Acosta Maria, Gallo Vittorio, Batshaw Mark L
Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
Adv Pediatr. 2002;49:1-57.
Brain development is an active process that continues throughout life. During the past few decades, increased knowledge of this process has led to an improved understanding of the causes of its disruption. Complex genetic and molecular processes have been identified as components of the sequence of events leading to mature brain formation. However, the limitations in our knowledge about brain development are still significant. For example, 10% to 20% of persons with severe mental retardation of unknown origin appear entirely normal by standard neuropathologic studies. In this chapter, we review normal brain development and discuss how alterations during this process can lead to developmental disabilities. An overview of the most important steps in brain development, the basic mechanisms involved, and possible etiologies for the clinical manifestations of developmental disabilities is provided. General concepts about brain development, timing, and environmental influences are also considered. As we learn more about the genetic mechanism and molecular processes underlying brain development, we will better understand the ontogeny of various developmental disabilities and hopefully improve approaches to prevention and treatment.
大脑发育是一个贯穿一生的活跃过程。在过去几十年里，对这一过程了解的增加使人们对其发育中断的原因有了更好的认识。复杂的基因和分子过程已被确定为导致成熟大脑形成的一系列事件的组成部分。然而，我们对大脑发育的认识仍然存在很大局限性。例如，10%至20%病因不明的重度智力发育迟缓患者经标准神经病理学研究显示完全正常。在本章中，我们回顾正常的大脑发育，并讨论这一过程中的改变如何导致发育障碍。本文概述了大脑发育中最重要的步骤、所涉及的基本机制以及发育障碍临床表现的可能病因。还考虑了有关大脑发育、时间安排和环境影响的一般概念。随着我们对大脑发育背后的遗传机制和分子过程了解得更多，我们将更好地理解各种发育障碍的个体发生，并有望改进预防和治疗方法。
