Maturation constrains the effect of exposure in linking language and thought: evidence from healthy preterm infants

The power of human language rests upon its intricate links to human cognition. By 3 months of age, listening to language supports infants’ ability to form object categories, a building block of cognition. Moreover, infants display a systematic shift between 3 and 4 months – a shift from familiarity to novelty preferences – in their expression of this link between language and core cognitive processes. Here, we capitalize on this tightly‐timed developmental shift in fullterm infants to assess (a) whether it also appears in preterm infants and (b) whether it reflects infants’ maturational status or the duration of their postnatal experience. Healthy late preterm infants (N = 22) participated in an object categorization task while listening to language. Their performance, coupled with that of fullterm infants, reveals that this developmental shift is evident in preterm infants and unfolds on the same maturational timetable as in their fullterm counterparts.     

Tracing children's vocabulary development from preschool through the school‐age years: an 8‐year longitudinal study

In this 8‐year longitudinal study, we traced the vocabulary growth of Chinese children, explored potential precursors of vocabulary knowledge, and investigated how vocabulary growth predicted future reading skills. Two hundred and sixty‐four (264) native Chinese children from Beijing were measured on a variety of reading and language tasks over 8 years. Between the ages of 4 to 10 years, they were administered tasks of vocabulary and related cognitive skills. At age 11, comprehensive reading skills, including character recognition, reading fluency, and reading comprehension were examined. Individual differences in vocabulary developmental profiles were estimated using the intercept‐slope cluster method. Vocabulary development was then examined in relation to later reading outcomes. Three subgroups of lexical growth were classified, namely high‐high (with a large initial vocabulary size and a fast growth rate), low‐high (with a small initial vocabulary size and a fast growth rate) and low‐low (with a small initial vocabulary size and a slow growth rate) groups. Low‐high and low‐low groups were distinguishable mostly through phonological skills, morphological skills and other reading‐related cognitive skills. Childhood vocabulary development (using intercept and slope) explained subsequent reading skills. Findings suggest that language‐related and reading‐related cognitive skills differ among groups with different developmental trajectories of vocabulary, and the initial size and growth rate of vocabulary may be two predictors for later reading development.     

Physical home environment is associated with prefrontal cortical thickness in adolescents

Biologically embedded experiences alter developmental trajectories in ways that can influence health, learning, and/or behavior. These systematic differences in experiences may contribute to different biological outcomes as individuals grow and develop, including at the neural level. Previous studies of biologically embedded experiences on neurodevelopment have focused on large‐scale institutional or economic factors (e.g. socioeconomic status [SES]) and psychosocial factors (e.g. caregiving behavior). Less attention has focused on how the quality of the immediate home settings, such as the physical home environment (PHYS), influences neurodevelopment. Moreover, no study has investigated these effects in adolescents, who undergo significant physical maturation and neurodevelopment that may influence how they respond to their physical environments. The goal of the current study was to examine whether PHYS quality is biologically embedded in the developing adolescent brain as evidenced by cognitive achievement and cortical development in 56 (48% female) healthy adolescents (14–18 years (M = 16.83 years, SD = 1.17). Using in‐home assessments of the physical home environment, anatomical brain scans, and indices of academic achievement, we found that adolescents who have more physical problems in the home (e.g. structural hazards, crowding, excessive noise, poorly lit) have thinner prefrontal cortices, which was associated with lower levels of reading achievement, independent of SES and psychosocial factors. By conducting home visits to assess physical characteristics of adolescents’ home, we highlight a typically overlooked aspect of the home environment that has relevance for adolescents’ cognitive and brain development.     

Attention and executive functioning in infancy: Links to childhood executive function and reading achievement

This study provides the first analyses connecting individual differences in infant attention to reading achievement through the development of executive functioning (EF) in infancy and early childhood. Five‐month‐old infants observed a video, and peak look duration and shift rate were video coded and assessed. At 10 months, as well as 3, 4, and 6 years, children completed age‐appropriate EF tasks (A‐not‐B task, hand game, forward digit span, backwards digit span, and number Stroop). Children also completed a standardized reading assessment and a measure of verbal intelligence (IQ) at age 6. Path analyses on 157 participants showed that infant attention had a direct statistical predictive effect on EF at 10 months, with EF showing a continuous pattern of development from 10 months to 6 years. EF and verbal IQ at 6 years had a direct effect on reading achievement. Furthermore, EF at all time points mediated the relation between 5‐month attention and reading achievement. These findings may inform reading interventions by suggesting earlier intervention time points and specific cognitive processes (i.e. 5‐month attention).     

