Over the past several decades, significant advances have been made in our understanding of the basic stages and mechanisms of mammalian brain development. Studies elucidating the neurobiology of brain development span the levels of neural organization from the macroanatomic, to the cellular, to the molecular. Together this large body of work provides a picture of brain development as the product of a complex series of dynamic and adaptive processes operating within a highly constrained, genetically organized but constantly changing context. The view of brain development that has emerged from the developmental neurobiology literature presents both challenges and opportunities to psychologists seeking to understand the fundamental processes that underlie social and cognitive development, and the neural systems that mediate them. This chapter is intended to provide an overview of some very basic principles of brain development, drawn from contemporary developmental neurobiology, that may be of use to investigators from a wide range of disciplines. © The Author(s) 2010.

An applanation tonometer was used to estimate intraocular pressure in normal eyes of several species of raptors. No bird had active injury or illness, though some were nonreleasable to the wild because of previous injury. Mean (+/- SD) intraocular pressure was 20.6 (+/- 3.4) mm of Hg in red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis, n = 10), 20.8 (+/- 2.3) mm of Hg in Swainson's hawks (Buteo swainsoni, n = 6), 21.5 (+/- 3.0) mm of Hg in golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos, n = 7), 20.6 (+/- 2.0) mm of Hg in bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus, n = 3), and 10.8 (+/- 3.6) mm of Hg in great horned owls (Bubo virginianus, n = 6). There was no significant difference in intraocular pressure between hawks and eagles. Mean pressure in great horned owls was significantly (P < 0.01) lower than pressure in hawks or eagles. Reliable intraocular pressure readings could not be obtained in barn owls (Tyto alba).