ABSTRACT
The rapid rate of development of the brain during fetal, neonatal, and early infant life places it at high risk for damage from biological risk factors. The proposed consequences of structural brain abnormalities following exposure to such risk factors includes suboptimal cognitive and motor outcome. Biologically significant events that occur early in life and have been associated with suboptimal developmental outcome can be divided into those that involve discrete areas of brain (intracranial hemorrhage, vascular anomalies) or are global in nature (hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, hypoglycemia, chromosomal anomalies, malnutrition).
