ABSTRACT
The healthy adult brain is highly specialised in both structure and function, and this was originally thought to reflect a modular organisation. This approach attributes the processing of particular behavioural functions to distinct cortical regions, connected via specific functional neural networks or circuits. Post-natal development is primarily associated with brain elaboration, with differentiation and maturation progressing into adolescence and early adulthood. Early brain lesions and neurodevelopmental conditions have been associated with interruption to dendritic development; for example, dendrites may be thinner, have smaller numbers of spines or shorter branches. The original work in this domain was based on analyses of human Electroencephalograms coherence. Using this methodology, Thatcher describes three main growth spurts in brain maturation. An initial growth spurt is recorded between 1.5 and 5 years, a second between 5 and 10 years and a final spurt between 10 and 16 years. The brain is vulnerable to the influence of environmental and experiential factors throughout development into early adulthood.
