Publisher's Synopsis
Development has been described as the last great problem in the life sciences. It has absorbed the attention of scientists from the time of the ancient Greeks and is both a compelling scientific problem and a matter of great practical significance for the care of children. The concepts of maturation and development are central to biological and behavioural sciences. The book is written by leading experts in maturation and development from the molecular to the societal level. Focusing upon the relationship between the brain and behaviour, the authors assess and examine the extraordinary range of scientific work presently going on in the developmental, chromosomal, and immunological aspects of central nervous system function, as well as covering biochemical aspects of brain development, recovery from brain damage, neural development, neuroembryology of behaviour, nutrition and brain growth, variability in human maturation, sex differences, cognitive development. Language acquisition, motor development, early social behaviour and maturation and mental handicap.
