Final answer:
Cerebral palsy is a nonprogressive lesion of the brain happening before, at or soon after birth, affecting brain development and body movement control. Additional developmental disorders like craniosynostosis can also impact brain growth due to the early closure of sutures. These conditions often result from complex genetic and environmental factors.
Step-by-step explanation:
Cerebral palsy is a nonprogressive lesion of the brain occurring before, at or soon after birth that interferes with normal brain development. This condition typically affects the parts of the brain that control body movements and can range from mild cases with weak muscles to more severe cases with difficulties walking and talking. Cerebral palsy often stems from injuries sustained to the developing brain, whether during the prenatal period, delivery, or soon after birth, and such injuries may be related to factors that include low birth weight, premature closure of skull sutures, or environmental toxins.
Furthermore, the development of the brain can be affected by other factors, such as the expanded areas of fibrous connective tissue known as fontanelles, which separate the braincase bones of the skull prior to birth and during the first year after birth. In cases of craniosynostosis, these sutures close prematurely, potentially leading to constraints on skull and brain growth. This developmental disorder, as well as conditions like autism spectrum disorder (ASD), involve complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors that can disrupt normal CNS development, and their exact causes are often not fully understood.