Neurodevelopment and Neurodiversity

Overview of research theme

Think of a subtitle for here

Within a month of life commencing, we start forming the early structures that make up the human brain. Millions of cells, including neurons, glia and other essential cell types, are generated and have to migrate to the correct location and make connections with other cells. At the same time, the first few years of life are also critical for linguistic, cognitive and social development.

Many of our researchers are interested in how the brain develops, neurons differentiate and form functioning networks, while others study how babies and children learn, think and perceive the world and how this changes as they grow.

Brain and cognition development can sometimes occur unconventionally, leading to conditions that manifest during development and childhood but often persist throughout life. Our researchers are working to understand how such conditions come about, how they affect development and what can be done to improve outcomes.

Interconnected clusters of expertise and resources

This theme encompasses pre-clinical, clinical and psychology research to understand brain development, neurodiversity, disorders of development, and their impact on learning, education and behaviour. Research in this theme is nucleated around five interconnected clusters of expertise and resources:

The Jennifer Brown Research Laboratory (JBRL) aims to improve the lives of children born too soon or too small by finding out how and why preterm birth affects brain development so that we can discover effective ways to promote resilience and improve health outcomes.

In 2015, the Laboratory launched the Theirworld Edinburgh Birth Cohort – a world-first research programme monitoring the progress of 400 babies – both premature and full term – from birth to adulthood over 25 years.

The JBRL now also runs PRENCOG, a research programme consisting of four interlinked studies aiming to understand how stress, immune responses and social environment contribute to brain development and educational outcomes.

SIDB is a sister centre of the Patrick Wild Centre, and together their mission is to understand the neurological basis of and to test new therapies for monogenic forms of autism and intellectual disability, such as Fragile X Syndrome, SYNGAP1 haploinsufficiency and CDKL5 deficiency disorder. 

The scientific aims of SIDB are to: 

  • Determine whether there are critical periods during development when treatments are most effective, and, if so, whether critical periods are treatment specific.
  • Determine whether genetic convergence predicts convergence of phenotypic pathophysiology.
  • Prepare deep-phenotyped trial ready cohorts. 

The clinical branch of this research takes place in at the Patrick Wild Centre, where researchers work directly with people affected by genetic intellectual disabilities and their families, including fragile X syndrome and SYNGAP1-related intellectual disability.

The Muir Maxwell Epilepsy Centre is a hub for multidisciplinary collaboration across the University of Edinburgh, aiming to determine how epilepsy occurs in childhood, what the outcomes are for the individual and translating these discoveries into the development of prevention strategies and new treatments.

Uniting both preclinical and clinical approaches, the Muir Maxwell Epilepsy Centre has established preclinical models that recapitulate the genetics and outcomes observed in childhood epilepsy, as well as world-leading cohorts of children with epilepsy along with application of health informatics to improve diagnosis, determine incidence, identify causes, and develop strategies to improve outcomes. 

https://www.muirmaxwellcentre.com/ 


The Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre is a collaborative research partnership with the Scottish charity, the Salvesen Mindroom Centre. Our research is creating new knowledge about neurodevelopment and diversity.

We want to ensure that neurodivergent children and young people (whether they have a diagnosis or not) have every opportunity to thrive, before they start school, while they’re in education, and beyond. Differences in how people learn should be understood, embraced and accommodated, enabling people to have an enriching educational experience, and to fulfil their potential. To achieve this, we believe that we need to deliver neurodiversity-affirmative education, health and social care services, workplaces, and society.

https://salvesen-research.ed.ac.uk/


Researchers in this area examine how different developmental factors interact across the lifespan, from before birth into adolescence and old age. This diverse but well-integrated set of researchers explores a wide range of developmental issues, from philosophical questions about the nature of learning and the mind, to more practical issues such as predicting and improving educational attainment, and understanding neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and specific language impairment.

Our work in this area is supported by excellent facilities including our newly-built "Wee Science" Developmental Lab where researchers are able to study how babies and children think and learn by observing them as they play games or watch short animations in a fun and friendly environment.

https://ppls.ed.ac.uk/psychology/research/areas/developmental-science

brain image teal colour on block teal background. Used when image is not available

Resources and Toolkits

Edinburgh Neuroscience researchers work closely with parents, teachers, NHS clinicians and other key stakeholders to inform and share our research. These ongoing two-way dialogues have resulted in the creation and launch of several toolkits specifically aimed at supporting those who care for neurodivergent children in different settings, including:

  • Learning About Neurodiversity at School (LEANS): a teacher-delivered programme for mainstream primary schools, introducing pupils aged 8-11 years to the concept of neurodiversity and how it impacts experiences at school. Leads: Sue Fletcher-Watson and Catherine Crompton
  • NEurodivergent peer Support Toolkit (NEST): a suite of materials to facilitate peer support for neurodivergent young people in mainstream secondary schools. Leads: Sue Fletcher-Watson and Catherine Crompton
  • EPIC Think Learn: a subscription-based service for parents, teachers and clinicians/practitioners working with children and young people, particularly those who have just joined the waiting list for neurodevelopmental assessment. Leads: Sinead Rhodes and Iona Beange

This article was published on