Neuronal networks in the developing brain are adversely modulated by early psychosocial neglect

Interventions to Support Children's Recovery From Neglect-A Systematic Review

Earlier reviews to discover research on interventions for children after neglect have concluded little was available, despite the well-documented prevalence and harmful effects of neglect on children. We revisited this question through a systematic literature review to discover the state of research on interventions for children who have experienced neglect. We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ERIC, Sociological Abstracts and EMBASE for studies published between 2003 and 2021. Studies were included if neglect could be distinguished, and child outcomes reported. Eight reports describing six studies about six interventions were identified. These studies differed in interventions, age-groups, definitions of neglect, and outcomes. Four studies reported positive child outcomes though with varying degree of quality. More research is needed to inform a coherent theory of change following neglect. There remains an urgent need for research on interventions to help children recover from neglect.

A systematic review of interventions to ameliorate the impact of adversity on brain development

Adversity, including abuse, neglect, and poverty, impacts child brain development. However, the developing brain is highly plastic, and some of the impacts of childhood adversity may be mitigated by psychosocial interventions. The purpose of this review is to synthesize literature on neural outcomes of childhood interventions among individuals exposed to adversity. A systematic literature search identified 36 reports of 13 interventions. Overall, these studies provide evidence for experience-dependent plasticity in the developing brain. We synthesize studies in light of three themes. First, there was mixed evidence for a benefit of a younger age at intervention. Second, interventions tended to accelerate functional brain development, but the impact of interventions on the pace of structural brain development was less clear. Third, individual differences in intervention response were difficult to predict, in part due to small samples. However, there was significant variability in intervention type and timing, neuroimaging outcomes, and follow-up timing. Together, the studies reviewed here hold promise for the role of psychosocial interventions in ameliorating the neurodevelopmental consequences of childhood adversity.

Greater functional connectivity between the ventral frontal cortex and occipital cortex in herpes zoster patients than post-herpetic neuralgia patients

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to compare whole brain network between herpes zoster (HZ) patients and post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) patients, as well as to investigate the associations between whole brain network changes and pain intensity and the accuracy of classifying between different types of pain.

METHODS

PHN patients (n = 50) and HZ patients (n = 50) and healthy controls (HCs) (n = 50) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Functional connectivity and global and local graph theory metrics were calculated by using Dosenbach-160 atlas. The relationship between neuroimaging indicators and clinical scales was evaluated using correlation analysis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves evaluated the feasibility of classifying PHN and HZ patients using specific neuroimaging indicators.

RESULTS

(1) 10 greater average connectivities were found in HZ group among the default mode, frontoparietal, cingulo-opercular, sensorimotor, occipital networks (ONs), and cerebellum (p < 0.001). (2) HZ patients exhibited higher global efficiency than those in the PHN and HCs (t = 2.178, p = 0.038). (3) Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that functional connectivity between the ventral frontal cortex in the cingulo-opercular network and the occipital gyrus in the ON influenced the visual analog score pain scores (β = 4.273; p = 0.004).

CONCLUSION

The variation of functional connectivity between ventral frontal cortex in the cingulo-opercular network and occipital gyrus in the ON may be a robust neuroimaging marker of the transition from HZ to PHN patients.

ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE

Whole-brain network analysis may be effective in distinguishing HZ and PHN patients and predicting pain intensity.

Empowering Elementary and Middle School Youth to Speak Up and Be Safe: Advancing Prevention of Child Maltreatment with a Universal School-Based Curriculum

Child maltreatment is a global public health problem, and school-based universal prevention programs such as the Speak Up Be Safe (SUBS) curriculum can be an effective solution to help address child violence. This randomized control study employed a pre-, post-, and six-month follow-up design for students in kindergarten to grade 8, approximately ages 5-13 (n = 2797). Surveys measured the efficacy of the curriculum in increasing students' knowledge of safety rules and self-protection strategies. The analyses explored the differences at follow-up between the conditions for each index/scale for each grade using an analysis of covariance, which controlled for the pre-survey scores. The SUBS group had significantly higher scores at follow-up than the students in the control group. This study showed that the students learned new knowledge and skills to act upon and identify child abuse and neglect in keeping themselves and others safe. Policy- and decision makers now know that as a child maltreatment prevention program, SUBS can be implemented universally in schools at a low cost, delivering an essential evidence-based safety curriculum that protects students from child maltreatment.

