Support from Grandparents to Families with Infants. ESRI Research Bulletin 2011/1/4

Parent-child interactions are influenced by factors outside the immediate family. A recent paper† based on data from the Growing Up in Ireland study (GUI) focuses in particular on the support provided by grandparents in caring for very young children. Such support can have important direct and indirect influences on child development. For example, a grandparent who babysits a young child while parents have a night out has a direct interaction with the child in the context of providing care. However, there is also an indirect influence in the context of supporting the mother-father relationship which, in turn, could be expected to affect (positively) parental interactions with the child

Growing Up in Ireland. National Longitudinal Study of Children. Technical Series Number 2019-2

The study focuses on a broad range of internationally recognised child outcomes with a view to documenting how well children in Ireland are developing. In so doing, it will facilitate comparison with findings from similar studies of children in other countries, as well as establishing typical patterns for children within Ireland. Being longitudinal in nature, the study also clearly addresses developmental trajectories over time and explores the factors which most impact on those trajectories and on the life chances of children in Ireland today. By providing comprehensive data on a representative national sample of Irish children, the study informs and contributes to the setting of responsive policies and the design of services for children and their families. The study focuses on two cohorts of children. The younger cohort (the Infant cohort based on 11,134 children and their parents and other main caregivers) was recruited when the children were nine months of age. The second cohort is based on 8,568 children and their main caregivers, which was recruited when the children were nine years of age

Growing Up in Ireland. National Longitudinal Study of Children. Technical Series Number 2019-4

Growing Up in Ireland is the national longitudinal study of children. It was established in 2006 and has followed two groups of Irish children – an older group who were recruited into the study at 9 years of age (the Child Cohort, now called Cohort ‘98) and a younger group who were recruited into the study at 9 months of age (the Infant Cohort, now called Cohort ‘08). The Growing Up in Ireland study is funded by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA), and is overseen by the DCYA in association with the Central Statistics Office. The project has been designed to describe and analyse what it means to be a child in Ireland today and to understand the factors associated with three major areas of children’s development over time: their physical health and growth; their social, emotional and behavioural well-being; and their educational achievements and cognitive development. The longitudinal nature of the project allows researchers and analysts to examine the developmental trajectories and the factors which affect development over time. Providing evidence to inform Government policy relating to children, youth and families is a core objective

Growing up in Ireland. National Longitudinal Study of Children. Report 9 2019

No Abstract

GROWING UP IN IRELAND. COHORT ’08 (Infant Cohort). Report on the Pilot for Wave Five of the Cohort ’08 Survey (at 9 Years of Age)

This report summarises the experience of the pilot fieldwork with the Growing Up in Ireland Cohort ’08 (formerly the Infant Cohort) at 9 years of age. This wave represents the fifth survey for this cohort who were first interviewed at age 9 months – and subsequently surveyed at 3, 5 and 7/8 years. It is also the first time that the younger cohort has reached an age where there was also data collection for Cohort ’98 (formerly the Child Cohort). The report is intended to inform data-users of the role played by the pilot process in informing the final instrumentation and procedures for the main phase of data collection

Tracking cardiovascular comorbidity in models of chronic inflammatory disease

Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are commonly associated with complex coexisting conditions, and cardiovascular comorbidities are a common cause of mortality in systemic inflammation. Experimental models of disease provide an opportunity to dissect inflammatory mechanisms that promote damage to vascular tissues affected by comorbidity. Here, we describe methods to recover the thoracic aorta from mice during experimental inflammatory arthritis and assess vascular constriction responses by isometric tension myography. To complement the assessment of functional changes in the vasculature during inflammatory arthritis, we also outline a method to characterize vascular inflammation by immunohistochemistry

A Headset Method for Measuring the Visual Temporal Discrimination Threshold in Cervical Dystonia