Behavioral Self‐Regulation,Early Academic Achievement,and the Effectiveness of Urban Schools for Low‐Income Ethnic Minority Children

The independent and joint associations between child behavioral self‐regulation ability and school effectiveness in relation to academic achievement were examined in a sample of low‐income African American (n = 132) and Latino (n = 198) children attending kindergarten and first grade across a large metropolitan area. Child behavioral self‐regulation and school effectiveness were positively associated with both reading and mathematics performance. School effectiveness moderated the effect of behavioral self‐regulation on reading but not math achievement. Lower child behavioral self‐regulation during early elementary school was associated with lower reading achievement the following year but only among children attending less effective schools. Behavioral self‐regulation was not related to reading achievement among children attending more effective schools. Implications of these findings for policies addressing disparities in early academic achievement are discussed.     

Cognitive and Emotion‐Regulatory Mediators of the Relationship Between Behavioral Approach System Sensitivity and Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury Frequency

Nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent among late adolescents and predicts the onset of suicidal ideation and behavior. Although research has established an association between the behavioral approach system (BAS) and NSSI, less research has explored mechanisms underlying this relationship. The authors examined negative and positive emotion regulation patterns, as well as the BAS‐relevant cognitive style of self‐criticism, as potential mechanisms through which a hypersensitive BAS might be related to NSSI frequency. Late adolescents (N = 177) with high and moderate BAS levels completed measures of self‐criticism, positive emotion regulation, brooding, and both lifetime and last‐year frequency of NSSI. Results indicated that self‐criticism and positive emotion dampening independently mediated the relationship between BAS and last‐year frequency of NSSI. Self‐criticism also mediated the relationship between BAS and lifetime frequency of NSSI. Results suggest that cognitive and emotion‐regulatory styles may help to explain why high BAS individuals are likely to engage in NSSI.     

Developmental dynamics between reading and math in elementary school

Reading and math attainment develop during elementary grades. Questions remain, though, about the co‐developmental nature of the relation between reading and math. This study examined dynamic, longitudinal pathways between reading and math in first through fourth grades. Participants of the study were 554 academically at‐risk children (M_age at the first assessment point = 6.57 years; SD = 0.38) from Texas Project Achieve. Children were assessed utilizing the Woodcock‐Johnson–III reading and math measures. Results from dynamic bivariate latent change score models indicated unidirectional longitudinal coupling effects from reading to math. Specifically, average and high levels of reading performance were associated with subsequent gains in math growth, in particular for below average performing children in math. In contrast, low levels of reading performance had negligible or no amplifying influences on change in math growth. The nature of the dynamics was replicated even when controlling for nonverbal cognitive abilities. Results demonstrated that good reading skills pave the way for children to develop their math skills. Such findings underscore the importance of considering reading performance in treating math difficulties.     

Common mechanisms of executive attention underlie executive function and effortful control in children

Executive Function (EF) and Effortful Control (EC) have traditionally been viewed as distinct constructs related to cognition and temperament during development. More recently, EF and EC have been implicated in top‐down self‐regulation ‐ the goal‐directed control of cognition, emotion, and behavior. We propose that executive attention, a limited‐capacity attentional resource subserving goal‐directed cognition and behavior, is the common cognitive mechanism underlying the self‐regulatory capacities captured by EF and EC. We addressed three related questions: (a) Do behavioral ratings of EF and EC represent the same self‐regulation construct? (b) Is this self‐regulation construct explained by a common executive attention factor as measured by performance on cognitive tasks? and (c) Does the executive attention factor explain additional variance in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) problems to behavioral ratings of self‐regulation? Measures of performance on complex span, general intelligence, and response inhibition tasks were obtained from 136 preadolescent children (M = 11 years, 10 months, SD = 8 months), along with self‐ and parent‐reported EC, and parent‐reported EF, and ADHD problems. Results from structural equation modeling demonstrated that behavioral ratings of EF and EC measured the same self‐regulation construct. Cognitive tasks measured a common executive attention factor that significantly explained 30% of the variance in behavioral ratings of self‐regulation. Executive attention failed to significantly explain additional variance in ADHD problems beyond that explained by behavioral ratings of self‐regulation. These findings raise questions about the utility of task‐based cognitive measures in research and clinical assessment of self‐regulation and psychopathology in developmental samples.     

