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Abstract
A suboptimal intrauterine environment is thought to increase the probability of deviation from the typical neurodevelopmental trajectory, potentially contributing to the etiology of learning disorders. Yet the cumulative influence of individual antenatal risk factors on emergent learning skills has not been sufficiently examined. We sought to determine whether antenatal complications, in aggregate, are a source of variability in preschoolers’ kindergarten readiness, and whether specific classes of antenatal risk play a prominent role. We recruited 160 preschoolers (85 girls; ages 3–4 years), born ≤336/7 weeks’ gestation, and reviewed their hospitalization records. Kindergarten readiness skills were assessed with standardized intellectual, oral-language, prewriting, and prenumeracy tasks. Cumulative antenatal risk was operationalized as the sum of complications identified out of nine common risks. These were also grouped into four classes in follow-up analyses: complications associated with intra-amniotic infection, placental insufficiency, endocrine dysfunction, and uteroplacental bleeding. Linear mixed model analyses, adjusting for sociodemographic and medical background characteristics (socioeconomic status, sex, gestational age, and sum of perinatal complications) revealed an inverse relationship between the sum of antenatal complications and performance in three domains: intelligence, language, and prenumeracy (p = 0.003, 0.002, 0.005, respectively). Each of the four classes of antenatal risk accounted for little variance, yet together they explained 10.5%, 9.8%, and 8.4% of the variance in the cognitive, literacy, and numeracy readiness domains, respectively. We conclude that an increase in the co-occurrence of antenatal complications is moderately linked to poorer kindergarten readiness skills even after statistical adjustment for perinatal risk.
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Camerota M, Willoughby MT. Prenatal Risk Predicts Preschooler Executive Function: A Cascade Model. Child Dev 2019; 91:e682-e700. [PMID: 31206640 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Little research has considered whether prenatal experience contributes to executive function (EF) development above and beyond postnatal experience. This study tests direct, mediated, and moderated associations between prenatal risk factors and preschool EF and IQ in a longitudinal sample of 1,292 children from the Family Life Project. A composite of prenatal risk factors (i.e., low birth weight, prematurity, maternal emotional problems, maternal prepregnancy obesity, and obstetric complications) significantly predicted EF and IQ at age 3, above quality of the postnatal environment. This relationship was indirect, mediated through infant general cognitive abilities. Quality of the postnatal home and child-care environments did not moderate the cascade model. These findings highlight the role of prenatal experience as a contributor to individual differences in cognitive development.
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Hodel AS. Rapid Infant Prefrontal Cortex Development and Sensitivity to Early Environmental Experience. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2018; 48:113-144. [PMID: 30270962 PMCID: PMC6157748 DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2018.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Over the last fifteen years, the emerging field of developmental cognitive neuroscience has described the relatively late development of prefrontal cortex in children and the relation between gradual structural changes and children's protracted development of prefrontal-dependent skills. Widespread recognition by the broader scientific community of the extended development of prefrontal cortex has led to the overwhelming perception of prefrontal cortex as a "late developing" region of the brain. However, despite its supposedly protracted development, multiple lines of research have converged to suggest that prefrontal cortex development may be particularly susceptible to individual differences in children's early environments. Recent studies demonstrate that the impacts of early adverse environments on prefrontal cortex are present very early in development: within the first year of life. This review provides a comprehensive overview of new neuroimaging evidence demonstrating that prefrontal cortex should be characterized as a "rapidly developing" region of the brain, discusses the converging impacts of early adversity on prefrontal circuits, and presents potential mechanisms via which adverse environments shape both concurrent and long-term measures of prefrontal cortex development. Given that environmentally-induced disparities are present in prefrontal cortex development within the first year of life, translational work in intervention and/or prevention science should focus on intervening early in development to take advantages of this early period of rapid prefrontal development and heightened plasticity.
