1
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Sandre A, Troller-Renfree SV, Giebler MA, Meyer JS, Noble KG. Prenatal family income, but not parental education, is associated with resting brain activity in 1-month-old infants. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13638. [PMID: 38871945 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64498-3] [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: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Childhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with disparities in development and health, possibly through adaptations in children's brain function. However, it is not clear how early in development such neural adaptations might emerge. This study examined whether prenatal family socioeconomic status, operationalized as family income and average years of parental education, prospectively predicts individual differences in infant resting electroencephalography (EEG; theta, alpha, beta, and gamma power) at approximately 1 month of age (N = 160). Infants of mothers reporting lower family income showed more lower-frequency (theta) and less higher-frequency (beta and gamma) power. These associations held when adjusting for other prenatal and postnatal experiences, as well as infant demographic and health-related factors. In contrast, parental education was not significantly associated with infant EEG power in any frequency band. These data suggest that lower prenatal family income is associated with developmental differences in brain function that are detectable within the first month of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aislinn Sandre
- Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, 525W 120th Street, Russell Hall 21, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Sonya V Troller-Renfree
- Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, 525W 120th Street, Russell Hall 21, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Melissa A Giebler
- Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, 525W 120th Street, Russell Hall 21, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Jerrold S Meyer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - Kimberly G Noble
- Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, 525W 120th Street, Russell Hall 21, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
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2
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Schneider JM, Behboudi MH, Maguire MJ. The Necessity of Taking Culture and Context into Account When Studying the Relationship between Socioeconomic Status and Brain Development. Brain Sci 2024; 14:392. [PMID: 38672041 PMCID: PMC11048655 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14040392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Decades of research has revealed a relationship between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and brain development at the structural and functional levels. Of particular note is the distinction between income and maternal education, two highly correlated factors which seem to influence brain development through distinct pathways. Specifically, while a families' income-to-needs ratio is linked with physiological stress and household chaos, caregiver education influences the day-to-day language environment a child is exposed to. Variability in either one of these environmental experiences is related to subsequent brain development. While this work has the potential to inform public policies in a way that benefits children, it can also oversimplify complex factors, unjustly blame low-SES parents, and perpetuate a harmful deficit perspective. To counteract these shortcomings, researchers must consider sociodemographic differences in the broader cultural context that underlie SES-based differences in brain development. This review aims to address these issues by (a) identifying how sociodemographic mechanisms associated with SES influence the day-to-day experiences of children, in turn, impacting brain development, while (b) considering the broader cultural contexts that may differentially impact this relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie M. Schneider
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Louisiana State University, 72 Hatcher Hall, Field House Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA;
| | - Mohammad Hossein Behboudi
- Callier Center for Communication Disorders, The University of Texas at Dallas, 1966 Inwood Road, Dallas, TX 75235, USA;
| | - Mandy J. Maguire
- Callier Center for Communication Disorders, The University of Texas at Dallas, 1966 Inwood Road, Dallas, TX 75235, USA;
- Center for Children and Families, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Road, Dallas, TX 75080, USA
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3
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Wilkinson CL, Pierce LJ, Sideridis G, Wade M, Nelson CA. Associations between EEG trajectories, family income, and cognitive abilities over the first two years of life. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 61:101260. [PMID: 37262938 PMCID: PMC10245106 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101260] [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: 01/05/2023] [Revised: 04/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023] Open
Abstract
