Foreword toChildhood Onset Developmental Disorders

Abstract

This issue of Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences presents papers based on research from the 2012 Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Disease (ARNMD) conference “Childhood Onset Developmental Disorders.” The ARNMD is the oldest society of neurologists and psychiatrists, founded in 1920, the primary focus of which has been to keep practicing neurologists, psychiatrists, and neuroscientists informed about state-of-the-art research findings in each of these disciplines, findings that are beginning to significantly influence the thinking and practice of neurology and psychiatry. Each paper in this issue addresses the unique developmental determinants in expression and the course of highly prevalent conditions in children and adolescents, including anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorders, and pediatric neurological conditions. Specifically, the papers have focused on how basic developmental neuroscience and animal models inform our understanding of these conditions. Each year in conjunction with the ARNMD, the Salmon Committee on Psychiatry and Mental Hygiene (New York Academy of Medicine) selects the Thomas William Salmon Medalist and Lecturer, honoring those who have made significant contributions to the field highlighted by the conference. In 2012 the Salmon Medalist was Michael Posner, professor emeritus at the University of Oregon, and adjunct professor at Weill Cornell Medical College (the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology); and the Salmon Lecturer was B.J. Casey, director of the Sackler Institute for Development Psychobiology and professor of developmental psychobiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, who presented “The Development of Fear: From Human Imaging to Mouse Genetics.” The papers in this issue reflect the long and esteemed tradition of the ARNMD and include contributions from the Sackler Institute (from Catherine Hartley and B.J. Casey on the psychobiology of anxiety, and from Elizabeth C. King and Francis S. Lee on fear learning); a paper focused on the treatment of anxiety (Amy Rapp and Moira Rynn); and an important paper on the role of anxiety in youth suicide (Regina Miranda and David Shaffer). Catherine Lord writes on the behavioral treatment of autism. Juliann M. Paolicchi discusses the developmental aspects of epilepsy. Last, three papers discuss pediatric movement disorders, including tics and stereotypies (Harvey S. Singer), neurological conversion disorder (Jonathan W. Mink), and the evolving nature of the treatment of the tic disorders (Shannon M. Bennett/John T. Walkup). We are also grateful to Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences for publishing this unique and timely set of papers. John T. Walkup Weill Cornell Medical College