Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms in Psychopathology

Highlighting the importance of scientific progress in understanding the neurodevelopmental origins of psychopathology, this study presents the work of some of the most talented researchers in the field. Its chapters illustrate the interactional processes that characterize the genesis and maturation of the brain. They demonstrate how constitutional vulnerability to mental disorder can arise from the interplay of multiple factors. Dante Cicchetti and Elaine Walker offer invaluable perspectives for the pursuit of further research.

This volume represents a burgeoning perspective on the origins of psychopathology, one that focuses on the development of the human central nervous system. The contemporary neurodevelopmental perspective assumes that mental disorders result from etiologic factors that alter the normal course of brain development. Defined here in its broadest sense, neurodevelopment is a process that begins at conception and extends throughout the life span. We now know that it is a complex process, and that its course can be altered by a host of factors, ranging from inherited genetic liabilities to psychosocial stressors. This book features the very best thinking in the converging fields of developmental neuroscience and developmental psychopathology. The developmental window represented is broad, extending from the prenatal period through adulthood, and the authors cover a broad range of etiologic factors and a spectrum of clinical disorders. Moreover, the contributors did not hesitate to use the opportunity to hypothesize about underlying mechanisms and to speculate on research directions.

Part I. Basic Mechanisms in Prenatal, Perinatal and Postnatal Neurodevelopmental Processes and Their associations with High Risk Conditions and Adult Mental Disorders: 1. Principles of neurobehavioral teratology Linda Mayes and Anna Ward; 2. The neurodevelopmental consequences of very preterm birth: brain plasticity and its limits Chiara Nosarti, Larry Rifkin and Robin Murray; 3. Neurodevelopment during adolescence Linda Spear; 4. Prenatal risk factors for schizophrenia Alan S. Brown and Ezra S. Susser; 5. Obstetric complications and neurodevelopmental mechanisms in schizophrenia Tyrone Cannon and Isabelle M. Rosso; 6. Maternal influences on prenatal neural development contributing to schizophrenia Jason Shiffman, Sarnoff Mednick, Ricardo Machon, Matti Huttunen, Kay Thomas and Seymour Levine; Part II. Animal Models of Neurodevelopment and Psychopathology: 7. On the relevance of prenatal stress to developmental psychopathology: a primate model Mary L. Schneider, Colleen F. Moore and Gary W. Kraemer; 8. Nonhuman primate models of developmental psychopathology: problems and prospects Dario Maestripieri and Kim Wallen; 9. Early medial temporal dysfunction and autism Jocelyne Bachevalier and Katherine Loveland; Part III. Models of the Nature of Genetic and Environmental Influences on the Developmental Course of Psychopathology: 10. Genetic structure of neurodevelopmental traits: implications for the development and definition of psychopathology Richard Todd and John Constantino; 11. Prospects and problems in the search for genetic influences on neurodevelopment and psychopathology: application to childhood disruptive disorders Irwin Waldman; 12. Developmental psychoneuroimmunology: the role of cytokine network activation in the epigenesis of developmental psychopathology Doug Granger, Nancy A. Dreschel and Elizabeth A. Shirtcliff; 13. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system HPA and the development of aggressive, antisocial and substance abuse disorders Keith McBurnett, Jean King and Angela Scarpa; 14. Neuroendocrine functioning in maltreated children Dante Cicchetti; 15. Toward unraveling the premorbid neurodevelopmental risk for schizophrenia Matcheri Keshavan; 16. Interactions of the dopamine, serotonin and GABA systems during childhood and adolescence: influence of stress on the vulnerability for psychopathology Frances Benes; Part IV. The Neurodevelopmental Course of Illustrative High Risk Conditions and Mental Disorders: 17. Neurobiology of personality disorders: implications for a neurodevelopmental model Larry J. Siever, Harold W. Koenigsberg and Deidre Reynolds; 18. Genesis and epigenesis of psychopathology in children with depressed mothers: toward an integrative biopsychosocial perspective Sherryl H. Goodman; 19. The neurobiology of child and adolescent depression: current knowledge and future directions Joan Kaufman and Dennis Charney; 20. Psychosocial stressors as predisposing factors to affective illness and PTSD: potential neurobiological mechanisms and theoretical implications Robert Post, Gabriele S. Leverich, Susan R. B. Weiss, Li-Xin Zhang, Guoqiang Xing, He Li and Mark Smith; 21. Neurohormonal aspects of the development of psychotic disorders Elaine Walker and Deborah Walder.

This volume highlights the importance of scientific progress that has been made in the understanding of the neurodevelopmental origins of psychopathology. The chapters illustrate the interactional processes that characterize the genesis and maturation of the brain. They demonstrate how constitutional vulnerability to mental disorder can arise from the interplay of multiple factors, some specific and some nonspecific.