We sought to characterize developmental trajectories of EEG spectral power over the first 2 years after birth and examine whether family income or maternal education alter those trajectories. We analyzed EEGs (n = 161 infants, 534 EEGs) collected longitudinally between 2 and 24 months of age, and calculated frontal absolute power across 7 canonical frequency bands. For each frequency band, a piecewise growth curve model was fit, resulting in an estimated intercept and two slope parameters from 2 to 9 months and 9-24 months of age. Across 6/7 frequency bands, absolute power significantly increased over age, with steeper slopes in the 2-9 month period compared to 9-24 months. Increased family income, but not maternal education, was associated with higher intercept (2-3 month power) across delta-gamma bands (p range = 0.002-0.04), and reduced change in power between 2 and 9 months of age in lower frequency bands (delta-alpha, p range = 0.01-0.02). There was no significant effect of income on slope between 9 and 24 months. EEG intercept and slope measures did not mediate relationships between income and 24-month verbal and nonverbal development. These results add to growing literature concerning the role of socioeconomic factors in shaping brain trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carol L Wilkinson
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Lara J Pierce
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Georgios Sideridis
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Mark Wade
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Charles A Nelson
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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4
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Estrada KA, Govindaraj S, Abdi H, Moraglia LE, Wolff JJ, Meera SS, Dager SR, McKinstry RC, Styner MA, Zwaigenbaum L, Piven J, Swanson MR. Language exposure during infancy is negatively associated with white matter microstructure in the arcuate fasciculus. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 61:101240. [PMID: 37060675 PMCID: PMC10130606 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101240] [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: 10/30/2022] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Decades of research have established that the home language environment, especially quality of caregiver speech, supports language acquisition during infancy. However, the neural mechanisms behind this phenomenon remain under studied. In the current study, we examined associations between the home language environment and structural coherence of white matter tracts in 52 typically developing infants from English speaking homes in a western society. Infants participated in at least one MRI brain scan when they were 3, 6, 12, and/or 24 months old. Home language recordings were collected when infants were 9 and/or 15 months old. General linear regression models indicated that infants who heard the most adult words and participated in the most conversational turns at 9 months of age also had the lowest fractional anisotropy in the left posterior parieto-temporal arcuate fasciculus at 24 months. Similarly, infants who vocalized the most at 9 months also had the lowest fractional anisotropy in the same tract at 6 months of age. This is one of the first studies to report significant associations between caregiver speech collected in the home and white matter structural coherence in the infant brain. The results are in line with prior work showing that protracted white matter development during infancy confers a cognitive advantage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katiana A Estrada
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47906, USA; Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
| | - Sharnya Govindaraj
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
| | - Hervé Abdi
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
| | - Luke E Moraglia
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
| | - Jason J Wolff
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Shoba Sreenath Meera
- Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India
| | - Stephen R Dager
- Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Robert C McKinstry
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Martin A Styner
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Lonnie Zwaigenbaum
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton AB T6G 2R3, Canada
| | - Joseph Piven
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Meghan R Swanson
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.
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5
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HART ER, TROLLER-RENFREE SV, SPERBER JF, NOBLE KG. Relations among Socioeconomic Status, Perceived Stress, and the Home Language Environment. JOURNAL OF CHILD LANGUAGE 2023:1-18. [PMID: 36916133 PMCID: PMC10500036 DOI: 10.1017/s0305000923000156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
While socioeconomic disparities in the home language environment have been well established, the mechanisms explaining these disparities are poorly understood. One plausible mechanism is heightened stress. The current study investigated whether maternal perceived stress was 1) associated with measures of the home language environment, and 2) mediated the relation between socioeconomic disparities and the home language environment. Data from three independent studies were analyzed, which together comprised 322 mother-child dyads. Two studies included mothers and their six- to twelve-month-old infants (N = 227). The third included mothers and their five- to nine-year-old children (N = 95). Mothers reported their educational attainment, income, and stress. Language Environment Analysis (LENA) measured the home language environment. As has been previously reported, socioeconomic disparities were observed in adult words and conversational turns. Stress did not mediate these associations, nor was it associated with adult words or conversational turns. Alternate mechanisms for future exploration are discussed.