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Abou-Elsaad T, Abdel-Hady H, Baz H, ElShabrawi D. Language and cognitive outcome for high-risk neonates at the age of 2-3 years - experience from an Arab Country. World J Clin Pediatr 2017; 6:24-33. [PMID: 28224092 PMCID: PMC5296626 DOI: 10.5409/wjcp.v6.i1.24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2016] [Revised: 08/11/2016] [Accepted: 10/27/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
AIM To investigate the effect of different neonatal risk factors on different language parameters as well as cognitive abilities among Arabic speaking Egyptian children at the age of two to three years of life and to find out which risk factor(s) had the greatest impact on language and cognitive abilities.
METHODS This retrospective cohort study was conducted on 103 children with age range of 2-3 years (median age 31 mo). They were 62 males and 41 females who were exposed to different high-risk factors in the perinatal period, with exclusion of metabolic disorders, sepsis/meningitis, congenital anomalies and chromosomal aberrations. The studied children were subjected to a protocol of language assessment that included history taking, clinical and neurological examination, audiological evaluation, assessment of language using modified preschool language scale-4, IQ and mental age assessment and assessment of social age.
RESULTS The studied children had a median gestational age of 37 wk, median birth weight of 2.5 kg. The distribution of the high-risk factors in the affected children were prematurity in 25 children, respiratory distress syndrome in 25 children, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in 15 children, hyperbilirubinemia in 10 children, hypoglycemia in 13 children, mixed risk factors in 15 children. The results revealed that high-risk neonatal complications were associated with impairment of different language parameters and cognitive abilities (P < 0.05). The presence of prematurity, in relation to other risk factors, increases the risk of language and cognitive delay significantly by 3.9 fold.
CONCLUSION Arabic-speaking children aged 2-3 years who were exposed to high-risk conditions in the perinatal period are likely to exhibit delays in the development of language and impairments in cognitive abilities. The most significant risk factor associated with language and cognitive impairments was prematurity.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES Clinical neuroscience is increasingly turning to imaging the human brain for answers to a range of questions and challenges. To date, the majority of studies have focused on the neural basis of current psychiatric symptoms, which can facilitate the identification of neurobiological markers for diagnosis. However, the increasing availability and feasibility of using imaging modalities, such as diffusion imaging and resting-state fMRI, enable longitudinal mapping of brain development. This shift in the field is opening the possibility of identifying predictive markers of risk or prognosis, and also represents a critical missing element for efforts to promote personalized or individualized medicine in psychiatry (i.e., stratified psychiatry). METHODS The present work provides a selective review of potentially high-yield populations for longitudinal examination with MRI, based upon our understanding of risk from epidemiologic studies and initial MRI findings. RESULTS Our discussion is organized into three topic areas: (1) practical considerations for establishing temporal precedence in psychiatric research; (2) readiness of the field for conducting longitudinal MRI, particularly for neurodevelopmental questions; and (3) illustrations of high-yield populations and time windows for examination that can be used to rapidly generate meaningful and useful data. Particular emphasis is placed on the implementation of time-appropriate, developmentally informed longitudinal designs, capable of facilitating the identification of biomarkers predictive of risk and prognosis. CONCLUSIONS Strategic longitudinal examination of the brain at-risk has the potential to bring the concepts of early intervention and prevention to psychiatry.