Physical fitness,cognitive functioning and academic achievement in healthy adolescents

PurposeExamine the association between health-related physical fitness (cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular fitness) and skill-related physical fitness (speed-agility) and both cognitive functions and academic achievement in adolescents (12–15 years).MethodsData of 423 Dutch adolescents were analyzed (46.8% boys, age = 13.45 ± 0.43 years). Physical fitness was assessed using five subtests of the Eurofit test battery measuring cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m Shuttle Run Test), muscular fitness (Broad Jump and Sit-Ups) and speed-agility (10 × 5 m Shuttle Run Test and Plate Tapping Test). Cognitive functions were assessed by the Digit Span Task, the Grid Task and an adapted version of the Attention Network Test. Finally, academic achievement was assessed by two standardized tests assessing mathematic skills and language skills. Multilevel regression analyses were performed in MlWin to examine the relations of interest adjusting for sex and age.ResultsMultilevel regression analysis showed that speed-agility was significantly related to visuospatial working memory (β = 0.159; p = 0.014), information processing and control (β = 0.238; p < 0.001) and interference control (β = 0.156; p = 0.039), but not to the other cognitive or academic achievement outcomes. Cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular fitness were not related to any of the cognitive or academic achievement outcomes.ConclusionThe results suggest that skill-related physical fitness is related to cognitive functions and health-related physical fitness is not. Therefore it can be argued that improved levels of skill-related physical fitness may lead to improved cognitive functioning.     

Multilingual assessment of early child development: Analyses from repeated observations of children in Kenya

In many low‐ and middle‐income countries, young children learn a mother tongue or indigenous language at home before entering the formal education system where they will need to understand and speak a country's official language(s). Thus, assessments of children before school age, conducted in a nation's official language, may not fully reflect a child's development, underscoring the importance of test translation and adaptation. To examine differences in vocabulary development by language of assessment, we adapted and validated instruments to measure developmental outcomes, including expressive and receptive vocabulary. We assessed 505 2‐to‐6‐year‐old children in rural communities in Western Kenya with comparable vocabulary tests in three languages: Luo (the local language or mother tongue), Swahili, and English (official languages) at two time points, 5–6 weeks apart, between September 2015 and October 2016. Younger children responded to the expressive vocabulary measure exclusively in Luo (44%–59% of 2‐to‐4‐year‐olds) much more frequently than did older children (20%–21% of 5‐to‐6‐year‐olds). Baseline receptive vocabulary scores in Luo (β = 0.26, SE = 0.05, p < 0.001) and Swahili (β = 0.10, SE = 0.05, p = 0.032) were strongly associated with receptive vocabulary in English at follow‐up, even after controlling for English vocabulary at baseline. Parental Luo literacy at baseline (β = 0.11, SE = 0.05, p = 0.045) was associated with child English vocabulary at follow‐up, while parental English literacy at baseline was not. Our findings suggest that multilingual testing is essential to understanding the developmental environment and cognitive growth of multilingual children.     

Parental rearing behavior prospectively predicts adolescents’ risky decision‐making and feedback‐related electrical brain activity

The present study examined the role of parental rearing behavior in adolescents’ risky decision‐making and the brain's feedback processing mechanisms. Healthy adolescent participants (n = 110) completed the EMBU‐C, a self‐report questionnaire on perceived parental rearing behaviors between 2006 and 2008 (T1). Subsequently, after an average of 3.5 years, we assessed (a) risky decision‐making during performance of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART); (b) event‐related brain potentials (ERPs) elicited by positive (gain) and negative feedback (loss) during the BART; and (c) self‐reported substance use behavior (T2). Age‐corrected regression analyses showed that parental rejection at T1 accounted for a unique and significant proportion of the variance in risk‐taking during the BART; the more adolescents perceived their parents as rejecting, the more risky decisions were made. Higher levels of perceived emotional warmth predicted increased P300 amplitudes in response to positive feedback at T2. Moreover, these larger P300 amplitudes (gain) significantly predicted risky decision‐making during the BART. Parental rearing behaviors during childhood thus seem to be significant predictors of both behavioral and electrophysiological indices of risky decision‐making in adolescence several years later. This is in keeping with the notion that environmental factors such as parental rearing are important in explaining adolescents’ risk‐taking propensities.     