Background: The visual temporal discrimination threshold (TDT) is the shortest time interval at which one can determine two stimuli to be asynchronous and meets criteria for a valid endophenotype in adult‐onset idiopathic focal dystonia, a poorly penetrant disorder. Temporal discrimination is assessed in the hospital laboratory; in unaffected relatives of multiplex adult‐onset dystonia patients distance from the hospital is a barrier to data acquisition. We devised a portable headset method for visual temporal discrimination determination and our aim was to validate this portable tool against the traditional laboratory‐based method in a group of patients and in a large cohort of healthy controls. Methods: Visual TDTs were examined in two groups 1) in 96 healthy control participants divided by age and gender, and 2) in 33 cervical dystonia patients, using two methods of data acquisition, the traditional table‐top laboratory‐based system, and the novel portable headset method. The order of assessment was randomized in the control group. The results obtained by each technique were compared. Results: Visual temporal discrimination in healthy control participants demonstrated similar age and gender effects by the headset method as found by the table‐top examination. There were no significant differences between visual TDTs obtained using the two methods, both for the control participants and for the cervical dystonia patients. Bland–Altman testing showed good concordance between the two methods in both patients and in controls. Discussion: The portable headset device is a reliable and accurate method for visual temporal discrimination testing for use outside the laboratory, and will facilitate increased TDT data collection outside of the hospital setting. This is of particular importance in multiplex families where data collection in all available members of the pedigree is important for exome sequencing studies

Cannabis use in patients with early psychosis is associated with alterations in putamen and thalamic shape

Around half of patients with early psychosis have a history of cannabis use. We aimed to determine if there are neurobiological differences in these the subgroups of persons with psychosis with and without a history of cannabis use. We expected to see regional deflations in hippocampus as a neurotoxic effect and regional inflations in striatal regions implicated in addictive processes. Volumetric, T1w MRIs were acquired from people with a diagnosis psychosis with (PwP + C = 28) or without (PwP − C = 26) a history of cannabis use; and Controls with (C + C = 16) or without (C − C = 22) cannabis use. We undertook vertex‐based shape analysis of the brainstem, amygdala, hippocampus, globus pallidus, nucleus accumbens, caudate, putamen, thalamus using FSL FIRST. Clusters were defined through Threshold Free Cluster Enhancement and Family Wise Error was set at p < .05. We adjusted analyses for age, sex, tobacco and alcohol use. The putamen (bilaterally) and the right thalamus showed regional enlargement in PwP + C versus PwP − C. There were no areas of regional deflation. There were no significant differences between C + C and C − C. Cannabis use in participants with psychosis is associated with morphological alterations in subcortical structures. Putamen and thalamic enlargement may be related to compulsivity in patients with a history of cannabis use

Association of cannabis with glutamatergic levels in patients with early psychosis: Evidence for altered volume striatal glutamate relationships in patients with a history of cannabis use in early psychosis

The associative striatum, an established substrate in psychosis, receives widespread glutamatergic projections. We sought to see if glutamatergic indices are altered between early psychosis patients with and without a history of cannabis use and characterise the relationship to grey matter. 92 participants were scanned: Early Psychosis with a history of cannabis use (EPC\u2009=\u200929); Early Psychosis with minimal cannabis use (EPMC\u2009=\u200925); Controls with a history of cannabis use (HCC\u2009=\u200916) and Controls with minimal use (HCMC\u2009=\u200922). Whole brain T1 weighted MR images and localised proton MR spectra were acquired from head of caudate, anterior cingulate and hippocampus. We examined relationships in regions with known high cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) expression (grey matter, cortex, hippocampus, amygdala) and low expression (white matter, ventricles, brainstem) to caudate Glutamine+Glutamate (Glx). Patients were well matched in symptoms, function and medication. There was no significant group difference in Glx in any region. In EPC grey matter volume explained 31.9% of the variance of caudate Glx (p\u2009=\u20090.003) and amygdala volume explained 36.9% (p\u2009=\u20090.001) of caudate Glx. There was no significant relationship in EPMC. The EPC vs EPMC interaction was significant (p\u2009=\u20090.042). There was no such relationship in control regions. These results are the first to demonstrate association of grey matter volume and striatal glutamate in the EPC group. This may suggest a history of cannabis use leads to a conformational change in distal CB1 rich grey matter regions to influence striatal glutamatergic levels or that such connectivity predisposes to heavy cannabis use