Breakfast Network Meeting #4: The Role of Experiences in Shaping Brain Development: How to Promote Sturdy Brain Development Judy Cameron, Ph.D. Friday, April 13, 2018, 8:30-10:30 AM PaTTAN Pittsburgh 3190 William Pitt Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15238
Dr. Judy Cameron will speak about how the architecture of the brain is formed as brain circuits are built from the prenatal period until about 25 years of age, with the greatest burst of development occurring in the early years of life. Her talk will show how experiences interact with genetics to shape the brain circuits that children form and will use the rest of their lives for all that they do: speaking, thinking, emotional regulation, activities, problem solving. The impact of early life adversity on the development of brain circuits and how to help children strengthen brain pathways to promote resilience will be discussed.
About the speaker: Judy Cameron, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychiatry and the Clinical Translational Science Institute at the University of Pittsburgh. For 10 years she was a member of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Early Experience and Brain Development and she is currently a member of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child and the Scientific Council of the Child Mind Institute. Research areas in Dr. Cameron’s lab include the interaction between genetic factors and early life experiences on shaping behavioral development, identification of factors that lead to stress sensitivity versus stress resilience, and the interactions between physical health and mental health. Dr. Cameron’s newest research initiative is Working for Kids: Building Skills™, which is a novel community-based program that teaches the fundamentals of brain development to those who work with children at a community level. This initiative provides a community training program and is evaluating the effect of this intervention on child development as well as health. The program has won innovation awards in Pittsburgh, as well as from the National Science Foundation.
The PA-AIMH Breakfast Network Meeting Series includes five breakfast meetings between September 2017 and June 2018, each providing education about issues related to infant and early childhood mental health. Every meeting will include an expert speaker, opportunities for Q&A, some time to network with others, and a light continental breakfast.
All are welcome! General public can attend for $10 per breakfast or $50 for the full series; discounts available for students and PA-AIMH me
