I Aims

Behavioral embryology, which incorporates neurogenesis and developmental neurobiology, involves the study of the very early development of the nervous system and behavior with a viewtoward understanding how the formative periods of neural and behavioral development affect later stages of neurobehavioral ontogeny. The guiding philosophy is that neural and behavioral development at any given point in time can only be comprehended fully in light of the immediate and remote developmental history of the organism. For atruly comprehensive picture, the forwardreference of development must also be considered. A most important and pervasive aspect of embryonic behavior is its anticipatory or preparatory naturecrucial adaptive functions always develop well in advance of their necessity for the survival of the newborn, and several writers have emphasized that aspect of development in particular (e.g., Anokhin, 1964; Carmichael, 1970; Coghill, 1929).

A subsidiary aim of behavioral embryology involves the establishment of detailed and intimate relationships between neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neurochemistry, and behavior. It is felt that these relationships can be established most readily and most meaningfully during the formative stagesof embryonic development, at which time the investigator is in a position to actually observe the increasingly complex changes in organization manifest themselves. A naturalistic theme pervades behavioral embryology in that most studies involve living specimens in their ordinary surroundings and, as far as is possible, there is an attempt to relate the results of in vitro studies to the in vivo and in situ conditions.

To paraphrase the words of Pearl (1904), the study of the ontogenetic history of an organismis regarded of prime importance in elucidating the adult condition. This method of study can gain thecomplete explanation of many structures and functions which are inexplicable when only the adult condition is considered. Thus, in many quarters, embryological study has come to be regarded as a necessary part of almost any anatomical, physiological, or behavioral investigation which aims at completeness, including human psychology. [See, for example, the recent review of behavioral embryology by Trevarthen (1973) for The Handbook of Perception. Carmichael's classical review of the older literature has been a standard feature of handbooks of child psychology for many years (Carmichael, 1933, 1970).]

In sum, the developmental method is basic to all disciplines which deal with organisms, whether from the genetic, biochemical, anatomical, physiological, behavioral, or psychological points of view, and behavioral embryology pushes this method of study to its logical extreme. The developmentalmethod is an analytic tool par excellence.

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Embryology - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics