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Nussenbaum K, Katzman PL, Lu H, Zorowitz S, Hartley CA. Sensitivity to the Instrumental Value of Choice Increases Across Development. Psychol Sci 2024:9567976241256961. [PMID: 38900963 DOI: 10.1177/09567976241256961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Across development, people tend to demonstrate a preference for contexts in which they have the opportunity to make choices. However, it is not clear how children, adolescents, and adults learn to calibrate this preference based on the costs and benefits of agentic choice. Here, in both a primary, in-person, reinforcement-learning experiment (N = 92; age range = 10-25 years) and a preregistered online replication study (N = 150; age range = 8-25 years), we found that participants overvalued agentic choice but also calibrated their agency decisions to the reward structure of the environment, increasingly selecting agentic choice when choice had greater instrumental value. Regression analyses and computational modeling of participant choices revealed that participants' bias toward agentic choice-reflecting its intrinsic value-remained consistent across age, whereas sensitivity to the instrumental value of agentic choice increased from childhood to early adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate Nussenbaum
- Department of Psychology, New York University
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University
| | | | - Hanxiao Lu
- Department of Psychology, New York University
| | | | - Catherine A Hartley
- Department of Psychology, New York University
- Center for Neural Science, New York University
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2
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Milbocker KA, Smith IF, Klintsova AY. Maintaining a Dynamic Brain: A Review of Empirical Findings Describing the Roles of Exercise, Learning, and Environmental Enrichment in Neuroplasticity from 2017-2023. Brain Plast 2024; 9:75-95. [PMID: 38993580 PMCID: PMC11234674 DOI: 10.3233/bpl-230151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Brain plasticity, also termed neuroplasticity, refers to the brain's life-long ability to reorganize itself in response to various changes in the environment, experiences, and learning. The brain is a dynamic organ capable of responding to stimulating or depriving environments, activities, and circumstances from changes in gene expression, release of neurotransmitters and neurotrophic factors, to cellular reorganization and reprogrammed functional connectivity. The rate of neuroplastic alteration varies across the lifespan, creating further challenges for understanding and manipulating these processes to benefit motor control, learning, memory, and neural remodeling after injury. Neuroplasticity-related research spans several decades, and hundreds of reviews have been written and published since its inception. Here we present an overview of the empirical papers published between 2017 and 2023 that address the unique effects of exercise, plasticity-stimulating activities, and the depriving effect of social isolation on brain plasticity and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ian F. Smith
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, University of Delaware, Newark, USA
| | - Anna Y. Klintsova
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, University of Delaware, Newark, USA
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3
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Joseph A, Sylva K, Sammons P, Siraj I. Drivers of the socio-economic disadvantage gap in England: Sequential pathways that include the home learning environment and self-regulation as mediators. BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024; 94:22-40. [PMID: 37527934 DOI: 10.1111/bjep.12629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Revised: 07/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Socio-economic status (SES) is a powerful predictor of attainment. Research has identified multiple mechanisms that underpin the effect of SES on attainment. For example, self-regulation (processes through which individuals direct and control their attention, emotion and behaviour) has been identified as one mechanism mediating the SES attainment gap. However, previous studies have not directly tested the statistical pathways by which children from lower SES backgrounds develop low self-regulation skills and subsequently poor attainment at the end of primary school. Adding the home learning environment, which is associated with both SES and self-regulation, further fleshes out the longitudinal pathways. AIMS We propose and test a new model where the relationship between SES and school attainment is sequentially mediated by the family home learning environment and the child's self-regulation. SAMPLE This study uses the Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education data set to study 2311 English children. METHODS We measured SES (via socio-economic disadvantage) based on an index of low parental education, occupation and income at age 3+. The home learning environment was measured by the Home Learning Environment Index at age 3+; self-regulation was a teacher report on the Child Social Behaviour Questionnaire at age 4+ and attainment was measured via scores on national assessments of English and Maths at age 11. RESULTS Our measure of disadvantage predicted attainment. The home learning environment predicted children's self-regulation skills. The relationship between disadvantage and attainment was sequentially mediated by the home learning environment and self-regulation. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that home learning environment and self-regulation may play a sequential role in perpetuating socio-economic disparities in education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allen Joseph
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Kathy Sylva
