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Chapter 9
reflect a moment where it is relatively easy to intervene in development. Metaphorically, if a rock is quickly rolling down a hill, one can easily change its course by gently tapping the rock. The faster the stone is rolling, the larger the impact of this small interference will be. However, when the stone has reached the end of the hill, the small tap will no longer have a big impact. As a broad range of studies - including chapters of this thesis- have shown that childhood marks pronounced changes in emotional reactivity (chapter 5; Silvers et al. (2012)), cognitive control (Luna et al., 2004; Peters et al., 2016) and structural brain connectivity (chapter 8; Wierenga et al. (2018b)). These accelerated changes in brain development could provide a window of opportunity for interventions that can change the course of development with smaller interference compared to later interventions (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Childhood as window of opportunity. The steepest increase in emotional reactivity, cognitive control and (structural) brain connectivity are in late childhood, which may reflect a unique window of opportunity in terms of development. Note: data of developmental trajectories are illustrative.
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