Multifactorial Origin of Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Approaches to Understanding Complex Etiologies.

ABSTRACT: A significant body of evidence supports the multifactorial etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) affecting children. The present review focuses on early exposure to environmental chemicals as a risk factor for neurodevelopment, and presents the major lines of evidence derived from epidemiological studies, underlying key uncertainties and research needs in this field. We introduce the exposome concept that, encompassing the totality of human environmental exposures to multiple risk factors, aims at explaining individual vulnerability and resilience to early chemical exposure. In this framework, we synthetically review the role of variable gene backgrounds, the involvement of epigenetic mechanisms as well as the function played by potential effect modifiers such as socioeconomic st

SUBMITTER: De Felice A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5634696 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature