The Fundamentals of Brain Development: Integrating Nature and Nurture
This incisive and accessible account of brain development should be of great interest to the serious student of human behavior.  Stiles does a superlative job of reviewing a vast literature, and her discussion of nativism, and the nature/nurture problem, is brilliant. I wishThe Fundamentals of Brain Developmentcould be a foundational text for all graduate work in developmental psychology. (Charles A. Nelson, Professor of  Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School)The Fundamentals of Brain Development, as Stiles intended, is a timely survey of developmental neurobiology. Neuronal differentiation, migration, plasticity, sensitive periods, intrinsic factors and a discussion of experiential environments are all here. It is detailed, beautifully illustrated, thoroughly researched and should become a standard for any researcher who needs to look to neurobiological explanations to account for early developmental changes. (Bruce M. HoodNature2008-05-08)[Stiles] ends up taking readers through a surprisingly detailed exposition of brain development and constructing a scholarly synthesis that will inform not only developmental psychology but even all of neuroscience and cognitive science. (Mriganka SurScience2008-12-12)[Stiles] successfully blends the genetic regulation of brain development with the influence of environment at each developmental stage. (L. A. MeserveChoice2009-02-01)