- Department of Education, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Pam Sammons
- Department of Education, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Iram Siraj
- Department of Education, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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4
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Lurie LA, Rosen ML, Weissman DG, Machlin L, Lengua L, Sheridan MA, McLaughlin KA. Cognitive stimulation as a mechanism linking socioeconomic status and neural function supporting working memory: a longitudinal fMRI study. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhad545. [PMID: 38236725 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Childhood experiences of low socioeconomic status are associated with alterations in neural function in the frontoparietal network and ventral visual stream, which may drive differences in working memory. However, the specific features of low socioeconomic status environments that contribute to these disparities remain poorly understood. Here, we examined experiences of cognitive deprivation (i.e. decreased variety and complexity of experience), as opposed to experiences of threat (i.e. violence exposure), as a potential mechanism through which family income contributes to alterations in neural activation during working memory. As part of a longitudinal study, 148 youth between aged 10 and 13 years completed a visuospatial working memory fMRI task. Early childhood low income, chronicity of low income in early childhood, and current income-to-needs were associated with task-related activation in the ventral visual stream and frontoparietal network. The association of family income with decreased activation in the lateral occipital cortex and intraparietal sulcus during working memory was mediated by experiences of cognitive deprivation. Surprisingly, however, family income and deprivation were not significantly related to working memory performance, and only deprivation was associated with academic achievement in this sample. Taken together, these findings suggest that early life low income and associated cognitive deprivation are important factors in neural function supporting working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy A Lurie
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, 235 E. Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, United States
| | - Maya L Rosen
- Program in Neuroscience, Smith College, 44 College Lane, Northampton, MA 01073, United States
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
| | - David G Weissman
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
| | - Laura Machlin
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
| | - Lilliana Lengua
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, 3921 W. Stevens Way, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
| | - Margaret A Sheridan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, 235 E. Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, United States
| | - Katie A McLaughlin
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
- The Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health, University of Oregon, 2800 NE Liberty Street, Portland, OR 97211, United States
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5
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MacIntyre AD, Lo HYJ, Cross I, Scott S. Task-irrelevant auditory metre shapes visuomotor sequential learning. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2023; 87:872-893. [PMID: 35690927 PMCID: PMC10017598 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-022-01690-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The ability to learn and reproduce sequences is fundamental to every-day life, and deficits in sequential learning are associated with developmental disorders such as specific language impairment. Individual differences in sequential learning are usually investigated using the serial reaction time task (SRTT), wherein a participant responds to a series of regularly timed, seemingly random visual cues that in fact follow a repeating deterministic structure. Although manipulating inter-cue interval timing has been shown to adversely affect sequential learning, the role of metre (the patterning of salience across time) remains unexplored within the regularly timed, visual SRTT. The current experiment consists of an SRTT adapted to include task-irrelevant auditory rhythms conferring a sense of metre. We predicted that (1) participants' (n = 41) reaction times would reflect the auditory metric structure; (2) that disrupting the correspondence between the learned visual sequence and auditory metre would impede performance; and (3) that individual differences in sensitivity to rhythm would predict the magnitude of these effects. Altering the relationship via a phase shift between the trained visual sequence and auditory metre slowed reaction times. Sensitivity to rhythm was predictive of reaction times over all. In an exploratory analysis, we, moreover, found that approximately half of participants made systematically different responses to visual cues on the basis of the cues' position within the auditory metre. We demonstrate the influence of auditory temporal structures on visuomotor sequential learning in a widely used task where metre and timing are rarely considered. The current results indicate sensitivity to metre as a possible latent factor underpinning individual differences in SRTT performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Deighton MacIntyre
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK. .,Centre for Music and Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. .,MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | | | - Ian Cross
- Centre for Music and Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sophie Scott
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
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6
