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Turesky TK, Sanfilippo J, Zuk J, Ahtam B, Gagoski B, Lee A, Garrisi K, Dunstan J, Carruthers C, Vanderauwera J, Yu X, Gaab N. Home language and literacy environment and its relationship to socioeconomic status and white matter structure in infancy. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:2633-2645. [PMID: 36076111 PMCID: PMC9922094 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02560-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The home language and literacy environment (HLLE) in infancy has been associated with subsequent pre-literacy skill development and HLLE at preschool-age has been shown to correlate with white matter organization in tracts that subserve pre-reading and reading skills. Furthermore, childhood socioeconomic status (SES) has been linked with both HLLE and white matter organization. It is important to understand whether the relationships between environmental factors such as HLLE and SES and white matter organization can be detected as early as infancy, as this period is characterized by rapid brain development that may make white matter pathways particularly susceptible to these early experiences. Here, we hypothesized that HLLE (1) relates to white matter organization in pre-reading and reading-related tracts in infants, and (2) mediates a link between SES and white matter organization. To test these hypotheses, infants (mean age: 8.6 ± 2.3 months, N = 38) underwent diffusion-weighted imaging MRI during natural sleep. Image processing was performed with an infant-specific pipeline and fractional anisotropy (FA) was estimated from the arcuate fasciculus (AF) and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) bilaterally using the baby automated fiber quantification method. HLLE was measured with the Reading subscale of the StimQ (StimQ-Reading) and SES was measured with years of maternal education. Self-reported maternal reading ability was also quantified and applied to our statistical models as a proxy for confounding genetic effects. StimQ-Reading positively correlated with FA in left AF and to maternal education, but did not mediate the relationship between them. Taken together, these findings underscore the importance of considering HLLE from the start of life and may inform novel prevention and intervention strategies to support developing infants during a period of heightened brain plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ted K Turesky
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Joseph Sanfilippo
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- School of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | | | - Banu Ahtam
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging & Developmental Science Center, Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Borjan Gagoski
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging & Developmental Science Center, Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ally Lee
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kathryn Garrisi
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jade Dunstan
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Clarisa Carruthers
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jolijn Vanderauwera
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Xi Yu
- Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Nadine Gaab
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Sheridan MA, Mukerji CE, Wade M, Humphreys KL, Garrisi K, Goel S, Patel K, Fox NA, Zeanah CH, Nelson CA, McLaughlin KA. Early deprivation alters structural brain development from middle childhood to adolescence. Sci Adv 2022; 8:eabn4316. [PMID: 36206331 PMCID: PMC9544316 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn4316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Hypotheses concerning the biologic embedding of early adversity via developmental neuroplasticity mechanisms have been proposed on the basis of experimental studies in animals. However, no studies have demonstrated a causal link between early adversity and neural development in humans. Here, we present evidence from a randomized controlled trial linking psychosocial deprivation in early childhood to changes in cortical development from childhood to adolescence using longitudinal data from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project. Changes in cortical structure due to randomization to foster care were most pronounced in the lateral and medial prefrontal cortex and in white matter tracts connecting the prefrontal and parietal cortex. Demonstrating the causal impact of exposure to deprivation on the development of neural structure highlights the importance of early placement into family-based care to mitigate lasting neurodevelopmental consequences associated with early-life deprivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret A. Sheridan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 235 E. Cameron Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Corresponding author.
| | - Cora E. Mukerji
- Department of Psychology, Bryn Mawr College, 101 North Merion Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, USA
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Mark Wade
- University of Toronto, Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, 252 Bloor St. West, Toronto, ON M5S 1V6, Canada
| | - Kathryn L. Humphreys
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203, USA
| | - Kathryn Garrisi
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 235 E. Cameron Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Srishti Goel
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 235 E. Cameron Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, Box 208205, New Haven, CT 06520-8205, USA
| | - Kinjal Patel
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 235 E. Cameron Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Nathan A. Fox
- Department of Human Development, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA
| | - Charles H. Zeanah
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, 1430 Tulane Ave, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
| | - Charles A. Nelson
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Katie A. McLaughlin
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
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