scholarly journals Processing Speed in Childhood and Adolescence: Longitudinal Models for Examining Developmental Change

2007 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 1760-1770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert V. Kail ◽  
Emilio Ferrer
Keyword(s):  
Processing Speed ◽  
Developmental Change ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Longitudinal Models

The role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the pathophysiology of adolescent suicidal behavior

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Sher
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Neurotrophic Factor ◽  
Adolescent Suicide ◽  
Developmental Change ◽  
Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Compulsive Disorder

Abstract Adolescent suicide research has mostly focused on demographic risk factors. Such studies focus on who is at risk, but do not explain why certain adolescents are at risk for suicide. Studies of the neurobiology of adolescent suicide could clarify why some youths are more suicidal than others and help to find biological markers of suicidal behavior in teenagers. Over the past decade the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the pathophysiology of suicidal behavior has attracted significant attention of scientists. BDNF is involved in the pathophysiology of many psychiatric disorders associated with suicidal behavior including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. BDNF dysregulation could be associated with increased suicidality independently of psychiatric diagnoses. BDNF plays an important role in the regulation and growth of neurons during childhood and adolescence. Prominent among the brain regions undergoing developmental change during adolescence are stressor-sensitive areas. The serotonin dysfunction found in adolescent and adult suicidal behavior could be related to the low level of BDNF, which impedes the normal development of serotonin neurons during brain development. BDNF dysfunction could play a more significant role in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders and suicidal behavior in adolescents than in adults. Treatment-induced enhancement in the BDNF function could reduce suicidal behavior secondary to the improvement in psychiatric pathology or independently of improvement in psychiatric disorders. It is interesting to hypothesize that BDNF could be a biological marker of suicidal behavior in adolescents or in certain adolescent populations.

scholarly journals The cognitive developmental profile associated with fragile X syndrome: A longitudinal investigation of cognitive strengths and weaknesses through childhood and adolescence

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (4pt2) ◽  
pp. 1457-1469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eve-Marie Quintin ◽  
Booil Jo ◽  
Scott S. Hall ◽  
Jennifer L. Bruno ◽  
Lindsay C. Chromik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Fragile X Syndrome ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Fragile X ◽  
Cognitive Profile ◽  
Brain Morphology ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Normative Sample ◽  
Treatment Research ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal

AbstractFew studies have investigated developmental strengths and weaknesses within the cognitive profile of children and adolescents with fragile X syndrome (FXS), a single-gene cause of inherited intellectual impairment. With a prospective longitudinal design and using normalized raw scores (Z scores) to circumvent floor effects, we measured cognitive functioning of 184 children and adolescents with FXS (ages 6 to 16) using the Wechsler Scale of Intelligence for Children on one to three occasions for each participant. Participants with FXS received lower raw scores relative to the Wechsler Scale of Intelligence for Children normative sample across the developmental period. Verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, and processing speed Z scores were marked by a widening gap from the normative sample, while freedom from distractibility Z scores showed a narrowing gap. Key findings include a relative strength for verbal skills in comparison with visuospatial–constructive skills arising in adolescence and a discrepancy between working memory (weakness) and processing speed (strength) in childhood that diminishes in adolescence. Results suggest that the cognitive profile associated with FXS develops dynamically from childhood to adolescence. Findings are discussed within the context of aberrant brain morphology in childhood and maturation in adolescence. We argue that assessing disorder-specific cognitive developmental profiles will benefit future disorder-specific treatment research.

Pre-pregnancy maternal overweight and obesity increase the risk for affective disorders in offspring

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Robinson ◽  
S. R. Zubrick ◽  
C. E. Pennell ◽  
R. J. Van Lieshout ◽  
P. Jacoby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Behavior Checklist ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Dysthymic Disorder ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Longitudinal Models ◽  
Statistical Manual ◽  
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Pregnancy Weight ◽  
Maternal Overweight

Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity has been linked with an increased risk for negative emotionality and inattentiveness in offspring in early childhood. The aim of this study was to examine the association between maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and the development of affective problems (dysthymic disorder, major depressive disorder) throughout childhood and adolescence. In the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study, 2900 women provided data on their pre-pregnancy weight, and height measurements were taken at 18 weeks of gestation. BMI was calculated and categorized using standardized methods. Live-born children (n= 2868) were followed up at ages 5, 8, 10, 14 and 17 years using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-oriented scales of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/4–18). Longitudinal models were applied to assess the relationships between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and affective problems from age 5 through 17. There was a higher risk of affective problems between the ages of 5 and 17 years among children of women who were overweight and obese compared with the offspring of women in the healthy pre-pregnancy weight range (BMI 18.5–24.99) after adjustment for confounders, including paternal BMI. Maternal pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity may be implicated in the development of affective problems, including depression, in their offspring later in life.

