Brain development. Investigation using new imaging approaches

The human brain undergoes an exceptionally long postnatal brain development mainly due to evolutionary constraints. The elucidation of these maturational processes is highly important from both a scientific and a clinical point of view not only for the understanding of pediatric but also adult diseases, as several neuropsychiatric disorders originate from this time period. The development of non-invasive imaging approaches, most notably modern magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods, has revolutionized this field. Different non-invasive approaches, such as conventional and modern MRI methods, conventional and fetal magnetoencephalography or functional near-infrared spectroscopy and functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound are briefly introduced and exemplary applications are shown. Finally, invasive approaches are mentioned which may have their place in specific settings. With these different and partly complementary approaches, a deeper understanding of both structural and functional changes occurring during normal and abnormal brain development is to be expected.