Prenatal Development of Postnatal Functions: (Advances in Infancy Research)

This book shows how, and in what ways, prenatal development serves as a preparation for life after birth. Largely, such explanation stemming from the transnatal continuity theory has been ignored in mainstream developmental psychology. However, since the advent of real-time ultrasonography with humans, and increasingly refined experiements with avian and mammalian species, plausible scenarios linking prenatal and postnatal development are beginning to emerge. One is the theory of fetal programming. Here, the authors provide authoritative reviews of current knowledge regarding continuities and discontinuities between prenatal and postnatal development of brain-behavior relationships across a variety of species, including humans.

Table of Contents:
Introduction by Brian Hopkins and Scott P. Johnson Pre- and Postnatal Sensory Experience Shapes Functional Architecture in the Brain by Sarah L. Pallas Are We Expecting too Much from Prenatal Sensory Experience? by Jean-Pierre Lecanuet, Carolyn Granier-Deferre, and Anthony DeCasper From Amion to Colostrum to Milk: Odor Bridging in Early Developmental Transitions by Benoist Schaal Prenatal Preparation for Early Postnatal Olfactory Learning by Richard H. Porter, Jan Winberg, and Heili Varendi Learning to Move before Birth by Scott R. Robinson and Gale A. Kleven Fetal Movements and Postures: What Do They Mean for Postnatal Development? by J. I. P. de Vries and Brian Hopkins Effects of Antenatal Maternal Stress or Anxiety: From Fetus to Child by Vivette Glover and Thomas G. O'Connor

About the Author :
Brian Hopkins is Professor in the Department of Psychology at Lancaster University. He was previously Professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Faculty of Human Movement Sciences. Scott P. Johnson is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at New York University. He has held previous posts at Lancaster University, Texas A&M University and Cornell University.

Review :
[R]eports on recent research on the connections between developments in prenatal structures and functions and postnatal developmental psychology. Topics addressed by the seven contributions include views of prenatal corticogenesis as informed by studies of gene expression and the manipulation of sensory experience, prenatal sensory experience and learning with the context of auditory modality, the acquisition of olfactory and gustatory prenatal preferences and their effects on behavior after birth, the idea that prenatal motor development is dependent on central pattern generators and proprioceptive feedback resulting from movement, prenatal to postnatal development of posture, and the effect of maternal stress and anxiety during pregnancy on postnatal development outcomes.