression

(2) Gene–environment correlation (e.g. genes cause
people to seek out certain environments; one’s
environment isn’t left solely to chance)
(3) Gene X environment interaction (whole greater
than sum of parts)
 G-E Correlations
• E.g. novelty seeking genes (D4DR long linked to risk
taking)
• E.g. ‘challenging’ behaviour in children affecting
parenting style
 G X E Interactions

• Some classic studies from the Dunedin (NZ) cohort of 1000

births illustrate this…
• Caspi et al. (2002): MAOA variant X child maltreatment =
anti-social behaviour
• Caspi et al. (2003): 5-HTT variant X negative life event =
depression & suicidal thoughts
• Caspi et al. (2005): COMT variant X cannabis =
schizophrenic symptoms…
 G X E Interactions
• COMT gene involved in metabolism
of dopamine exists in two forms
(Val or Met)
• If you have a Val/Val genotype, and
you smoked cannabis during
adolescence, more likely to have
symptoms at age 26

Reprinted from Caspi et al. (2005).

Copyright © 2005, with
permission from Elsevier.c
 G X E Interactions
• Good example of how to move from ‘half nature,
half nurture’ explanation to understanding a
mechanism
• BUT: initial set of results remain controversial
• These ‘candidate gene’ approaches have been over-
taken by GWAS with far larger samples and the results
do not converge
• Resolution still lacking: Better measures of
‘environment’ (sensitive periods, positive as well as
negative effects, etc.)
 G X E Interactions
• Some people may be more sensitive to environmental
influences (good and bad)…

This study examined self

control in adolescents as
a function of variation in
parenting quality, and
according to genotype
(number of ‘plastic’ genes
including MAOA and 5-
HTT polymorphisms)