Systemic inflammation during the first year of life is associated with brain functional connectivity and future cognitive outcomes

Background: Down syndrome (DS) is the primary genetic cause of mental retardation and seizures are present in an estimated 5-13% of cases. One-third of seizures in DS are infantile spasms (IS). Hypsarrythmia (HS) is the cardinal electroencephalogram (EEG) feature of IS and has been found to affect cognition; however, its effect on DS patients is inconclusively reported. This study assesses the correlation of HS with cognitive outcomes in DS using the largest sample size to date. Methods: Retrospective study of medical records of children with DS [0-18yrs] at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, from 1990-2013. Seizure history, EEG findings, comorbities, and pharmacological treatments were identified. Developmental outcomes were also assessed from physician comments on motor, verbal and cognitive abilities. The cognitive outcomes of DS patients with and without HS were compared. Results: 70 [male=40] patients with DS and seizures were included. Among 31 (44.2%) patients with DS and IS, 27 had HS. Chi-square analysis showed a significant difference [P=0.007] in prevalence of severe developmental delay in patients with IS and HS versus all other seizure types. Conclusions: The developmental outcome of patients with Down syndrome appears to worsen when IS and HS had occurred in the first year of life.

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Investigating Early Pre-implant Predictors of Language and Cognitive Development in Children with Cochlear Implants

The Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies in Learning and Cognition ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190054045.013.3 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 45-59

Author(s):

Mary K. Fagan ◽

Laurie S. Eisenberg ◽

Karen C. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Cochlear Implants ◽

Demographic Variables ◽

Cognitive Outcomes ◽

First Year ◽

Relevant Research ◽

Behavioral Measures ◽

First Year Of Life ◽

And Behavior ◽

Preverbal Infants ◽

Infant Learning

Pre-implant predictors of language and cognitive outcomes in children with cochlear implants have been mostly limited to residual hearing and demographic variables. These variables have accounted for a limited portion of variance in outcomes and for the most part only in children who received cochlear implants from 3 to 5 years of age and later. With cochlear implantation now regularly occurring in the first year of life, there is new interest in identifying pre-implant variables with greater predictive value, including pre-implant measures of infant learning and behavior in the first 12 months. The search for pre-implant variables in the first year has been limited by the challenges inherent in assessing preverbal infants with little or no access to signed or spoken language. This review includes research on pre-implant predictors from a longitudinal study, behavioral measures in infants implanted at 12 months of age, and relevant research on early learning in hearing infants.

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Functional connectivity in the first year of life in infants at-risk for autism: a preliminary near-infrared spectroscopy study

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnhum.2013.00444 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Cited By ~ 59

Author(s):

Brandon Keehn ◽

Jennifer B. Wagner ◽

Helen Tager-Flusberg ◽

Charles A. Nelson

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Near Infrared ◽

First Year ◽

Spectroscopy Study ◽

First Year Of Life

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Functional Connectivity in the First Year of Life in Infants at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder: An EEG Study

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0105176 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. e105176 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

Giulia Righi ◽

Adrienne L. Tierney ◽

Helen Tager-Flusberg ◽

Charles A. Nelson

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

At Risk ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

First Year ◽

First Year Of Life

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Child Growth Predicts Brain Functional Connectivity and Future Cognitive Outcomes in Urban Bangladeshi Children Exposed to Early Adversities

10.1101/447722 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Wanze Xie ◽

Sarah K.G. Jensen ◽

Mark Wade ◽

Swapna Kumar ◽

Alissa Westerlund ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Cognitive Development ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Low Income ◽

Child Growth ◽

Cognitive Outcomes ◽

Physical Growth ◽

Growth Faltering ◽

Iq Scores ◽

Brain Functional Connectivity

AbstractBackgroundFaltered growth has been shown to affect 161 million children worldwide and derail cognitive development from early childhood. The neural pathways by which growth faltering in early childhood affects future cognitive outcomes remain unclear, which is partially due to the scarcity of research using both neuroimaging and sensitive behavioral techniques in low-income settings. We employed EEG to examine the association between growth faltering and brain functional connectivity and whether brain functional connectivity mediates the effect of early adversity on cognitive development.MethodsWe recruited participants from an urban impoverished neighborhood in Dhaka, Bangladesh. One sample consisted of 85 children whose EEG and growth measures (height for age, weight for age, and weight to height) were collected at 6 months and cognitive outcomes were assessed at 27 months. Another sample consisted of 115 children whose EEG and growth measures were collected at 36 months and IQ scores were assessed at 48 months. Path analysis was used to test the effect of growth measures on cognitive outcomes through brain functional connectivity.FindingsFaltered growth was found to be accompanied by overall increased functional connectivity in the theta and low-beta frequency bands for the 36-month-old cohort. For both cohorts, brain functional connectivity was negatively predictive of later cognitive outcomes at 27 and 48 months, respectively. Faltered growth was found to have a negative impact on children’s IQ scores in the older cohort, and this effect was found to be mediated by brain functional connectivity in the low-beta band.InterpretationThe association found between growth measures and brain functional connectivity may reflect a broad deleterious effect of malnutrition on children’s brain development. The mediation effect of functional connectivity on the relation between physical growth and later IQ scores provides the first experimental evidence that brain functional connectivity may mediate the effect of biological adversity on cognitive development.FundingBill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1111625)