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6
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Nolvi S, Merz EC, Kataja EL, Parsons CE. Prenatal Stress and the Developing Brain: Postnatal Environments Promoting Resilience. Biol Psychiatry 2022; 93:942-952. [PMID: 36870895 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.11.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Heightened maternal stress during pregnancy is associated with atypical brain development and an elevated risk for psychopathology in offspring. Supportive environments during early postnatal life may promote brain development and reverse atypical developmental trajectories induced by prenatal stress. We reviewed studies focused on the role of key early environmental factors in moderating associations between prenatal stress exposure and infant brain and neurocognitive outcomes. Specifically, we focused on the associations between parental caregiving quality, environmental enrichment, social support, and socioeconomic status with infant brain and neurocognitive outcomes. We examined the evidence that these factors may moderate the effects of prenatal stress on the developing brain. Complementing findings from translational models, human research suggests that high-quality early postnatal environments are associated with indices of infant neurodevelopment that have also been associated with prenatal stress, such as hippocampal volume and frontolimbic connectivity. Human studies also suggest that maternal sensitivity and higher socioeconomic status may attenuate the effects of prenatal stress on established neurocognitive and neuroendocrine mediators of risk for psychopathology, such as hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning. Biological pathways that may underlie the effects of positive early environments on the infant brain, including the epigenome, oxytocin, and inflammation, are also discussed. Future research in humans should examine resilience-promoting processes in relation to infant brain development using large sample sizes and longitudinal designs. The findings from this review could be incorporated into clinical models of risk and resilience during the perinatal period and used to design more effective early programs that reduce risk for psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saara Nolvi
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Center for Population Health Research, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
| | - Emily C Merz
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Eeva-Leena Kataja
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Center for Population Health Research, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Christine E Parsons
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Interacting Minds Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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7
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Romano M, Perez K, Abarca D. The BabyTok Project: Examining the Feasibility and Acceptability of a Light-Touch Social Media Project for Infant-Toddler Teachers. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION JOURNAL 2022; 52:1-16. [PMID: 36439905 PMCID: PMC9676850 DOI: 10.1007/s10643-022-01426-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
High-quality early care and education is a known protective factor for infants and toddlers who experience early childhood poverty, especially for early communication outcomes. However, the quality of care is variable in the United States, and efforts to increase the quality of interactions is impeded by cost and high rates of turnover in the field. In this paper, we explore a low-cost, light touch social media intervention that uses the TikTok platform to increase infant-toddler teachers' (ITTs) knowledge of early communication and social interactions while validating the important role that ITTs play in the lives of young children. We use a mixed method, pre-post design to explore the feasibility and acceptability of the BabyTok project from the vantage point of the ITT participants. Teachers offered positive feedback about the content, delivery of the intervention through TikTok and the impact on their feelings about their role in helping young children learn. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10643-022-01426-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mollie Romano
- School of Communication Science and Disorders and the Communication and Early Childhood Research and Practice Center, Florida State University, 201 W. Bloxham, St. Tallahassee, FL 32301 USA
| | - Katherine Perez
- School of Communication Science and Disorders and the Communication and Early Childhood Research and Practice Center, Florida State University, 201 W. Bloxham, St. Tallahassee, FL 32301 USA
| | - Diana Abarca
- School of Communication Science and Disorders and the Communication and Early Childhood Research and Practice Center, Florida State University, 201 W. Bloxham, St. Tallahassee, FL 32301 USA
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8
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Werchan DM, Brandes-Aitken A, Brito NH. Signal in the noise: Dimensions of predictability in the home auditory environment are associated with neurobehavioral measures of early infant sustained attention. Dev Psychobiol 2022; 64:e22325. [PMID: 36282744 PMCID: PMC9901200 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22325] [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: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