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Mickley Steinmetz KR, Gaudier-Diaz MM, Huber EC, Edwards BH, Muscatell KA. Investigating social connection as a protective factor against exam stress in college students. JOURNAL OF AMERICAN COLLEGE HEALTH : J OF ACH 2022:1-4. [PMID: 35997699 DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2022.2109037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Objective: To examine social connection as a protective factor against exam stress. Participants: 55 undergraduate students at two universities. Methods: Students were evaluated on an exam day for their hardest class and at baseline, a day in a week where they had no exams. Social connection, salivary cortisol, perceived stress, and cognitive control (measured with the Stroop test) were assessed. Exam scores were later reported. Results: Higher social connection was associated with lower perceived stress on exam day. At a small liberal arts school, higher levels of social connection were associated with higher Stroop scores. This correlation with cognitive control was not significant at a large public university. Conclusions: These findings indicate that social connection may be a protective factor in mitigating perceived stress and cognitive control capabilities may help facilitate reduced exam stress in some school environments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Monica M Gaudier-Diaz
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Emily C Huber
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Brandon H Edwards
- Department of Psychology, Wofford College, Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA
| | - Keely A Muscatell
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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7
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Ellis BJ, Sheridan MA, Belsky J, McLaughlin KA. Why and how does early adversity influence development? Toward an integrated model of dimensions of environmental experience. Dev Psychopathol 2022; 34:447-471. [PMID: 35285791 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421001838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Two extant frameworks - the harshness-unpredictability model and the threat-deprivation model - attempt to explain which dimensions of adversity have distinct influences on development. These models address, respectively, why, based on a history of natural selection, development operates the way it does across a range of environmental contexts, and how the neural mechanisms that underlie plasticity and learning in response to environmental experiences influence brain development. Building on these frameworks, we advance an integrated model of dimensions of environmental experience, focusing on threat-based forms of harshness, deprivation-based forms of harshness, and environmental unpredictability. This integrated model makes clear that the why and the how of development are inextricable and, together, essential to understanding which dimensions of the environment matter. Core integrative concepts include the directedness of learning, multiple levels of developmental adaptation to the environment, and tradeoffs between adaptive and maladaptive developmental responses to adversity. The integrated model proposes that proximal and distal cues to threat-based and deprivation-based forms of harshness, as well as unpredictability in those cues, calibrate development to both immediate rearing environments and broader ecological contexts, current and future. We highlight actionable directions for research needed to investigate the integrated model and advance understanding of dimensions of environmental experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruce J Ellis
- Departments of Psychology and Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Margaret A Sheridan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Jay Belsky
- Department of Human Ecology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA
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8
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Hendry A, Gibson SP, Davies C, Gliga T, McGillion M, Gonzalez-Gomez N. Not all babies are in the same boat: Exploring the effects of socioeconomic status, parental attitudes, and activities during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic on early Executive Functions. INFANCY 2022; 27:555-581. [PMID: 35102670 PMCID: PMC9304249 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Revised: 12/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Early executive functions (EFs) lay the foundations for academic and social outcomes. In this parent‐report study of 575 UK‐based 8‐ to 36 month olds (218 followed longitudinally), we investigate how variation in the home environment before and during the 2020 pandemic relates to infants’ emerging EFs. Parent‐infant enriching activities were positively associated with infant Cognitive Executive Function (CEF) (encompassing inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility). During the most‐restrictive UK lockdown—but not subsequently—socioeconomic status (SES) was positively associated with levels of parent‐infant enriching activities. Parents who regard fostering early learning, affection, and attachment as important were more likely to engage in parent‐infant enriching activities, yet there was no significant pathway from parental attitudes or SES to CEF via activities. Infant screen use was negatively associated with CEF and Regulation. Screen use fully mediated the effect of SES on CEF, and partially mediated the effect of SES on regulation. Parental attitudes toward early learning, affection, and attachment did not significantly influence screen use. These results indicate that although parental attitudes influence the development of early EFs, interventions targeting attitudes as a means of increasing enriching activities, and thus EF are likely to be less effective than reducing barriers to engaging in enriching activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Hendry
