Abstract

The human brain is an incredible and fascinating organ in every respect. It took nature several billion years of evolution to construct and perfect such a sophisticated neural architecture with an infinite spectrum of perfectly coordinated functions and amazing capability for change and adaptation. Today, the advancement of technology has enabled us to strive to understand human cognitive capabilities and adaptation to an elaborate environment, which includes that crucial period in which the most complex structure in the human body develops – the prenatal period. Insights into the processes of fetal brain and central nervous system development are gradually confirming the theory that most brain functions we have been studying for years have their origin in the prenatal period. Similarly, the interplay between the genome, epigenome, and environment shapes a phenotype of human health or illness even before birth. It seems that the time has come for a recognized specialty in Prenatal and Perinatal Psychiatry.