Causes and consequences of infant neuromotor development: The Generation R Study

Due to the complexity of the brain, and the many genetic and environmental determinants, there are endless ways in which the brain can develop, leading to at least as many possibilities in the expression of these variations in behaviours or cognitive functioning. Although the study of the brain is as old as science itself, it is just until recently that we have begun to understand more about how the brain works. Historically, scientists who dedicated their work to understanding the central nervous system came from different disciplines: medicine, biology, psychology, physics, chemistry, mathematics. However, the study of the brain has been revolutionized when an interdisciplinary approach was taken, yielding a new synthesized perspective. Similarly, existing knowledge on infant neurological development has increased during the past decades. It is based on insights generated by paediatrics (developmental neurology), movement science and neuropsychology. Currently, neuromotor development is an accepted means of measuring the maturity and intactness of an infant’s central nervous system. Impaired development of the central nervous system in the first year of life is mainly expressed in deviances in neuromotor development

Screening for autism spectrum disorders with the brief infant-toddler social and emotional assessment

Objective: Using parent-completed questionnaires in (preventive) child health care can facilitate the early detection of psychosocial problems and psychopathology, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A promising questionnaire for this purpose is the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA). The screening accuracy with regard to ASD of the BITSEA Problem and Competence scales and a newly calculated Autism score were evaluated. Method: Data, that was collected between April 2010 and April 2011, from a community sample of 2-year-olds (N = 3127), was combined with a sample of preschool children diagnosed with ASD (N = 159). For the total population and for subgroups by child's gender, area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was examined, and across a range of BITSEA Problem, Competence and Autism scores, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratio's, diagnostic odds ratio and Youden's index were reported. Results: The area under the ROC curve (95% confidence interval, [95%CI]) of the Problem scale was 0.90(0.87-0.92), of the Competence scale 0.93(0.91-0.95), and of the Autism score 0.95(0.93-0.97). For the total population, the screening accuracy of the Autism score was significantly better, compared to the Problem scale. The screening accuracy of the Competence scale was significantly better for girls (AUC = 0.97; 95%CI = 0.95-0.98) than for boys (AUC = 0.91; 95%CI = 0.88-0.94). Conclusion: The results indicate that the BITSEA scales and newly calculated Autism score have good discriminative power to differentiate children with and without ASD. Therefore, the BITSEA may be helpful in the early detection of ASD, which could have beneficial effects on the child's development

Behavioural correlates of energy drink consumption among adolescents: A review of the literature

Despite regulatory measures on the labelling of energy drinks (EDs), their consumption among adolescents continues to grow in popularity, but teachers increasingly report significant behavioural concerns among students who disclose habitual ED consumption. A review of papers published between January 2010 and October 2016 was undertaken to determine whether an association between adverse behaviour and consumption of ED exists. Findings indicate that ED consumption among adolescents is associated with alcohol and substance use, risky behaviours and psychological states including sensation seeking, depression and anxiety symptoms. ED consumption impacts negatively on executive functions and increases hyperactivity/inattention symptoms among adolescents. An inverse association between ED consumption and sleep duration exists. The findings highlight the need for greater awareness of the potential risk of ED consumption among adolescents

Infant Developmental Outcomes: A Family Systems Perspective

The aim of the current study was to examine whether parental mental health, parent–infant relationship, infant characteristics and couple's relationship factors were associated with the infant's development. Forty-two families took part at three time points. The first, at 3 months postpartum, involved a video recorded observation (CARE-index) of parent–infant interactions. At 5 months postpartum, in-depth clinical interviews (the Birmingham Interview of Maternal Mental Health) assessed parental mental health and parental perceptions of their relationship with their infant, their partner and their infant's characteristics. Finally, the Bayley Scales III was carried out 17 months postpartum to assess the infants' cognitive, language and motor development. A higher mother–infant relationship quality was significantly associated with more optimal language development, whilst a higher father–infant relationship quality was associated with more advanced motor development. Additionally, maternal postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder had a negative impact on the infant's cognitive development, whilst maternal prenatal depression was associated with a less optimal infant's language development. The largest prediction was afforded by parental perceptions of their infant's characteristics. The findings indicate that such perceptions may be crucial for the infant's development and imply that negative internal parental perceptions should be considered when assessing risk factors or designing interventions to prevent negative child outcomes

Executive Functions of Six-Year-Old Boys with Normal Birth Weight and Gestational Age

Impaired fetal development, reflected by low birth weight or prematurity, predicts an increased risk for psychopathology, especially attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Such effects cut across the normal range of birth weight and gestation. Despite the strength of existing epidemiological data, cognitive pathways that link fetal development to mental health are largely unknown. In this study we examined the relation of birth weight (>2500 g) and gestational age (37–41 weeks) within the normal range with specific executive functions in 195 Singaporean six-year-old boys of Chinese ethnicity. Birth weight adjusted for gestational age was used as indicator of fetal growth while gestational age was indicative of fetal maturity. Linear regression revealed that increased fetal growth within the normal range is associated with an improved ability to learn rules during the intra/extra-dimensional shift task and to retain visual information for short period of time during the delayed matching to sample task. Moreover, faster and consistent reaction times during the stop-signal task were observed among boys born at term, but with higher gestational age. Hence, even among boys born at term with normal birth weight, variations in fetal growth and maturity showed distinct effects on specific executive functions

The Generation R Study: design and cohort update 2010

The Generation R Study is a population-based prospective cohort study from fetal life until young adulthood. The study is designed to identify early environmental and genetic causes of normal and abnormal growth, development and health during fetal life, childhood and adulthood. The study focuses on four primary areas of research: (1) growth and physical development; (2) behavioural and cognitive development; (3) diseases in childhood; and (4) health and healthcare for pregnant women and children. In total, 9,778 mothers with a delivery date from April 2002 until January 2006 were enrolled in the study. General follow-up rates until the age of 4 years exceed 75%. Data collection in mothers, fathers and preschool children included questionnaires, detailed physical and ultrasound examinations, behavioural observations, and biological samples. A genome wide association screen is available in the participating children. Regular detailed hands on assessment are performed from the age of 5 years onwards. Eventually, results forthcoming from the Generation R Study have to contribute to the development of strategies for optimizing health and healthcare for pregnant women and children

How does emotional wellbeing relate to underachievement in a general population sample of young adolescents: a neurocognitive perspective

Underachievement in school during early adolescence predicts future economic and personal difficulties. Particular neurocognitive skills on the domain of executive functions start to mature during adolescence. This fact and the physical and psychological changes typical for the transition from childhood to adulthood make adolescents vulnerable to emotional problems. The current study investigated the relationship between mild emotional problems which are highly prevalent among adolescents and underachievement in school, and the role of neurocognitive functioning in this relation. This study was conducted in a substantial sample of typical developing young adolescents who just made the transition to secondary education. Pupils were on average 12.5 years old (standard deviation 0.5), and 45% of the included sample were girls. Emotional wellbeing was associated with underachievement [Odds ratio (OR) 5.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.06–8.68] after adjusting for background variables. Self-reported neurocognitive functioning partly explained the relation between emotional wellbeing and underachievement (OR 2.22, 95% CI 1.23–3.99), yet, emotional wellbeing remained statistically associated with underachievement after correcting for additional confounders (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.08–3.66). The observed findings suggest that emotional wellbeing plays an essential role in underachievement during the first year of secondary education