Emotion Regulation Neurodevelopment & the Caregiver

Presented by Nim Tottenham, PhD

This webinar will be presented live on Wednesday October 2nd, 2024 at 4pm US Eastern time. Through the kindness of the presenter, a recording of the webinar will be available here.

Dr. Nim Tottenham

Humans have the most complex emotional repertoire in the animal kingdom, but it takes a very long time to reach full adult functioning. The nature of emotional brain development maximizes its chances of being influenced by social environments. Variations in early species-typical experiences, such as parental caregiving, reveal the profound effects of such influences on the development of neurocircuitry involved in affective learning and regulation (e.g., amygdala, hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex). This talk will focus on both typical development as well as development following caregiving-related stress showing that early life environments may influence development through learning and modification of developmental trajectories. These age-related changes will be discussed in terms of potential developmental sensitive periods for environmental influence.

Nim Tottenham, PhD is the Chair and Professor of Psychology at Columbia University and Director of the Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory. Her research examines the development of emotional behavior and associated brain maturation. In particular, her research has highlighted the powerful role that early experiences, such as caregiving and stress, have in brain development. She has authored over 140 journal articles and book chapters. She is a frequent lecturer both nationally and internationally on human brain and emotional development. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and of the Society for Experimental Psychologists. Her scientific contributions have been recognized by the National Institute of Mental Health BRAINS Award, the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology, the National Academy of Sciences Troland Research Award and the Flux Congress Linda Spear Award. 

A recording of the webinar will be available here.