Language processing is an extremely important, uniquely human cognitive ability. For well over a century, researchers have sought to understand how the human brain implements a system for instantaneously recognizing and generating complex linguistic patterns. Left perisylvian regions are considered to have certain computational abilities that are…

An increasing evidence supports the role of industrial chemicals as contributors to the development of neurobehavioral disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, whose prevalence has progressively increased in recent years. Heavy metals, in particular, are recognized as neurodevelopmental toxins since they can be responsible of fetal damages…

Epilepsy is a heterogeneous collection of neurological conditions and syndromes characterized by recurrent, unprovoked, paroxysmal seizure activity. It is estimated that 10.5 million children under 15 years have active epilepsy, representing about 25% of the global epilepsy population. Of the 3.5 million people who develop epilepsy annually, 40%…

Executive control (EC) develops rapidly during the preschool years and is central to academic achievement and functional outcome. Although children with perinatal adversity are at known risk for EC impairments, little is known about the underlying nature of these impairments or the mechanisms that contribute to their development over time. Drawing…

Background: Attention problems are among the most prevalent neurobehavioral morbidities affecting very preterm (VPT) born children. The first study aim was to document rates of persistent attention/hyperactivity problems from ages 4 to 9 years in a regional cohort of VPT born children. The second aim was to examine the extent to which persistent…

Summer slide, uneven growth of academic skills during the calendar year, captures the fact that the learning gains children make during the school year do not continue at the same pace over the summer, when children are typically not in school. We compared growth of reading skills during the school year and during the summer months in children…

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the influence of decreasing gestational age on the risk of developmental delay in various domains at age 4 years among children born at a wide range of gestational ages. Method: In a community-based cohort, the parents of 1439 preterm-born children (24 0/7 to 35 6/7wks) and 544 term-born children (38 0/7 to…

Moyamoya disease describes a cerebral arteriopathy characterized by stenosis or occlusion of the terminal internal carotid and/or the proximal middle cerebral arteries. We report a female child with trisomy 21 and bilateral moyamoya disease who presented, unusually, with a presumed perinatal cerebral infarct. The clinical, radiological, and…

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the frequency, risk factors, manifestations, and outcome of epilepsy in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) due to perinatal arterial ischaemic stroke (AIS). Method: The study group comprised 63 participants (41 males, 22 females) from a population-based CP register whose brain imaging showed…

Children with pre- or perinatal brain injury (PL) exhibit marked plasticity for language learning. Previous work has focused mostly on the emergence of earlier-developing skills, such as vocabulary and syntax. Here we ask whether this plasticity for earlier-developing aspects of language extends to more complex, later-developing language functions…

Aim: Plasticity in the developing brain is a controversial issue. Although language and motor function often recover remarkably well following early brain injury, recent evidence suggests that damage to the developing brain results in significant long-term neuropsychological impairment. Our aim was to investigate the relationship among age at…

Aim: The Infant Motor Profile (IMP) is a qualitative assessment of motor behaviour of infants aged 3 to 18 months. The aim of this study was to investigate construct validity of the IMP through the relation of IMP scores with prenatal, perinatal, and neonatal variables, including the presence of brain pathology indicated by neonatal ultrasound…

Aim: Little is known of minor neurological dysfunction (MND) in infancy. This study aimed to evaluate the inter-assessor reliability of the assessment of MND with the Touwen Infant Neurological Examination (TINE) and the construct and predictive validity of MND in infancy. Method: Inter-assessor agreement was determined in a sample of 40 infants…

Traditionally early brain insult (EBI) has been considered to have better outcome than later injury, consistent with the notion that the young brain is flexible and able to reorganize. Recent research findings question this view, suggesting that EBI might lead to poorer outcome than brain insult at any other age. Exploring this early vulnerability…

The developing brain has the capacity for a great deal of plasticity. A number of investigators have demonstrated that intellectual and language skills may be in the normal range in children following unilateral perinatal stroke. Questions have been raised, however, about whether these skills can be maintained at the same level as the brain…