Pub Date : 2025-09-25DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101618
Selina Pacheco , Silvia A. Bunge , Monica E. Ellwood-Lowe
Childhood family income is a powerful predictor of academic achievement and mental health. Here, we ask whether children living in poverty who succeed academically are subsequently protected from, or at risk for, internalizing symptoms. Prior research indicates that children in poverty with better academic performance tend to have higher temporal coupling between the Lateral Frontoparietal Network (LFPN) and Default Mode Network (DMN) than lower-performing children in poverty. An open question is whether higher LFPN-DMN coupling has maladaptive long-term consequences for mental health for this population. In this pre-registered longitudinal study, we analyzed data from 10,829 children (1931 in poverty) in the ABCD study across four time points (ages 9–13). Higher grades correlated with fewer internalizing symptoms concurrently; this association was more pronounced for children below poverty. Longitudinally, higher LFPN-DMN related to more internalizing symptoms two years later for children in poverty in particular. Thus, although higher academic performance was associated with better mental health outcomes for all children, the specific pattern of LFPN-DMN connectivity that supports academic resilience among children in poverty may be a risk factor for developing internalizing symptoms. These findings highlight the complex nature of academic resilience in the context of structural inequity.
{"title":"Academic success and mental health: The paradox of Frontoparietal‐Default Mode Network coupling among children facing poverty","authors":"Selina Pacheco , Silvia A. Bunge , Monica E. Ellwood-Lowe","doi":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101618","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101618","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Childhood family income is a powerful predictor of academic achievement and mental health. Here, we ask whether children living in poverty who succeed academically are subsequently protected from, or at risk for, internalizing symptoms. Prior research indicates that children in poverty with better academic performance tend to have higher temporal coupling between the Lateral Frontoparietal Network (LFPN) and Default Mode Network (DMN) than lower-performing children in poverty. An open question is whether higher LFPN-DMN coupling has maladaptive long-term consequences for mental health for this population. In this pre-registered longitudinal study, we analyzed data from 10,829 children (1931 in poverty) in the ABCD study across four time points (ages 9–13). Higher grades correlated with fewer internalizing symptoms concurrently; this association was more pronounced for children below poverty. Longitudinally, higher LFPN-DMN related to more internalizing symptoms two years later for children in poverty in particular. Thus, although higher academic performance was associated with better mental health outcomes for all children, the specific pattern of LFPN-DMN connectivity that supports academic resilience among children in poverty may be a risk factor for developing internalizing symptoms. These findings highlight the complex nature of academic resilience in the context of structural inequity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49083,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience","volume":"76 ","pages":"Article 101618"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145222044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-19DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101614
Megan J. Heise , Serena K. Mon , Lindsay C. Bowman
Linear mixed effects models (LMEs) have advantages for analyzing mean amplitude event-related potential (ERP) data. Compared to ANOVA and linear regression, LMEs retain more subjects and yield unbiased parameter estimates by accounting for trial-level sources of variability. However, LME analysis of ERP mean amplitude difference waves may be problematic due to the need to pair single trial data to create trial-level difference waves. In both simulated and real pediatric ERP data, the present study compares ERP difference wave results across conventional ANOVA/regression analyses and six trial-level LME approaches in different low trial-count scenarios. We evaluate each approach based on accuracy of estimates and statistical power in simulated data, and magnitude of effect detected in real ERP data from 3- to 5-year-old neurotypical children (N = 64). Two analysis approaches were unbiased: creating trial-level difference waves by pairing trials on all study design features (the ‘exact match’ approach) and fitting an interaction term; and the interaction term had greater power to detect a significant effect in simulated data. Both simulations and analysis of real preschooler ERP data support using LMEs to analyze difference waves. We also include recommendations for researchers for picking a difference wave approach appropriate for their research question.