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Catherine Davies
- School of Languages, Cultures and Societies, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Teodora Gliga
- School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
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9
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Markant J, Amso D. Context and attention control determine whether attending to competing information helps or hinders learning in school-aged children. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2021; 13:e1577. [PMID: 34498382 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Attention control regulates efficient processing of goal-relevant information by suppressing interference from irrelevant competing inputs while also flexibly allocating attention across relevant inputs according to task demands. Research has established that developing attention control skills promote effective learning by minimizing distractions from task-irrelevant competing information. Additional research also suggests that competing contextual information can provide meaningful input for learning and should not always be ignored. Instead, attending to competing information that is relevant to task goals can facilitate and broaden the scope of children's learning. We review this past research examining effects of attending to task-relevant and task-irrelevant competing information on learning outcomes, focusing on relations between visual attention and learning in childhood. We then present a synthesis argument that complex interactions across learning goals, the contexts of learning environments and tasks, and developing attention control mechanisms will determine whether attending to competing information helps or hinders learning. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Attention Psychology > Learning Psychology > Development and Aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Markant
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
- Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Dima Amso
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
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10
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Abstract
Childhood socio-economic status (SES), a measure of the availability of material and social resources, is one of the strongest predictors of lifelong well-being. Here we review evidence that experiences associated with childhood SES affect not only the outcome but also the pace of brain development. We argue that higher childhood SES is associated with protracted structural brain development and a prolonged trajectory of functional network segregation, ultimately leading to more efficient cortical networks in adulthood. We hypothesize that greater exposure to chronic stress accelerates brain maturation, whereas greater access to novel positive experiences decelerates maturation. We discuss the impact of variation in the pace of brain development on plasticity and learning. We provide a generative theoretical framework to catalyse future basic science and translational research on environmental influences on brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ursula A Tooley
- Neuroscience Graduate Group, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Danielle S Bassett
- Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, College of Arts & Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA
| | - Allyson P Mackey
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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11
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Executive function as a mechanism linking socioeconomic status to internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in children and adolescents. J Adolesc 2021; 89:149-160. [PMID: 33971502 PMCID: PMC8203104 DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2021.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The association between low socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood and increased risk for psychopathology is well established, but the mechanisms explaining this relationship are poorly understood. Here, we investigate the potential role of difficulties in executive functioning (EF) as a mechanism linking childhood and adolescent SES with externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. METHODS We examined whether difficulties with EF mediated the association between SES and externalizing and internalizing psychopathology in two cross-sectional samples of children and adolescents (Study 1: N = 94, ages 6-18, 51.1% male; Study 2: N = 259, ages 8-16, 54.1% male) from diverse SES backgrounds in the United States. EF was measured through behavioral tasks and parent-reported behavioral regulation (BR). RESULTS In both samples, children and adolescents from lower SES families were more likely to experience both externalizing and internalizing psychopathology than youth from more advantaged backgrounds and exhibited greater EF difficulties - they had lower performance on a task measuring inhibitory control and lower parent-rated BR. Reduced inhibitory control and BR, in turn, were associated with higher externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. In Study 1, difficulties with BR mediated the association of low-SES with both externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. In Study 2, low inhibitory control mediated the association between low-SES and externalizing psychopathology. These findings largely persisted after adjusting for exposure to violence, a form of adversity that is common in children from low-SES backgrounds. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that reduced EF may be an underlying mechanism through which low-SES confers risk for psychopathology in children and adolescents.
