The Neurobiology of Brain and Behavioral Development

The Neurobiology of Brain and Behavioral Development provides an overview of the process of brain development, including recent discoveries on how the brain develops. This book collates and integrates these findings, weaving the latest information with core information on the neurobiology of brain development. It focuses on cortical development, but also features discussions on how the other parts of the brain wire into the developing cerebral cortex. A systems approach is used to describe the anatomical underpinnings of behavioral development, connecting anatomical and molecular features of brain development with behavioral development.The disruptors of typical brain development are discussed in appropriate sections, as is the science of epigenetics that presents a novel and instructive approach on how experiences, both individual and intergenerational, can alter features of brain development. What distinguishes this book from others in the field is its focus on both molecular mechanisms and behavioral outcomes. This body of knowledge contributes to our understanding of the fundamentals of brain plasticity and metaplasticity, both of which are also showcased in this book.

• Provides an up-to-date overview of the process of brain development that is suitable for use as a university textbook at an early graduate or senior undergraduate level
• Breadth from molecular level (Chapters 5-7) to the behavioral/cognitive level (Chapters 8-12), beginning with Chapters 1-4 providing a historical context of the ideas
• Integrates the neurobiology of brain development and behavior, promoting the idea that animal models inform human development
• Presents an emphasis on the role of epigenetics and brain plasticity in brain development and behavior

Dr. Gibb is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge. She received her Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD degrees from the University of Lethbridge. Gibb’s animal research is focused on how early experiences influence brain development and recovery from early brain injury. She has examined maternal prenatal experience and paternal preconception experience as factors that influence the organization of the developing brain and offspring behaviour lifelong. Gibb's human research is centred on early development and interrelationship of motor control, language, and executive function in preschoolers. She serves on the advisory board for the Institute of Child and Youth studies at the University of Lethbridge and is an affiliate with the Institute of Child and Youth Studies at the university. Dr. Gibb has co-authored a handbook on practical advice to promote healthy brain development in children and a curriculum for supporting parent/caregiver interactions to foster development of executive function. She has written or co-authored over 90 articles and book chapters and given more than 150 invited presentations on brain development to scientists, health professionals, educators, parents and the general public in the past five years.

Dr. Kolb is currently a Professor in the Department Neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge, where he has been since 1976. He received his PhD from Pennsylvania State University and did postdoctoral work at the U of Western Ontario and the Montreal Neurological Institute. His recent work has focused on the development of the prefrontal cortex and how neurons of the cerebral cortex change in response to various pre- and postnatal developmental factors including hormones, experience, stress, drugs, neurotrophins, and injury, and how these changes are related to adult behaviour. Dr. Kolb has published 6 books, including two textbooks with Ian Whishaw (Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology, 7th Edition; Introduction to Brain and Behavior, 5th Edition), and over 400 articles and chapters. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada. He is a Senior Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research program in Child Brain Development.