Recent advances in understanding the neurobiology of pediatric functional neurological disorder

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a neuropsychiatric disorder that manifests in a broad array of functional motor, sensory, or cognitive symptoms, which arise from complex interactions between brain, mind, body, and context. Children with FND make up 10%–20% of presentations to neurology services in children’s hospitals and up to 20% of adolescents admitted to hospital for the management of intractable seizures. Areas Covered The current review focuses on the neurobiology of pediatric FND. The authors present an overview of the small but growing body of research pertaining to the biological, emotion-processing, cognitive, mental health, physical health, and social system levels. Expert opinion Emerging research suggests that pediatric FND is underpinned by aberrant changes within and between neuron-glial (brain) networks, with a variety of factors – on multiple system levels – contributing to brain network changes. In pediatric practice, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are commonly reported, and activation or dysregulation of stress-system components is a frequent finding. Our growing understanding of the neurobiology of pediatric FND has yielded important flow-on effects for assessing and diagnosing FND, for developing targeted treatment interventions, and for improving the treatment outcomes of children and adolescents with FND.