scholarly journals Gene-Environment Causal Pathway to Impoverished Cognitive Development Contributes to Psychotic-Like Experience in Children

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junghoon Park ◽  
Eunji Lee ◽  
Gyeongcheol Cho ◽  
Heungsun Hwang ◽  
Yoonjung Yoonie Joo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Parenting Behavior ◽  
European Ancestry ◽  
School Environments ◽  
Causal Pathways ◽  
Polygenic Scores ◽  
Causal Pathway ◽  
Psychiatric Outcomes

Identifying the social and biological mechanisms of cognitive and psychological development of children is essential for optimizing preventive and educational efforts. However, the causal pathways by which genetic and environmental factors affect cognitive and psychiatric outcomes remain unknown, especially in early childhood. We examined the causal relationships among genes, the environment, intelligence, and psychotic-like experiences in 7,632 multiethnic (5,905 with European ancestry) children aged 9-10 years old from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Using up-to-date computational causal analysis and rigorous path modeling, we found a significant causal influence of residential, family, and school environments and genome-wide polygenic scores of cognitive capacities on preadolescents' psychotic-like experiences mediated by intelligence. Mitigation of good parenting behavior and positive school environments on psychotic-like experiences dominated the pernicious effects of genetic and residential adversities. Our findings support that intelligence may be a biological resilience factor for psychosis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to identify casual trajectories of neurocognitive development in early childhood and the first to provide empirical evidence that positive parenting behavior and school environment can impose a considerable degree of causal impact on children's cognitive and psychiatric outcomes. We suggest the implementation of socioeconomic policies to improve family and school environments and promote local economic development to enhance children's cognitive ability and mental health.

scholarly journals The Impact of Early Life Stress on the Genetic Influence on Brain and Cognitive Development in Children

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hee-Hwan Wang ◽  
Seo-Yoon Moon ◽  
KaKyeong Kim ◽  
Hyun-Jin Kim ◽  
Woo-Young Ahn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Life Stress ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Early Life Stress ◽  
Genetic Influence ◽  
Cognitive Capacity ◽  
European Ancestry ◽  
Structural Development ◽  
Polygenic Scores ◽  
The Impact

Early life stress (ELS), such as abuse, neglect, and maltreatment, is a well-known risk factor for mental illness. However, it is unclear how ELS affects the brain and cognitive development. Identifying specific relationships of ELS with the genetic and brain-related underpinnings of cognitive development may reveal biological mechanisms responsible for the negative impact of ELS and those that lead to individual differences in sensitivity (or resilience) to ELS. In this study, to investigate the interlinked processes of cognitive development, we analyzed the multimodal data of DNA genotypes, brain imaging (MRI), and neuropsychological assessment (NIH Toolbox) outcomes of 4,276 children (ages 9 to 10 years, European ancestry) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. We estimated the genetic influence on cognitive capacity using genome-wide polygenic scores (GPSs). Our regression and mediation analyses revealed significant causal relationships for the gene-brain-cognition pathway: Brain structural development significantly mediated the genetic influence on cognitive development (partial mediation effect = 0.016, PFWE<0.001). Interestingly, within the triangular relationship, we found a significant moderation effect of abuse only on the gene-to-brain pathway (Index of Moderated Mediation = -0.007; 95% CI= -0.012 ~ -0.002; PFWE<0.05). These findings indicate the negative modulatory effects of ELS on the genetic influence on brain structural development that lead to disadvantageous neurocognitive development in prepubertal children.

Contrasting Broad- and Clinically- defined Polygenic Indicators of Depression and Depression-related Phenotypes in Adults and Children

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. McGeary ◽  
Chelsie Benca-Bachman ◽  
Victoria Risner ◽  
Christopher G Beevers ◽  
Brandon Gibb ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Cognitive Reappraisal ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
European Ancestry ◽  
Summary Statistics ◽  
Depression Severity ◽  
Uk Biobank ◽  
Polygenic Scores ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
The Uk

Twin studies indicate that 30-40% of the disease liability for depression can be attributed to genetic differences. Here, we assess the explanatory ability of polygenic scores (PGS) based on broad- (PGSBD) and clinical- (PGSMDD) depression summary statistics from the UK Biobank using independent cohorts of adults (N=210; 100% European Ancestry) and children (N=728; 70% European Ancestry) who have been extensively phenotyped for depression and related neurocognitive phenotypes. PGS associations with depression severity and diagnosis were generally modest, and larger in adults than children. Polygenic prediction of depression-related phenotypes was mixed and varied by PGS. Higher PGSBD, in adults, was associated with a higher likelihood of having suicidal ideation, increased brooding and anhedonia, and lower levels of cognitive reappraisal; PGSMDD was positively associated with brooding and negatively related to cognitive reappraisal. Overall, PGS based on both broad and clinical depression phenotypes have modest utility in adult and child samples of depression.

scholarly journals Protocol for a family-centered behavioral intervention to reduce early childhood caries: the MySmileBuddy program efficacy trial

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christie L. Lumsden ◽  
Burton L. Edelstein ◽  
Charles E. Basch ◽  
Randi L. Wolf ◽  
Pamela A. Koch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Behavioral Intervention ◽  
Early Childhood Caries ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Trial Registration ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Causal Pathways ◽  
Family Centered ◽  
Childhood Caries