Trauma moderates the development of the oscillatory dynamics serving working memory in a sex-specific manner

Working memory, the ability to hold items in memory stores for further manipulation, is a higher order cognitive process that supports many aspects of daily life. Childhood trauma has been associated with altered cognitive development including particular deficits in verbal working memory (VWM), but the neural underpinnings remain poorly understood. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) studies of VWM have reliably shown decreased alpha activity in left-lateralized language regions during encoding, and increased alpha activity in parieto-occipital cortices during the maintenance phase. In this study, we examined whether childhood trauma affects behavioral performance and the oscillatory dynamics serving VWM using MEG in a cohort of 9- to 15-year-old youth. All participants completed a modified version of the UCLA Trauma History Profile and then performed a VWM task during MEG. Our findings indicated a sex-by-age-by-trauma three-way interaction, whereby younger females experiencing higher levels of trauma had the lowest d' accuracy scores and the strongest positive correlations with age (i.e. older performed better). Likewise, females with higher levels of childhood trauma exhibited altered age-related alpha changes during the maintenance phase within the right temporal and parietal cortices. These findings suggest that trauma exposure may alter the developmental trajectory of neural oscillations serving VWM processing in a sex-specific way.

Migration-related trauma and mental health among migrant children emigrating from Mexico and Central America to the United States: Effects on developmental neurobiology and implications for policy

Children make up over half of the world's migrants and refugees and face a multitude of traumatic experiences prior to, during, and following migration. Here, we focus on migrant children emigrating from Mexico and Central America to the United States and review trauma related to migration, as well as its implications for the mental health of migrant and refugee children. We then draw upon the early adversity literature to highlight potential behavioral and neurobiological sequalae of migration-related trauma exposure, focusing on attachment, emotion regulation, and fear learning and extinction as transdiagnostic mechanisms underlying the development of internalizing and externalizing symptomatology following early-life adversity. This review underscores the need for interdisciplinary efforts to both mitigate the effects of trauma faced by migrant and refugee youth emigrating from Mexico and Central America and, of primary importance, to prevent child exposure to trauma in the context of migration. Thus, we conclude by outlining policy recommendations aimed at improving the mental health of migrant and refugee youth.

Widespread Positive Direct and Indirect Effects of Regular Physical Activity on the Developing Functional Connectome in Early Adolescence

Adolescence is a period of profound but incompletely understood changes in the brain's neural circuitry (the connectome), which is vulnerable to risk factors such as unhealthy weight, but may be protected by positive factors such as regular physical activity. In 5955 children (median age = 120 months; 50.86% females) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) cohort, we investigated direct and indirect (through impact on body mass index [BMI]) effects of physical activity on resting-state networks, the backbone of the functional connectome that ubiquitously affects cognitive function. We estimated significant positive effects of regular physical activity on network connectivity, efficiency, robustness and stability (P ≤ 0.01), and on local topologies of attention, somatomotor, frontoparietal, limbic, and default-mode networks (P < 0.05), which support extensive processes, from memory and executive control to emotional processing. In contrast, we estimated widespread negative BMI effects in the same network properties and brain regions (P < 0.05). Additional mediation analyses suggested that physical activity could also modulate network topologies leading to better control of food intake, appetite and satiety, and ultimately lower BMI. Thus, regular physical activity may have extensive positive effects on the development of the functional connectome, and may be critical for improving the detrimental effects of unhealthy weight on cognitive health.

Better Language - Faster Helper: The Relation Between Spontaneous Instrumental Helping Action and Language Ability in Family-Reared and Institutionalized Toddlers

Background

Prosocial behavior is the key component of social and interpersonal relations. One of the elements of prosociality is helping behavior, which emerges already in early childhood. Researchers have identified several domains of helping behavior: instrumental helping, comforting another person, and sharing resources with others. The development of helping behavior can depend on a number of factors: children's age, the social situation of development, communication skills, and the ability to understand the feelings and needs of another person.

Objective

In Study 1, the main goal was to determine the effects of age and cognitive, language, and motor development on instrumental helping skills in early childhood. The goal of Study 2 was to estimate the effects of rearing in an adverse social environment by comparing the capacity for instrumental helping in family-raised and institutionalized children.

Design

The authors examined toddlers' (N = 198) ability to initiate spontaneous helping and the factors that may influence it. Cognitive, language, and fine motor skills were measured by the Bayley Scales of Infant and Child Development, 3rd edition. Children's instrumental helping behavior was assessed according to the procedure presented by Warneken and Tomasello, with a few modifications.

Results

Study 1 demonstrated that children's ability to initiate helping was dependent on their age: the non-helpers were significantly younger than the helpers. Children's language skills also played a significant role in their helping behavior. The children with higher language skills helped the adult more often and more quickly. Study 2 demonstrated that institutional placement per se was not related to toddlers' ability to initiate helping. Language ability was associated with helping behavior both in institution- and family-reared toddlers.

Conclusion

Instrumental helping in early childhood is related to children's age, language skills, and rearing conditions.