{"title":"Analysis of event-related potential difference waves can benefit from linear mixed effects modeling: Recommendations for analyses and general model fitting","authors":"Megan J. Heise , Serena K. Mon , Lindsay C. Bowman","doi":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101614","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101614","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Linear mixed effects models (LMEs) have advantages for analyzing mean amplitude event-related potential (ERP) data. Compared to ANOVA and linear regression, LMEs retain more subjects and yield unbiased parameter estimates by accounting for trial-level sources of variability. However, LME analysis of ERP mean amplitude <em>difference waves</em> may be problematic due to the need to pair single trial data to create trial-level difference waves. In both simulated and real pediatric ERP data, the present study compares ERP difference wave results across conventional ANOVA/regression analyses and six trial-level LME approaches in different low trial-count scenarios. We evaluate each approach based on accuracy of estimates and statistical power in simulated data, and magnitude of effect detected in real ERP data from 3- to 5-year-old neurotypical children (<em>N</em> = 64). Two analysis approaches were unbiased: creating trial-level difference waves by pairing trials on all study design features (the ‘exact match’ approach) and fitting an interaction term; and the interaction term had greater power to detect a significant effect in simulated data. Both simulations and analysis of real preschooler ERP data support using LMEs to analyze difference waves. We also include recommendations for researchers for picking a difference wave approach appropriate for their research question.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49083,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience","volume":"76 ","pages":"Article 101614"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145304152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-10DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101613
Liwen Yu , Meng Dai , Pei Huang , Birit F.P. Broekman , Michael Meaney , Yap Seng Chong , Marielle Valerie Fortier , Peipei Setoh , Henning Tiemeier , Ai Peng Tan , Xiao Pan Ding
The neural mechanisms related to children’s deceptive behaviors remain relatively unexplored. This study aims to address this gap by using measures of functional brain network topology, focusing on the cognitive control and reward processing networks that are closely related to children’s deceptive behaviors. The study included 113 6-year-old children from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) project, a birth cohort study. Children participated in the Dart Game designed to assess their tendencies to cheat and lie. During the game, children were required to throw the ball at a long-distance dartboard without supervision, which provided opportunities to cheat by breaking the rules. After the game, children were questioned about whether they had followed the rule, which provided them with opportunities to lie. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were collected from all children at the same age during a different visit. We compared three network topology measures (cognitive control network recruitment, reward processing network recruitment and reward-control network integration) between non-cheaters and cheaters, as well as between non-liars and liars. The results showed that a higher degree of cognitive control network recruitment was associated with a greater likelihood of lying. Moreover, a higher degree of reward-cognitive control network integration was associated with a lower likelihood of cheating and lying. The degree of reward processing network recruitment was not associated with deceptive behaviors. These findings help to elucidate how neural mechanisms of cognitive control and reward processing contribute to deceptive behaviors in young children.
{"title":"Neural network topology in children’s deceptive behaviors: The role of cognitive control and reward processing","authors":"Liwen Yu , Meng Dai , Pei Huang , Birit F.P. Broekman , Michael Meaney , Yap Seng Chong , Marielle Valerie Fortier , Peipei Setoh , Henning Tiemeier , Ai Peng Tan , Xiao Pan Ding","doi":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101613","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101613","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The neural mechanisms related to children’s deceptive behaviors remain relatively unexplored. This study aims to address this gap by using measures of functional brain network topology, focusing on the cognitive control and reward processing networks that are closely related to children’s deceptive behaviors. The study included 113 6-year-old children from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) project, a birth cohort study. Children participated in the Dart Game designed to assess their tendencies to cheat and lie. During the game, children were required to throw the ball at a long-distance dartboard without supervision, which provided opportunities to cheat by breaking the rules. After the game, children were questioned about whether they had followed the rule, which provided them with opportunities to lie. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were collected from all children at the same age during a different visit. We compared three network topology measures (cognitive control network recruitment, reward processing network recruitment and reward-control network integration) between non-cheaters and cheaters, as well as between non-liars and liars. The results showed that a higher degree of cognitive control network recruitment was associated with a greater likelihood of lying. Moreover, a higher degree of reward-cognitive control network integration was associated with a lower likelihood of cheating and lying. The degree of reward processing network recruitment was not associated with deceptive behaviors. These findings help to elucidate how neural mechanisms of cognitive control and reward processing contribute to deceptive behaviors in young children.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49083,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience","volume":"76 ","pages":"Article 101613"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145060756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-08DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101611
Aislinn Sandre , Sonya V. Troller-Renfree , Melina Amarante , Amanda M. Dettmer , Jerrold S. Meyer , Kimberly G. Noble
The brain develops rapidly during the prenatal period and first two years of life, making it particularly sensitive to environmental influences. Family socioeconomic disadvantage is one environmental factor that may shape the development of brain function in infancy. However, it is unclear how brain function changes across infancy or whether prenatal family socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with age-related differences in brain function during this period. Here, we examine whether resting electroencephalography (EEG) power (theta, alpha, beta, and gamma) shows linear and/or non-linear age-related patterns across four assessments from 1 to 18 months of age (N = 165), and whether these patterns are moderated by prenatal family socioeconomic disadvantage. We find that lower-frequency (relative theta) and higher-frequency (relative alpha, beta, and gamma) power show non-linear age-related patterns during the first 18 months of life. Prenatal family socioeconomic disadvantage moderates these patterns, such that infants from lower-income families show less steep age-related decreases in lower-frequency (relative theta) power and less steep increases in higher-frequency (relative beta) power. These associations hold when adjusting for other prenatal and postnatal experiences, as well as infant demographic and health-related factors. These data suggest that lower prenatal family income is associated with age-related differences in brain function during infancy.
