Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children: Neuroplasticity and Possibilities of Nootropic Pharmacotherapy

Abstract

Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDD) are characterized by disturbances of the formation of cognitive functions, communication skills, behavior characteristics and / or motor skills, which are caused by abnormalities in the course of the processes of neuroontogenesis. Factors of the etiology and pathogenesis of NDD include genetic mechanisms, early damage to the developing brain, and adverse external influences. Most forms of NDD manifest themselves in the early stages of development and before the child begins school eduction. The most common NDD, with which medical doctors of various specialties constantly meet, include speech development disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Since disorders of neuroplasticity processes are considered among the mechanisms of the NDD pathogenesis, their therapy should be aimed at restoring and stimulating the neuroplasticity potential. Manifestations of NDD, undergoing age-related evolution, significantly disrupt normal life and have an adverse effect on various functional areas not only in children, but also in adolescents and adults. The increase in symptoms in patients with NDD at one age or another is not due to the progressive nature of cerebral changes, but to increased difficulties of adaptation with increasing loads, including educational, social, professional ones. Therefore, in most cases, they require many years of complex management and the use of pharmacotherapy, the prospects of which are primarily associated with nootropic drugs. The data of new studies on the effectiveness of nootropics in developmental dysphasia and ADHD are discussed, and possible mechanisms of the nootropics influence on neuroplasticity processes are considered.