The Influence of Early Environment: Maternal deprivation and isolation from positive sensory experiences are prominent features of orphan studies. Consequences of language and human deprivation include emotional disturbances, delayed cognitive and language skills, and abnormalities evident on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Although the preterm infant differs from a child who has been institutionalized or deprived of caregiving attention after full term birth, there are similarities, such as the altered temporal lobe structures, and the pattern of developmental impairments. There is growing evidence supporting the importance of parents in the NICU. Low frequency visits between parents and their hospitalized preterm infants have been associated with suboptimal outcomes, like child abuse and abandonment and adverse emotional functioning. NICU's in Sweden have been successful with engaging parents in care from admission to discharge and have reported shorter hospitalizations. There is also a growing body of evidence supporting positive sensory exposures for preterm infants, including maternal voice recordings, massage, skin-to-skin holding, and vestibular and kinesthetic interventions. In addition, my team has made important research findings pointing to the potential need for developmentally-appropriate sensory exposures in the NICU.