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12
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Davies C, Hendry A, Gibson SP, Gliga T, McGillion M, Gonzalez-Gomez N. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) during COVID-19 boosts growth in language and executive function. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2021; 30:e2241. [PMID: 34220356 PMCID: PMC8236989 DOI: 10.1002/icd.2241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Revised: 05/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
High‐quality, centre‐based education and care during the early years benefit cognitive development, especially in children from disadvantaged backgrounds. During the COVID‐19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns, access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) was disrupted. We investigate how this period affected the developmental advantages typically offered by ECEC. Using parent‐report data from 189 families living in the UK, we explore associations between time spent in ECEC by 8‐to‐36‐month‐olds, their socioeconomic background, and their growth in language and executive functions between Spring and Winter 2020. Receptive vocabulary growth was greater in children who continued to attend ECEC during the period, with a stronger positive effect for children from less advantaged backgrounds. The growth of cognitive executive functions (CEFs) was boosted by ECEC attendance during the period, regardless of socioeconomic background. Our findings highlight the importance of high‐quality ECEC for the development of key skills and for levelling socioeconomic inequalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Davies
- School of Languages, Cultures, and Societies University of Leeds Leeds UK
| | - Alexandra Hendry
- Department of Experimental Psychology University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | | | - Teodora Gliga
- School of Psychology University of East Anglia Norwich UK
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13
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Kaldy Z. Coffee with the executive. Curr Biol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.02.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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14
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Brieant A, Herd T, Deater-Deckard K, Lee J, King-Casas B, Kim-Spoon J. Processes linking socioeconomic disadvantage and neural correlates of cognitive control in adolescence. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 48:100935. [PMID: 33581593 PMCID: PMC7887639 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Revised: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Socioeconomic status (SES) is broadly associated with self-regulatory abilities across childhood and adolescence. However, there is limited understanding of the mechanisms underlying this association, especially during adolescence when individuals are particularly sensitive to environmental influences. The current study tested perceived stress, household chaos, parent cognitive control, and parent-adolescent relationship quality as potential proximal mediators of the association between family SES and neural correlates of cognitive control. A sample of 167 adolescents and their primary caregivers participated in a longitudinal study across four years. SES was indexed by caregivers' education and income-to-needs ratio at Time 1. At Time 2, adolescents reported on their perceived stress, household chaos, and relationship with parents, and parents completed a cognitive control task. Two years later, adolescents completed the same cognitive control task while blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) response was monitored with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). A parallel mediation model indicated that parent cognitive control, but not other proximal factors, explained the relation between SES and adolescents' activation in the middle frontal gyrus during a cognitive control task. The results suggest potential targets for intervention and prevention efforts that may positively alter neurocognitive outcomes related to socioeconomic disadvantage.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Toria Herd
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, United States
| | - Kirby Deater-Deckard
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, United States
| | - Jacob Lee
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, United States
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15
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Peverill M, Dirks MA, Narvaja T, Herts KL, Comer JS, McLaughlin KA. Socioeconomic status and child psychopathology in the United States: A meta-analysis of population-based studies. Clin Psychol Rev 2021; 83:101933. [PMID: 33278703 PMCID: PMC7855901 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 37.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Revised: 09/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Children raised in families with low socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to exhibit symptoms of psychopathology. However, the strength of this association, the specific indices of SES most strongly associated with childhood psychopathology, and factors moderating the association are strikingly inconsistent across studies. We conducted a meta-analysis of 120 estimates of the association between family SES and child psychopathology in 13 population-representative cohorts of children studied in the US since 1980. Among 26,715 participants aged 3-19 years, we observed small to moderate associations of low family income (g = 0.19), low Hollingshead index (g = 0.21), low subjective SES (g = 0.24), low parental education (g = 0.25), poverty status (g = 0.25), and receipt of public assistance (g = 0.32) with higher levels of childhood psychopathology. Moderator testing revealed that receipt of public assistance showed an especially strong association with psychopathology and that SES was more strongly related to externalizing than internalizing psychopathology. Dispersion in our final, random effects, model suggested that the relation between SES and child psychopathology is likely to vary in different populations of children and in different communities. These findings highlight the need for additional research on the mechanisms of SES-related psychopathology risk in children in order to identify targets for potential intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Peverill
- University of Washington, Department of Psychology, Seattle, WA, United States of America; Harvard University, Department of Psychology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America.