The home auditory environment influences the development of early language abilities, and excessive noise exposure is increasingly linked with deficits in language and reading scores in children. However, fewer studies have considered the role of noise exposure in shaping the development of attentional processing in early infancy, a foundational neurocognitive skill relevant for learning. Here, we used passive at-home auditory recording to investigate how multiple dimensions of infants' home auditory environments, including both the quantity and the predictability of auditory input, impacts neural and behavioral measures of sustained attention in a sociodemographically diverse sample of 3-month-old infants (N = 98 infants, 62 males; age M = 3.48 months, SD = 0.39; 52% Hispanic/Latino). Results indicated that infants who were exposed to more predictable patterns of auditory input in the home demonstrated longer overall time in sustained attention during laboratory assessments. In addition, infants' who experienced more predictable auditory input also demonstrated greater relative increases in electroencephalography frontal theta power during periods of sustained attention, a neural marker relevant to information processing and attentional control. These findings provide novel evidence into the importance of the predictability of early environmental inputs in shaping developing cortical circuitry and attentional systems from the first months of postnatal life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise M. Werchan
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | | | - Natalie H. Brito
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
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9
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Romeo RR, Uchida L, Christodoulou JA. Socioeconomic status and reading outcomes: Neurobiological and behavioral correlates. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev 2022; 2022:57-70. [PMID: 35868867 PMCID: PMC9588575 DOI: 10.1002/cad.20475] [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: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
In this chapter, we examine reading outcomes and socioeconomic status (SES) using a developmental cognitive and educational neuroscience perspective. Our focus is on reading achievement and intervention outcomes for students from lower SES backgrounds who struggle with reading. Socioeconomic disadvantage is a specific type of vulnerability students experience, which is often narrowly defined based on parental income, education level, and/or occupational prestige. However, implications of socioeconomic status extend broadly to a suite of areas relevant for reading outcomes including a student's access to resources, experiences, language exposure, academic outcomes, and psychological correlates. Underlying this constellation of factors are brain systems supporting the processing of oral and written language as well as stress-related factors. We review the implications of SES and reading achievement, and their intersectionality, for the science and practice of reading instruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel R. Romeo
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Lili Uchida
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Joanna A. Christodoulou
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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10
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Romeo RR, Choi B, Gabard-Durnam LJ, Wilkinson CL, Levin AR, Rowe ML, Tager-Flusberg H, Nelson CA. Parental Language Input Predicts Neuroscillatory Patterns Associated with Language Development in Toddlers at Risk of Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 2022; 52:2717-2731. [PMID: 34185234 PMCID: PMC9594983 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-05024-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
In this study we investigated the impact of parental language input on language development and associated neuroscillatory patterns in toddlers at risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Forty-six mother-toddler dyads at either high (n = 22) or low (n = 24) familial risk of ASD completed a longitudinal, prospective study including free-play, resting electroencephalography, and standardized language assessments. Input quantity/quality at 18 months positively predicted expressive language at 24 months, and relationships were stronger for high-risk toddlers. Moderated mediations revealed that input-language relationships were explained by 24-month frontal and temporal gamma power (30-50 Hz) for high-risk toddlers who would later develop ASD. Results suggest that high-risk toddlers may be cognitively and neurally more sensitive to their language environments, which has implications for early intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel R Romeo
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1 Autumn Street, Boston, MA, 02215, USA. .,Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
| | - Boin Choi
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1 Autumn Street, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Laurel J Gabard-Durnam
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1 Autumn Street, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.,Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Carol L Wilkinson
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1 Autumn Street, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - April R Levin
- Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Meredith L Rowe
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Helen Tager-Flusberg
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, 64 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Charles A Nelson
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1 Autumn Street, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.,Harvard Graduate School of Education, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
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11
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Selvanathan T, Smith JM, Miller SP, Field TS. Neurodevelopment and cognition across the lifespan in patients with single ventricle physiology: Abnormal brain maturation and accumulation of brain injuries. Can J Cardiol 2022; 38:977-987. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cjca.2022.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Revised: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
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12
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The impact of a poverty reduction intervention on infant brain activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:2115649119. [PMID: 35074878 PMCID: PMC8812534 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115649119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 49.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
This study demonstrates the causal impact of a poverty reduction intervention on early childhood brain activity. Data from the Baby’s First Years study, a randomized control trial, show that a predictable, monthly unconditional cash transfer given to low-income families may have a causal impact on infant brain activity. In the context of greater economic resources, children’s experiences changed, and their brain activity adapted to those experiences. The resultant brain activity patterns have been shown to be associated with the development of subsequent cognitive skills. Early childhood poverty is a risk factor for lower school achievement, reduced earnings, and poorer health, and has been associated with differences in brain structure and function. Whether poverty causes differences in neurodevelopment, or is merely associated with factors that cause such differences, remains unclear. Here, we report estimates of the causal impact of a poverty reduction intervention on brain activity in the first year of life. We draw data from a subsample of the Baby’s First Years study, which recruited 1,000 diverse low-income mother–infant dyads. Shortly after giving birth, mothers were randomized to receive either a large or nominal monthly unconditional cash gift. Infant brain activity was assessed at approximately 1 y of age in the child’s home, using resting electroencephalography (EEG; n = 435). We hypothesized that infants in the high-cash gift group would have greater EEG power in the mid- to high-frequency bands and reduced power in a low-frequency band compared with infants in the low-cash gift group. Indeed, infants in the high-cash gift group showed more power in high-frequency bands. Effect sizes were similar in magnitude to many scalable education interventions, although the significance of estimates varied with the analytic specification. In sum, using a rigorous randomized design, we provide evidence that giving monthly unconditional cash transfers to mothers experiencing poverty in the first year of their children’s lives may change infant brain activity. Such changes reflect neuroplasticity and environmental adaptation and display a pattern that has been associated with the development of subsequent cognitive skills.
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13
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Context matters: Cortical rhythms in infants across baseline and play. Infant Behav Dev 2021; 66:101665. [PMID: 34823054 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Revised: 11/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
This study uses electroencephalography (EEG) to examine infants' cortical activity during baseline while they watched a dynamic audiovisual display and while engaged in play with an object and parent. Fifty-five 6- to 12-month-old infants participated in both baseline and play with their mother. We hypothesized that the baseline task recruits relatively more exogenous attention due to the dynamic audiovisual task, while the play task recruits relatively more endogenous attention when exploring the toy. We expected higher frontal theta and alpha power during play, reflecting higher endogenous control of attention compared to the baseline task. We expected the faster rhythms, beta and gamma, to have higher power during baseline at frontal locations, reflecting the salient attention-grabbing (exogenous) attributes of the baseline task in comparison to play. We also examined changes in parietal power between contexts. Our results were consistent with the expectations. Theta (3-6 Hz) and alpha (6-9 Hz) power were higher at frontal sites (Fp1/Fp2) during play relative to baseline. Beta (9-30 Hz) and gamma (30-50 Hz) power were higher at frontal (Fp1/Fp2) and frontal medial sites (F3/F4) during baseline relative to play. Alpha power was higher during baseline at frontal medial sites (F3/F4) relative to play. Beta and gamma power was higher during play at parietal sites (P3/P4). The results are discussed in terms of the potential role of different cortical rhythms over the scalp as they respond to relative endogenous and exogenous attentional demands.
