CONTENTS -- AUTHORS' APPOINTMENTS -- 1 INTRODUCTION Giovanni Cioni and Eugenio Mercuri -- References -- 2 NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF DEVELOPMENT Janet Eyre -- Introduction -- Development of the cortex -- Development of afferent somatosensory projections -- Corticospinal axonal projection and withdrawal -- Spinal innervation -- Activity-dependent development of the corticospinal tract -- References -- 3 NEUROLOGICAL ASSESSMENT IN NORMAL YOUNG INFANTS Eugenio Mercuri, Leena Haataja and Lilly Dubowitz -- Development of the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination -- Validation of the examination -- Timing and sequence of the examination -- Performing and scoring the examination -- Section 1: Neurological examination -- Section 2: Developmental milestones -- Section 3: Behaviour -- Optimality scores -- References -- 4 CLASSICAL NEUROLOGICAL EXAMINATION IN YOUNG INFANTS WITH NEONATAL BRAIN LESIONS Eugenio Mercuri, Leena Haataja, Daniela Ricci, Frances Cowan and Lilly Dubowitz -- Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy -- Cerebral infarction -- Preterm infants -- Other applications -- References -- 5 OTHER APPROACHES TO NEUROLOGICAL ASSESSMENT Giovanni Cioni, Christa Einspieler and Paola Paolicelli -- Introduction -- Assessment of general movements -- The 'complementary' neuromotor examination -- Behavioural assessment scales -- Conclusions -- References -- 6 MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF THE INFANT BRAIN Mary Rutherford, Eugenio Mercuri and Frances Cowan -- Introduction -- Practical issues -- Normal appearances of the developing brain from term to 2 years -- Interpretation of scans -- Timing of clinical scans -- Patterns of injury and prediction of outcome -- The infant presenting with neurological abnormalities -- References -- 7 DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY Enrico Biagioni, Andrea Guzzetta and Giovanni Cioni -- Introduction.

The EEG -- Techniques of prolonged EEG monitoring: cerebral function monitoring (CFM) -- Evoked potentials -- References -- 8 ASSESSMENT OF THE DEVELOPMENTOF HIGH-RISK INFANTS IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS Samantha Johnson and Neil Marlow -- Why should we perform a developmental assessment? -- Screening or detailed assessment? -- Formal standardized measures of development -- Developmental assessment tools -- Limitations of standardized tests -- Parental measures of development -- Summary -- References -- 9 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN THEFIRST TWO YEARS OF LIFE Francesco Guzzetta, Chiara Veredice and Andrea Guzzetta -- Introduction -- Development of cognitive competence -- Assessment techniques -- Clinical role of developmental assessment in the first two years of life -- References -- 10 HEARING, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION Anna Chilosi, Paola Cipriani, Sandra Maestro and Elisabetta Genovese -- Hearing screening methods in high-risk newborns -- Development of language and communication in the first two years of life -- Disorders of communication: early signs of autism -- Conclusions -- References -- 11 DEVELOPMENT OF VISION ANDVISUAL ATTENTION Anthony Norcia and Francesca Pei -- Introduction -- The hierarchy of visual processing -- The development of early vision -- The development of middle vision -- The development of texture processing -- The development of contour integration -- The development of visual attention -- Arousal effects on brain responsiveness -- The development of spatial orienting -- The development of non-spatial orienting -- Future directions for infant visual electrophysiology -- References -- 12 VISUAL FUNCTION IN CHILDREN WITH NEONATAL BRAIN LESIONS Eugenio Mercuri, Andrea Guzzetta, Francesca Tinelli, Daniela Ricci andGiovanni Cioni -- Introduction -- Assessment of visual function in the first years of life.

Visual disorders in children with brain lesions -- Conclusions -- References -- 13 FROM OBSERVATION TO REHABILITATION Laura Zawacki and Suzann Campbell -- Review of the literature on the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) -- Review of the literature on the Alberta Infant Motor Scale -- Infant QA: diagnosis of delayed functional motor performance -- Infant SG: average functional motor performance with asymmetry -- Profiles of performance predicting high risk for CP -- References -- 14 LONGITUDINAL MULTI-CENTRE FOLLOW-UP OF HIGH-RISK NEONATES: CURRENT STATUS AND FUTUREPROSPECTS Michael Msall -- Introduction -- Models for understanding child health and well-being -- Measuring health and developmental status -- Model multi-centre studies -- Using large multi-centre studies to understand pathways in multiple disabilities -- References -- INDEX.