Neurobiology: Neurological Disorders in Children

As known, neurobiology is a science that explores the nervous system, the organization and functions of nerve cells in human brain, and how these neurological processes affect the individual’s behaviors and functioning. According to the Child Neurology Foundation (2017), “the term “neurological disorder” applies to any condition that is caused by a dysfunction in part of the brain or nervous system, resulting in physical and/or psychological symptoms.” (para. 1) As evidence shows, many neurological disorders that can occur in human life start to develop much earlier in the womb. This is because the formation of human brain starts during pregnancy period and continues through infancy stage (birth to 2 years old), childhood stage (early childhood (3 to 8 years old) and middle childhood (9-11 years old)), and adolescence phases (12 to 18 years old).Neurobiology: Neurological Disorders in Children Epilepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are considered the two common neurological disorders that occur in a child’s development and can negatively affect further individual’s life, development, and functioning. Epilepsy can influence various aspects of child’s life, learning abilities, cognitive, physical, and mental processes, social behaviors, and interaction with other people and environment. The individuals with epilepsy, especially children who have poor seizure control, experience multiple daily challenges, which negatively affect their emotional and physical health. Epilepsy disorder negatively affect almost all aspects of the individual’s life and development, which may result in poor academic achievements, low self-esteem, relationships issues, social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. As statistics shows, after adolescence period the percentage of patients with epilepsy significantly decrease.