Annual Research Review: Anterior Modifiers in the Emergence of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (AMEND)-a systems neuroscience approach to common developmental disorders

Abstract

We present the Anterior Modifiers in the Emergence of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (AMEND) framework, designed to reframe the field of prospective studies of neurodevelopmental disorders. In AMEND we propose conceptual, statistical and methodological approaches to separating markers of early-stage perturbations from later developmental modifiers. We describe the evidence for, and features of, these interacting components before outlining analytical approaches to studying how different profiles of early perturbations and later modifiers interact to produce phenotypic outcomes. We suggest this approach could both advance our theoretical understanding and clinical approach to the emergence of developmental psychopathology in early childhood.

Keywords: Neurodevelopmental disorders; autism spectrum disorders; brain development.

Figure 1

Illustration of the analysis steps motivated by the AMEND framework. Arrows A1 to A3 are described in the text. Colour green indicates the influence of initial factors and Early Stage Processing, while blue indicates the influence of Neurocognitive modifiers. Phenotypic outcomes are represented on the right hand side as resulting from a combination of these factors

Figure 2

Illustration of a random‐intercept cross‐lagged model to examine how executive attention might over time (through the red paths), reduce the magnitude of (purple) paths that reflect the cumulative impact of an early‐stage marker on later phenotypic outcome