scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Topic

Developmental plasticity

About: Developmental plasticity is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1721 publications have been published within this topic receiving 103438 citations.


Papers
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Reconceiving the genotype as an environmental response repertoire rather than a fixed developmental programme leads to three critical evolutionary insights, which suggest a more nuanced understanding of the genotypes and its evolutionary role.
Abstract: In recent decades, the phenotype of an organism (i.e. its traits and behaviour) has been studied as the outcome of a developmental ‘programme’ coded in its genotype. This deterministic view is impl...

53 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work examines how a 'norm of reaction' approach can be used in investigations of hormone-mediated plasticity to inform the following: how environmental cues affect the component hormones, receptors and enzymes that comprise any endocrine pathway.
Abstract: It is generally accepted that taxa exhibit genetic variation in phenotypic plasticity, but many questions remain unan- swered about how divergent plastic responses evolve under dissimilar ecological conditions. Hormones are signaling molecules that act as proximate mediators of phenotype expression by regulating a variety of cellular, physiological, and behavioral re- sponses. Hormones not only change cellular and physiological states but also influence gene expression directly or indirectly, thereby linking environmental conditions to phenotypic development. Studying how hormonal pathways respond to environ- mental variation and how those responses differ between individuals, populations, and species can expand our understanding of the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. Here, we explore the ways that the study of hormone signaling is providing new insights into the underlying proximate bases for individual, population or species variation in plasticity. Using several studies as exem- plars, we examine how a 'norm of reaction' approach can be used in investigations of hormone-mediated plasticity to inform the following: 1) how environmental cues affect the component hormones, receptors and enzymes that comprise any endocrine sig- naling pathway, 2) how genetic and epigenetic variation in endocrine-associated genes can generate variation in plasticity among these diverse components, and 3) how phenotypes mediated by the same hormone can be coupled and decoupled via independent plastic responses of signaling components across target tissues. Future studies that apply approaches such as reaction norms and network modeling to questions concerning how hormones link environmental stimuli to ecologically-relevant phenotypic re- sponses should help unravel how phenotypic plasticity evolves (Current Zoology 59 (4): 506-525, 2013). Keywords Hormone, Endocrine, Reaction norm, Developmental plasticity, Pleiotropy, Ecology, Network

53 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The developmental plasticity that accounts for the ill health of humans who are living in conditions of rapid economic change is commonplace in biology and understanding the evolutionary background sets the developmental origins of ill health in humans in context and has profound implications for public health.
Abstract: Fetal experience determines some of the characteristics of human adults. Well-nourished mothers have offspring who are adapted to affluent conditions; mothers on a low level of nutrition have offspring who are adapted to lean environments. If the mother's forecast of her offspring's future environment is incorrect, the health of her offspring may suffer severely. The developmental plasticity that accounts for the ill health of humans who are living in conditions of rapid economic change is commonplace in biology. Understanding the evolutionary background sets the developmental origins of ill health in humans in context and has profound implications for public health.

53 citations

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: Current knowledge regarding factors that regulate cortical plasticity are summarized, specific forms of reorganization induced by control of each factor are illustrated, and how to exploit these factors for clinical benefit is suggested.
Abstract: The brain is constantly adapting to environmental and endogenous changes (including injury) that occur at every stage of life. The mechanisms that regulate neural plasticity have been refined over millions of years. Motivation and sensory experience directly shape the rewiring that makes learning and neurological recovery possible. Guiding neural reorganization in a manner that facilitates recovery of function is a primary goal of neurological rehabilitation. As the rules that govern neural plasticity become better understood, it will be possible to manipulate the sensory and motor experience of patients to induce specific forms of plasticity. This review summarizes our current knowledge regarding factors that regulate cortical plasticity, illustrates specific forms of reorganization induced by control of each factor, and suggests how to exploit these factors for clinical benefit.

53 citations

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: An unbiased review of the literature indicates that the effects of sleep vary widely depending on ontogenetic stage, thetype of waking experience that precede sleep and the type of neuronal synapse under examination, and current theories that posit different roles for sleep in synaptic plasticity.
Abstract: Sleep is hypothesized to play an integral role in brain plasticity. This has traditionally been investigated using behavioral assays. In the last 10–15 years, studies combining sleep measurements with in vitro and in vivo models of synaptic plasticity have provided exciting new insights into how sleep alters synaptic strength. In addition, new theories have been proposed that integrate older ideas about sleep function and recent discoveries in the field of synaptic plasticity. There remain, however, important challenges and unanswered questions. For example, sleep does not appear to have a single effect on synaptic strength. An unbiased review of the literature indicates that the effects of sleep vary widely depending on ontogenetic stage, the type of waking experience (or stimulation protocols) that precede sleep and the type of neuronal synapse under examination. In this review, I discuss these key findings in the context of current theories that posit different roles for sleep in synaptic plasticity.

52 citations


Network Information
Related Topics (5)
Hippocampus
34.9K papers, 1.9M citations
83% related
Hippocampal formation
30.6K papers, 1.7M citations
82% related
Glutamate receptor
33.5K papers, 1.8M citations
82% related
Prefrontal cortex
24K papers, 1.9M citations
81% related
Dopaminergic
29K papers, 1.4M citations
80% related
Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
202316
202244
202172
202076
201953
201864