Neurodevelopmental disorders

Definition
• Neurodevelopmental disorders:
• They are disabilities associated primarily with
the functioning of the neurological system and
brain
 History
• The idiot, the moron and the imbecile
the concept of developmental disorders in
psychiatry appeared for the first time in 1820
in a textbook by Étienne Jean Georget (1795-
1828), a student of Philippe Pinel (1745-1826)
and Jean-Étienne Esquirol (1772-1840), the
pioneers of a modern psychiatric nosology
 Famous quote
• “idiots should be classified among
monsters .” , the word “monster” should be
read as a reference to a genetic abnormality in
the human body.
• that Idiocy is “ a lack of development of
intellectual faculties.
 Note
• We shouldn’t look at these words as insults
but rather as a revolution, as it was the first
time to see these disorders as mental
symptoms rather than a humoral concept
• The difference between the three was in the
iq range , the idiot is the lowest and the
moron is the highest
Separating ASD from mental retardation

• A famous case is Victor, the Wild Boy of

Aveyron (c 1788-1828), A feral child who was
discovered when he was about 12.
• He had defective social communication with
symtoms typical of autism spectrum disorder
• The child used people around him as tools to
bring him what he needed without the social
communication or emotional expressions that
would typically accompany that
Types of neurodevelopmental disorders:

1. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

2. DLD - Developmental language disorder
(formerly known as SLI- Specific Language
Impairment)
3. Communication, speech, or language disorders,
expressive language disorder, fluency disorder,
social (pragmatic) communication disorder, and
speech sound disorder.
4. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
5. Intellectual disabilities (IDs) or intellectual
development disorder (IDD, previously called
mental retardation) and global developmental
delay (GDD)
6. Motor disorders including developmental
coordination disorder, stereotypic movement
disorder, and tic disorders (such as Tourette's
syndrome), and CAS - Apraxia of Speech
7. Neurogenetic disorders, such as Fragile X
syndrome, Down syndrome, Rett syndrome,
hypogonadotropic hypogonadal syndromes
8. Specific learning disorders, like dyslexia or dyscalculia.
9. Traumatic brain injury (including congenital injuries such as
those that cause cerebral palsy and disorders due to
neurotoxicants including Minamata disease caused by
mercury, behavioral disorders including conduct disorder
etc. caused by other heavy metals, such as lead, chromium,
platinum etc., hydrocarbons like dioxin, PBDEs and PCBs,
medications and illegal drugs, like cocaine, radioactive
metals like Po210 (which is found in cigarettes), and others.
10.Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) can exhibit a
combination of the above, most commonly ADHD, because
of this, FASD is usually under-diagnosed, yet it is estimated
that about 1 in 20 people may be affected
 Multifactorial Origin of
Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• The brain has a protracted period of
susceptibility to environmental inputs, which
extends well beyond organogenesis up to the
second decade of life
• Vulnerability to adverse environmental
factors represents the drawback of brain
plasticity. The dynamic interplay between
genes and environment, which forms the
basis of typical neurobehavioral maturation,
is being also called upon to explain the
etiology of complex neurodevelopmental
disorders (NDDs) that are characterized by
abnormal brain morphology and/or
functional activity, even those with a strong
genetic component. 
Facing Complexity: The Exposome Concept