Perils and pitfalls on the path to normal potential: the role of impaired attention. Homage to Herbert G. Birch.

The research of Herbert Birch and colleagues, conducted 30 years ago in a rural area of Guatemala, called attention to the permanent noxious effects on cognitive development associated with conditions of poverty. Half of the world's population, including millions of persons in the United States, are still afflicted by these conditions. Included among these are malnutrition, disease, toxic agents, perinatal injury, and lack of intellectual/social stimulation. Recent research findings on the cognitive effects of these poverty-related variables are presented; the effects appear to be expressed in a reduction of the brain's capacity to engage in attentive behavior. Neuropsychologists, by virtue of their interests and training, are in a position to develop methods of assessing and correcting these deficits, and must become advocates of improved conditions to foster better brain development for all of the world's children.