Postnatal Brain Development

2013 ◽  
pp. 128-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie C. Markant ◽  
Kathleen M. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Brain Development ◽  
Neural Development ◽  
Developmental Change ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Postnatal Brain ◽  
Significant Development ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Synaptic Pruning ◽  
New Discovery

While key aspects of neural development occur prenatally in humans, the brain continues to show significant development postnatally. In this chapter, we review several aspects of brain development that continue well into childhood and adolescence. First, we discuss the continued sculpting of synaptic connections, including the extension of axons and dendrites, neurotransmitter function, synaptic pruning, and myelination. Second, we examine noninvasive indices of structural brain development, including regional volume and connectivity in the brain that may be more easily linked to changes in child behavior across development. Third, we briefly discuss broad developmental changes in functional activity of the brain and connectivity across regions. Finally, we discuss the evidence for postnatal neurogenesis, a relatively new discovery in postnatal brain development. We conclude that although prenatal events of brain development are critical, postnatal sculpting of the brain continues to play a central role in individual differences in behavior and developmental change.

Cognitive development prior to onset of psychosis

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 392-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Mollon ◽  
A. Reichenberg
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Exact Nature ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Rare Genetic Variants

Schizophrenia patients commonly exhibit substantial and diffuse cognitive impairment. Evidence suggests that subtle cognitive deficits are already apparent in childhood and adolescence, many years prior to onset of psychosis. While there is almost unequivocal evidence of some degree of cognitive impairment in individuals who later develop schizophrenia, the literature remains inconclusive regarding the exact nature of this impairment and warrants careful review and interpretation. Meta-analytic findings suggest that individuals who later develop schizophrenia, but not related disorders, such as bipolar disorder, exhibit a premorbid IQ deficit of around 8 points. Several studies have also found evidence for premorbid deficits across most cognitive domains, such as language, processing speed and executive functions. Longitudinal studies, although rare, suggest that individuals who go on to develop schizophrenia may show a course of increasing cognitive impairment prior to onset of psychosis. While evidence regarding the etiology of premorbid deficits is scarce, common and rare genetic variants, as well as environmental factors such as obstetric complications and cannabis use may play an important role and warrant further examination. In this selected review, we give an overview of population-based studies on premorbid cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, with a special focus on evidence regarding the specificity, profile and course of these deficits.

Inhibition and Switching in Healthy Aging: A Longitudinal Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steinunn Adólfsdóttir ◽  
Daniel Wollschlaeger ◽  
Eike Wehling ◽  
Astri J. Lundervold
Keyword(s):  
Processing Speed ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Longitudinal Models ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Gender And Education ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Speed Measure ◽  
Interference Test

AbstractObjectives: Discrepant findings of age-related effects between cross-sectional and longitudinal studies on executive function (EF) have been described across different studies. The aim of the present study was to examine longitudinal age effects on inhibition and switching, two key subfunctions of EF, calculated from results on the Color Word Interference Test (CWIT). Methods: One hundred twenty-three healthy aging individuals (average age 61.4 years; 67% women) performed the CWIT up to three times, over a period of more than 6 years. Measures of inhibition, switching, and combined inhibition and switching were analyzed. A longitudinal linear mixed effects models analysis was run including basic CWIT conditions, and measures of processing speed, retest effect, gender, education, and age as predictors. Results: After taking all predictors into account, age added significantly to the predictive value of the longitudinal models of (i) inhibition, (ii) switching, and (iii) combined inhibition and switching. The basic CWIT conditions and the processing speed measure added to the predictive value of the models, while retest effect, gender, and education did not. Conclusions: The present study on middle-aged to older individuals showed age-related decline in inhibition and switching abilities. This decline was retained even when basic CWIT conditions, processing speed, attrition, gender, and education were controlled. (JINS, 2017, 23, 90–97)

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