| | - Melanie A Dirks
- McGill University, Department of Psychology, Montreal, Canada
| | - Tomás Narvaja
- University of Washington, School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, United States of America
| | - Kate L Herts
- Weill Cornell Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, White Plains, NY, United States of America
| | - Jonathan S Comer
- Florida International University, Department of Psychology, Miami, FL, United States of America
| | - Katie A McLaughlin
- Harvard University, Department of Psychology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
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Perera-W.A. H, Salehuddin K, Khairudin R, Schaefer A. The Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Scalp Event-Related Potentials: A Systematic Review. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:601489. [PMID: 33584228 PMCID: PMC7873529 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.601489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Several decades of behavioral research have established that variations in socioeconomic status (SES) are related to differences in cognitive performance. Neuroimaging and psychophysiological techniques have recently emerged as a method of choice to better understand the neurobiological processes underlying this phenomenon. Here we present a systematic review of a particular sub-domain of this field. Specifically, we used the PICOS approach to review studies investigating potential relationships between SES and scalp event-related brain potentials (ERP). This review found evidence that SES is related to amplitude variations in a diverse range of ERPs: P1, N1, N2, Error-Related Negativities (ERN), N400, auditory evoked potentials, negative difference waves (Nd), P3 and slow waves (SW). These ERPs include early, mid-latency and late potentials that reflect a broad range of cognitive processes (e.g., automatic attentional processes, overt attention, language, executive function, etc.). In this review, all SES effects on ERPs appeared to reflect an impairment or a less efficient form of task-related neural activity for low-SES compared to high-SES individuals. Overall, these results confirm that a wide variety of distinct neural processes with different functional meanings are sensitive to SES differences. The findings of this review also suggest that the relationship between SES and some ERP components may depend on the developmental stage of study participants. Results are further discussed in terms of the current limitations of this field and future avenues of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiran Perera-W.A.
- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
| | - Khazriyati Salehuddin
- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
| | - Rozainee Khairudin
- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
| | - Alexandre Schaefer
- Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Psychology, Monash University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
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Taylor RL, Cooper SR, Jackson JJ, Barch DM. Assessment of Neighborhood Poverty, Cognitive Function, and Prefrontal and Hippocampal Volumes in Children. JAMA Netw Open 2020; 3:e2023774. [PMID: 33141160 PMCID: PMC7610187 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.23774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE The association between poverty and unfavorable cognitive outcomes is robust, but most research has focused on individual household socioeconomic status (SES). There is increasing evidence that neighborhood context explains unique variance not accounted for by household SES. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether neighborhood poverty (NP) is associated with cognitive function and prefrontal and hippocampal brain structure in ways that are dissociable from household SES. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cross-sectional study used a baseline sample of the ongoing longitudinal Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. The ABCD Study will follow participants for assessments each year for 10 years. Data were collected at 21 US sites, mostly within urban and suburban areas, between September 2019 and October 2018. School-based recruitment was used to create a participant sample reflecting the US population. Data analysis was conducted from March to June 2019. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES NP and household SES were included as factors potentially associated with National Institutes of Health Toolbox Cognitive Battery subtests and hippocampal and prefrontal (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex [DLPFC], dorsomedial PFC [DMPFC], superior frontal gyrus [SFG]) volumes. Independent variables were first considered individually and then together in mixed-effects models with age, sex, and intracranial volume as covariates. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess shared variance in NP to brain structure and cognitive task associations. The tested hypotheses were formulated after data collection. RESULTS A total of 11 875 children aged 9 and 10 years (5678 [47.8%] girls) were analyzed. Greater NP was associated with lower scores across all cognitive domains (eg, total composite: β = -0.18; 95% CI, -0.21 to -0.15; P < .001) and with decreased brain volume in the DLPFC (eg, right DLPFC: β = -0.09; 95% CI, -0.12 to -0.07; P < .001), DMPFC (eg, right DMPC: β = -0.07; 95% CI, -0.09 to -0.05; P < .001), SFG (eg, right SFG: β = -0.05; 95% CI, -0.08 to -0.03; P < .001), and right hippocampus (β = -0.04; 95% CI, -0.06 to -0.01; P = .01), even when accounting for household income. Greater household income was associated with higher scores across all cognitive domains (eg, total composite: β = 0.30; 95% CI, 0.28 to 0.33; P < .001) and larger volume in all prefrontal and hippocampal brain regions (eg, right hippocampus: β = 0.04; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.07; P < .001) even when accounting for NP. The SEM model was a good fit across all cognitive domains, with prefrontal regions being associated