This book charts the way forward through the field of mammalian brain development, in which the integration of biological function can occur at all levels between the gene and the organism itself. Mammalian Brain Development examines the traditional "nature versus nurture" argument in the spectrum of brain development, discussing in particular sex differences in spatial perception ability, phenotype plasticity, disorders of brain development, Blood-Brain and placental barriers, chromosome abnormalities, as well as the use of imaging techniques. Geared toward neuroscientists, neurologists, pediatricians, pediatric psychiatrists, and neuroimmunologists, this volume paves the way toward the realization that the development of an individual is fundamentally an interaction between its genes and environment.

Zusammenfassung
Denis Noble Nearly a decade after completion of the first draft of the entire Human Genome sequence we are in a better position to assess the nature and the consequences of that heroic achievement, which can be seen as the culmination of the molecular biological revolution of the second half of the twentieth century. The achievement itself was celebrated at the highest levels (President and Prime Minister) on both sides of the Atlantic, and rightly so. DNA sequencing has become sufficiently c- mon now, even to the extent of being used in law courts, that it is easy to forget how technically difficult it was and how cleverly the sequencing teams solved those problems in the exciting race to finish by the turn of the century [1, 2]. The fanfares were misplaced, however, in an important respect. The metaphors used to describe the project and its biological significance gave the impression to the public at large, and to many scientists themselves, that this sequence would reveal the secrets of life. DNA had already been likened to a computer program [3]. The genetic program for life was therefore to be found in those sequences: A kind of map that had simply to be unfolded during development. The even more colo- ful book of life metaphor gave the promise that reading that book would lead to a veritable outpouring of new cures for diseases, hundreds of new drug targets, and a brave new world of medicine.

Inhalt
Sexual Differentiation of the Brain: Genetic, Hormonal and Trophic Factors.- Life at the Interface Between a Dynamic Environment and a Fixed Genome: Epigenetic Programming of Stress Responses by Maternal Behavior.- Effects of Early Life Seizures and Anti-epileptic Drug Treatment on Human Brain Development in Human Models.- Prenatal Development of the Human Blood-Brain Barrier.- Seizure Propensity and Brain Development: A Lesson from Animal Models.- Seizures and Antiepileptic Drugs: Does Exposure Alter Normal Brain Development in Animal Models?.- Overview of Neural Mechanisms in Developmental Disorders.- Drug Permeation Across the Fetal Maternal Barrier.- In Vivo Imaging of Brain Development: Technologies, Models, Applications, and Impact on Understanding the Etiology of Mental Retardation.- Congenital, Non-inheritable Chromosomal Abnormalities Responsible for Neurological Disorders.- Erratum.