Previous reward decreases errors of commission on later ‘No‐Go’ trials in children 4 to 12 years of age: evidence for a context monitoring account

Inhibitory control is widely hypothesized to be the cornerstone of executive function in childhood and the central deficit in a number of developmental disorders, including attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, recent evidence from adults indicates that performance on response inhibition tasks may primarily reflect non‐inhibitory attentional control (context monitoring) processes. Yet it may be that inhibition plays a more central role in childhood – a time when the architecture of cognitive processes might be more transparent due to wide variability in skill level. Here we directly test inhibitory and context monitoring explanations of task performance on a Go/No‐Go task in a large group of children 4–12 years of age. We conclude that traditional inhibitory conceptualizations of task performance on the Go/No‐Go task cannot account for our findings, calling into question evidence supporting a central role for inhibitory control in cognitive development or developmental psychopathology.     

Verbal–spatial IQ discrepancies impact brain activation associated with the resolution of cognitive conflict in children and adolescents

Verbal–spatial discrepancies are common in healthy individuals and in those with neurodevelopmental disorders associated with cognitive control deficits including: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Non‐Verbal Learning Disability, Fragile X, 22q11 deletion, and Turner Syndrome. Previous data from healthy individuals suggest that the magnitude of the difference between verbal IQ (VIQ) and performance IQ (PIQ) scores (the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy) is associated with reduced thickness in frontal and parietal cortices (inferior frontal, anterior cingulate, inferior parietal lobule, and supramarginal gyrus) that support cognitive control. Unknown is whether the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy is associated with functional deficits in these areas in healthy or ill children and adolescents. We assessed the effects of the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy on fMRI BOLD response during the resolution of cognitive conflict in 55 healthy children and adolescents during performance of a Simon Spatial Incompatibility task. As the magnitude of the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy increased, activation of fronto‐striatal, limbic, and temporal regions decreased during conflict resolution (p < .05, corrected). In exploratory analyses, the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy was associated with reduced functional connectivity from right inferior frontal gyrus to right thalamus and increased functional connectivity to right supramarginal gyrus (ps < .03, uncorrected). The VIQ>PIQ discrepancy may be an important aspect of an individual's cognitive profile and likely contributes to, or is associated with, deficient cognitive control processes characteristic of many childhood disorders.     

Sleep EEG changes during adolescence: An index of a fundamental brain reorganization

Delta (1–4 Hz) EEG power in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep declines massively during adolescence. This observation stimulated the hypothesis that during adolescence the human brain undergoes an extensive reorganization driven by synaptic elimination. The parallel declines in synaptic density, delta wave amplitude and cortical metabolic rate during adolescence further support this model. These late brain changes probably represent the final ontogenetic manifestation of nature’s strategy for constructing nervous systems: an initial overproduction of neural elements followed by elimination. Errors in adolescent brain reorganization may cause mental illness; this could explain the typical age of onset of schizophrenia. Longitudinal studies of sleep EEG are enhancing our knowledge of adolescent brain maturation. Our longitudinal study of sleep EEG changes in adolescence showed that delta power, which may reflect frontal cortex maturation, begins its decline between ages 11 and 12 years and falls by 65% by age 17 years. In contrast, NREM theta power begins its decline much earlier. Delta and theta EEG frequencies are important to sleep theory because they behave homeostatically. Surprisingly, these brain changes are unrelated to pubertal maturation but are strongly linked to age. In addition to these (and other) maturational EEG changes, sleep schedules in adolescence change in response to a complex interaction of circadian, social and other influences. Our data demonstrate that the daytime sleepiness that emerges in adolescence is related to the decline in NREM delta as well as to altered sleep schedules. These longitudinal sleep data provide guideposts for studying cognitive and behavioral correlates of adolescent brain reorganization.     

