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Maternal care during the early postnatal period of altricial mammals is a key factor in the survival and adaptation of offspring to environmental conditions. Natural variations in maternal care and experimental manipulations with maternal–child relationships modeling early‐life adversity (ELA) in laboratory rats and mice have a strong long‐term influence on the physiology and behavior of offspring in rats and mice. This literature review is devoted to the latest research on the role of epigenetic mechanisms in these effects of ELA and mother–infant relationship, with a focus on the regulation of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and brain‐derived neurotrophic factor. An important part of this review is dedicated to pharmacological interventions and epigenetic editing as tools for studying the causal role of epigenetic mechanisms in the development of physiological and behavioral profiles. A special section of the manuscript will discuss the translational potential of the discussed research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To learn to read, the brain must repurpose neural systems for oral language and visual processing to mediate written language. We begin with a description of computational models for how alphabetic written language is processed. Next, we explain the roles of a dorsal sublexical system in the brain that relates print and speech, a ventral lexical system that develops the visual expertise for rapid orthographic processing at the word level, and the role of cognitive control networks that regulate attentional processes as children read. We then use studies of children, adult illiterates learning to read, and studies of poor readers involved in intervention, to demonstrate the plasticity of these neural networks in development and in relation to instruction. We provide a brief overview of the rapid increase in the field's understanding and technology for assessing genetic influence on reading. Family studies of twins have shown that reading skills are heritable, and molecular genetic studies have identified numerous regions of the genome that may harbor candidate genes for the heritability of reading. In selected families, reading impairment has been associated with major genetic effects, despite individual gene contributions across the broader population that appear to be small. Neural and genetic studies do not prescribe how children should be taught to read, but these studies have underscored the critical role of early intervention and ongoing support. These studies also have highlighted how structured instruction that facilitates access to the sublexical components of words is a critical part of training the brain to read. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the predictive power of genetic information is not yet strong enough to apply to individuals in the classroom, this study aimed to explore how genetic information may be received in educational settings as a potentially important source of individual differences in academic achievement and learning difficulties. Focus group discussions with teachers and parents were analyzed using qualitative and linguistic methods. Results showed that teachers and parents had similar knowledge of and questions about genetic information and how it could be used in education; both expressed concerns regarding the ethics of its use and suggested other professionals that should be involved in decisions regarding genetic input in education. Parents' personal struggles to obtain appropriate diagnoses and support for their children with learning difficulties, however, added an emotional edge to their views. Families' direct experiences with educational systems, often adversarial, afford them an authority that should be acknowledged by policymakers. Although practical applications of genetic data to inform school classroom decision‐making are not yet possible because of lack of predictive power at the individual level, their eventual advent seems likely. Therefore, we conducted three focus groups with teachers and parents to gather their perspectives on the use of genetic information in educational systems. The data were analyzed using qualitative and linguistic approaches. Direct experience with children with learning disabilities impacts what teachers and parents need to know about genetics, influences the emotions they bring to the issue, and inform their understanding of what professionals are required for the proper utilization of genetic information in educational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) datasets are susceptible to several confounding factors related to data quality, which is especially true in studies involving young children. With the recent trend of large‐scale multicenter studies, it is more critical to be aware of the varied impacts of data quality on measures of interest. Here, we investigated data quality and its effect on different diffusion measures using a multicenter dataset. dMRI data were obtained from 691 participants (5–17 years of age) from six different centers. Six data quality metrics—contrast to noise ratio, outlier slices, and motion (absolute, relative, translation, and rotational)—and four diffusion measures—fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, tract density, and length—were computed for each of 36 major fiber tracts for all participants. The results indicated that four out of six data quality metrics (all except absolute and translation motion) differed significantly