{"title":"Age-related patterns of resting EEG power in infancy: Associations with prenatal socioeconomic disadvantage","authors":"Aislinn Sandre , Sonya V. Troller-Renfree , Melina Amarante , Amanda M. Dettmer , Jerrold S. Meyer , Kimberly G. Noble","doi":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101611","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101611","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The brain develops rapidly during the prenatal period and first two years of life, making it particularly sensitive to environmental influences. Family socioeconomic disadvantage is one environmental factor that may shape the development of brain function in infancy. However, it is unclear how brain function changes across infancy or whether prenatal family socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with age-related differences in brain function during this period. Here, we examine whether resting electroencephalography (EEG) power (theta, alpha, beta, and gamma) shows linear and/or non-linear age-related patterns across four assessments from 1 to 18 months of age (N = 165), and whether these patterns are moderated by prenatal family socioeconomic disadvantage. We find that lower-frequency (relative theta) and higher-frequency (relative alpha, beta, and gamma) power show non-linear age-related patterns during the first 18 months of life. Prenatal family socioeconomic disadvantage moderates these patterns, such that infants from lower-income families show less steep age-related decreases in lower-frequency (relative theta) power and less steep increases in higher-frequency (relative beta) power. These associations hold when adjusting for other prenatal and postnatal experiences, as well as infant demographic and health-related factors. These data suggest that lower prenatal family income is associated with age-related differences in brain function during infancy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49083,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience","volume":"76 ","pages":"Article 101611"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145050407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-30DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101610
Alexandra Brandstaetter , Andrea Gondová , Laurie Devisscher , Denis Rivière , Guillaume Auzias , Yann Leprince , Jessica Dubois
The sensorimotor system develops early in utero and supports the emergence of body representations critical for perception, action, and interaction with environment. While somatotopic protomaps are already developed in the primary somatosensory and motor cortices in late pregnancy, little is known about the anatomical substrates of this functional specialization. In this study, we aimed to decipher the microstructural properties of these regions in the developing brain. Using advanced diffusion MRI and post-processing tools, we parcellated the pre- and post-central gyri into microstructurally distinct clusters along the lateral-to-medial axis in 25 full-term neonates, confirming the early differentiation within sensorimotor regions. These clusters were further analyzed in 59 preterm infants scanned at term-equivalent age (TEA, PTTEA), of which 45 were also scanned near birth (PTBirth), and compared with another group of 59 full-term neonates. Applying a multivariate Mahalanobis distance approach, we quantified deviations in preterm cortical microstructure relative to the full-term reference. Preterm infants showed significant region- and position-specific deviations at both ages, though these were smaller at TEA (repeated-measures ANCOVA: PTBirth: region effect F=25.48, position effect F=16.06; PTTEA: region effect F=14.87, all p < 0.001), consistently with ongoing maturation during the pre-term period. Differences between the pre- and post-central gyri, and along the somatotopic axis, suggested differential vulnerability to prematurity. In particular, compared with somatosensory regions, the motor regions appeared to be at a more advanced stage of maturation close to birth (paired t-test, T = -4.388, p < 0.001) and less vulnerable at TEA (paired t-test, T = -4.169, p < 0.001), suggesting lesser impact of prematurity. An opposite pattern was observed, particularly close to birth, for lateral positions related to mouth representation compared with intermediary (paired t-test: T = 5.933, p < 0.001) and medial (paired t-test: T = 4.712, p < 0.001) positions. These findings support the notion that early sensorimotor cortical specialization is microstructurally emergent during gestation and sensitive to atypical developmental context of preterm birth.