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Wade M, Madigan S, Akbari E, Jenkins JM. Cumulative biomedical risk and social cognition in the second year of life: prediction and moderation by responsive parenting. Front Psychol 2015; 6:354. [PMID: 25883576 PMCID: PMC4381485 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2014] [Accepted: 03/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
At 18 months, children show marked variability in their social-cognitive skill development, and the preponderance of past research has focused on constitutional and contextual factors in explaining this variability. Extending this literature, the current study examined whether cumulative biomedical risk represents another source of variability in social cognition at 18 months. Further, we aimed to determine whether responsive parenting moderated the association between biomedical risk and social cognition. A prospective community birth cohort of 501 families was recruited at the time of the child's birth. Cumulative biomedical risk was measured as a count of 10 prenatal/birth complications. Families were followed up at 18 months, at which point social-cognitive data was collected on children's joint attention, empathy, cooperation, and self-recognition using previously validated tasks. Concurrently, responsive maternal behavior was assessed through observational coding of mother-child interactions. After controlling for covariates (e.g., age, gender, child language, socioeconomic variables), both cumulative biomedical risk and maternal responsivity significantly predicted social cognition at 18 months. Above and beyond these main effects, there was also a significant interaction between biomedical risk and maternal responsivity, such that higher biomedical risk was significantly associated with compromised social cognition at 18 months, but only in children who experienced low levels of responsive parenting. For those receiving comparatively high levels of responsive parenting, there was no apparent effect of biomedical risk on social cognition. This study shows that cumulative biomedical risk may be one source of inter-individual variability in social cognition at 18 months. However, positive postnatal experiences, particularly high levels of responsive parenting, may protect children against the deleterious effects of these risks on social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Wade
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of TorontoToronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sheri Madigan
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of TorontoToronto, ON, Canada
| | - Emis Akbari
- Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development, Fraser Mustard Institute for Human Development, University of TorontoToronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jennifer M. Jenkins
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of TorontoToronto, ON, Canada
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Understanding neurodevelopmental outcomes of prematurity: education priorities for NICU parents. Adv Neonatal Care 2013; 13 Suppl 5:S21-6. [PMID: 24042181 DOI: 10.1097/anc.0000000000000024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
NICU nurses have an important role to play in many aspects of parent education. This article stresses the need for an increased focus on teaching parents about the central role that self-regulation will play in their infant's neurobehavioral development not only during the early infancy period but throughout all of childhood and adolescence. Suggestions are made about how to conceptualize the relation between cognition and emotions in humans and how to help parents understand that continued vigilance concerning potential problems in attention and self-regulation will be necessary.
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A Family Psychosocial Risk Questionnaire for Use in Pediatric Practice. Matern Child Health J 2012; 17:1990-2006. [DOI: 10.1007/s10995-012-1208-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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9
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Ribeiro LA, Zachrisson HD, Schjolberg S, Aase H, Rohrer-Baumgartner N, Magnus P. Attention problems and language development in preterm low-birth-weight children: cross-lagged relations from 18 to 36 months. BMC Pediatr 2011; 11:59. [PMID: 21714885 PMCID: PMC3163534 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2431-11-59] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2011] [Accepted: 06/29/2011] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Research has highlighted a series of persistent deficits in cognitive ability in preterm low-birth-weight children. Language and attention problems are among these deficits, although the nature of the relation between attention and language in early development is not well known. This study represents a preliminary attempt to shed light on the relations between attention problems and language development in preterm low-birth-weight children. METHODS The aim of this study was to analyse reciprocal influences between language and attention problems from 18 to 36 months. We used maternal reports on attention problems and language ability referring to a sample of 1288 premature low-birth-weight infants, collected as part of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). A sample of children born full-term was used as the control group (N = 37010). Cross-lagged panel analyses were carried out to study reciprocal influences between attention problems and language. RESULTS Language ability at 18 months did not significantly predict attention problems at 36 months, adjusting for attention problems at 18 months. Attention problems at 18 months significantly predicted changes in language ability from 18 to 36 months, pointing to a precursor role of attention in relation to language in children born preterm. Gender, age corrected for prematurity, and mother's education emerged as important covariates. CONCLUSIONS Preliminary evidence was found for a precursor role of early attention problems in relation to language in prematurity. This finding can contribute to a better understanding of the developmental pathways of attention and language and lead to better management of unfavourable outcomes associated with co-morbid attention and language difficulties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luisa A Ribeiro
- Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Post Box 4404, Nydalen, Oslo 0403, Norway
| | - Henrik D Zachrisson
- Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Post Box 4404, Nydalen, Oslo 0403, Norway