between centers. Associations between these data quality metrics and the diffusion measures differed significantly across the tracts and centers. Moreover, these effects remained significant after applying recently proposed harmonization algorithms that purport to remove unwanted between‐site variation in diffusion data. These results demonstrate the widespread impact of dMRI data quality on diffusion measures. These tracts and measures have been routinely associated with individual differences as well as group‐wide differences between neurotypical populations and individuals with neurological or developmental disorders. Accordingly, for analyses of individual differences or group effects (particularly in multisite dataset), we encourage the inclusion of data quality metrics in dMRI analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the well-known physiological consequences of early adverse environments is dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. A number of studies demonstrate that negative parenting and living with parents with a history of substance abuse and mental health problems may be associated with HPA axis dysregulation in children. In contrast, studies of more delayed effects in adult offspring, especially prospective, are still scarce. This study was a prospective longitudinal investigation of the association between maternal mental illnesses/substance abuse and maternal negative parenting/parental stress on one side and, on the other side, adult offspring outcomes 10 years later--specifically, we studied the activity of offspring's neuroendocrine (cortisol) and autonomic (heart rate) systems when exposed to a mild psychological stressor. Children of mothers with mental illnesses and/or substance abuse were exposed to more disadvantaged conditions (higher negative parenting and community violence). Despite this, maternal risk groups (having a mother with mental illnesses and/or substance abuse) were not associated with any of the indicators of stress systems activity. Regardless of the risk group, participants with dysregulated HPA axis activity experienced a higher level of negative parenting. Altogether, our study provides evidence that negative parenting may have long-lasting effects on stress-sensitive physiological mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distal 1q21.1 microdeletions have shown highly variable clinical expressivity and incomplete penetrance, with affected individuals manifesting a broad spectrum of nonspecific features. The goals of this study were to better describe the phenotypic spectrum of patients with distal 1q21.1 microdeletions and to compare the clinical features among affected individuals. We performed a retrospective chart review of 47 individuals with distal 1q21.1 microdeletions tested at a large clinical genetic testing laboratory, with most patients being clinically evaluated in the same children's hospital. Health information such as growth charts, results of imaging studies, developmental history, and progress notes were collected. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher's exact test to compare clinical features among study subjects. Common features in our cohort include microcephaly (51.2%), seizures (29.8%), developmental delay (74.5%), failure to thrive (FTT) (68.1%), dysmorphic features (63.8%), and a variety of congenital anomalies such as cardiac abnormalities (23.4%) and genitourinary abnormalities (19.1%). Compared to prior literature, we found that seizures, brain anomalies, and FTT were more prevalent among our study cohort. Females were more likely than males to have microcephaly (p = 0.0199) and cardiac abnormalities (p = 0.0018). Based on existing genome‐wide clinical testing results, at least a quarter of the cohort had additional genetic findings that may impact the phenotype of the individual. Our study represents the largest cohort of distal 1q21.1 microdeletion carriers available in the literature thus far, and it further illustrates the wide spectrum of clinical manifestations among symptomatic individuals. These results may allow for improved genetic counseling and management of affected individuals. Future studies may help to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms impacting the phenotypic variability observed with this microdeletion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated neural correlates of traumatic experience related to the lack of family care in adults with a history of institutionalization (IC) using the Emotional Stroop paradigm. The goals of our study were twofold: we investigated whether adults with IC history (n = 24; Mage = 22.17, SD = 6.7) demonstrate atypical processing of emotionally salient words in general, and whether they exhibit selective processing bias toward family related words compared to adults raised in biological families (BFC; n = 28; Mage = 22.25, SD = 4.9). Results demonstrated significant differences in accuracy but not response times between groups on the behavioral level, indicating that the IC group was overall less accurate in identifying the color of the font. Contrary to our prediction, there were no significant differences between neural response to family related versus unrelated words in the IC and BFC groups. The absence of group differences can be explained by the selection of stimuli, which were associated with family rather than institutional history. The IC group showed a larger N280‐380 component in response to negative words compared to the BFC group, and larger negativity in the right parietal area in response to positive words in the same time window. Results demonstrate that institutional history is marked by altered emotional processing in the subpopulation of institutional care‐leavers, but the footprint is not specific to traumatic experience and extends from general sensitivity to emotional words. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS (HIV OVC) are at risk for cognitive difficulties and lack of access to education. Interventions addressing cognitive or educational outcomes for HIV OVC worldwide were examined through systematic searches conducted from October 2016 to 2019. We examined the summative effectiveness of interventions and the specific effects of participant age and intervention length. Interventions targeting cognitive outcomes had a small, significant effect, with no effect of moderating variables. Interventions targeting educational outcomes had significant effects. Educational interventions over 1 year were effective, but effects of intervention length were not significant. Overall, this review provides support for the effectiveness of interventions targeting cognitive and educational outcomes for OVC and highlights the need for more research on such interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study shows that whole‐exome sequencing is a promising approach to detect novel variants—and gene candidates in DSD, that, as a future direction, may improve the diagnostic gene panels for this heterogeneous disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children abandoned to institutions display a host of developmental delays, including those involving general cognition and language. The majority of published studies focus on children over 3 years of age; little is known about whether these delays may be detected earlier when children undergo rapid lexical development. To investigate the early language development of children raised in institutional settings in the Russian Federation, we compared a group of children in institutional care (n = 36; 8–35 months) to their age‐matched peers raised in biological families, who have never been institutionalized (n = 72) using the Russian version of the CDI. The results suggest that institutionalization is associated with pronounced delays in children's early language development with large and robust effect sizes. Among children with a history of institutionalization, these delays are also associated with difficulties in Daily Living skills, communication, and socialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efavirenz (EFV) is a well‐known, effective anti‐retroviral drug long used in first‐line treatment for children and adults with HIV and HIV/AIDS. Due to its narrow window of effective concentrations, between 1 and 4 μg/mL, and neurological side effects at supratherapeutic levels, several investigations into the pharmacokinetics of the drug and its genetic underpinnings have been carried out, primarily with adult samples. A number of studies, however, have examined the genetic influences on the metabolism of EFV in children. Their primary goal has been to shed light on issues of appropriate pediatric dosing, as well as the manifestation of neurotoxic effects of EFV in some children. Although EFV is currently being phased out of use for the treatment of both adults and children, we share this line of research to highlight an important aspect of medical treatment that is relevant to understanding the development of children diagnosed with HIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigated language development of children residing in institutional care (IC) in Russia, compared to peers raised by biological family care (BFC). We used standardized behavioral testing (Preschool Language Scale‐5, McArthur CDI), and an event‐related potential picture–word matching paradigm. Children in IC significantly underperformed on the measures of receptive and expressive language development, with larger deficits in expressive domain. ERP findings indicated that children in IC did not demonstrate significant N400 effect in response to semantic violations; there were no significant group differences in semantic processing between IC and the BFC groups. In the late time window of 400–600 ms, phonologically legal pseudowords elicited an ERP component with the positive amplitude in the IC group, resembling P300 ERP component, whereas the BFC group showed the expected N400 effect. The findings point to less efficient lexical processing in the IC group. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate both the behavioral and neuropsychological aspects of language development, focusing on phonological and lexical‐semantic processing, in children who currently live in IC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The etiological mechanisms of the genetic underpinnings of developmental language disorder (DLD) are unknown, in part due to the behavioral heterogeneity of the disorder's manifestations. In this study, we explored an association between the SETBP1 gene (18q21.1), revealed in a genome‐wide association study of DLD in a geographically isolated population, and brain network‐based endophenotypes of functional intracortical coherence between major language‐related brain areas. We analyzed electroencephalogram (EEG) data from thirty‐nine children (twenty‐three with, sixteen without DLD) aged 7.17–15.83 years acquired during an auditory picture–word matching paradigm. Variation at a single nucleotide polymorphism in the intronic region of the SETBP1 gene, rs8085464, explained 19% of