{"title":"Differential microstructural development within sensorimotor cortical regions: A diffusion MRI study in preterm and full-term infants","authors":"Alexandra Brandstaetter , Andrea Gondová , Laurie Devisscher , Denis Rivière , Guillaume Auzias , Yann Leprince , Jessica Dubois","doi":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101610","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101610","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The sensorimotor system develops early in utero and supports the emergence of body representations critical for perception, action, and interaction with environment. While somatotopic protomaps are already developed in the primary somatosensory and motor cortices in late pregnancy, little is known about the anatomical substrates of this functional specialization. In this study, we aimed to decipher the microstructural properties of these regions in the developing brain. Using advanced diffusion MRI and post-processing tools, we parcellated the pre- and post-central gyri into microstructurally distinct clusters along the lateral-to-medial axis in 25 full-term neonates, confirming the early differentiation within sensorimotor regions. These clusters were further analyzed in 59 preterm infants scanned at term-equivalent age (TEA, PT<sub>TEA</sub>), of which 45 were also scanned near birth (PT<sub>Birth</sub>), and compared with another group of 59 full-term neonates. Applying a multivariate Mahalanobis distance approach, we quantified deviations in preterm cortical microstructure relative to the full-term reference. Preterm infants showed significant region- and position-specific deviations at both ages, though these were smaller at TEA (repeated-measures ANCOVA: PT<sub>Birth</sub>: region effect F=25.48, position effect F=16.06; PT<sub>TEA</sub>: region effect F=14.87, all p < 0.001), consistently with ongoing maturation during the pre-term period. Differences between the pre- and post-central gyri, and along the somatotopic axis, suggested differential vulnerability to prematurity. In particular, compared with somatosensory regions, the motor regions appeared to be at a more advanced stage of maturation close to birth (paired t-test, T = -4.388, p < 0.001) and less vulnerable at TEA (paired t-test, T = -4.169, p < 0.001), suggesting lesser impact of prematurity. An opposite pattern was observed, particularly close to birth, for lateral positions related to mouth representation compared with intermediary (paired t-test: T = 5.933, p < 0.001) and medial (paired t-test: T = 4.712, p < 0.001) positions. These findings support the notion that early sensorimotor cortical specialization is microstructurally emergent during gestation and sensitive to atypical developmental context of preterm birth.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49083,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience","volume":"75 ","pages":"Article 101610"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144988704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-29DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101609
Man Zhang , Zeping Liu , Xuedi Liu , Pengfei Lu , Li Liu , Taomei Guo
The relationship between brain activity and reading acquisition has been a research focus in recent years. In the current cross-sectional and longitudinal study, we aimed to investigate whether and how resting-state (rs) and task-state brain electrophysiological activity would predict children’s reading ability. Here, we tracked 73 primary school children’ orthographic awareness, reading ability, and EEG signals during both rest and completed a Chinese character recognition task over two consecutive years. Our analyses reveled these neurophysiological measures (rs-EEG power in theta/delta bands and N170 amplitude) significantly predicted orthographic awareness in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Mediation analysis revealed that these neurophysiological measures influenced reading ability by affecting children's orthographic awareness. Importantly, age moderated these effects: the predictive effect of rs-EEG power was stronger in younger children and decreased with age, whereas the effect of N170 amplitude showed the opposite pattern, becoming more prominent as age increased. Collectively, these findings indicate that children's reading performance is shaped by age-sensitive brain neurophysiological activity, with orthographic processing potentially serving as a key cognitive mechanism.
