Declarative memory in abused and neglected infants

Positive or negative environmental modulations on human brain development: the morpho-functional outcomes of music training or stress

In the last couple of decades, the study of human living brain has benefitted of neuroimaging and non-invasive electrophysiological techniques, which are particularly valuable during development. A number of studies allowed to trace the usual stages leading from pregnancy to adult age, and relate them to functional and behavioral measurements. It was also possible to explore the effects of some interventions, behavioral or not, showing that the commonly followed pathway to adulthood may be steered by external interventions. These events may result in behavioral modifications but also in structural changes, in some cases limiting plasticity or extending/modifying critical periods. In this review, we outline the healthy human brain development in the absence of major issues or diseases. Then, the effects of negative (different stressors) and positive (music training) environmental stimuli on brain and behavioral development is depicted. Hence, it may be concluded that the typical development follows a course strictly dependent from environmental inputs, and that external intervention can be designed to positively counteract negative influences, particularly at young ages. We also focus on the social aspect of development, which starts in utero and continues after birth by building social relationships. This poses a great responsibility in handling children education and healthcare politics, pointing to social accountability for the responsible development of each child.

Cognitive Outcomes of Children With Complex Trauma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses of Longitudinal Studies

Longitudinal studies have shown that children with complex trauma (i.e., exposure to multiple or repeated traumatic events of an interpersonal nature) have poorer cognitive outcomes later in life than children without complex trauma. This association may be moderated by the timing of the trauma, which may explain, in part, some heterogeneity in the findings reported across previous investigations. The objective of the systematic review and meta-analyses was to compare the cognitive outcomes of children with complex trauma and controls and to explore whether the timing of trauma (i.e., its onset and recency) moderated this association. Electronic databases (APA PsycNET, Pubmed Central, ERIC, CINAHL, Embase) and gray literature were systematically searched. To be included, studies had to (1) have a longitudinal design, (2) comprise children with complex trauma and controls, and (3) include a cognitive assessment. Thirteen studies were identified. Meta-analyses were conducted to compare children with complex trauma and controls, while subgroup analyses and meta-regressions explored the impact of potential moderators. Children with complex trauma had poorer overall cognitive functioning than controls, and the timing of trauma (early onset and, to a greater extent, recency of trauma) moderated this association. Thus, findings suggest that children with complex trauma are at risk of cognitive difficulties quickly after trauma exposure. As such, systematic neuropsychological assessment and interventions supporting the optimal development of cognitive functioning among children with complex trauma should be investigated to determine whether prompt interventions lead to better cognitive functioning.

Early Adversity and Critical Periods: Neurodevelopmental Consequences of Violating the Expectable Environment

It is now widely recognized that children exposed to adverse life events in the first years of life are at increased risk for a variety of neural, behavioral, and psychological sequelae. As we discuss in this paper, adverse events represent a violation of the expectable environment. If such violations occur during a critical period of brain development, the detrimental effects of early adversity are likely to be long lasting. Here we discuss the various ways adversity becomes neurobiologically embedded, and how the timing of such adversity plays an important role in determining outcomes. We conclude our paper by offering recommendations for how to elucidate the neural mechanisms responsible for the behavioral sequelae and how best to model the effects of early adversity.

Timing of the first report and highest level of child protection response in association with early developmental vulnerabilities in an Australian population cohort

BACKGROUND

Childhood maltreatment is associated with early childhood developmental vulnerabilities. However, the extent to which higher levels of child protection responses confer benefit to developmental competencies, and the impact of earlier timing of first reports in relation to early childhood vulnerability remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE

We examined associations between early developmental vulnerabilities and (1) the highest level of child protection response (where OOHC was deemed the highest response among other types of reports/responses), and (2) the developmental timing of the first child protection report.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Participants included 67,027 children from the New South Wales Child Development Study, of whom 10,944 were reported to child protection services up to age 5 years.

METHODS

A series of Multinomial Logistic Regressions were conducted to examine focal associations.