Neurocognitive correlates of white matter quality in adolescent substance users

Background

Progressive myelination during adolescence implicates an increased vulnerability to neurotoxic substances and enduring neurocognitive consequences. This study examined the cognitive manifestations of altered white matter microstructure in chronic marijuana and alcohol-using (MJ + ALC) adolescents.

Methods

Thirty-six MJ + ALC adolescents (ages 16–19) and 36 demographically similar controls were evaluated with diffusion tensor imaging (Bava et al., 2009) and neurocognitive tests. Regions of group difference in fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were analyzed in relation to cognitive performance.

Results

In users, lower FA in temporal areas related to poorer performance on attention, working memory, and speeded processing tasks. Among regions where users had higher FA than controls, occipital FA was positively associated with working memory and complex visuomotor sequencing, whereas FA in anterior regions was negatively associated with verbal memory performance.

Conclusions

Findings suggest differential influences of white matter development on cognition in MJ + ALC using adolescents than in non-using peers. Neuroadaptation may reflect additive and subtractive responses to substance use that are complicated by competing maturational processes.     

Longitudinal Model Predicting Self‐Concept in Pediatric Chronic Illness

Although self‐concept has been identified as salient to the psychosocial adjustment of adolescents dealing with a chronic illness (CI), little research has focused on its predictors it. Given that depression and parent–child attachment have been linked to self‐concept in the population at large, the goal of this study was to evaluate these relationships longitudinally in a sample of adolescents with CI. Using participant data from the Mastering Each New Direction (MEND) program, a 3‐month psychosocial, family based intensive outpatient program for adolescents with CI, we employed multilevel modeling to test longitudinal changes in self‐concept, as predicted by depressive symptoms and parent–child attachment, in a sample of 50 youths (M_age = 14.56, SD_age = 1.82) participating in MEND. Both “time spent in the program” and decreases in depressive symptoms were associated with increases in self‐concept over time. Higher baseline levels of avoidant attachment to both mother and father were also associated with greater initial levels of self‐concept. Targeting depressive symptoms and supporting adaptive changes in attachment may be key to promoting a healthy self‐concept in pediatric CI populations. The association between avoidant attachment and higher baseline self‐concept scores may reflect differences in participants’ autonomy, self‐confidence, or depression. Limitations of the study include variability in the amount of time spent in the program, attrition in final time point measures, and the inability to fully examine and model all potential covariates due to a small sample size (e.g. power).     

Relationships between event‐related potentials and behavioral and scholastic measures of reading ability: A large‐scale,cross‐sectional study

In the cognitive, computational, neuropsychological, and educational literatures, it is established that children approach text in unique ways, and that even adult readers can differ in the strategies they bring to reading. In the developmental event‐related potential (ERP) literature, however, children with differing degrees of reading ability are, the majority of the time, placed in monolithic groups such as ‘normal’ and ‘dyslexic’ (e.g. Araújo et al., 2012) and analyzed only at the group level. This is likely done due to methodological concerns – such as low sample size or a lack of statistical power – that can make it difficult to perform analysis at the individual level. Here, we collected ERPs and behavior from > 100 children in grades pre‐K–7, as they read unconnected text silently to themselves. This large sample, combined with the statistical power of the Linear Mixed Effects Regression (LMER) technique, enables us to address individual differences in ERP component effects due to reading ability at an unprecedented level of detail. Results indicate that it is possible to predict reading‐related report card scores from ERP component amplitudes – especially that of the N250, a component pertaining to sublexical processing (including phonological decoding). Results also reveal relationships between behavioral measures of reading ability and ERP component effects that have previously been elusive, such as the relationship between vocabulary and N400 mean amplitude (cf. Henderson et al., 2011). We conclude that it is possible to meaningfully examine reading‐related ERP effects at the single subject level in developing readers, and that this type of analysis can provide novel insights into both behavior and scholastic achievement.     