{"title":"Electrophysiological activity predicts children's reading ability through orthographic awareness: Evidence from a cross-sectional and longitudinal study","authors":"Man Zhang , Zeping Liu , Xuedi Liu , Pengfei Lu , Li Liu , Taomei Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101609","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101609","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The relationship between brain activity and reading acquisition has been a research focus in recent years. In the current cross-sectional and longitudinal study, we aimed to investigate whether and how resting-state (rs) and task-state brain electrophysiological activity would predict children’s reading ability. Here, we tracked 73 primary school children’ orthographic awareness, reading ability, and EEG signals during both rest and completed a Chinese character recognition task over two consecutive years. Our analyses reveled these neurophysiological measures (rs-EEG power in theta/delta bands and N170 amplitude) significantly predicted orthographic awareness in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Mediation analysis revealed that these neurophysiological measures influenced reading ability by affecting children's orthographic awareness. Importantly, age moderated these effects: the predictive effect of rs-EEG power was stronger in younger children and decreased with age, whereas the effect of N170 amplitude showed the opposite pattern, becoming more prominent as age increased. Collectively, these findings indicate that children's reading performance is shaped by age-sensitive brain neurophysiological activity, with orthographic processing potentially serving as a key cognitive mechanism.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49083,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience","volume":"75 ","pages":"Article 101609"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144931696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-27DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101607
Cailee M. Nelson , Rebecca Revilla , Nicole R. Friedman , Mengya Xia , Caitlin M. Hudac
Ostracism (i.e., being ignored/excluded) can cause intense emotional reactions that detrimentally impact mental and physical health. Adolescents may be particularly susceptible to these negative consequences due to brain maturation and changing social priorities. To better understand how neural mechanisms of ostracism vary across development (i.e., age, puberty), the current study employed a pictorial adaptation of Hudac’s (2019) Lunchroom electroencephalography (EEG) task in a sample of 84 adolescents (aged 10–14 years). Results indicated unique effects across event-related potential amplitudes, including a reversed pattern (greater sensitivity to inclusion) for the P1, the “classic” ostracism effect (greater sensitivity to exclusion) for the N2, and classic effects when modulated by puberty for the P3. Source estimation identified different neural networks that were likely driving sensitivity to exclusion (e.g., amygdala, SCG, and IFG) or inclusion (e.g., ACC, cingulate, fusiform, insula, SPL, STG). Further, sensitivity to exclusion increased over pubertal development for P3 amplitude but over age for amygdala and IFG. Sensitivity to inclusion decreased over age for P1 amplitude and inclusion sensitive regions. The current study emphasizes the utility of using paradigms that isolate neural processes associated with ostracism while controlling for participant involvement.
{"title":"Feeling left out in the Lunchroom: Neural mechanisms of ostracism vary across adolescence","authors":"Cailee M. Nelson , Rebecca Revilla , Nicole R. Friedman , Mengya Xia , Caitlin M. Hudac","doi":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101607","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101607","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ostracism (i.e., being ignored/excluded) can cause intense emotional reactions that detrimentally impact mental and physical health. Adolescents may be particularly susceptible to these negative consequences due to brain maturation and changing social priorities. To better understand how neural mechanisms of ostracism vary across development (i.e., age, puberty), the current study employed a pictorial adaptation of Hudac’s (2019) Lunchroom electroencephalography (EEG) task in a sample of 84 adolescents (aged 10–14 years). Results indicated unique effects across event-related potential amplitudes, including a reversed pattern (greater sensitivity to inclusion) for the P1, the “classic” ostracism effect (greater sensitivity to exclusion) for the N2, and classic effects when modulated by puberty for the P3. Source estimation identified different neural networks that were likely driving sensitivity to exclusion (e.g., amygdala, SCG, and IFG) or inclusion (e.g., ACC, cingulate, fusiform, insula, SPL, STG). Further, sensitivity to exclusion increased over pubertal development for P3 amplitude but over age for amygdala and IFG. Sensitivity to inclusion decreased over age for P1 amplitude and inclusion sensitive regions. The current study emphasizes the utility of using paradigms that isolate neural processes associated with ostracism while controlling for participant involvement.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49083,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience","volume":"75 ","pages":"Article 101607"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144917888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-23DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101608
Madison Long , Preeti Kar , Nils D. Forkert , Bennett A. Landman , Gerald F. Giesbrecht , Deborah Dewey , W. Ben Gibbard , Christina Tortorelli , Carly A. McMorris , Yuankai Huo , Catherine Lebel
Sex differences in brain volume are well established across ages however, limited research has investigated if sex differences in brain structure associate with early cognitive outcomes. Moreover, associations among sex, brain structure, and cognition in individuals with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), the most common known cause of developmental delay in North America, are unclear. Here, we investigated associations between executive function (measured by the BRIEF or BRIEF-P Global Executive Composite (GEC) and the Statue subtest of the NEPSY-II) and volumes of 36 gray matter regions in a longitudinal MRI sample of 169 young children (NPAE=37; 534 total scans) aged 2–8 years. We found significant three-way interactions between sex, alcohol exposure, and executive function in 22 regions for GEC and 6 regions for Statue. Unexposed males showed negative executive function-volume associations, whereas males with PAE showed opposite associations. Unexposed females showed strong positive executive function-volume associations whereas females with PAE showed weak positive associations. We also evaluated reduced models in regions without significant 3-way interactions and found significant two-way interactions of sex and executive function for the GEC in three regions, and for the Statue in 22 regions. Males showed a negative executive function-volume relationship whereas females showed a positive relationship, regardless of exposure status. Our results suggest that males with PAE and unexposed females show relatively more mature volume-executive function relationships than females with PAE and unexposed males. This study highlights the importance of considering sex in investigations of brain and cognition, especially in populations with PAE.
