The center will address mechanisms of normative and aberrant brain development and translate findings to improve clinical practice for autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders (ND).
Autism and Intellectual disability are defined by abnormal development and represent a lifelong burden for patients and caregivers. The causes of NDs are largely unknown. Interventions are scarce and there is no tools for stratification or prediction of outcome.
NDs affect multiple domains, including motor function, learning, language and mental health, and vary in age of onset. Somatic comorbidity such as obesity, heart malformations, and immune dysfunction adds additional burden and reduces quality of life.
The urgent need for a better understanding of causes and mechanisms of these heterogeneous conditions calls for an integrated approach across paediatrics, psychiatry, imaging, and neurology. Further, there is a need to translate findings from basic research in genetics and neuroscience to clinical practice.
