Developmental stress, behavior and the brain

Environmental conditions early in development are known to impact learning through organizational effects on the brain. In the extreme case, developmental challenges such malnutrition and exposure to pathogens or toxins can impair learning throughout life. On-going work in the Sewall lab is examining how environmental contaminants such as lead and mercury, postnatal nutrition, and early life infection may impair learning by interfering with postnatal brain development. Song learning in birds provides an excellent opportunity to pursue these questions because this form of learning occurs during a critical period early in life and is underpinned by neuronal growth within a specific neural circuit.