脑容量的性别差异在各个年龄段都很明显，然而，有限的研究调查了大脑结构的性别差异是否与早期认知结果有关。此外，性别、大脑结构和产前酒精暴露（PAE）个体的认知之间的关系（PAE是北美已知的最常见的发育迟缓原因）尚不清楚。在这里，我们研究了执行功能（通过BRIEF或BRIEF- p Global executive Composite （GEC）和nepsyi - ii的Statue子测试测量）与169名2-8岁幼儿（NPAE=37； 534次总扫描）的纵向MRI样本中36个灰质区域的体积之间的关系。我们发现在22个GEC区域和6个Statue区域中，性别、酒精暴露和执行功能之间存在显著的三方相互作用。未暴露的雄性表现出负的执行功能-体积关联，而患有PAE的雄性表现出相反的关联。未暴露的雌性表现出强烈的正相关，而PAE雌性表现出微弱的正相关。我们还评估了没有显著双向交互的区域的简化模型，发现三个区域的GEC和22个区域的Statue的性别和执行功能存在显著的双向交互。无论暴露状态如何，男性的执行功能与容积呈负相关，而女性的执行功能与容积呈正相关。我们的研究结果表明，与PAE和未暴露的雄性相比，PAE和未暴露的雌性表现出相对更成熟的体积-执行功能关系。这项研究强调了在大脑和认知研究中考虑性别的重要性，特别是在PAE人群中。
{"title":"Sex-specific relationships between gray matter volume and executive function in young children with and without prenatal alcohol exposure","authors":"Madison Long , Preeti Kar , Nils D. Forkert , Bennett A. Landman , Gerald F. Giesbrecht , Deborah Dewey , W. Ben Gibbard , Christina Tortorelli , Carly A. McMorris , Yuankai Huo , Catherine Lebel","doi":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101608","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101608","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sex differences in brain volume are well established across ages however, limited research has investigated if sex differences in brain structure associate with early cognitive outcomes. Moreover, associations among sex, brain structure, and cognition in individuals with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), the most common known cause of developmental delay in North America, are unclear. Here, we investigated associations between executive function (measured by the BRIEF or BRIEF-P Global Executive Composite (GEC) and the Statue subtest of the NEPSY-II) and volumes of 36 gray matter regions in a longitudinal MRI sample of 169 young children (N<sub>PAE</sub>=37; 534 total scans) aged 2–8 years. We found significant three-way interactions between sex, alcohol exposure, and executive function in 22 regions for GEC and 6 regions for Statue. Unexposed males showed negative executive function-volume associations, whereas males with PAE showed opposite associations. Unexposed females showed strong positive executive function-volume associations whereas females with PAE showed weak positive associations. We also evaluated reduced models in regions without significant 3-way interactions and found significant two-way interactions of sex and executive function for the GEC in three regions, and for the Statue in 22 regions. Males showed a negative executive function-volume relationship whereas females showed a positive relationship, regardless of exposure status. Our results suggest that males with PAE and unexposed females show relatively more mature volume-executive function relationships than females with PAE and unexposed males. This study highlights the importance of considering sex in investigations of brain and cognition, especially in populations with PAE.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49083,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience","volume":"75 ","pages":"Article 101608"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144988705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-21DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101606
Heidi C. Meyer
Experiences during sensitive early life developmental periods such as adolescence have a profound influence on brain maturation and long-term affective behavior. While substantial work focuses on early life adversity, emerging evidence suggests that positive affective experiences can also shape trajectories of neurobehavioral development. This study examined how experience with fear conditioning or discriminative conditioning (i.e., safety learning) during either adolescence or adulthood in male and female mice influenced fear behavior and engagement with an anxiogenic environment one month later, when adolescents had aged to adulthood. Prior conditioning (both fear and safety training) at either age, regardless of valence, promoted later fear generalization to a novel cue. In contrast, safety learning during adolescence conferred enduring benefits, leading to reduced fear expression and enhanced extinction memory in adulthood, whereas similar training in adulthood offered limited protective effects. Behavior in the elevated plus maze revealed increased movement in all previously conditioned animals (both Fear-trained and Safety-trained groups), with safety learning decreasing initial freezing in the maze and accelerating initial re-location from the placement arm. Sex differences in this study were modest, showing limited interaction with age and minimal impact on training-related outcomes across experimental phases, suggesting that the effects of conditioning on later affective regulation are robust and broadly conserved across sexes. Overall, these findings highlight adolescence as a sensitive period during which safety learning can shape affective regulation and potentially buffer against later life pathological fear responding. This work offers insight into developmental mechanisms that may inform early interventions for psychiatric conditions like anxiety.
