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Juvrud J, Haas SA, Lindskog M, Astor K, Namgyel SC, Wangmo T, Wangchuk, Dorjee S, Tshering KP, Gredebäck G. High quality social environment buffers infants' cognitive development from poor maternal mental health: Evidence from a study in Bhutan. Dev Sci 2021; 25:e13203. [PMID: 34897908 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Poor maternal mental health negatively impacts cognitive development from infancy to childhood, affecting both behavior and brain architecture. In a non-western context (Thimphu, Bhutan), we demonstrate that culturally-moderated factors such as family, community social support, and enrichment may buffer and scaffold the development of infant cognition when maternal mental health is poor. We used eye-tracking to measure early building blocks of cognition: attention regulation and social perception, in 9-month-old Bhutanese infants (N = 121). The cognitive development of Bhutanese infants in richer social environments was buffered from poor maternal mental health, while for infants in environments with lower rates of protective social environment factors, worse maternal mental health significantly predicted greater costs for infant attention, a fundamental building block cognition. International policies and interventions geared to improve maternal mental health and child health outcomes should incorporate each regions' unique family, cultural, and community support structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Juvrud
- Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sara A Haas
- Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Marcus Lindskog
- Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Kim Astor
- Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sangay C Namgyel
- Faculty of Nursing and Public Health, Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan, Thimphu, Bhutan
| | - Tshering Wangmo
- Faculty of Nursing and Public Health, Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan, Thimphu, Bhutan
| | - Wangchuk
- Faculty of Nursing and Public Health, Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan, Thimphu, Bhutan
| | - Sithar Dorjee
- Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan, Thimphu, Bhutan
| | | | - Gustaf Gredebäck
- Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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2
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Fish LA, Jones EJH. A survey on the attitudes of parents with young children on in-home monitoring technologies and study designs for infant research. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0245793. [PMID: 33544777 PMCID: PMC7864397 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Remote in-home infant monitoring technologies hold great promise for increasing the scalability and safety of infant research (including in regard to the current Covid-19 pandemic), but remain rarely employed. These technologies hold a number of fundamental challenges and ethical concerns that need addressing to aid the success of this fast-growing field. In particular, the responsible development of such technologies requires caregiver input. We conducted a survey of the opinions of 410 caregivers on the viability, privacy and data access of remote in-home monitoring technologies and study designs. Infant-friendly wearable devices (such as sensing body suits) were viewed favourably. Caregivers were marginally more likely to accept video and audio recording in the home if data was anonymised (through automated processing) at point of collection, particularly when observations were lengthy. Caregivers were more open to international data sharing for anonymous data. Caregivers were interested in viewing all types of data, but were particularly keen to access video and audio recordings for censoring purposes (i.e., to delete data segments). Taken together, our results indicate generally positive attitudes to remote in-home monitoring technologies and studies for infant research but highlight specific considerations such as safety, privacy and family practicalities (e.g. multiple caregivers, visitors and varying schedules) that must be taken into account when developing future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurel A. Fish
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Emily J. H. Jones
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
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3
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Pyykkö J, Ashorn U, Chilora E, Maleta K, Ashorn P, Leppänen JM. Associations between individual variations in visual attention at 9 months and behavioral competencies at 18 months in rural Malawi. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0239613. [PMID: 33002053 PMCID: PMC7529224 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Theoretical and empirical considerations suggest that individual differences in infant visual attention correlate with variations in cognitive skills later in childhood. Here we tested this hypothesis in infants from rural Malawi (n = 198-377, depending on analysis), who were assessed with eye tracking tests of visual orienting, anticipatory looks, and attention to faces at 9 months, and more conventional tests of cognitive control (A-not-B), motor, language, and socioemotional development at 18 months. The results showed no associations between measures of infant attention at 9 months and cognitive skills at 18 months, either in analyses linking infant visual orienting with broad cognitive outcomes or analyses linking specific constructs between the two time points (i.e., switching of anticipatory looks and manual reaching responses), as correlations varied between -0.08 and 0.14. Measures of physical growth, and family socioeconomic characteristics were also not correlated with cognitive outcomes at 18 months in the current sample (correlations between -0.10 and 0.19). The results do not support the use of the current tests of infant visual attention as a predictive tool for 18-month-old infants' cognitive skills in the Malawian setting. The results are discussed in light of the potential limitations of the employed infant tests as well as potentially unique characteristics of early cognitive development in low-resource settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juha Pyykkö
- Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Ulla Ashorn
- Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Eletina Chilora
- Department of Public Health, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi
| | - Kenneth Maleta
- Department of Public Health, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi
| | - Per Ashorn
- Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Department of Paediatrics, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
| | - Jukka M. Leppänen
- Infant Cognition Laboratory, Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
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Tomalski P, Malinowska-Korczak A. What Do Young Infants Do During Eye-Tracking Experiments? IP-BET - A Coding Scheme for Quantifying Spontaneous Infant and Parent Behaviour. Front Psychol 2020; 11:764. [PMID: 32411051 PMCID: PMC7198886 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Eye-tracking measurement of looking is the fundamental method in infancy research. Over the last few decades it has provided many of the most significant discoveries in developmental psychology. Infants engage in looking tasks and use their bodies for learning differently from adults, yet, the breadth of their behavioural repertoire and the constraints that the testing situation places on them remain under-explored. Young infants are tested in close physical proximity to their parent, interact during the experiment and rely on the parent to stay engaged in the task. Infants may also engage a different set of skills (e.g. when self-regulating) to perform the very same looking tasks in comparison with adult participants. We devised a coding scheme to systematically analyse task-relevant (attention to the screen) and extraneous behaviours [body movement, self-touch, non-nutritive sucking (NNS), affect] that infants exhibit during an eye-tracking session. We also measured parental behaviours (attention to the screen or the child), including dyadic interactions with the infant (talking, physical contact). We outline the rationale for the scheme and present descriptive data on the behaviour of a large group of typical 5- and 6-month-olds (n = 94) during three standard eye-tracking tasks in two seating arrangements. The majority of infants showed very high and consistent within-group attention to the screen, while there were large individual differences in the amount of limb and body movement and the use of self-regulatory behaviours (NNS, self-touch, object manipulation). Very few sex differences were found. Parents spent most time attending to the screen, but engaged in some forms of dyadic interaction, despite being given standard task instructions that minimise parental interference. Our results demonstrate the variability in infants' extraneous behaviours during standard eye-tracking despite comparable duration of attention to the screen. They show that spontaneous interactions with the parent should be more systematically considered as an integral part of the measurement of infant looking. We discuss the utility of our scheme to better understand the dynamics of looking and task performance in infant looking paradigms: those involving eye-tracking and those measuring looking duration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Przemysław Tomalski
- Neurocognitive Development Lab, Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Anna Malinowska-Korczak
- Neurocognitive Development Lab, Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
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Brito NH, Fifer WP, Amso D, Barr R, Bell MA, Calkins S, Flynn A, Montgomery-Downs HE, Oakes LM, Richards JE, Samuelson LM, Colombo J. Beyond the Bayley: Neurocognitive Assessments of Development During Infancy and Toddlerhood. Dev Neuropsychol 2019; 44:220-247. [PMID: 30616391 PMCID: PMC6399032 DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2018.1564310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2018] [Revised: 12/15/2018] [Accepted: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The use of global, standardized instruments is conventional among clinicians and researchers interested in assessing neurocognitive development. Exclusively relying on these tests for evaluating effects may underestimate or miss specific effects on early cognition. The goal of this review is to identify alternative measures for possible inclusion in future clinical trials and interventions evaluating early neurocognitive development. The domains included for consideration are attention, memory, executive function, language, and socioemotional development. Although domain-based tests are limited, as psychometric properties have not yet been well-established, this review includes tasks and paradigms that have been reliably used across various developmental psychology laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie H Brito
- a Department of Applied Psychology , New York University , New York , NY , USA
| | - William P Fifer
- b Division of Developmental Neuroscience , New York State Psychiatric Institute , New York , NY , USA
| | - Dima Amso
- c Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences , Brown University , Providence , RI , USA
| | - Rachel Barr
- d Department of Psychology , Georgetown University , Washington , DC , USA
| | - Martha Ann Bell
- e Department of Psychology , Virginia Tech , Blacksburg , VA , USA
| | - Susan Calkins
- f Department of Human Development and Family Studies , University of North Carolina at Greensboro , Greensboro , NC , USA
| | - Albert Flynn
- g School of Food and Nutritional Sciences , University College Cork , Cork , Ireland
| | | | - Lisa M Oakes
- i Department of Psychology , University of California , Davis , CA , USA
| | - John E Richards
- j Department of Psychology , University of South Carolina , Columbia , SC , USA
| | | | - John Colombo
- l Department of Psychology , University of Kansas , Lawrence , KS , USA
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