RESULTS

Children with substantiated maltreatment reports showed the strongest odds of vulnerability on three or more developmental domains (adjusted OR = 4.90; 95% CI = 4.13-5.80); children placed in OOHC showed slightly better physical, cognitive and communication competencies (adjusted ORs from 1.83 to 2.65) than those with substantiated reports that did not result in OOHC placements (adjusted OR from 2.77 to 3.67), when each group was compared to children with no child protection reports. Children with first maltreatment reports occurring in the first 18 months of life showed the strongest likelihood of developmental vulnerabilities on three or more developmental domains (adjusted OR = 3.56; 95% CI = 3.15-4.01) relative to children with no child protection reports.

CONCLUSION

Earlier reports of maltreatment may signal the need for targeted remediation of early developmental competencies to mitigate early developmental difficulties.

Latent profiles of early developmental vulnerabilities in a New South Wales child population at age 5 years

OBJECTIVE

Detecting the early emergence of childhood risk for adult mental disorders may lead to interventions for reducing subsequent burden of these disorders. We set out to determine classes of children who may be at risk for later mental disorder on the basis of early patterns of development in a population cohort, and associated exposures gleaned from linked administrative records obtained within the New South Wales Child Development Study.

METHODS

Intergenerational records from government departments of health, education, justice and child protection were linked with the Australian Early Development Census for a state population cohort of 67,353 children approximately 5 years of age. We used binary data from 16 subdomains of the Australian Early Development Census to determine classes of children with shared patterns of Australian Early Development Census-defined vulnerability using latent class analysis. Covariates, which included demographic features (sex, socioeconomic status) and exposure to child maltreatment, parental mental illness, parental criminal offending and perinatal adversities (i.e. birth complications, smoking during pregnancy, low birth weight), were examined hierarchically within latent class analysis models.

RESULTS

Four classes were identified, reflecting putative risk states for mental disorders: (1) disrespectful and aggressive/hyperactive behaviour, labelled 'misconduct risk' ( N = 4368; 6.5%); (2) 'pervasive risk' ( N = 2668; 4.0%); (3) 'mild generalised risk' ( N = 7822; 11.6%); and (4) 'no risk' ( N = 52,495; 77.9%). The odds of membership in putative risk groups (relative to the no risk group) were greater among children from backgrounds of child maltreatment, parental history of mental illness, parental history of criminal offending, socioeconomic disadvantage and perinatal adversities, with distinguishable patterns of association for some covariates.

CONCLUSION

Patterns of early childhood developmental vulnerabilities may provide useful indicators for particular mental disorder outcomes in later life, although their predictive utility in this respect remains to be established in longitudinal follow-up of the cohort.

A Path Analysis of Nutrition, Stimulation, and Child Development Among Young Children in Bihar, India

Nutrition plays an important role in the development of a child, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries where malnutrition is often widespread. The relation between diet, hemoglobin, nutritional status, motor development, stimulation and mental development was examined in a cross‐sectional sample of 1,079 children 12–18 months of age living in rural Bihar, India. Path analysis revealed associations between (a) length‐for‐age z‐scores and motor development, standardized β (β) = .285, p < .001, and (b) motor and all mental development outcomes (language: β = .422; personal‐social: β = .490; memory: β = .139; and executive function: β = .072, all p < .001). Additionally, stimulation was significantly associated with language scores and hemoglobin concentration with memory. These findings inform interventions aimed at improving child development in Northern India.

Childhood Maltreatment and Early Developmental Vulnerabilities at Age 5 Years

This study examined associations between maltreatment and early developmental vulnerabilities in a population sample of 68,459 children (M_age  = 5.62 years, SD = .37) drawn from the Australian state of New South Wales, using linked administrative data for the children and their parents (collected 2001-2009). Associations were estimated between (a) any maltreatment, (b) the number of maltreatment types, and (c) the timing of first reported maltreatment and vulnerability and risk status on multiple developmental domains (i.e., physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and communication). Pervasive associations were revealed between maltreatment and all developmental domains; children exposed to two or more maltreatment types, and with first maltreatment reported after 3 years of age, showed greater likelihood of vulnerability on multiple domains, relative to nonmaltreated children.

