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Our aim was to assess the developmental activities that best define elite players in female soccer in one of the top nations for female soccer in the world. In addition to measurement of career practice hours in soccer and other sports, we quantified hours engaged in activities judged high in challenge. Adult National-team (n = 21) and lesser-skilled Varsity (n = 24) female soccer players in Canada provided career estimates of hours in soccer and other sports during childhood and adolescence. Subjective ratings of challenge were provided for each activity across development, providing an indication of practice quality. Both groups engaged in more coach-led soccer activities (practice, competition) than soccer play and spent the majority of their time in childhood in soccer compared to other sports. National players participated in more play that was more challenging and engaged in more moderate to high challenge practice, when compared to Varsity players. The importance of early engagement in soccer specific developmental activities for elite female soccer players in Canada was highlighted, as previously reported in male players. However, hours in soccer play during childhood were low in both groups and were lower than estimates from male players. Although the data do not fit squarely with any one pathway, they are mostly consistent with an early specialization route. • National & Varsity women soccer players competing at the highest levels took part. • Elite groups were distinguished by childhood self-directed play not practice. • Relative to practice hours and to men, hours in play were low (<25% in childhood). • National players engaged in more hours of soccer activities rated challenging. • Like male players, women started young and showed majority engagement in soccer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facial expression recognition skills are known to improve across childhood and adolescence, but the mechanisms driving the development of these important social abilities remain unclear. This study investigates directly whether there are qualitative differences in child and adult processing strategies for these emotional stimuli. With a novel adaptation of the Bubbles reverse-correlation paradigm (Gosselin & Schyns, 2001), we added noise to expressive face stimuli and presented sub-sets of randomly sampled information from each image at different locations and spatial frequency bands across experimental trials. Results from our large developmental sample: 71 young children (6 -9years), 69 older children (10-13years) and 54 adults, uniquely reveal profiles of strategic information-use for categorisations of fear, sadness, happiness and anger at all ages. All three groups relied upon a distinct set of key facial features for each of these expressions, with fine-tuning of this diagnostic information (features and spatial frequency) observed across developmental time. Reported variability in the developmental trajectories for different emotional expressions is consistent with the notion of functional links between the refinement of information-use and processing ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: This study focused on differences in arousals during sleep, using the arousal rules of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, by gender, age, and maturity in healthy children. Methods: One-night polysomnography was performed on 209 healthy German children (age 1–18years) at their habitual bedtimes in 16 laboratories. Subjects were grouped by gender (112 females, 97 males), age, and Tanner stage. Results: Normative values of arousal events in sleep are presented, including indexes of spontaneous and respiratory arousals, total electroencephalogram (EEG) arousals, phasic increase in submental electromyogram (EMG) in stage R, and leg movements. With increasing age, a decrease was seen in: EEG arousal index ⩾1–2.9s, EEG arousal index ⩾3s, index of total EEG arousals, index of respiratory arousals, chin EMG enhancement in stage R ⩾1–2.9 and ⩾3s, index of total leg movements, and leg movements with EEG arousals (p <0.05). Only spontaneous arousals showed no association with age. There was a significant negative correlation between Tanner stage and arousals ⩾1–2.9s, respiratory arousals, leg movements, and leg movements with arousals (p <0.05). Only arousals ⩾3s and total leg movements showed gender differences (p <0.05). Conclusions: For the diagnosis of pediatric sleep disturbances, the given arousal data enable estimation of the degree of deviation from normal findings for age and maturity. There is need for further research on, and further discussion of, the arousal rules of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: To provide normative values for pediatric sleep cardiorespiratory parameters following AASM rules, assessing effects of gender, age, and Tanner stage. Methods: One-night polysomnograhy was performed at subjects’ habitual bedtimes in 16 laboratories on 209 healthy German children, 1–18years old. Results: Normative values of cardiorespiratory parameters in pediatric sleep are presented. No obstructive and mixed apneas occurred. Hypopneas were seldom. Respiratory frequency and apnea-hypopnea-index decreased with age (p <0.001). In all groups central apneas ⩾20s were present but uncommon. Oxygen desaturations or respiratory arousals following central apnea were rare. Heart rate showed an inverse correlation to age (p <0.001). Heart rate was lower in sleep, lowest in stage N. The mean heart rate of females was higher than males (p <0.05). Neither Tanner stage nor corresponding age (p <0.05) influenced: mean apnea duration, central apnea index ⩾20s, hypopnea index, index of periodic breathing, or oxygen saturation nadir. All other parameters except maximal apnea duration and central apnea index after movements with oxygen desaturation show dependency on both Tanner stage and corresponding age (p <0.05). Conclusions: Using AASM rules, the development of cardiorespiratory parameters in healthy children, ages 1–18 is shown. Age-related norms may improve sleep pathology identification. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]