title: [Neurological maturation retardation].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The early years of life, more especially the first three, are dominated by a series of anatomical-functional facts that express the progressive enrichment of behaviour through the process of neurological maturation, which is expressed as reaching the maximum level of functioning at each stage of development as a result of a process of learning.
  
  
  METHODS
  One's personal experience is used to address the main conceptual aspects that define neurological maturation both in its normal aspects, that is to say, its limits, and its pathological deviations, and there is a need for conceptual limits of the so-called maturation retardation. The concepts of 'risk child' and his or her neurodevelopmental control and prognostic factors are analysed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ultimate and primordial aim of any longitudinal study is the early detection of all the neurological anomalies, including maturation retardation, since this makes it possible to establish an early--either curative or palliative--treatment without producing 'false positives'. At the same time, if the neurological pathology is defined as residual, help can also be established for the patient and his or her family so that both of them can adapt to the situation in a suitable manner.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Clinico San Carlos, 28040 Madrid, Espana.
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Campos-Castelló
mesh_terms: D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D004644:Emotions; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000209:etiology*; D007804:Language Development; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D009043:Motor Activity; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D011379:Prognosis; D012919:Social Behavior; D035862:Vulnerable Populations