Charles A. Nelson, Ph.D.
M.I.N.D. Institute Distinguished Lecturer Series – May 10, 2006
Biographical Information
Charles A. Nelson, Ph.D., is the Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatric Developmental Medicine
Research at Harvard Medical School and Director of Research in the Developmental Medicine
Center at Children’s Hospital Boston. Dr. Nelson studies the effects of early experience on brain and
behavioural development, with specific interest in the effects of early biological or psychosocial
adversity. His research program focuses on the development and neural bases of memory, face and
emotion processing, and executive functions in both typically developing children and children at
risk for neurodevelopmental disorders. Prior to his 2005 move to Harvard, Dr. Nelson held the
Distinguished McKnight University Professorship and the Lindahl Professor for Excellence in
Teaching in Learning at the University of Minnesota, and served on the National Academy of
Sciences panel that wrote From Neurons to Neighborhoods. In addition to his service on numerous
boards and advisory committees, Dr. Nelson chairs the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation Research Network on Early Experience and Brain Development.
Presentation Abstracts
The Development and Neural Bases of Face Processing (4 pm)
Prior to the onset of language, most communication between infants and caregivers takes place
through non-verbal channels, particularly face reading. In this talk I will describe how the ability to
process faces develops. I will begin by outlining what is known about this ability in the adult, then
move to what is known about this ability in infants and children. In both cases I will focus to a great
degree on the cognitive neuroscience literature of face processing, as that literature will inform us
about how the brain becomes specialized to process faces. I will conclude by discussing several
theoretical models that purport to account for the development and neural bases of face processing.
The Effects of Early Institutionalization on Brain and Behavioral Development: A Model System for
Studying Neural Plasticity (6 pm)
Thousands of children are adopted each year into US homes, many from outside the United
States. Of these internationally adopted children, a surprisingly large number spent their first weeks
or months of life in institutional settings. In this talk I will discuss a large project currently taking
place in Bucharest, Romania, designed to examine the effects of early institutionalization on brain
and behavioral development. A unique element of this project is that a subset of our previously
institutionalized children are being raised in foster care; thus, we are able to examine the efficacy of
this intervention as a treatment for the negative sequelae associated with early institutionalization. In
my talk I will discuss not only the findings from our study, but as well, the implications such findings
have for understanding the role of experience in brain and behavioral development.