Early brain development lays the foundation for lifelong cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functions that influence learning abilities, social interactions, and mental health outcomes. Disruptions and abnormalities in brain development can have lasting consequences and contribute to neurological and psychiatric conditions. Understanding early brain development can lead to identifying potential risk factors and developing and implementing effective interventions and support systems. Despite the significant advances in developmental neuroscience, the dynamic interplay of genetic, environmental, and epigenetic factors and their phenotypic outcomes that shape prenatal and postnatal brain development remain elusive.

Shedding light on neurodevelopmental processes requires a multidisciplinary approach encompassing molecular, cellular, optical, electrophysiological, and behavioral methods specific to immature tissues and animal models, as those optimized for investigating adult tissues/organisms often prove inadequate. By integrating a diverse range of methods, from molecular analyses to electrophysiology, this collection strives to offer a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art tools for investigating prenatal and postnatal brain development in mammalian models.