Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience最新文献

Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by increasingly complex and influential peer contexts. Concurrently, developmental changes in neural circuits, particularly those related to social cognition, affective salience, and cognitive control, contribute to individuals’ social interactions and behaviors. However, while adolescents’ behaviors and overall outcomes are influenced by the entirety of their social environments, insights from developmental and social neuroscience often come from studies of individual relationships or specific social actors. By capturing information about both adolescents’ individual relations and their larger social contexts, social network analysis offers a powerful opportunity to enhance our understanding of how social factors interact with adolescent development. In this review, we highlight the relevant features of adolescent social and neural development that should be considered when integrating social network analysis and neuroimaging methods. We focus on broad themes of adolescent development, including identity formation, peer sensitivity, and the pursuit of social goals, that serve as potential mechanisms for the relations between neural processes and social network features. With these factors in mind, we review the current research and propose future applications of these methods and theories.

Previously institutionalized adolescents show increased risk for psychopathology, though placement into high-quality foster care can partially mitigate this risk. White matter (WM) structure is associated with early institutional rearing and psychopathology in youth. Here we investigate associations between WM structure and psychopathology in previously institutionalized youth. Adolescent psychopathology data were collected using the MacArthur Health and Behavior Questionnaire. Participants underwent diffusion MRI, and data were processed using fixel-based analyses. General linear models investigated interactions between institutionalization groups and psychopathology on fixel metrics. Supplementary analyses also examined the main effects of psychopathology and institutionalization group on fixel metrics. Ever–Institutionalized children included 41 randomized to foster care (Mage=16.6), and 40 to care-as-usual (Mage=16.7)). In addition, 33 participants without a history of institutionalization were included as a reference group (Mage=16.9). Ever–Institutionalized adolescents displayed altered general psychopathology–fixel associations within the cerebellar peduncles, inferior longitudinal fasciculi, corticospinal tract, and corpus callosum, and altered externalizing–fixel associations within the cingulum and fornix. Our findings indicate brain–behavior associations reported in the literature may not be generalizable to all populations. Previously institutionalized youth may develop differential brain development, which in turn leads to altered neural correlates of psychopathology that are still apparent in adolescence.

Addressing the tremendous burden of early-life adversity requires constructive dialogues between scientists and policy makers to improve population health. Whereas dialogues focused on several aspects of early-life adversity have been initiated, discussion of an underrecognized form of adversity that has been observed across multiple contexts and cultures is only now emerging. Here we provide evidence for “why unpredictability?”, including: 1. Evidence that exposures to unpredictability affect child neurodevelopment, with influences that persist into adulthood. 2. The existence of a translational non-human animal model of exposure to early life unpredictability that can be capitalized upon to causally probe neurobiological mechanisms. 3. Evidence that patterns of signals in the early environment promote brain maturation across species. 4. The uneven distribution of unpredictability across demographic populations that illuminates a possible focal point for enhancing health equity. We then outline the potential of unpredictability in terms of the “what”; that is, how might the concept of unpredictability be leveraged to inform policy? We emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary and community partnerships to the success of this work and describe our community-engaged research project. Finally, we highlight opportunities for the science of unpredictability to inform policies in areas such as screening, immigration, criminal justice, education, childcare, child welfare, employment, healthcare and housing.

Neuroscientific evidence documenting continued neural development throughout adolescence has been leveraged in advocacy for more lenient treatment of adolescents in the criminal justice system. In recent years, developmental science, including neuroscience, has progressed and enabled more nuanced interpretations of what continuing neural development in adolescence likely means functionally for adolescents’ capabilities. However, oversimplified interpretations equating continuing neural development to overall “immaturity” are frequently used to make the case that adolescents should have fewer legal rights to make decisions on their own behalf, including regarding reproductive and voting rights. Here we address ongoing debates about adolescents’ autonomy rights and whether such rights should be expanded or restricted. We review extant neuroscientific and developmental research that can inform these debates. We call for: (1) a more nuanced application of developmental neuroscience to specific rights issues in specific contexts; (2) additional research designed to inform our understanding of the developmental benefits or harms of rights-based policies on young people over time; and (3) the grounding of developmental neuroscientific research on adolescents within a human rights framework. We offer suggestions to developmental and neuroscience scholars on how to discuss the science of adolescent development with those seeking guidance in their design of law and policy.

Youth diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often show deficits in various measures of higher-level cognition, such as, executive functioning. Poorer cognitive functioning in children with ADHD has been associated with differences in functional connectivity across the brain. However, little is known about the developmental changes to the brain’s functional properties linked to different cognitive abilities in this cohort. To characterize these changes, we analyzed fMRI data (ADHD = 373, NT = 106) collected while youth between the ages of 6 and 16 watched a short movie-clip. We applied machine learning models to identify patterns of network connectivity in response to movie-watching that differentially predict cognitive abilities in our cohort. Using out-of-sample cross validation, our models successfully predicted IQ, visual spatial, verbal comprehension, and fluid reasoning in children (ages 6 – 11), but not in adolescents with ADHD (ages 12–16). Connections with the default mode, memory retrieval, and dorsal attention were driving prediction during early and middle childhood, but connections with the somatomotor, cingulo-opercular, and frontoparietal networks were more important in middle childhood. This work demonstrated that machine learning approaches can identify distinct functional connectivity profiles associated with cognitive abilities at different developmental stages in children and adolescents with ADHD.

The HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study, a multi-site prospective longitudinal cohort study, will examine human brain, cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional development beginning prenatally and planned through early childhood. The charge of the HBCD Social and Environmental Determinants (SED) working group is to develop and implement a battery of assessments to broadly characterize the social and physical environment during the prenatal period and early life to characterize risk and resilience exposures that can impact child growth and development. The SED battery consists largely of measures that will be repeated across the course of the HBCD Study with appropriate modifications for the age of the child and include participant demographics, indicators of socioeconomic status, stress and economic hardship, bias and discrimination (e.g., racism), acculturation, neighborhood safety, child and maternal exposures to adversity, environmental toxicants, social support, and other protective factors. Special considerations were paid to reducing participant burden, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and adopting trauma-informed practices for the collection of sensitive information such as domestic violence exposure and adverse childhood experiences. Overall, the SED battery will provide essential data to advance understanding of child development and approaches to advance health equity across infant and child development.

This systematic review considered evidence of children’s and adolescents' typical brain connectivity development studied through resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). With aim of understanding the state of the art, what has been researched thus far and what remains unknown, this paper reviews 58 studies from 2013 to 2023. Considering the results, rs-fMRI stands out as an appropriate technique for studying language and attention within cognitive domains, and personality traits such as impulsivity and empathy. The most used analyses encompass seed-based, independent component analysis (ICA), the amplitude of the low frequency fluctuations (ALFF), and fractional ALFF (fALFF). The findings highlight key themes, including age-related changes in intrinsic connectivity, sex-specific patterns, and the relevance of the Default Mode Network (DMN). Overall, there is a need for longitudinal approaches to trace the typical developmental trajectory of neural networks from childhood through adolescence with fMRI at rest.

Wanting to matter—to feel socially recognized, appreciated, and capable of actions that benefit others—represents a fundamental motivation in human development. The motivational salience of mattering appears to increase in adolescence. Evidence suggests this is related to pubertal increases in the incentive salience for gaining social value and personal agency. This can provide a useful heuristic for understanding motivational proclivities (i.e. wanting to matter) that influence action-outcome learning as young adolescents are exploring and learning how to navigate increasingly complex social and relational environments. Adolescence also brings new capacities, motives, and opportunities for learning to care about and contribute to the benefit of others. Together, these create a window of opportunity: a sensitive period for learning to gain salient feelings of mattering through caring prosocial actions and valued societal contributions. Successfully discovering ways of mattering by doing things that matter to others may contribute to formative socio-emotional learning about self/other. Advances in understanding these social and relational learning processes and their neurodevelopmental underpinnings can inform strategies to improve developmental trajectories of social competence and wellbeing among adolescents growing up in a rapidly changing and increasingly techno-centric world.

Climate change, wildfires, and environmental justice concerns have drawn increased attention to the impact of air pollution on children’s health and development. Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution exposure, as their brains and bodies are still developing. The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize available empirical evidence on the associations between air pollution exposure and brain outcomes in developmental samples (ages 0–18 years old). Studies were identified by searching the PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection databases and underwent a two-phase screening process before inclusion. 40 studies were included in the review, which included measures of air pollution and brain outcomes at various points in development. Results linked air pollution to varied brain outcomes, including structural volumetric and cortical thickness differences, alterations in white matter microstructure, functional network changes, metabolic and molecular effects, as well as tumor incidence. Few studies included longitudinal changes in brain outcomes. This review also suggests methodologies for incorporating air pollution measures in developmental cognitive neuroscience studies and provides specific policy recommendations to reduce air pollution exposure and promote healthy brain development by improving access to clean air.

The HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study, a multi-site prospective longitudinal cohort study, will examine human brain, cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional development beginning prenatally and planned through early childhood. Study success depends on the engagement and inclusion of diverse populations of pregnant participants and their children across the United States, including those at high and low risk for prenatal substance use. The Communications, Engagement, and Dissemination (CED) Committee is responsible for the development and implementation of a strategy to promote awareness about the study, encourage participation, and engage HBCD families, community partners, and collaborators. Initial work involved developing versatile recruitment and awareness materials with a consistent and inclusive message that reduces stigma and negative bias towards marginalized populations, including people with substance use and other mental health conditions. These efforts were shaped by an integrated product development workflow and early engagement with HBCD partners to address challenges. Ongoing work includes the expansion of HBCD outreach through newsletters and social media platforms with an emphasis on protecting participant privacy. Future activities will focus on disseminating scientific information through generation of infographics and webinars that will inform participants, families, and the public of discoveries generated from HBCD Study data.