| | - Synnve Schjolberg
- Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Post Box 4404, Nydalen, Oslo 0403, Norway
| | - Heidi Aase
- Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Post Box 4404, Nydalen, Oslo 0403, Norway
| | - Nina Rohrer-Baumgartner
- Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Post Box 4404, Nydalen, Oslo 0403, Norway
| | - Per Magnus
- Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Post Box 4404, Nydalen, Oslo 0403, Norway
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van de Weijer-Bergsma E, Wijnroks L, Boom J, de Vries LS, van Haastert IC, Jongmans MJ. Individual differences in developmental trajectories of A-not-B performance in infants born preterm. Dev Neuropsychol 2011; 35:605-21. [PMID: 21038156 DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2010.508545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Because early executive functioning is a potentially important predictor of developmental delay and learning difficulties in infants born preterm, this study assessed the effect of several perinatal predictors on the development of A-not-B performance between 7 and 14 months corrected age in 76 infants born preterm, and its relationship to subsequent global cognitive functioning. Latent Growth Modeling showed that gestational age was a predictor of initial level, and that birth weight and gender were predictors of the rate of developmental change in A-not-B performance. Moreover, initial level and rate of developmental change in A-not-B performance were predictive of global cognitive functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva van de Weijer-Bergsma
- Langeveld Institute for the Study of Education and Development in Childhood and Adolescence, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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Carmody DP, Bennett DS, Lewis M. The effects of prenatal cocaine exposure and gender on inhibitory control and attention. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2011; 33:61-8. [PMID: 21256425 PMCID: PMC3052746 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2010.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2009] [Revised: 06/17/2010] [Accepted: 07/29/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Children exposed prenatally to cocaine show deficits in emotion regulation and inhibitory control. While controlling for the measures of medical complication in the perinatal period, environmental risk, and prenatal polydrug exposure (alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana), we examined the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure and gender on attention and inhibitory control in 203 children at ages 6, 9, and 11. Cocaine exposure affected the performance of males, but not females. Heavily exposed males showed deficits in the attention and the inhibition tasks. In addition, a significantly greater proportion of heavily exposed males (21%) than unexposed males (7%) or heavily exposed females (7%) failed to complete the task (p<0.01). Even without those poorest performing subjects, the overall accuracy for heavily exposed males (81%) was significantly reduced (p<0.05) compared to lightly exposed males (87%) and unexposed males (89%). The findings highlight the importance of considering gender specificity in cocaine exposure effects. Processes by which cocaine effects may be specific to males are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis P. Carmody
- Institute for the Study of Child Development, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08903, United States
| | - David S. Bennett
- Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19144 United States
| | - Michael Lewis
- Institute for the Study of Child Development, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08903, United States
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Kavšek M, Bornstein MH. Visual habituation and dishabituation in preterm infants: a review and meta-analysis. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2010; 31:951-75. [PMID: 20488657 PMCID: PMC3167676 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2010.04.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2009] [Accepted: 04/22/2010] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
We review comparative studies of infant habituation and dishabituation performance focusing on preterm infants. Habituation refers to cognitive encoding, and dishabituation refers to discrimination and memory. If habituation and dishabituation constitute basic information-processing skills, and preterm infants suffer cognitive disadvantages, then preterms should show diminished habituation and dishabituation performance. Our review provides evidence that preterm infants' habituation and dishabituation are impoverished relative to term infants. On the whole, effect sizes indicated that the differences between preterms and terms are of a medium magnitude. We also find that preterms' performance is moderated by risk factors, stimulus materials, procedural variables, and age. These factors need to be taken into account in the construction of tests in which habituation-dishabituation tasks are employed. Overall, the habituation-dishabituation paradigm presents a promising approach in the diagnosis of cognitive status and development in preterm infants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Kavšek
- University of Bonn, Institute for Psychology, Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, 53111 Bonn, Germany, Tel.: +49 (0)228 734360, Fax: +49 (0)228 73 4639
| | - Marc H. Bornstein
- Child and Family Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Suite 8030 6705 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda MD 20892-7971, USA
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Understanding neurodevelopmental outcomes of prematurity: education priorities for NICU parents. Adv Neonatal Care 2010; 10:188-93; quiz 194-5. [PMID: 20697216 DOI: 10.1097/anc.0b013e3181e9414b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
NICU nurses have an important role to play in many aspects of parent education. This article stresses the need for an increased focus on teaching parents about the central role that self-regulation will play in their infant's neurobehavioral development not only during the early infancy period but throughout all of childhood and adolescence. Suggestions are made about how to conceptualize the relation between cognition and emotions in humans and how to help parents understand that continued vigilance concerning potential problems in attention and self-regulation will be necessary.