Association between child maltreatment and prospective and retrospective memory in adolescents: The mediatory effect of neuroticism

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between child maltreatment and prospective and retrospective memory in children/adolescents by investigating the mediating role of neuroticism. In total, 662 children/adolescents aged 10-16 years were recruited from a middle school in China, and they completed questionnaires comprising the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire, and the Neuroticism subscale of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. The severity of maltreatment was positively associated with the severity of impairment of memory (prospective and retrospective considered together) in children/adolescents. Children/adolescents exposed to maltreatment tended to display higher levels of neuroticism. Neuroticism partially mediated the association between child maltreatment and memory in all the subjects. The results of multigroup analyses showed neuroticism fully mediated the relationship between child maltreatment and memory for boys, in which the effect size of indirect effect was 0.52, and partially mediated the association for girls with 0.44 effect size of indirect effect. Early intervention aimed to reduce neuroticism might contribute to a better prognosis in children/adolescences with poor memory function.

Genetic and epigenetic transgenerational implications related to omega-3 fatty acids. Part II: maternal FADS2 rs174575 genotype and DNA methylation predict toddler cognitive performance

Maternal transfer of fatty acids is important to fetal brain development. The prenatal environment may differentially affect the substrates supporting declarative memory abilities, as the level of fatty acids transferred across the placenta may be affected by the maternal fatty acid desaturase 2 (FADS2) rs174575 single nucleotide polymorphism. In this study, we hypothesized that toddler and maternal rs174575 genotype and FADS2 promoter methylation would be related to the toddlers' declarative memory performance. Seventy-one 16-month-old toddlers participated in an imitation paradigm designed to test immediate and long-term declarative memory abilities. FADS2 rs174575 genotype was determined and FADS2 promoter methylation was quantified from blood by bisulfite pyrosequencing for the toddlers and their natural mothers. Toddlers of GG mothers at the FADS2 rs174575 single nucleotide polymorphism did not perform as well on memory assessments as toddlers of CC or CG mothers when controlling for plasma α-linolenic acid and child genotype. Toddler methylation status was related to immediate memory performance, whereas maternal methylation status was related to delayed memory performance. Thus, prenatal experience and maternal FADS2 status have a pervasive, long-lasting influence on the brain development of the offspring, but as the postnatal environment becomes more primary, the offsprings' own biology begins to have an effect.

Variations in the nature of behavioral experience can differentially alter the consequences of developmental exposures to lead, prenatal stress, and the combination

Behavioral experience (BE) can critically influence later behavior and brain function, but the central nervous system (CNS) consequences of most developmental neurotoxicants are examined in the absence of any such context. We previously demonstrated marked differences in neurotransmitter changes produced by developmental lead (Pb) exposure ± prenatal stress (PS) depending upon whether or not rats had been given BE (Cory-Slechta, D. A., Virgolini, M. B., Rossi-George, A., Weston, D., and Thiruchelvam, M. (2009). The current study examined the hypothesis that the nature of the BE itself would be a critical determinant of outcome in mice that had been continually exposed to 0 or 100 ppm Pb acetate in drinking water alone or in combination with prenatal restraint stress. Half of the offspring in each of the four resulting groups/gender were exposed to positively reinforced (food-rewarded Fixed Interval schedule-controlled behavior) or negatively reinforced (inescapable forced swim) BE. Brain monoamines and amino acids differed significantly in relation to BE, even in control animals, as did the trajectory of effects of Pb ± PS, particularly in frontal cortex, hippocampus (both genders), and midbrain (males). In males, Pb ± PS-related changes in neurotransmitters correlated with behavioral performance. These findings suggest that CNS consequences of developmental toxicants studied in the absence of a broader spectrum of BEs may not necessarily be predictive of human outcomes. Evaluating the role of specific BEs as a modulator of neurodevelopmental insults offers the opportunity to determine what specific BEs may ameliorate the associated impacts and can assist in establishing underlying neurobiological mechanisms.