There are now a number of evidences showing that the developing organism adapts to the environment it finds itself. Short- and long-term adjustments, referred as "programming", take place and will initially induce intrauterine growth retardation but will also have consequences that will appear later in life. The use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques in IUGR babies has delineated changes in the central nervous system (CNS) development that correlate with altered neurodevelopment and could be implicated in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders in adult life. Similarly, the use of corticosteroid treatment in preterm infants has also been implicated in abnormal CNS development. In this review, we will focus on the modifications of CNS development that occur after exposition to adverse environment such as undernutrition or corticosteroid treatment that can now be studied in vivo with advanced MRI technology.