Clinical Implications of Current Findings in Neurodevelopment

Research in the last decade has advanced our knowledge about biological factors underlying neurodevelopmental processes in childhood. Genetic research has gone beyond mapping the human genome to identifying epigenetic factors and explicating gene-environment interactions. Biological markers of vulnerability to specific disorders have been identified. The functions of and interactions between neuroanatomic regions have been illuminated by new imaging and other noninvasive techniques, such as EEG, event-related potentials, and functional magnetic resonance imaging, that allow us to link earliest signs of disorders to neurological changes. This article provides an overview of current findings in neurodevelopment, and discusses diagnostic factors, prevention and intervention, and clinical implications.