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14
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Baron IS, Rey-Casserly C. Extremely Preterm Birth Outcome: A Review of Four Decades of Cognitive Research. Neuropsychol Rev 2010; 20:430-52. [DOI: 10.1007/s11065-010-9132-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2010] [Accepted: 04/27/2010] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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15
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Evans GW, Kim P. Multiple risk exposure as a potential explanatory mechanism for the socioeconomic status-health gradient. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2010; 1186:174-89. [PMID: 20201873 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05336.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 228] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gary W Evans
- 3M2061 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
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16
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Poehlmann J, Schwichtenberg AJM, Shah PE, Shlafer RJ, Hahn E, Maleck S. The development of effortful control in children born preterm. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL FOR THE SOCIETY OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY, AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, DIVISION 53 2010; 39:522-36. [PMID: 20589563 PMCID: PMC2917753 DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2010.486319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
This prospective longitudinal study examined emerging effortful control skills at 24- and 36-months postterm in 172 children born preterm (<36 weeks gestation). Infant (neonatal health risks), family (sociodemographic risks), and maternal risk factors (depressive symptoms, anger expressions during play interactions) were assessed at six time points across 3 years. In addition, children's emerging effortful control skills, cognitive development, and mother-reported behavior and attention problems were assessed at 24 and 36 months. Analyses documented links between effortful control skills, cognitive skills, and concurrent attention problems in children born preterm. The study also found that preterm children's effortful control skills improved over time. In addition, neonatal health risks, family sociodemographic risks, and angry parenting interactions were associated with less optimal effortful control skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Poehlmann
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA.
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Lawrence EJ, Rubia K, Murray RM, McGuire PK, Walshe M, Allin M, Giampietro V, Rifkin L, Williams SCR, Nosarti C. The neural basis of response inhibition and attention allocation as mediated by gestational age. Hum Brain Mapp 2009; 30:1038-50. [PMID: 18412112 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.20564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Children and adolescents born before 33 weeks of gestation, that is very preterm, may experience problems with the inhibitory control of behaviour and the allocation of attention. Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have found preterm-born adolescents to display altered brain activation in tasks measuring inhibitory control. However, adolescence is a period during which dynamic changes are occurring in the brain, and it is not yet known whether these functional alterations will persist into adulthood, or instead reflect developmental delay. This study used an event-related fMRI Go/No-Go motor response inhibition paradigm, which included an oddball task measuring attention allocation to infrequent stimuli, to compare blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal between 26 preterm-born adults and 21 controls. Group differences in brain activation were observed in inhibition and attention networks during both conditions. During motor response inhibition, preterm-born participants compared to controls showed increased BOLD signal in medial and right lateral posterior brain regions, including middle temporal/occipital gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus and precuneus. During oddball trials, preterm-born young adults displayed attenuated brain activation in a fronto-parietal-cerebellar network which is involved in mediating attention allocation. This pattern of reduced brain activation in task-relevant regions of attention allocation, and increased activation in posterior brain regions during inhibitory control, suggests adult alteration of inhibition and attention processing following very preterm birth, which may reflect a developmental delay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma J Lawrence
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, United Kingdom.
