Biochemical and Neurophysiological Development of the Brain in the Neonatal Period

This chapter discusses anatomical, biochemical, and neurophysiological changes with the development of functional and behavioral patterns of brain that indicate the necessary degree of maturation required for various functions in the animal.

Abstract

This chapter discusses anatomical, biochemical, and neurophysiological changes with the development of functional and behavioral patterns of brain that indicate the necessary degree of maturation required for various functions. The neurological maturation of the brain assessed with the concomitant chemical and anatomical development considers various factors in the total development of the animal. These factors include the rate of prenatal development, a correlary of which is the maturity of the animal at birth, and the rate of postnatal development. Other important points are the complexity of the brain organization and the total metabolic rate of the animal as a whole as well as that of the brain itself. The data used in the chapter were obtained on whole brain and reported on a wet weight basis. The human infant is born more mature than that of the rat or rabbit, and based on the visual evoked potential, more mature than the cat. After birth, development in man appears to proceed more slowly than in the other species examined.