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Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Jun 2024Insights from developmental neuroscience are not always translated to actionable policy decisions. In this review, we explore the potential of bridging the gap between... (Review)
Review
Insights from developmental neuroscience are not always translated to actionable policy decisions. In this review, we explore the potential of bridging the gap between developmental neuroscience and policy through youth participatory research approaches. As the current generation of adolescents lives in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing society, their lived experiences are crucial for both research and policy. Moreover, their active involvement holds significant promise, given their heightened creativity and need to contribute. We therefore advocate for a transdisciplinary framework that fosters collaboration between developmental scientists, adolescents, and policy makers in addressing complex societal challenges. We highlight the added value of adolescents' lived experiences in relation to two pressing societal issues affecting adolescents' mental health: performance pressure and social inequality. By integrating firsthand lived experiences with insights from developmental neuroscience, we provide a foundation for progress in informed policy decisions.
Topics: Humans; Adolescent; Neurosciences; Community-Based Participatory Research; Policy Making
PubMed: 38850964
DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101398 -
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Dec 2023Rhythmic visual stimulation (RVS), the periodic presentation of visual stimuli to elicit a rhythmic brain response, is increasingly applied to reveal insights into early... (Review)
Review
Rhythmic visual stimulation (RVS), the periodic presentation of visual stimuli to elicit a rhythmic brain response, is increasingly applied to reveal insights into early neurocognitive development. Our systematic review identified 69 studies applying RVS in 0- to 6-year-olds. RVS has long been used to study the development of the visual system and applications have more recently been expanded to uncover higher cognitive functions in the developing brain, including overt and covert attention, face and object perception, numeral cognition, and predictive processing. These insights are owed to the unique benefits of RVS, such as the targeted frequency and stimulus-specific neural responses, as well as a remarkable signal-to-noise ratio. Yet, neural mechanisms underlying the RVS response are still poorly understood. We discuss critical challenges and avenues for future research, and the unique potentials the method holds. With this review, we provide a resource for researchers interested in the breadth of developmental RVS research and hope to inspire the future use of this cutting-edge method in developmental cognitive neuroscience.
Topics: Humans; Child; Electroencephalography; Photic Stimulation; Evoked Potentials, Visual; Brain; Attention; Visual Perception
PubMed: 37948945
DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101315 -
Cortex; a Journal Devoted To the Study... Nov 2023Inner speech refers to the experience of talking to oneself in one's head. While notoriously challenging to investigate, it has also been central to a range of questions... (Review)
Review
Inner speech refers to the experience of talking to oneself in one's head. While notoriously challenging to investigate, it has also been central to a range of questions concerning mind, brain, and behaviour. Posited as a key component in executive function and self-regulation, inner speech has been claimed to be crucial in higher cognitive operations, self-knowledge and self-awareness. Such arguments have traditionally been supported with examples of atypical development. But variations in inner speech - and in some cases, significant diversity - in fact pose several key challenges to such claims, and raises many more questions for, language, thought and mental health more generally. In this review, we will summarise evidence on the experience and operation of inner speech in child and adult neurotypical populations, autistic people and other neurodivergent groups, and people with diverse experiences of linguistic and sensory development, including deafness. We will demonstrate that the relationship between inner speech and cognitive operations may be more complex than first assumed when explored through the lens of cognitive and neurological diversity, and the implications of that for understanding the developing brain in all populations. We discuss why and how the experience of inner speech in neurodivergent groups has often been assumed rather than investigated, making it an important opportunity for researchers to develop innovative future work that integrates participatory insights with cognitive methodology. Finally, we will outline why variations in inner speech - in neurotypical and neurodivergent populations alike - nevertheless have a range of important implications for mental health vulnerability and unmet need. In this sense, the example of inner speech offers us both a way of looking back at the logic of developmental psychology and neuropsychology, and a clue to its future in a neurodiverse world.
PubMed: 37769592
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.08.008 -
Children (Basel, Switzerland) May 2024There is still much debate about the exact nature and frequency of developmental dyscalculia, and about how it should be defined. This article examines several key... (Review)
Review
There is still much debate about the exact nature and frequency of developmental dyscalculia, and about how it should be defined. This article examines several key questions in turn: Is developmental dyscalculia a distinct disorder, or should it be seen as the lower end of a continuum-or possibly more than one continuum-of numerical ability? Do individuals with developmental dyscalculia show atypical brain structure or function? Does the study of acquired dyscalculia have anything to teach us about developmental dyscalculia? In studying dyscalculia, should we look less at arithmetical ability as a single entity, and more at separable components of arithmetical ability? How heterogeneous is developmental dyscalculia, and how important is it to study individual profiles? To what extent is developmental dyscalculia influenced by domain-specific versus domain-general abilities? The conclusion is that, though a significant amount has been discovered through existing research, and though this has some important implications for screening and diagnosis of dyscalculia, there is much more research that still needs to be conducted if we are to answer all of these questions fully. In particular, the study of developmental dyscalculia must be more integrated with the study of individual differences in mathematics in the population as a whole.
