The University of Wisconsin Waisman Center on Mental Retardation and Human Development is engaged in biomedical and behavioral research. The biomedical research is in the areas of neurochemistry, neuroendocrinology, and neurophysiology. Neuroendocrinological studies aim to obtain a better understanding of the interactions of hormonal and nervous mechanisms, especially those contributing to control of development of the brain and the neuroendocrine system. Neurochemistry research includes studies of the teratogenic effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol and hyperthermia, of the neurochemistry of aggressive behavior and of the molecular mechanisms of synaptic function, with particular reference to the roles played by cyclic nucleotides, synaptic proteins and calcium. Research in Neurophysiology includes studies on audition, vision and somasthesis, as well as on the structure of the hypothalamus and interpenduncular complex. Behavioral social science research is in the areas of communication, intellectual development, socialization, treatment processes, and infant development. Communication studies include: Speech perception and production; the function of the peripheral auditory mechanisms; and language development and its relation to assessment and treatment of language disorders. Studies investigating social and intellectual development include research on memory, rehearsal, clustering, information processing, and investigation of the visual processes of the intellectually handicapped. Social research is concerned with the issue of stress on the family and interactions of handicapped children and their parents. Studies of treatment processes include family rehabilitation, applied behavioral analysis and modification, and classroom management of the severly developmentally disabled. Infant development is engaged in studies of cognitive, language, and social development of young infants, including a population of infants born after perinatal medical difficulties who are at risk for central nervous system dysfunction.
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