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Some children thrive; others don’t do so well. “I want to understand why risk factors –be it genetic or environmental– cause a developmental disorder in some children and not in others. What are the psychological functions and brain circuits that make the difference?” asks psychologist Sarah Durston.

Both genetic factors and the environment in which children grow up are important for brain development. “A clear example of the importance of such environmental influences comes from our own work. Last year we completed a study on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), looking at their brain with structural neuroimaging techniques. On average, children with ADHD compared to those without have a slightly smaller cerebellum; an area that is important for timing of behavior, something that many children with ADHD find difficult. This was already known, but we showed that ADHD-children whose mother smoked during pregnancy had an even smaller cerebellum.”

Not a uniform group

This illustrates the potential of such new techniques to extend the current diagnostic tools. Children with ADHD –the same goes for other developmental disorders– are not a uniform group: brain circuits that do not function well can differ from one child to the other. “If we can identify the problem in a more precise way, it should also be possible to customize treatment for a particular child,” thinks Durston.

Read the full interview .