Charles A. Nelson III

Charles A. Nelson III is an American neuroscientist and psychologist whose work includes research towards understanding the intersection of brain and behavioral (particularly cognitive) development, with a particular interest in the effects of early experience on brain development. In this context Nelson and colleagues have spent more than a decade studying the development of orphans who have suffered extreme neglect.[1] He is co-author of the book Romania's Abandoned Children: Deprivation, Brain Development, and the Struggle for Recovery.[2] More recently, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Nelson is studying the effects of severe early biological and psychosocial adversity in infants and young children growing up in the Dhaka, Bangladesh. Finally, for the last decade Nelson has focused his work in Boston on infants and children at risk for developing autism, with a particular interest in developing brain-based tools that lend themselves to early identification of autism.

Dr. Nelson is Professor of Pediatrics and Neuroscience and Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School; Professor of Education at Harvard University; and a Professor in the Department of Society, Human Development and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health.[3] At Boston Children's Hospital, Dr. Nelson is the Director of Research in the Division of Developmental Medicine, Director of the Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience and is the Richard David Scott Professor of Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research.[4]

Dr. Nelson is frequently cited in print and TV media on topics as diverse as early brain development, the development of face perception, memory development, the effects of early psychosocial deprivation on development, and autism. He has published over 400 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters, has edited 8 books, and written 3 books.[5] He has also been a leader of large-scale research initiatives within the psychology and neuroscience communities, and has led, for example, a research network (funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation) on early experience and brain development.[6]

Early career

Nelson completed his undergraduate degree at McGill University in Montreal.[7] He has a master's degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas.[8]

Nelson completed postdoctoral training in electrophysiology at the University of Minnesota, then took his first faculty position at Purdue University in 1984, and then moved back to the University of Minnesota in 1986 to join the faculty in the Institute of Child Development. Nelson's research laboratory at the University of Minnesota used electroencephalography to study the development of young children, particularly face processing and memory development.[9]

Nelson Lab Studies

Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP)

Nelson is a lead researcher in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, along with colleagues Nathan Fox and Charles Zeanah. The three researchers began the project in Bucharest, Romania in 2000. In the study, infants, abandoned since birth and raised in institutions in Bucharest, were randomly assigned either to be removed from the institution and placed into foster care or to remain in the institutions.[10] The study is designed to examine the effects of institutionalization on the brain and behavioral development of young children and to determine if these effects can be remediated through intervention, in this case foster care. To date, BEIP has demonstrated that children raised in institutions suffer from a range of significant developmental challenges, and that children removed from institutional care and placed in high quality foster care have far better developmental outcomes than children who remain in institutions but the degree of recovery from institutional care is largely mediated by how long children remain in an institution.[11]

Bangladesh Early Adversity Project (BEAN)

The Bangladesh Early Adversity Project aims to assess the effects of early adversities (e.g, biological, environmental, psychosocial) on child cognitive development. To do this, Dr. Nelson has established a neuroimaging lab in Dhaka, Bangladesh where the project studies numerous cohorts below 5 years of age using methods such as EEG, fNIRS, MRI as well as behavioral measures.[12]

Emotion Project

The Emotion Project is a large, longitudinal study that explores how the nature and neural architecture of emotion processing develops from infancy to early childhood. 807 typically-developing infants participated in the study at either 5, 7, or 12 months of age.[13]

Infant Screening Project (ISP)

The main goal of the Infant Screening Project is to map early development and identify infants at risk for developing an Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or language and communication difficulties.[14] Despite tremendous advances being made in human understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the average age of diagnosis of an ASD in the United States is >3 years of age, although in some cases a reliable diagnosis can be made as young as 18 months.[15] By screening early and learning more about neural and behavioral functioning, Dr. Nelson and his team aims to improve techniques for early identification and intervention.

Bibliography

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Books

  • Nelson, Charles A.; de Haan, Michelle; Thomas, Kathleen M. (2006). Neuroscience and Cognitive Development: The Role of Experience and the Developing Brain. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
  • Nelson, Charles A.; Fox, Nathan A.; Zeanah, Charles H. (2014). Romania's abandoned children : deprivation, brain development, and the struggle for recovery. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

[16] [17]

Essays and reporting

  • Nelson III, Charles A.; Fox, Nathan A.; Zeanah, Jr, Charles H. (April 2013). "Anguish of the abandoned child". Child Development. Scientific American. 308 (4): 44–49. Retrieved 2015-04-29.

References

  1. ↑ Hamilton, Jon (February 24, 2014). "Orphans' Lonely Beginnings Reveal How Parents Shape A Child's Brain", NPR. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  2. ↑ Bahrampour, Tara (January 30, 2014). "Romanian orphans subjected to deprivation must now deal with dysfunction", The Washington Post. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Charles A. Nelson III Harvard Faculty Page".
  4. ↑ "Boston Children's Hospital Faculty: Charles A. Nelson".
  5. ↑ Nelson, Charles. "Charles A. Nelson, PhD | Boston Children's Hospital". www.childrenshospital.org. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  6. ↑ "MacArthur Foundation". www.macfound.org. MacArthur Foundation. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  7. ↑ Weintraub, Karen (February 17, 2014). "Bringing home plight of abandoned children", The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Charles A. Nelson, PhD Archived September 9, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.", Boston's Children's Hospital. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  9. ↑ Hughes, Virginia (July 29, 2013). "Detachment: How can scientists act ethically when they are studying the victims of a human tragedy, such as the Romanian orphans?", Aeon. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  10. ↑ Zeanah, CH; Nelson, CA; Fox, NA; Smyke, AT; Marshall, P; Parker, SW; Koga, S (2003). "Designing research to study the effects of institutionalization on brain and behavioral development: the Bucharest Early Intervention Project". Development and psychopathology. 15 (4): 885–907. PMID 14984131.
  11. ↑ Zeanah, Charles; Nelson, Charles; Fox, Nathan; Smyke, Anna; Marshall, Peter; Parker, Susan; Koga, Sebastian (February 2003). "Designing research to study the effects of institutionalization on brain and behavioral development: The Bucharest Early Intervention Project". Development and psychopathology. 15 (4): 885–907. doi:10.1017/S0954579403000452. PMID 14984131.
  12. ↑ https://vector.childrenshospital.org/2015/06/early-adversity-and-the-brain-bangladeshi-children-may-provide-lessons/
  13. ↑ "Emotion Processing in Infancy and Early Childhood". Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience.
  14. ↑ "Infant Screening Project". Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  15. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". Autism Speaks.
  16. ↑ Lazerson, Floyd E. Bloom; Charles A. Nelson; Arlyne; Bloom, Floyd; Lazerson, Arlyne (2001). Brain, mind, and behavior (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publ. ISBN 0716723891.
  17. ↑ Zeanah, Charles; Nelson, Charles; Fox, Nathan (January 6, 2014). Romania's abandoned children : deprivation, brain development, and the struggle for recovery. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674724704.
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