Influence of Severity of Type and Timing of Retrospectively Reported Childhood Maltreatment on Female Amygdala and Hippocampal Volume

Deleterious effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) on human brain volume are widely reported. First evidence points to differential effects of ACE on brain volume in terms of timing of ACE. Upcoming studies additionally point towards the impact of different types (i.e., neglect and abuse) of ACE in terms of timing. The current study aimed to investigate the correlation between retrospectively reported severity of type (i.e., the extent to which subjects were exposed to abuse and/or neglect, respectively) and timing of ACE on female brain volume in a sample of prolonged traumatized subjects. A female sample with ACE (N = 68) underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging and a structured interview exploring the severity of ACE from age 3 up to 17 using the “Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure” (MACE). Random forest regression with conditional interference trees was applied to assess the impact of ACE severity as well as the severity of ACE type, (i.e. to what extent individuals were exposed to neglect and/or abuse) at certain ages on pre-defined regions of interest such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and anterior cingulate (ACC) volume. Analyses revealed differential type and timing-specific effects of ACE on stress sensitive brain structures: Amygdala and hippocampal volume were affected by ACE severity during a period covering preadolescence and early adolescence. Crucially, this effect was driven by the severity of neglect.

Effects of Maternal Psychopathology and Education Level on Neurocognitive Development in Infants of Adolescent Mothers Living in Poverty in Brazil

BACKGROUND

Adolescent motherhood remains common in developing countries and is associated with risk factors that adversely impact infant neurodevelopment, including poverty, low maternal education, and increased maternal psychopathology. Yet, no published work has assessed how these factors affect early brain development in developing countries.

METHODS

This pilot study examined effects of maternal psychopathology and education on early neurocognitive development in a sample of adolescent mothers (N = 50, final n = 31) and their infants living in poverty in São Paulo, Brazil. Maternal symptoms of anxiety, depression, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and education level were assessed during pregnancy. Infant neurocognitive development was assessed at 6 months of age, with oscillatory power and functional connectivity in the theta (4-6 Hz), alpha (6-9 Hz), and gamma (30-50 Hz) frequencies derived from resting-state electroencephalography; temperament (negative affect, attention, and regulation); and cognitive, language, and motor skills. Cluster-based permutation testing and graph-theoretical methods were used to identify alterations in oscillatory power and connectivity that were associated with maternal psychopathology and education. Correlations between power and connectivity alterations were examined in relation to infants' overt cognitive behavioral abilities.

RESULTS

Increased maternal anxiety and lower maternal education were associated with weaker oscillatory connectivity in alpha-range networks. Infants with the weakest connectivity in the alpha network associated with maternal anxiety also showed the lowest cognitive ability. Greater maternal anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were associated with increased absolute and relative theta power.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight the importance of addressing maternal psychopathology and improving education in poor adolescent mothers to prevent negative effects on infant neurodevelopment.

Early Sexual Trauma Exposure and Neural Response Inhibition in Adolescence and Young Adults: Trajectories of Frontal Theta Oscillations During a Go/No-Go Task

OBJECTIVE

Trauma, particularly when experienced early in life, can alter neurophysiologic and behavioral development, thereby increasing risk for substance use disorders and related psychopathology. However, few studies have empirically examined trauma using well-characterized developmental samples that are followed longitudinally.

METHOD

The association of assaultive, non-assaultive, and sexual assaultive experiences before 10 years of age with developmental trajectories of brain function during response inhibition was examined by measuring electrophysiologic theta and delta oscillations during no-go and go conditions in an equal probability go/no-go task. Data were drawn from the Collaborative Study of the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) prospective cohort, composed of offspring who were aged 12 through 22 years at enrollment from high-risk and comparison families, with follow-ups at 2-year intervals since 2004. In addition, other important predictors of neurophysiologic functioning (eg, substance use, impulsivity, and parental alcohol use disorders) were investigated. Moreover, associations of neurophysiologic functioning with alcohol and cannabis use disorder symptom counts and externalizing and internalizing psychopathology were examined.

RESULTS

Individuals exposed to sexual assaultive trauma before 10 years of age had slower rates of change in developmental trajectories of no-go frontal theta during response inhibition. Importantly, effects remained significant after accounting for exposure to other traumatic exposures, such as parental history of alcohol use disorder and participants' substance use, but not measures of impulsivity. Further, slower rates of change in no-go frontal theta adolescent and young adult development were associated with increased risk for alcohol use disorder symptoms and internalizing psychopathology, but not for cannabis use disorder symptoms or externalizing psychopathology.

CONCLUSION

Childhood sexual assault is associated with atypical frontal neurophysiologic development during response inhibition. This could reflect alterations in frontal lobe development, synaptic pruning, and/or cortical maturation involving neural circuits for inhibitory control. These same areas could be associated with increased risk for young adult alcohol use disorder symptoms and internalizing psychopathology. These findings support the hypothesis that changes in neurocognitive development related to early sexual trauma exposure could increase the risk for mental health and substance use problems in young adulthood.