Abstract Background Although largely preventable through diet management and topical fluoride use, early childhood caries (ECC) often progresses to severity that necessitates surgical repair. Yet repair often fails to mitigate caries progression. Needed is an effective behavioral intervention to address underlying behavioral causes. Methods This randomized controlled trial will evaluate the efficacy of a behaviorally focused, family-centered intervention, the MySmileBuddy Program (MSB Program), to reduce ECC progression in high-risk preschoolers in New York City. Recruitment will target 858 children ages 24–71 months with ECC and their parents from primary care medical and dental clinics. The study aims to assess the MSB Program’s efficacy to: (1) decrease ECC progression measured 12-months post-randomization; and (2) enhance adoption of a low cariogenic diet and twice-daily fluoridated toothpaste use compared to control group. Potential causal pathways (mediators and moderators) will be explored. The MSB Program equips community health workers (CHWs) with an app that facilitates multilevel risk assessment and provides motivational interviewing-based counseling to inform parents about the caries process, develop personalized goals, and create family-level action plans to achieve targeted behaviors. Social support from CHWs (4 interactions during the 6-month intervention, supplemented by up to 4 in-person/remote contacts throughout the 12-month study period, based on need) is bolstered by automated text messages. Participants will be randomized to a Control Group (paper-based educational handout plus toothbrushes and fluoridated toothpaste for the child) or Intervention Group (MSB Program, two tooth-brushing observations with feedback and instruction, and toothbrushes and toothpaste for the entire family). All children will receive visual ICDAS dental examinations and parents will complete study measures at baseline and 12-months. An incentive up to $150 plus round-trip transit cards ($5.50 value) will be provided. Discussion This study hypothesizes that the MSB Program can reduce ECC progression in a high-risk population. Sufficient incentives and a focus on establishing rapport between participants and CHWs are anticipated to mitigate recruitment and retention challenges. If successful, this study will advance the long-term goal of reducing pediatric oral health disparities by demonstrating the efficacy of an acceptable and feasible intervention that shifts attention from dental repair to behavioral risk mitigation. Trial registration: Trial registration was completed on 4/13/2021 through the U.S. National Library of Medicine ClinicalTrials.gov website (Identifier: NCT04845594).

scholarly journals Early Childhood Reading in Rural China and Obstacles to Caregiver Investment in Young Children: A Mixed-Methods Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1457
Author(s):  
Rui Li ◽  
Nathan Rose ◽  
Yi Ming Zheng ◽  
Yunwei Chen ◽  
Sean Sylvia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Parenting Practices ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Reading Practices ◽  
Rural Villages ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Childhood Reading

Studies have shown that nearly half of rural toddlers in China have cognitive delays due to an absence of stimulating parenting practices, such as early childhood reading, during the critical first three years of life. However, few studies have examined the reasons behind these low levels of stimulating parenting, and no studies have sought to identify the factors that limit caregivers from providing effective early childhood reading practices (EECRP). This mixed-methods study investigates the perceptions, prevalence, and correlates of EECRP in rural China, as well as associations with child cognitive development. We use quantitative survey results from 1748 caregiver–child dyads across 100 rural villages/townships in northwestern China and field observation and interview data with 60 caregivers from these same sites. The quantitative results show significantly low rates of EECRP despite positive perceptions of early reading and positive associations between EECRP and cognitive development. The qualitative results suggest that low rates of EECRP in rural China are not due to the inability to access books, financial or time constraints, or the absence of aspirations. Rather, the low rate of book ownership and absence of reading to young children is driven by the insufficient and inaccurate knowledge of EECRP among caregivers, which leads to their delayed, misinformed reading decisions with their young children, ultimately contributing to developmental delays.

Assessment of Growth and Development During Infancy and Early Childhood

1992 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 88-96
Author(s):  
Victor C. Vaughan
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Skinfold Thickness ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Developmental Assessment ◽  
Physical Size ◽  
Infant And Young Child ◽  
Standard Values ◽  
Infancy And Early Childhood ◽  
And Function

A prime function of the pediatrician is to monitor the developmental status of his or her patients. Sensitive monitoring demands a broad knowledge of developmental processes and issues and the ability to assess the data made available from the clinical examination accurately and efficiently. Areas of Developmental Assessment Developmental assessment is made in four broad areas during early childhood: physical or physiologic, neurodevelopmental, cognitive, and psychosocial. PHYSICAL OR PHYSIOLOGIC DEVELOPMENT This area comprises the changes in physical size, shape, and function that come with age. Many of these changes can be measured, such as height, weight, skinfold thickness, head circumference, body surface area, blood counts, enzyme activities, and hormone levels. These measurements can be compared with standard values that indicate the range of normal findings. NEURODEVELOPMENTAL MATURATION This area comprises changes in behavior that evolve with the passage of time, particularly those changes that depend primarily upon maturation. They include some reflex activities and many gross and fine motor skills, including visuomotor and other intersensory functions. These behaviors are assessed primarily by observation, often informally, but sometimes (when more critical appraisal is required) in a carefully structured setting. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT Cognitive development and neurodevelopmental maturation are closely related, and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between them in the infant and young child.

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