November 3, 1999

Dear Ms. Whalen:

BIOBEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT

The NICHD framework for a strategic plan in biobehavioral development sets forth an important agenda for new directions in research aimed at understanding links across human behavior, genetics, and the developing brain, particularly in fetal behavior and developmental neurobiology. However, we would like to see the plan extended in at least three additional areas: early postnatal development, human developmental neurobiology, and the integration between psychology and developmental neurobiology. Furthermore, NICHD should place a stronger emphasis on how behavioral and environmental processes influence brain development.

As the plan already emphasizes appropriately, we know far too little about fetal behavior. This is also true for biobehavioral development during infant and toddler periods. The most rapid rates of synapse formation occur in the cerebral cortex during these developmental periods. We need to understand better the perceptual, cognitive, motor, affective, and social consequences of such rapid brain development.

It is also true that we know very little about how the human brain develops. Although some of the most basic, mechanistic aspects of biobehavioral development will have to be studied in nonhuman animal models, NICHD should make human developmental neurobiology an important research priority. We support the NICHD initiative to develop parallel behavioral models across species such as mice, rats or monkeys and humans. To meet this initiative, NICHD needs to build a cadre of researchers who focus on patterns of functional human synapse formation. In addition, NICHD needs to build a larger database for researchers to draw upon in their analyses of developmental processes.

Finally, the NICHD biobehavioral developmental research agenda would benefit from further integration between psychology and developmental neurobiology. For example, recent work in autism has begun to examine the relationship between perceptual, cognitive, and social behavior in the context of specific neurobiological systems. Researchers interested in emotion regulation have begun to examine the relationship between affective and cognitive processing and autonomic control. The plan should emphasize the developmental neurobiology of perceptual, cognitive, social, and affective behavior, and, in particular, the integration of these domains. The agenda should also place a stronger emphasis on how behavioral and environmental processes influence brain development.

OTHER COMMENTS

As mentioned above, the next set of comments go beyond the framework for the strategic plan and highlight areas that APA would like NICHD to emphasize in behavioral research.

Technology and Child Development

Computer and other interactive technologies have exploded in the last twenty years, bringing dramatic changes to the world in which children develop. Much effort is being devoted to providing more and earlier access to these technologies for all children, in schools and homes. Yet virtually nothing is known about the impact on cognitive, emotional, motor, and social development of extended use of these rapidly changing technologies or of immersion in a culture based on them. NICHD should establish priority for funding high quality, longitudinal behavioral research on effects of technology on developmental trajectories.

Emotional and Cognitive Development

Although recent attention has been given to the importance of early neurobiological development during the first three years of life, data about emotional and cognitive development during this same period are sparse. In addition, it is not clear how the development of empathy and the perception of emotions in others affect development in other important domains such as moral reasoning and behavior or social interaction in children ranging in age from infancy through adolescence. More research on how emotional development (infancy through adolescence) is related to behavior, cognition and early brain development is needed. In addition, NICHD needs to expand opportunities to develop and refine qualitative and quantitative research methods to address these issues.

Child Development in Adverse Environmental Conditions

More research is needed to understand better child development in adverse environmental conditions. For example, multidisciplinary and multi-method research is needed to address how poverty and the changing policy environment surrounding poor families affect family processes, family structure, and the health and development (social, cognitive, linguistic, affective, neurobiological, and academic) of children. We commend NICHD for its effort to build an inter-agency and trans-NICHD initiative to enhance research on the early development of children under conditions of poverty. We also support NICHD?s initiative to support more longitudinal research on legal and undocumented immigrants to identify sources of resilience within immigrant families as well as factors that can contribute to successful economic and health outcomes for immigrant children and families.

Childhood Injuries and Health Behavior Research

More research is needed to understand better behavioral, environmental, social, familial, and educational factors that influence behaviors that may lead to childhood injuries or that serve as childhood precursors or causes of adult diseases. This includes extending the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health to examine the impact of adolescent experience and behavior on health and well-being in the transition to adulthood. Such an extension will increase our understanding of the young adult population at a critical developmental stage with respect to health risk behaviors, trajectories of resilience and emotional health, and family formation.

Developmental Disabilities

NICHD should enhance behavioral research that will lead to a better understanding of causes of mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. In particular, additional multidisciplinary research investments are needed to understand better how the environment surrounding children with specific developmental disabilities affects the health and development (social, cognitive, linguistic, affective, and neurobiological) of these children. In addition, more research is needed to understand how these children influence family processes.

Dissemination Research

More research is needed to increase our strategies for infusing research findings into practice. This might include, for example, controlled efficacy and effectiveness tests of an intervention on reading methods developed from the best available research.

Methodology Development

Research is needed to advance the design and development of research methods. This includes the development ecologically valid methods for naturalistic and ethnographic research on development in context. In particular, NICHD needs to expand opportunities to develop and refine qualitative and quantitative research methods: about emotional development (infancy through adolescence) in relation to behavior, cognition and early brain development; in the area of developmental transitions and developmental connectionism; and to improve measurement of health, productivity, independence and quality of life constructs for persons with disabilities.

Training

NICHD should increase the support available for of training mechanisms to create a steady infusion of new scientists from diverse racial and ethnic groups to pursue research careers in the basic behavioral sciences. In addition, interdisciplinary research training is needed to encourage behavioral and biomedical scientists to learn each others? methods, procedures, and theoretical perspectives because health is affected by physiological and genetic factors, as well as behavioral, social, and environmental factors.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the NICHD strategic plan. We look forward to ongoing discussions about future directions and opportunities to increase scientific opportunities in human developmental research.

Sincerely,

Richard McCarty, Ph.D
Executive Director for Science

Cc: Duane Alexander, M.D.
Llisa Freund, Ph.D.

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