Cited by 533Birth, Development, and HealthAnimal Behavior and ReproductionEvolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior

The biology of developmental plasticity and the predictive adaptive response hypothesis

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Bateson, Patrick, Gluckman, Peter, Hanson, Mark·2014·The Journal of Physiology

Abstract

Many forms of developmental plasticity have been observed and these are usually beneficial to the organism. The Predictive Adaptive Response (PAR) hypothesis refers to a form of developmental plasticity in which cues received in early life influence the development of a phenotype that is normally adapted to the environmental conditions of later life. When the predicted and actual environments differ, the mismatch between the individual's phenotype and the conditions in which it finds itself can have adverse consequences for Darwinian fitness and, later, for health. Numerous examples exist of the long-term effects of cues indicating a threatening environment affecting the subsequent phenotype of the individual organism. Other examples consist of the long-term effects of variations in environment within a normal range, particularly in the individual's nutritional environment. In mammals the cues to developing offspring are often provided by the mother's plane of nutrition, her body composition or stress levels. This hypothetical effect in humans is thought to be important by some scientists and controversial by others. In resolving the conflict, distinctions should be drawn between PARs induced by normative variations in the developmental environment and the ill effects on development of extremes in environment such as a very poor or very rich nutritional environment. Tests to distinguish between different developmental processes impacting on adult characteristics are proposed. Many of the mechanisms underlying developmental plasticity involve molecular epigenetic processes, and their elucidation in the context of PARs and more widely has implications for the revision of classical evolutionary theory.

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Crossref · 10.1113/jphysiol.2014.271460

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  • The 'predictive adaptive response' hypothesis proposes that cues received in early life program the development of a phenotype that is normally adapted to later environmental conditions and that negative health outcomes arise from a mismatch between the predicted and actual environment.

    “the”
  • This developmental plasticity would provide a mechanism for a predictive adaptive response, based on inputs from the maternal environment that could be used to program metabolic and reproductive survival pathways, to better prepare the offspring for the future world in which they may be expected to live.

    “This developmental plasticity would provide a mechanism for a predictive adaptive response, based on inputs from the maternal environment that could be used to program metabolic and reproductive survival pathways, to better prepare the offspring for the future world in which they may be expected to live [107].”

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Authors
Bateson, P., Gluckman, P., & Hanson, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Cambridge (GB)
  • University of Auckland (NZ)
  • NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (GB)
Corresponding author
Hanson, Mark
Venue
The Journal of Physiology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2014-05-30
Volume
592
Issue
11
Pages
2357-2368
ISSN
  • 0022-3751 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-7793
OpenAlex
W1576742444
Cited by
533
References
97
Citations by year
2026: 29 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 40 · 2022: 81 · 2021: 56 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 55 · 2018: 36 · 2017: 52 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 10
FWCI
5.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Journal of Physiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Gravida: The National Centre for Growth and Development
  • British Heart Foundation
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Birth, Development, and Health
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
Keywords
developmental plasticity, maternal nutrition, maternal stress, maternal body composition, developmental programming, epigenetic mechanisms, evolutionary theory, Darwinian fitness
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Physiological, Animals, Biological Evolution, Stress, Physiological, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Epigenesis, Genetic

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