PSY-FPX6010 covers the biological and environmental foundations of human development before birth, establishing the starting point for the lifespan development sequence that follows.
Stages of prenatal development
PSY-FPX6010 covers the germinal, embryonic, and fetal periods of prenatal development, examining the specific developmental milestones and vulnerabilities characteristic of each stage, including critical periods when the developing organism is especially sensitive to environmental disruption.
Environmental factors affecting fetal development
The course covers teratogens (substances and conditions that can disrupt normal fetal development) — including specific effects of maternal substance use, illness, and stress — and the concept of critical/sensitive periods explaining why the same exposure can have dramatically different effects depending on developmental timing.
Key topics in PSY-FPX6010
- Germinal, embryonic, and fetal periods of prenatal development
- Critical and sensitive periods in prenatal development
- Teratogens and their effects on fetal development
- Maternal factors affecting fetal outcomes: substance use, illness, stress
- The role of genetics and environment interacting during prenatal development
- Long-term developmental implications of prenatal exposures
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Worked example: why timing determines a teratogen's effect
- Concept: Critical periods mean the same teratogen exposure can have very different effects depending on when during development it occurs
- Early embryonic exposure: Occurring during major organ formation, a teratogen may cause significant structural malformation
- Later fetal exposure: The same substance, encountered after major organ structures are already formed, may instead affect growth or more subtle functional development rather than causing structural malformation
- Lesson: "Is this substance harmful during pregnancy" is an incomplete question — timing during the pregnancy fundamentally changes the answer
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Frequently asked questions
A critical period is a specific window during development when a developing structure or system is most sensitive to environmental influence, meaning exposure to a potentially harmful substance or condition during that specific window can have significantly more severe effects than the same exposure occurring before or after that window. PSY-FPX6010 teaches this concept because it explains why questions like "is this substance dangerous during pregnancy" don't have a single, timing-independent answer — the same teratogen exposure during the embryonic period, when major organ systems are actively forming, can cause significant structural malformations, while the identical exposure later in the fetal period, after those structures have already formed, might instead primarily affect growth rate or more subtle functional development rather than causing major structural abnormalities.
Human development is a continuous process, and significant individual differences that become apparent later in life can sometimes trace back to prenatal factors — genetic influences, maternal health and stress during pregnancy, and specific prenatal exposures can all have effects that manifest well beyond birth, sometimes not becoming apparent until later childhood or even adulthood. PSY-FPX6010 begins the lifespan development sequence with prenatal development because a genuinely complete understanding of human development requires this starting point — treating birth as the beginning of development would miss meaningful prenatal influences on the individual differences and developmental trajectories that later courses in the lifespan sequence go on to examine in detail.