{"title":"Safety learning during adolescence facilitates fear regulation in adult mice","authors":"Heidi C. Meyer","doi":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101606","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101606","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Experiences during sensitive early life developmental periods such as adolescence have a profound influence on brain maturation and long-term affective behavior. While substantial work focuses on early life adversity, emerging evidence suggests that positive affective experiences can also shape trajectories of neurobehavioral development. This study examined how experience with fear conditioning or discriminative conditioning (i.e., safety learning) during either adolescence or adulthood in male and female mice influenced fear behavior and engagement with an anxiogenic environment one month later, when adolescents had aged to adulthood. Prior conditioning (both fear and safety training) at either age, regardless of valence, promoted later fear generalization to a novel cue. In contrast, safety learning during adolescence conferred enduring benefits, leading to reduced fear expression and enhanced extinction memory in adulthood, whereas similar training in adulthood offered limited protective effects. Behavior in the elevated plus maze revealed increased movement in all previously conditioned animals (both Fear-trained and Safety-trained groups), with safety learning decreasing initial freezing in the maze and accelerating initial re-location from the placement arm. Sex differences in this study were modest, showing limited interaction with age and minimal impact on training-related outcomes across experimental phases, suggesting that the effects of conditioning on later affective regulation are robust and broadly conserved across sexes. Overall, these findings highlight adolescence as a sensitive period during which safety learning can shape affective regulation and potentially buffer against later life pathological fear responding. This work offers insight into developmental mechanisms that may inform early interventions for psychiatric conditions like anxiety.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49083,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience","volume":"75 ","pages":"Article 101606"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144892068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-12DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101605
Boyang Mao , Hongxi Zhang , Haitao Wang , Zhi Yang
This study investigated early childhood corpus callosum development, a critical process for cognitive maturation and implicated in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), using sex-specific growth curve models. Structural MRI data from 295 typically developing children (TDC; aged 1–6 years) were used to model age- and sex-dependent changes in ten morphometric parameters, including subregion volumes and midsagittal plane features. Analyses revealed nonlinear developmental trajectories, region-specific growth rates, and earlier developmental peaks in females. We applied these normative models to an independent dataset of 41 TDC and 26 children with ASD, acquired on a different scanner. Classifiers trained on deviations from the growth curves accurately distinguished children with ASD from TDC (mean Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve [AUC] = 0.95), demonstrating model generalizability. These findings establish sex-specific corpus callosum growth curve models as a quantitative, generalizable tool for characterizing typical development and detecting atypical morphometry, offering a promising approach for early, objective ASD diagnosis and potentially facilitating timely intervention. Further study of model generalizability across more diverse populations is warranted.
{"title":"Mapping early corpus callosum development to identify neurodevelopmental risk","authors":"Boyang Mao , Hongxi Zhang , Haitao Wang , Zhi Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101605","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101605","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigated early childhood corpus callosum development, a critical process for cognitive maturation and implicated in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), using sex-specific growth curve models. Structural MRI data from 295 typically developing children (TDC; aged 1–6 years) were used to model age- and sex-dependent changes in ten morphometric parameters, including subregion volumes and midsagittal plane features. Analyses revealed nonlinear developmental trajectories, region-specific growth rates, and earlier developmental peaks in females. We applied these normative models to an independent dataset of 41 TDC and 26 children with ASD, acquired on a different scanner. Classifiers trained on deviations from the growth curves accurately distinguished children with ASD from TDC (mean Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve [AUC] = 0.95), demonstrating model generalizability. These findings establish sex-specific corpus callosum growth curve models as a quantitative, generalizable tool for characterizing typical development and detecting atypical morphometry, offering a promising approach for early, objective ASD diagnosis and potentially facilitating timely intervention. Further study of model generalizability across more diverse populations is warranted.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49083,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience","volume":"75 ","pages":"Article 101605"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144880281","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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