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18
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Response inhibition among early adolescents prenatally exposed to tobacco: an fMRI study. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2009; 31:283-90. [PMID: 19351556 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2009.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2006] [Revised: 01/20/2009] [Accepted: 03/30/2009] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Children prenatally exposed to tobacco have been found to exhibit increased rates of behavior problems related to response inhibition deficits. The present study compared the brain function of tobacco-exposed (n=7) and unexposed (n=11) 12-year-olds during a Go/No-Go response inhibition task using an event-related functional MRI (fMRI) design. Prenatal alcohol exposure, neonatal medical problems, environmental risk, IQ, current environmental smoke exposure, and handedness were statistically controlled. Tobacco-exposed children showed greater activation in a relatively large and diverse set of regions, including left frontal, right occipital, and bilateral temporal and parietal regions. In contrast, unexposed but not exposed children showed activation in the cerebellum, which prior research has indicated is important for attention and motor preparation. The diversity of regions showing greater activation among tobacco-exposed children suggests that their brain function is characterized by an inefficient recruitment of regions required for response inhibition.
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Constable RT, Ment LR, Vohr BR, Kesler SR, Fulbright RK, Lacadie C, Delancy S, Katz KH, Schneider KC, Schafer RJ, Makuch RW, Reiss AR. Prematurely born children demonstrate white matter microstructural differences at 12 years of age, relative to term control subjects: an investigation of group and gender effects. Pediatrics 2008; 121:306-16. [PMID: 18245422 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2007-0414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 201] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The goal was to use diffusion tensor imaging to test the hypothesis that prematurely born children demonstrate long-term, white matter, microstructural differences, relative to term control subjects. METHODS Twenty-nine preterm subjects (birth weight: 600-1250 g) without neonatal brain injury and 22 matched, term, control subjects were evaluated at 12 years of age with MRI studies, including diffusion tensor imaging and volumetric imaging; voxel-based morphometric strategies were used to corroborate regional diffusion tensor imaging results. Subjects also underwent neurodevelopmental assessments. RESULTS Neurodevelopmental assessments showed significant differences in full-scale, verbal, and performance IQ and Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration scores between the preterm and term control subjects. Diffusion tensor imaging studies demonstrated widespread decreases in fractional anisotropy (a measure of fiber tract organization) in the preterm children, compared with the control subjects. Regions included both intrahemispheric association fibers subserving language skills, namely, the right inferior frontooccipital fasciculus and anterior portions of the uncinate fasciculi bilaterally, and the deep white matter regions to which they project, as well as the splenium of the corpus callosum. These changes in fractional anisotropy occurred in subjects with significant differences in frontal, temporal, parietal, and deep white matter volumes. Fractional anisotropy values in the left anterior uncinate correlated with verbal IQ, full-scale IQ, and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised scores for preterm male subjects. In addition, preterm male subjects were found to have the lowest values for fractional anisotropy in the right anterior uncinate fasciculus, and fractional anisotropy values in that region correlated with both verbal IQ and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised scores for the preterm groups; these findings were supported by changes identified with voxel-based morphometric analyses. CONCLUSIONS Compared with term control subjects, prematurely born children with no neonatal ultrasound evidence of white matter injury manifest changes in neural connectivity at 12 years of age.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Todd Constable
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
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Ment LR, Constable RT. Injury and recovery in the developing brain: evidence from functional MRI studies of prematurely born children. NATURE CLINICAL PRACTICE. NEUROLOGY 2007; 3:558-71. [PMID: 17914344 PMCID: PMC2673538 DOI: 10.1038/ncpneuro0616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2007] [Accepted: 07/09/2007] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Functional MRI (fMRI) might provide important insights into emerging data that suggest that recovery from injury can occur in the brains of children born prematurely. Strategies employing auditory stimulation demonstrate blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activation in preterm infants as young as 33 weeks' gestational age, and reliable BOLD signal in response to visual stimulation occurs at term-equivalent age. Strategies based on fMRI are particularly suited to the study of language and memory, and emerging data are likely to provide insights into perplexing reports that have demonstrated improving cognitive scores but persistent volumetric and microstructural changes in frontotemporal language systems in the prematurely born. Even when sex, gestational age and early medical and environmental interventions are taken into account, fMRI data from several investigators suggest the engagement of alternative neural networks for language and memory in the developing preterm brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura R Ment
- Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
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