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14
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King LS, Querdasi FR, Humphreys KL, Gotlib IH. Dimensions of the language environment in infancy and symptoms of psychopathology in toddlerhood. Dev Sci 2021; 24:e13082. [PMID: 33455064 PMCID: PMC8285466 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Revised: 12/20/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The quality of the early environment influences the development of psychopathology. Children who are deprived of sufficient environmental enrichment in infancy may be at higher risk for developing symptoms of psychopathology in toddlerhood. In this study, we investigated the prospective association between naturalistic measures of adult language input obtained through passive monitoring of infants' daily environments and emerging psychopathology in toddlerhood. In a sample of 100 mothers and their infants recruited from the community (mean age [range] = 6.73 [5-9] months), we used the Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) system to measure multiple dimensions of infants' language environments, including both the quantity and consistency of adult speech and conversational turns in infants' daily lives as well as the quantity of infant vocalizations. Subsequently, during toddlerhood (mean age [range] = 18.29 [17-21] months), mothers reported on their children's symptoms of psychopathology. Infants who experienced more consistent adult speech and conversational turns had lower symptoms of psychopathology in toddlerhood, independent of negative emotionality in infancy, maternal depressive symptoms, and laboratory-based measures of maternal sensitivity. These findings have implications for the measurement of environmental factors that may confer risk and resilience to emerging psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy S. King
- Stanford University, Department of Psychology, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | | | - Kathryn L. Humphreys
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
| | - Ian H. Gotlib
- Stanford University, Department of Psychology, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
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15
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Romeo RR, Leonard JA, Grotzinger HM, Robinson ST, Takada ME, Mackey AP, Scherer E, Rowe ML, West MR, Gabrieli JDE. Neuroplasticity associated with changes in conversational turn-taking following a family-based intervention. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 49:100967. [PMID: 34052580 PMCID: PMC8175277 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Children's early language environments are associated with linguistic, cognitive, and academic development, as well as concurrent brain structure and function. This study investigated neurodevelopmental mechanisms linking language input to development by measuring neuroplasticity associated with an intervention designed to enhance language environments of families primarily from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Families of 52 4-to-6 year-old children were randomly assigned to a 9-week, interactive, family-based intervention or no-contact control group. Children completed pre- and post-assessments of verbal and nonverbal cognition (n = 52), structural magnetic resonance imaging (n = 45), and home auditory recordings of language exposure (n = 39). Families who completed the intervention exhibited greater increases in adult-child conversational turns, and changes in turn-taking mediated intervention effects on language and executive functioning measures. Collapsing across groups, turn-taking changes were also positively correlated with cortical thickening in left inferior frontal and supramarginal gyri, the latter of which mediated relationships between changes in turn-taking and children's language development. This is the first study of longitudinal neuroplasticity in response to changes in children's language environments, and findings suggest that conversational turns support language development through cortical growth in language and social processing regions. This has implications for early interventions to enhance children's language environments to support neurocognitive development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel R Romeo
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States.
| | - Julia A Leonard
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
| | - Hannah M Grotzinger
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
| | - Sydney T Robinson
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
| | - Megumi E Takada
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
| | - Allyson P Mackey
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
| | - Ethan Scherer
- Center for Education Policy Research, Harvard University, United States
| | - Meredith L Rowe
- Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, United States
| | - Martin R West
- Center for Education Policy Research, Harvard University, United States; Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, United States
| | - John D E Gabrieli
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States; Center for Education Policy Research, Harvard University, United States; Integrated Learning Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
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16
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Romano M, Eugenio J, Kiratzis E. Coaching Childcare Providers to Support Toddlers' Gesture Use With Children Experiencing Early Childhood Poverty. