The topic of this meeting lies at the intersection between genetics, neurobiology, medicine, developmental neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience and engineering. The new advances require the specific technical expertise of neuroscientists, molecular geneticists and neuroimaging centres. Those working in these areas will need to understand theories, methods and insights in human cognitive development, and conversely cognitive and developmental psychologists and neuroscientists will need to appreciate the possibilities, limitations and issues of interpretation in the new biological technologies. Finally, the opportunities in relation to developmental disorders will only be realised through intellectual and practical interchange with medical specialists in neuropsychiatry and pediatric neurology.
A key requirement in achieving these goals is that in all these fields, young scientists’ training should include an understanding of the other disciplines, and this is a primary goal of this symposium. The meeting aims to draw on European and North American expertise to add value to the quality of European research in the currently separate disciplines.
To develop this synthesis, and in particular to provide and train young researchers with an interdisciplinary perspective, the meeting will draw on a linked range of topics:
- Genetics of neurodevelopmental disorders and animal models with genetic modifications (e.g. knock-outs)
- Biology of neuronal organisation and connectivity in the developing brain
- Infant cognitive and sensorimotor development and its relation to developing brain mechanisms
- Cognitive and sensorimotor characteristics of specific neurodevelopmental disorders
- Neuroimaging and neurophysiology of function in normal and atypical development