Recent work with both avian and mammalian infants has demonstrated that the sequential onset of functioning of the various sensory systems during prenatal development can serve as an important source of perceptual organization during the perinatal period. For example, evidence derived from precocial avian embryos and hatchlings indicates that unusually early (prenatal) visual experience can alter the normal functioning of both the auditory and visual systems during the postnatal period. However, the processes and mechanisms underlying this dynamic nature of early perceptual organization and the specific intramodal and intermodal consequences of such premature visual experience has only begun to be explicitly studied. In this application, research is proposed that will further understanding of how sensory systems and their respective stimulation histories are linked and influence one another during late prenatal and early postnatal development, in order to establish how usual (or abnormal) sensory experiences serve to maintain, facilitate, or interfere with the usual course of perinatal intersensory development. Related studies, utilizing precocial avian embryos and hatchlings, will employ an """"""""early exposure"""""""" design to examine: (1) what experiential factors determine whether modified sensory stimulation facilities or interferes with intrasensory and intersensory development, (2) the nature of the relationship between amount, type, and modality of sensory stimulation during the perinatal period, (3) the roles of embryonic attention and behavioral arousal in the development of early perceptual organization, and (4) how transient or long-lasting are the effects of modified prenatal sensory stimulation for precocial infants. The integration of research findings from the animal literature and the human infant literature will be facilitated through extensive directed readings and collaborations and interactions with experts in each field. The candidate will also organize and participate in specialized conferences and seminars, train graduate students, and contribute to the empirical and theoretical developmental literature concerned with intersensory integration.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research (K02)
Project #
5K02MH001210-05
Application #
6185305
Study Section
Psychobiology, Behavior, and Neuroscience Review Committee (PBN)
Program Officer
Kurtzman, Howard S
Project Start
1996-08-01
Project End
2001-04-30
Budget Start
2000-05-05
Budget End
2001-04-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2000
Total Cost
$89,333
Indirect Cost
Name
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
003137015
City
Blacksburg
State
VA
Country
United States
Zip Code
24061
Butters, Meryl A; Klunk, William E; Mathis, Chester A et al. (2008) Imaging Alzheimer pathology in late-life depression with PET and Pittsburgh Compound-B. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord 22:261-8
Meltzer, Carolyn Cidis; Price, Julie C; Mathis, Chester A et al. (2004) Serotonin 1A receptor binding and treatment response in late-life depression. Neuropsychopharmacology 29:2258-65
Lickliter, Robert; Honeycutt, Hunter (2003) Developmental dynamics: toward a biologically plausible evolutionary psychology. Psychol Bull 129:819-35
Honeycutt, Hunter; Lickliter, Robert (2002) Prenatal experience and postnatal perceptual preferences: evidence for attentional-bias in bobwhite quail embryos (Colinus virginianus). J Comp Psychol 116:270-6
Reynolds, Greg D; Lickliter, Robert (2002) Effects of prenatal sensory stimulation on heart rate and behavioral measures of arousal in bobwhite quail embryos. Dev Psychobiol 41:112-22
Bahrick, Lorraine E; Flom, Ross; Lickliter, Robert (2002) Intersensory redundancy facilitates discrimination of tempo in 3-month-old infants. Dev Psychobiol 41:352-63
Lickliter, Robert; Bahrick, Lorraine E; Honeycutt, Hunter (2002) Intersensory redundancy facilitates prenatal perceptual learning in bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) embryos. Dev Psychol 38:15-23
Bell-McGinty, Sandra; Butters, Meryl A; Meltzer, Carolyn Cidis et al. (2002) Brain morphometric abnormalities in geriatric depression: long-term neurobiological effects of illness duration. Am J Psychiatry 159:1424-7
Foushee, Rebecca D; Lickliter, Robert (2002) Early visual experience affects postnatal auditory responsiveness in bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). J Comp Psychol 116:369-80
Cidis Meltzer, C; Drevets, W C; Price, J C et al. (2001) Gender-specific aging effects on the serotonin 1A receptor. Brain Res 895:9-17

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