Developmental Systems Theory as a Process Theory

Griffiths and Russell D. Gray (1994, 1997, 2001) have argued that the fundamental unit of analysis in developmental systems theory should be a process – the life cycle – and not a set of developmental resources and interactions between those resources. The key concepts of developmental systems theory, epigenesis and developmental dynamics, both also suggest a process view of the units of development. This chapter explores in more depth the features of developmental systems theory that favour treating processes as fundamental in biology and examines the continuity between developmental systems theory and ideas about process in the work of several major figures in early 20th century biology, most notable C.H Waddington

Developmental disorders

Introduction: Connectionist models have recently provided a concrete computational platform from which to explore how different initial constraints in the cognitive system can interact with an environment to generate the behaviors we find in normal development (Elman et al., 1996; Mareschal & Thomas, 2000). In this sense, networks embody several principles inherent to Piagetian theory, the major developmental theory of the twentieth century. By extension, these models provide the opportunity to explore how shifts in these initial constraints (or boundary conditions) can result in the emergence of the abnormal behaviors we find in atypical development. Although this field is very new, connectionist models have already been put forward to explain disordered language development in Specific Language Impairment (Hoeffner & McClelland, 1993), Williams Syndrome (Thomas & Karmiloff-Smith, 1999), and developmental dyslexia (Seidenberg and colleagues, see e.g. Harm & Seidenberg, in press); to explain unusual characteristics of perceptual discrimination in autism (Cohen, 1994; Gustafsson, 1997); and to explore the emergence of disordered cortical feature maps using a neurobiologically constrained model (Oliver, Johnson, Karmiloff-Smith, & Pennington, in press). In this entry, we will examine the types of initial constraints that connectionist modelers typically build in to their models, and how variations in these constraints have been proposed as possible accounts of the causes of particular developmental disorders. In particular, we will examine the claim that these constraints are candidates for what will constitute innate knowledge. First, however, we need to consider a current debate concerning whether developmental disorders are a useful tool to explore the (possibly innate) structure of the normal cognitive system. We will find that connectionist approaches are much more consistent with one side of this debate than the other

Introduction: The Third International Conference on Epigenetic Robotics

This paper summarizes the paper and poster contributions to the Third International Workshop on Epigenetic Robotics. The focus of this workshop is on the cross-disciplinary interaction of developmental psychology and robotics. Namely, the general goal in this area is to create robotic models of the psychological development of various behaviors. The term "epigenetic" is used in much the same sense as the term "developmental" and while we could call our topic "developmental robotics", developmental robotics can be seen as having a broader interdisciplinary emphasis. Our focus in this workshop is on the interaction of developmental psychology and robotics and we use the phrase "epigenetic robotics" to capture this focus

Behavior Problems in Toddlers With and Without Developmental Delays: Comparison of Treatment Outcomes

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of an in-home parent management program for toddlers with behavior problems and developmental delays by comparing outcomes for a group of toddlers with developmental delays (n = 27) and a group of toddlers without developmental delays (n = 27). The majority of children lived in single parent, low-income homes. Results suggest that the parent management program is equally effective for children with and without developmental delays. Parents from both groups reported clinically significant improvement in their children\u27s behavior and parenting practices. Clinical implications regarding the importance of these findings for improving outcomes for toddlers with behavior problems and developmental delays living in poverty were discussed

