During the past years there has been rapid progress in the understanding of how early life stress impacts psychopathology in children. The first two parts of this book present the basic principles of brain development and describe the most important neuronal systems. This includes systems involved in emotion processing, cognitive control, and social processes. These first two general sections are followed by an overview about recent research on various neuronal and psychiatric disorders, where environmental exposures and altered brain development play an important role: sleep, autism, ADHD and other developmental forms of psychopathology.

Brain development, whether typical or atypical, provides the foundation for all behavior and possible psychopathology.  This volume takes a comprehensive and translational approach in describing how basic neuronal patterning occurs, organizes into systems, and forms functional and inter-connected networks.  The role that hormones and genes play in influencing brain development is also described.  The resultant emotional, cognitive, reward, and social systems show how typical development proceeds.  The second part of the book describes when the process of development goes awry.  Here, a number of childhood disorders are covered.  Autism, ADHD, emotional syndromes of bipolar disorder and depression, oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder, and sleep and schizophrenia are included in this volume. Written by leading experts in their respective fields, this volume will be a valuable resource to mental health professionals as well as preclinical investigators hoping to gain additional understanding about the neurobiology of the developing brain.