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Growth faltering is associated with altered brain functional connectivity and cognitive outcomes in urban Bangladeshi children exposed to early adversity

BMC Medicine ◽

10.1186/s12916-019-1431-5 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Wanze Xie ◽

Sarah K. G. Jensen ◽

Mark Wade ◽

Swapna Kumar ◽

Alissa Westerlund ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Development ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Path Analysis ◽

Indirect Effect ◽

Child Growth ◽

Cognitive Outcomes ◽

Physical Growth ◽

Frequency Bands ◽

Eeg Data ◽

Brain Functional Connectivity

Abstract Background Stunting affects more than 161 million children worldwide and can compromise cognitive development beginning early in childhood. There is a paucity of research using neuroimaging tools in conjunction with sensitive behavioral assays in low-income settings, which has hindered researchers’ ability to explain how stunting impacts brain and behavioral development. We employed high-density EEG to examine associations among children’s physical growth, brain functional connectivity (FC), and cognitive development. Methods We recruited participants from an urban impoverished neighborhood in Dhaka, Bangladesh. One infant cohort consisted of 92 infants whose height (length) was measured at 3, 4.5, and 6 months; EEG data were collected at 6 months; and cognitive outcomes were assessed using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning at 27 months. A second, older cohort consisted of 118 children whose height was measured at 24, 30, and 36 months; EEG data were collected at 36 months; and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores were assessed at 48 months. Height-for-age (HAZ) z-scores were calculated based on the World Health Organization standard. EEG FC in different frequency bands was calculated in the cortical source space. Linear regression and longitudinal path analysis were conducted to test the associations between variables, as well as the indirect effect of child growth on cognitive outcomes via brain FC. Results In the older cohort, we found that HAZ was negatively related to brain FC in the theta and beta frequency bands, which in turn was negatively related to children’s IQ score at 48 months. Longitudinal path analysis showed an indirect effect of HAZ on children’s IQ via brain FC in both the theta and beta bands. There were no associations between HAZ and brain FC or cognitive outcomes in the infant cohort. Conclusions The association observed between child growth and brain FC may reflect a broad deleterious effect of malnutrition on children’s brain development. The mediation effect of FC on the relation between child growth and later IQ provides the first evidence suggesting that brain FC may serve as a neural pathway by which biological adversity impacts cognitive development.

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The Development of Swallowing Respiratory Coordination

Perspectives on Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia) ◽

10.1044/sasd18.1.19 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 19-24

Author(s):

Maggie-Lee Huckabee

Keyword(s):

Cortical Activation ◽

First Year ◽

Healthy Children ◽

Nasal Airflow ◽

Single Session ◽

Primary Finding ◽

Patterns Of Behavior ◽

Cortical Modulation ◽

First Year Of Life ◽

Swallowing Apnea

Abstract Research exists that evaluates the mechanics of swallowing respiratory coordination in healthy children and adults as well and individuals with swallowing impairment. The research program summarized in this article represents a systematic examination of swallowing respiratory coordination across the lifespan as a means of behaviorally investigating mechanisms of cortical modulation. Using time-locked recordings of submental surface electromyography, nasal airflow, and thyroid acoustics, three conditions of swallowing were evaluated in 20 adults in a single session and 10 infants in 10 sessions across the first year of life. The three swallowing conditions were selected to represent a continuum of volitional through nonvolitional swallowing control on the basis of a decreasing level of cortical activation. Our primary finding is that, across the lifespan, brainstem control strongly dictates the duration of swallowing apnea and is heavily involved in organizing the integration of swallowing and respiration, even in very early infancy. However, there is evidence that cortical modulation increases across the first 12 months of life to approximate more adult-like patterns of behavior. This modulation influences primarily conditions of volitional swallowing; sleep and naïve swallows appear to not be easily adapted by cortical regulation. Thus, it is attention, not arousal that engages cortical mechanisms.

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