Neurobehavioural Studies of Sensory-Motor Development and Its Origins

Abstract

There is still a lack of insight in how early biological risk factors may affect children’s adaptive behaviour during development. On the one hand, prospective studies up to preschool- and school age of groups at risk (as indicated by obstetrical or neurological complications, such as hypoxia or anoxia at birth, preterm birth, early growth retardation) present us with equivocal findings: specific risk factors, such as preor dysmaturity, have hardly no predictive value for neurobehavioural development. Findings are inconsistent with great intra- and interindividual variability. On the other hand, in retrospective studies early non-optimal biological conditions are more frequently found in groups who have developed behavioural and/or learning disorders than in non-disturbed controls. A variety of factors may contribute to the explanation of this discrepancy: possibly, only specific interactions between organic and environmental conditions may lead to unfavourable outcomes. Evidently, there are conditions in which the early status of the organism (or better the organism-environment system) does have impact for children’s neurobehavioural development. However until yet we largely fail to understand the mechanisms at work.