PubMed: 38929203
DOI: 10.3390/children11060623 -
American Journal on Intellectual and... May 2024Measurement invariance (MI) is a psychometric property of an instrument indicating the degree to which scores from an instrument are comparable across groups. In recent... (Review)
Review
Measurement invariance (MI) is a psychometric property of an instrument indicating the degree to which scores from an instrument are comparable across groups. In recent years, there has been a marked uptick in publications using MI in intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) samples. Our goal here is to provide an overview of why MI is important to IDD researchers and to describe some challenges to evaluating it, with an eye towards nudging our subfield into a more thoughtful and measured interpretation of studies using MI.
Topics: Humans; Intellectual Disability; Developmental Disabilities; Psychometrics; Biomedical Research
PubMed: 38657963
DOI: 10.1352/1944-7558-129.3.191 -
Trends in Cognitive Sciences Feb 2024Antisocial behaviour (ASB) incurs substantial costs to the individual and society. Cognitive neuroscience has the potential to shed light on developmental risk for ASB,... (Review)
Review
Antisocial behaviour (ASB) incurs substantial costs to the individual and society. Cognitive neuroscience has the potential to shed light on developmental risk for ASB, but it cannot achieve this potential in an 'essentialist' framework that focuses on the brain and cognition isolated from the environment. Here, we present the case for studying the social transactional and iterative unfolding of brain and cognitive development in a relational context. This approach, which we call the study of the 'embedded brain', is needed to fully understand how risk for ASB arises during development. Concentrated efforts are required to develop and unify methods to achieve this approach and reap the benefits for improved prevention and intervention of ASB.
Topics: Humans; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Conduct Disorder; Brain; Behavior Therapy; Emotions
PubMed: 37718176
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.08.013 -
Neuron Feb 2024The mammalian cerebral cortex contains an extraordinary diversity of cell types that emerge by implementing different developmental programs. Delineating when and how...
The mammalian cerebral cortex contains an extraordinary diversity of cell types that emerge by implementing different developmental programs. Delineating when and how cellular diversification occurs is particularly challenging for cortical inhibitory neurons because they represent a small proportion of all cortical cells and have a protracted development. Here, we combine single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics to characterize the emergence of neuronal diversity among somatostatin-expressing (SST+) cells in mice. We found that SST+ inhibitory neurons segregate during embryonic stages into long-range projection (LRP) neurons and two types of interneurons, Martinotti cells and non-Martinotti cells, following distinct developmental trajectories. Two main subtypes of LRP neurons and several subtypes of interneurons are readily distinguishable in the embryo, although interneuron diversity is likely refined during early postnatal life. Our results suggest that the timing for cellular diversification is unique for different subtypes of SST+ neurons and particularly divergent for LRP neurons and interneurons.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Interneurons; Neurons; Somatostatin; Cerebral Cortex; Embryo, Mammalian; Parvalbumins; Mammals
PubMed: 38086373
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.11.013 -
Journal of Autism and Developmental... Dec 2023Ever since Leo Kanner first described autism in 1943, the research in this field has grown immensely. In 2021 alone, 5837 SCOPUS indexed documents were published with a...
PURPOSE
Ever since Leo Kanner first described autism in 1943, the research in this field has grown immensely. In 2021 alone, 5837 SCOPUS indexed documents were published with a title that contained the words: "autism", "autistic", or "ASD". The purpose of this study was to examine the most common topics of autism research in 2021 and present a geographical contribution to this research.
METHODS
We performed a content analysis of 1102 abstracts from the articles published in 11 Autism journals in 2021. The following journals, indexed by the SCOPUS database, were included: Autism, Autism Research, Molecular Autism, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Advances in Autism, Autism and Developmental Language Impairments, and Autism in Adulthood.