Linking vitamin D status,executive functioning and self‐perceived mental health in adolescents through multivariate analysis: A randomized double‐blind placebo control trial

The aim of the present randomized double‐blind placebo control trial was to investigate if vitamin D supplementation had an effect on vitamin D status, executive functioning and self‐perceived mental health in a group of Norwegian adolescents during winter time. Fifty adolescents were randomly assigned into an intervention group (vitamin D pearls) or a control group (placebo pearls). Before (pre‐test in December/January) and after (post‐test in April/May) the intervention period the participants were exposed to a test procedure, consisting of blood draw, completion of cognitive tests (Tower of Hanoi and Tower of London), and the Youth Self‐report version of the Child Behavior Checklist. Multivariate data analysis showed that participants with low vitamin D status scored worse on the Tower of London tests and the more difficult sub‐tasks on the Tower of Hanoi tests. They also had a tendency to report higher frequency of externalizing behavior problems and attention deficit. At pre‐test, the overall mean vitamin D status measured as 25‐hydroxy vitamin D was 42 nmol/L, defining deficiency (Intervention group = 44 nmol/L, Control group = 39 nmol/L). However, vitamin D supplementation caused a significant increase in vitamin D status resulting in a sufficient level in the Intervention group at post‐test (mean 62 nmol/L). The results also revealed that the intervention group improved their performance on the most demanding sub‐tasks on the ToH. Overall, the study indicates that vitamin D status in adolescents may be important for both executive functioning and mental health.     

Preliminary evidence of the impact of early childhood maltreatment and a preventive intervention on neural patterns of response inhibition in early adolescence

Maltreated youths in foster care often experience negative developmental and psychological outcomes, which have been linked with poor response inhibition. Recent evidence suggests that childhood maltreatment is also associated with alterations in the neural circuitry underlying response inhibition. However, a burgeoning line of research has begun to explore the mitigating effects of preventive interventions on neural functioning. The current study used event‐related functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the impact of early childhood maltreatment and a preventive intervention on response inhibition in early adolescence. Thirty‐six demographically similar adolescents (ages 9–14 years) completed a Go/NoGo task. The sample included nonmaltreated adolescents (n = 14) and maltreated adolescents who were in foster care as preschoolers and randomly assigned to receive services as usual (n = 11) or a preventive intervention, Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care for Preschoolers (n = 11). The groups demonstrated similar behavioral performance but significantly different neural patterns. The maltreated adolescents who received services as usual demonstrated subcortical hypoactivity during successful response inhibition and subcortical hyperactivity during unsuccessful response inhibition. In contrast, the nonmaltreated adolescents and maltreated adolescents who received the intervention exhibited strikingly similar neural patterns during successful response inhibition, but the maltreated adolescents who received the intervention demonstrated prefrontal hypoactivity during unsuccessful response inhibition. These findings offer preliminary evidence that early childhood maltreatment alters the neural patterns underlying response inhibition in early adolescence and that participating in a preventive intervention could mitigate maltreatment‐related effects on these neural systems.     

Electrophysiological correlates of dispositional mindfulness: A quantitative and complexity EEG study

While growing evidence supports that dispositional mindfulness relates to psychological health and cognitive enhancement, to date there have been only a few attempts to characterize its neural underpinnings. In the present study, we aimed at exploring the electrophysiological (EEG) signature of dispositional mindfulness using quantitative and complexity measures of EEG during resting state and while performing a learning task. Hundred twenty participants were assessed with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and underwent 5 min eyes-closed resting state and 5 min at task EEG recording. We hypothesized that high mindfulness individuals would show patterns of brain activity related to (a) lower involvement of the default mode network (DMN) at rest (reduced frontal gamma power) and (b) a state of ‘task readiness’ reflected in a more similar pattern from rest to task (reduced overall q-EEG power at rest but not at task), as compared to their low mindfulness counterparts. Dispositional mindfulness was significantly linked to reduced frontal gamma power at rest and lower overall power during rest but not at task. In addition, we found a trend towards higher entropy during task performance in mindful individuals, which has recently been reported during mindfulness meditation. Altogether, our results add to those from expert meditators to show that high (dispositional) mindfulness seems to have a specific electrophysiological pattern characteristic of less involvement of the DMN and mind-wandering processes.