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch 2021; 52:686-701. [PMID: 33788592 DOI: 10.1044/2020_lshss-20-00112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of an intervention in which childcare providers (CCPs) are coached to support toddlers' gesture use during every day classroom routines. Method This study uses a multiple-baseline across strategies single-case experimental design to examine the impact of a coaching intervention on three CCPs' use of communication strategies with toddlers experiencing early childhood poverty. The CCPs were coached with a systematic framework called Setting the Stage, Observation and Opportunities to Embed, Problem-solving and Planning, Reflection and Review as they learned to implement three strategies to support toddlers' gesture use-modeling gestures with a short phrase, opportunities to gesture, and responding/expanding child gestures. CCPs were coached during book sharing and another classroom routine of their choice. Social validity data on the coaching approach and on the intervention strategies were gathered from postintervention interviews. Results The visual analysis and nonoverlap of all pairs' effect size indicates that the coaching intervention had a functional relation with CCPs' use of modeling gestures and responding/expanding gestures during book sharing, play, and circle time. Social validity data indicate that CCPs found the coaching framework supportive of their learning and feelings of self-efficacy, and that the intervention strategies supported their toddlers' communication. Conclusions The coaching framework was used to increase CCP strategy use during everyday classroom routines with toddlers. CCPs endorsed the coaching approach and the intervention strategies. This study adds to the literature supporting efforts to enhance children's earliest language learning environments. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14044055.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mollie Romano
- Communication and Early Childhood Research and Practice Center, School of Communication Science and Disorders, Florida State University, Tallahassee
| | - Johanna Eugenio
- Communication and Early Childhood Research and Practice Center, School of Communication Science and Disorders, Florida State University, Tallahassee
| | - Edie Kiratzis
- Communication and Early Childhood Research and Practice Center, School of Communication Science and Disorders, Florida State University, Tallahassee
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Pierce LJ, Carmody Tague E, Nelson CA. Maternal stress predicts neural responses during auditory statistical learning in 26-month-old children: An event-related potential study. Cognition 2021; 213:104600. [PMID: 33509600 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to high levels of early life stress have been associated with long-term difficulties in learning, behavior, and health, with particular impact evident in the language domain. While some have proposed that the increased stress of living in a low-income household mediates observed associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and child outcomes, considerable individual differences have been observed. The extent to which specific variables associated with socioeconomic status - in particular exposure to stressful life events - influence the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying language acquisition are not well understood. Auditory statistical learning, or the ability to segment a continuous auditory stream based on its statistical properties, develops during early infancy and is one mechanism thought to underlie language learning. The present study used an event-related potential (ERP) paradigm to test whether maternal stress, adjusting for socioeconomic variables (e.g., family income, maternal education) was associated with neurocognitive processes underlying statistical learning in a sample of 26-month-old children (n = 23) from predominantly low- to middle-income backgrounds. Event-related potentials were recorded while children listened to a continuous stream of tri-tone "words" in which tone elements varied in transitional probability. "Tone-words" were presented in random order, such that Tone 1 always predicted Tones 2 and 3 (transitional probability for Tone 3 = 1.0), but Tone 1 appeared randomly. A larger P2 amplitude was observed in response to Tone 3 compared to Tone 1, demonstrating that children implicitly tracked differences in transitional probabilities during passive listening. Maternal reports of stress at 26 months, adjusting for SES, were negatively associated with difference in P2 amplitude between Tones 1 and 3. These findings suggest that maternal stress, within a low-SES context, is associated with the manner in which children process statistical properties of auditory input.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara J Pierce
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, 1 Autumn Street, Boston, MA 02115, United States; Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St., Boston, MA 02115, United States.
| | - Erin Carmody Tague
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, 1 Autumn Street, Boston, MA 02115, United States.
| | - Charles A Nelson
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, 1 Autumn Street, Boston, MA 02115, United States; Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St., Boston, MA 02115, United States; Harvard Graduate School of Education, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States.
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18
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Schneider JM, Abel AD, Momsen J, Melamed TC, Maguire MJ. Neural oscillations reveal differences in the process of word learning among school-aged children from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2021; 2:372-388. [PMID: 34447943 PMCID: PMC8386290 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Building a robust vocabulary in grade school is essential for academic success. Children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) households on average perform below their higher SES peers on word learning tasks, negatively impacting their vocabulary; however, significant variability exists within this group. Many children from low SES homes perform as well as, or better than, their higher SES peers on measures of word learning. The current study addresses what processes underlie this variability, by comparing the neural oscillations of 44 better versus worse word learners (ages 8-15 years) from lower SES households as they infer the meaning of unknown words. Better word learners demonstrated increases in theta and beta power as a word was learned, whereas worse word learners exhibited decreases in alpha power. These group differences in neural oscillatory engagement during word learning indicate there may be different strategies employed based on differences in children's skills. Notably, children with greater vocabulary knowledge are more likely to exhibit larger beta increases; a strategy which is associated with better word learning. This sheds new light on the mechanisms that support word learning in children from low SES households.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jacob Momsen
- San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
- University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
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