RESULTS
According to the analysis, the main research topics were: mental health, social communication, social skills, quality of life, parenting stress, ADHD, Covid-19, self-efficacy, special education, and theory of mind. In relation to geographic distribution, most studies came from the USA, followed by the UK, Australia, and Canada.
CONCLUSION
Research topics were aligned with the priorities set by stakeholders in autism, most notably persons with autism themselves and their family members. There is a big gap in research production between developed countries and developing countries.
Topics: Humans; Autistic Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Quality of Life; Periodicals as Topic; Parenting
PubMed: 36125664
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05751-4 -
BMJ Open Aug 2023The COVID-19 pandemic has had a unique impact on the mental health and well-being of pregnant individuals and parents of young children. However, the impact of...
Protocol for the COVID-19 Wellbeing and Stress Study: a longitudinal study of parent distress, biological stress and child biopsychosocial development during the pandemic and beyond.
INTRODUCTION
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a unique impact on the mental health and well-being of pregnant individuals and parents of young children. However, the impact of COVID-19-related stress during pregnancy on early child biopsychosocial development, remains unclear. The COVID-19 Wellbeing and Stress Study will: (1) investigate the impact of different forms of prenatal stress experienced during the pandemic (including objective hardship, perceived psychological distress and biological stress) on child stress biology, (2) examine the association between child stress biology and child developmental outcomes, (3) determine whether child stress biology acts as a mechanism linking prenatal stress to adverse child developmental outcomes and (4) assess whether gestational age at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic or child sex, moderate these associations.
METHODS AND ANALYSES
The COVID-19 Wellbeing and Stress Study is a prospective longitudinal study, consisting of six time points, spanning from pregnancy to 3 years postpartum. The study began in June 2020, consisting of 304 pregnant people from Ontario, Canada. This multimethod study is composed of questionnaires, biological samples, behavioural observations and developmental assessments ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study was approved by the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board (#11034) and the Mount Saint Vincent University Research Ethics Board (#2020-187, #2021-075, #2022-008). Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed presentations and publications, community presentations, and electronic forums (social media, newsletters and website postings).
Topics: Female; Pregnancy; Child; Humans; Child, Preschool; COVID-19; Pandemics; Longitudinal Studies; Prospective Studies; Parents; Stress, Physiological; Ontario
PubMed: 37580092
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-071926 -
BMC Palliative Care Oct 2023Oesophago-gastric cancer is an aggressive disease with a high rate of recurrence and mortality across the disease trajectory. Reduced psychosocial functioning has been... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Oesophago-gastric cancer is an aggressive disease with a high rate of recurrence and mortality across the disease trajectory. Reduced psychosocial functioning has been evidenced amongst those with advanced disease, however little is known about the contributing factors. Determining these factors is an important clinical consideration to inform assessment and intervention. This review aimed to synthesise the available evidence on the psychosocial functioning of individuals with advanced oesophago-gastric cancer and their carers.
METHODS
A JBI mixed-methods systematic review. Four bibliographic databases, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL, were searched. Quantitative and qualitative studies were screened for inclusion and critically appraised for methodological quality. Both types of data were extracted using JBI tools for mixed-methods systematic reviews. A convergent segregated approach to synthesis and integration was used. The findings of the synthesis have been configured according to JBI methodology.
RESULTS
A total of 12 studies were included in this review, including 6 quantitative studies and 6 qualitative studies. The quantitative results provide preliminary indication of several physical, biological, psychological and macro-level contextual factors associated with psychosocial functioning in this clinical population. The qualitative findings shed light on a range of physical, psychosocial, and existential challenges faced by advanced oesophago-gastric cancer patients. These multiple and often persistent challenges appear to cause considerable distress; however, patients describe the importance of maintaining a sense of normality and control over their illness and its effects. Patients value continuity and structure, however many report shortcomings when accessing care. No findings reporting the experiences from the perspective of carers were found, therefore all findings represent the perspective of the patient.
CONCLUSIONS
Further high-quality research is needed to understand how best to support and manage the palliative care needs of individuals living with advanced oesophago-gastric cancer. Implications for practice are discussed, suggesting that psychosocial interventions, complex symptom management and continuity of care could improve the psychosocial functioning of individuals in this setting.
PRE-REGISTRATION
The systematic review was pre-registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; CRD42020181273) and the protocol can be viewed on the OSF ( http://osf.io/exuzf ).
Topics: Humans; Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing; Palliative Care; Psychosocial Functioning; Stomach Neoplasms
PubMed: 37891568
DOI: 10.1186/s12904-023-01288-0