A womb with a view: ultrasound for evaluation of fetal neurobehavioral development

This commentary offers a brief historical perspective that anticipated contemporary studies of fetal behavior and delineates two divergent trends that have merged in the development of ‘Fetal Psychology’. Focusing on ultrasound imaging as a technological advance for the study of fetal behavior, the paper discusses promises and pitfalls that arise when new methodologies are adopted. While fetal ultrasound has been in use for over half a century, the technology is fast becoming the gold standard for fetal behavioral studies. In this context, the Hata et al. study is discussed. A more recent use of ultrasound is its adaptation to investigations of fetal brain development. This effort, along with the on‐going studies of prenatal brain–behavior relationships, places the work within a developmental neuroscience context. The paper gives a hint of the promise such applications have with a sample of the author's recent work on fetal brain laterality, and speculates that major discoveries regarding human neurobehavioral development lay ahead as the field of fetal psychology matures. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.