2-160 - Exploring the Impact of Cross-Disciplinary Research in the Field of Child Development

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Understanding the environmental factors and biological processes that promote healthy child development is no simple feat. While the interface between human and animal research has resulted in rapid advancement of medical sciences, can this cross-disciplinary approach provide similar breakthroughs in social sciences, such as the field of child development? Human research provides rich assessment of the influence of cultural, psychosocial, and biological factors on child outcome, but oftentimes these factors cannot be adequately controlled for the assessment of cause-effect relationships. Furthermore, human research faces ethical, technical, and efficiency challenges when assessing the human brain and behavior across the lifespan. Conversely, animal studies of development provide strong experimental control and manipulation, as well as more time-effective assessments of brain processes and behavior across the lifespan; however, they do not account for the rich complexity of the human condition.

In this symposium, we will present examples of studies across the field of child development which successfully utilized human and animal research in tandem. Furthermore, we will bring forth discussion on the importance of fostering collaborative efforts across disciplines of child development (i.e. developmental psychology and neuroscience). By highlighting a bidirectional, translational process between human and animal research, the studies and discussion presented here will demonstrate how cross-disciplinary research has enabled rapid advancement of knowledge related to child development, and informed treatment and intervention strategies in a meaningful and efficient way.

Sub Unit

• Biology and Neuroscience

Chair

• Rosemarie Perry, New York University

Discussant

• Regina Sullivan, New York University School of Medicine & Nathan Kline Institute

Individual Presentations

• The Impact of Poverty on Mother-Infant Interactions: A Cross-Species Study - Presenting Author: Rosemarie Perry, New York University; Eric D. Finegood, New York University; Stephen Braren, New York University; Meriah Lee DeJoseph, New York University; Donald Wilson, New York University School of Medicine & Nathan Kline Institute; Regina Sullivan, New York University School of Medicine & Nathan Kline Institute; C Cybele Raver, New York University; Clancy B. Blair, New York University

• Sensitive Periods in Affective Development: Nonlinear Maturation of Fear Learning in Rodents and Humans - Siobhan S. Pattwell, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; BJ Casey, Yale University; Presenting Author: Francis S. Lee, Weill Cornell Medical College

• Multiple Memory Systems and the Ontogeny of Eyelid Conditioning in Humans and Rodent Models - Presenting Author: Mark Stanton, University of Delaware