with NP relations to language (picture vocabulary: estimate [SE], -0.03 [0.01]; P < .001; oral reading: estimate [SE], -0.02 [0.01]; P < .001), episodic memory (picture sequence: estimate [SE], -0.02 [0.01]; P = .008), and working memory (dimensional card sort: estimate [SE], -0.02 [0.01]; P = .001; flanker inhibitory control: estimate [SE], -0.01 [0.01]; P = .01; list sorting: estimate [SE], -0.03 [0.01]; P < .001) and hippocampal regions being associated with NP associations with language (picture vocabulary: estimate [SE], -0.01 [0.004]; P < .001) and episodic memory (picture sequence: estimate [SE], -0.01 [0.004]; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this study, NP accounted for unique variance in cognitive function and prefrontal and right hippocampal brain volume. These findings demonstrate the importance of including broader environmental influences when conceptualizing early life adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita L. Taylor
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St Louis, Missouri
| | - Shelly R. Cooper
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St Louis, Missouri
| | - Joshua J. Jackson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St Louis, Missouri
| | - Deanna M. Barch
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St Louis, Missouri
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University, St Louis, Missouri
- Department of Radiology, Washington University, St Louis, Missouri
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Rosen ML, Hagen MP, Lurie LA, Miles ZE, Sheridan MA, Meltzoff AN, McLaughlin KA. Cognitive Stimulation as a Mechanism Linking Socioeconomic Status With Executive Function: A Longitudinal Investigation. Child Dev 2020; 91:e762-e779. [PMID: 31591711 PMCID: PMC7138720 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Executive functions (EF), including working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility, vary as a function of socioeconomic status (SES), with children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds having poorer performance than their higher SES peers. Using observational methods, we investigated cognitive stimulation in the home as a mechanism linking SES with EF. In a sample of 101 children aged 60-75 months, cognitive stimulation fully mediated SES-related differences in EF. Critically, cognitive stimulation was positively associated with the development of inhibition and cognitive flexibility across an 18-month follow-up period. Furthermore, EF at T1 explained SES-related differences in academic achievement at T2. Early cognitive stimulation-a modifiable factor-may be a desirable target for interventions designed to ameliorate SES-related differences in cognitive development and academic achievement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya L. Rosen
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University
| | - McKenzie P. Hagen
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University
| | - Lucy A. Lurie
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University
| | - Zoe E. Miles
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington
| | | | - Andrew N. Meltzoff
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington
- Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, University of Washington
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Rosen ML, Amso D, McLaughlin KA. The role of the visual association cortex in scaffolding prefrontal cortex development: A novel mechanism linking socioeconomic status and executive function. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2019; 39:100699. [PMID: 31446376 PMCID: PMC6783336 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2018] [Revised: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with executive function (EF) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) development. However, understanding of the specific aspects of SES that influence development of EF and the PFC remains limited. We briefly review existing literature on proposed mechanisms linking SES with EF. Then, we present a novel conceptual model arguing that early cognitive stimulation shapes EF and PFC development. We propose that cognitive stimulation drives lower-level sensory and perceptual processes that may impact EF and PFC development through reciprocal connections between the ventral visual stream and PFC. We argue that caregivers guide attention and associative learning, which provides children the opportunity to regulate attention and gain semantic knowledge. This experience in turn allows for opportunities to train the PFC to resolve conflict between stimuli with overlapping features and engage in increasingly complex computations as visual processing systems develop; this may lay the groundwork for development of EF. We review existing evidence for this model and end by highlighting how this conceptual model could launch future research questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya L Rosen
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, United States; Department of Psychology, Harvard University, United States.
| | - Dima Amso
- Cognitive, Linguistics, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, United States
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Werchan DM, Lynn A, Kirkham NZ, Amso D. The emergence of object‐based visual attention in infancy: A role for family socioeconomic status and competing visual features. INFANCY 2019; 24:752-767. [DOI: 10.1111/infa.12309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2018] [Revised: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Denise M. Werchan
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences Brown University Providence Rhode Island
| | - Andrew Lynn
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences Brown University Providence Rhode Island
| | - Natasha Z. Kirkham
- Department of Psychological Sciences Birkbeck University of London London UK
| | - Dima Amso
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences Brown University Providence Rhode Island
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