Neonatal morbidities and developmental delay in moderately preterm-born children

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Children born moderately preterm (32-35(6/7) weeks' gestation) are at increased risk of both neonatal morbidities and developmental delays in early childhood. It is unknown whether neonatal morbidities contribute to the increased risk of developmental delay. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of neonatal morbidities after moderately preterm birth on development at preschool age. METHODS: In a community-based, stratified cohort, parents of 832 moderately preterm children born in 2002 or 2003 completed the Ages and Stage Questionnaire when their child was 43 to 49 months old. Data on Apgar scores, asphyxia, tertiary NICU admission, hospital transfer, circulatory insufficiency, hypoglycemia, septicemia, mechanical ventilation, continuous positive airway pressure, apneas, caffeine treatment, and hyperbilirubinemia were obtained from medical records. We assessed associations of neonatal characteristics with developmental delay, adjusted for gender, small-for-gestational-age status, gestational age, and maternal education. RESULTS: Hypoglycemia and asphyxia were associated with developmental delay; odds ratios (ORs) were 2.42 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.23-4.77) and 3.18 (95% CI: 1.01-10.0), respectively. Tertiary NICU admission and hyperbilirubinemia had positive but statistically borderline nonsignificant associations with developmental delay: ORs were 1.74 (95% CI: 0.96-3.15) and 1.52 (95% CI: 0.94-2.46), respectively. No other neonatal morbidities were associated with developmental delay. In multivariate analyses, only hypoglycemia was associated with developmental delay (OR: 2.19; 95% CI: 1.08-4.46). CONCLUSIONS: In moderately preterm-born children, only hypoglycemia increased the risk of developmental delay at preschool age. A concerted effort to prevent hypoglycemia might enhance developmental outcome in this group

The Morphogenesis Of Evolutionary Developmental Biology

The early studies of evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-Devo) come from several sources. Tributaries flowing into Evo-Devo came from such disciplines as embryology, developmental genetics, evolutionary biology, ecology, paleontology, systematics, medical embryology and mathematical modeling. This essay will trace one of the major pathways, that from evolutionary embryology to Evo-Devo and it will show the interactions of this pathway with two other sources of Evo-Devo: ecological developmental biology and medical developmental biology. Together, these three fields are forming a more inclusive evolutionary developmental biology that is revitalizing and providing answers to old and important questions involving the formation of biodiversity on Earth. The phenotype of Evo-Devo is limited by internal constraints on what could be known given the methods and equipment of the time and it has been framed by external factors that include both academic and global politics

Developmental motifs reveal complex structure in cell lineages

Many natural and technological systems are complex, with organisational structures that exhibit characteristic patterns, but defy concise description. One effective approach to analysing such systems is in terms of repeated topological motifs. Here, we extend the motif concept to characterise the dynamic behaviour of complex systems by introducing developmental motifs, which capture patterns of system growth. As a proof of concept, we use developmental motifs to analyse the developmental cell lineage of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, revealing a new perspective on its complex structure. We use a family of computational models to explore how biases arising from the dynamics of the developmental gene network, as well as spatial and temporal constraints acting on development, contribute to this complex organisation

Beyond Tenure: Building Managerial Competencies through Developmental Assignments

Key Findings: • The developmental quality of job assignments is critical for building managerial competencies. What matters most isn’t how long junior managers have been in an assignment, but the nature of that assignment. • Not all junior managers take advantage of such job assignments. Managers with a strong learning goal orientation—who view challenging tasks as opportunities to learn—are more likely to be in highly developmental job assignments, provided they have access to them. • Certain managers gain more from developmental assignments than others. Managers with stronger learning goal orientations gain more from highly developmental assignments, in terms of competencies, than those with weak learning goal orientations

Developmental screening in South Africa : comparing the national developmental checklist to a standardized tool

Background: Worldwide, more than 200 million children in low- and middle-income countries have developmental delays and/or disabilities. In South Africa the only nationally implemented developmental 'screening' tool is integrated as part of 'The Road to Health Booklet (RTHB). Method: The study employed a comparative cross-sectional within-subject design to evaluate the accuracy of the RTHB developmental checklist against a standardized international tool i.e. the PEDS tools, consisting of the PEDS and PEDS: DM. A total of 201 participants were included through convenience sampling at primary health care facilities in Tshwane, South Africa. Results: Sensitivity of the RTHB developmental checklist is low, but specificity is high. The RTHB developmental checklist failed to identify more than half the infants at risk of delays or disorders. The nationally implemented developmental checklist is ineffective to identify at-risk infants. It should be adapted and validated or replaced in order to improve identification of at-risk infants