the variance in intracortical network cohesion (p =.00478). This suggests that the development of these brain networks might be partially associated with the variation in SETBP1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigated the long‐term effects of institutionalization on the inhibitory control of young adults raised in orphanages using the color‐word Stroop task. We examined whether young adults raised in institutions (IC group; n = 24; M = 22.17 years, SD = 6.7) would demonstrate poorer behavioral performance and atypical neural response to incongruent stimuli compared to their peers raised in biological families (Biological Family Care, BFC group; n = 28; M = 22.25 years, SD = 4.9). Accuracy analysis revealed that all participants were less accurate in the incongruent condition, however, no group differences were found. Reaction time analysis showed that the institutional care (IC) group was overall slower than the BFC. No significant differences in neural response to stimuli incongruence were identified. The absence of group differences in the interference condition can be explained by the low complexity of the Stroop task in the current study. The IC group showed a reduced P3 event‐related potential component on both the congruent and incongruent trials. Findings suggest general attention difficulties in this population, rather than inhibitory control deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing attention to the phenomenon referred to as "twice exceptional" ("2e") children, namely, children who demonstrate both exceptional abilities and disabilities. In this essay, this concept is applied to delinquency and/or emotional‐behavior disorder and gifts (talents) in the performance arts, exploring the presence of this association and the support for it in the literature. The essay asserts that this association does exist, qualifies these youth as another category of 2e students, and calls for research on the manifestation, etiology, and development of this co‐occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we present a summary of the literature on the associations between learning difficulties/disabilities and juvenile delinquency. This literature is almost a hundred years old, but, although reportedly demonstrating the low academic achievement–delinquency connection, contains numerous unanswered questions regarding the frequency, strength, direction, stability, and causality of these associations. We then use this literature to contextualize the research taking place at the Houston Learning Disabilities (LD) Hub, a member of the LD Centers and Hubs Network, supported by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). In doing so, we present our previous studies and our current research. We conclude by discussing a number of shortcomings in the literature, some—but far from all—of which we hope to address in our ongoing work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine whether the relationship between mothers' DNA methylation profiles and offspring's depression is modulated by negative parenting. The participants were 35 African‐American mother–offspring dyads. Young adult offspring (19 females; age = 17–29.5 years) were assessed on depressive symptoms, and mothers (36–51 years) were assessed on negative parenting. Methyl‐binding domain (MBD) sequencing was used to assay genome‐wide DNA methylation in peripheral T lymphocytes. Controlling for the effect of offspring's DNA methylation, mothers' DNA methylation was positively associated with offspring's depression. Hypermethylation of a subset of the epigenetic markers was associated with increased negative parenting. Negative parenting was positively correlated with offspring's depression as well, suggesting that negative parenting may be a modulator between the mother's epigenome and offspring's depression. This study is one of the first investigations of the modulating role of parenting behavior in associations between the mother's epigenome and offspring's depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second, the majority of the psychology instrumentation has been developed in high-income countries and is tailored to the profiles and needs of their majority youth. Third, whereas there are various stake-holders in high-income countries who consume psychological literature and translate it into some socially meaningful outcomes, the demand for such literature in the rest of the world is substantially lower. Fourth, the tradition and culture of conducting research with children and adolescents is both much older and much stronger in high-income countries; correspondingly it is much more habitual for both institutions and participants to engage in such research. [Extracted from the article]

Key Clinical Message: This manuscript reports on genomewide epigenetic alterations in cri‐du‐chat syndrome related to a partial aneusomy of chromosome 5. A systematic analysis of these alterations will open up new possibilities for the prognostic evaluation of CDCS patients and the development of new therapeutic interventions for reducing the severity of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differences in learning patterns of vocabulary acquisition in children at risk (+ SRD) and not at risk (− SRD) for Specific Reading Disability ( SRD) were examined using a microdevelopmental paradigm applied to the multi-trial Foreign Language Learning Task ( FLLT; Baddeley et al., 1995). The FLLT was administered to 905 children from rural Chitonga-speaking Zambia. A multi-group Latent Growth Curve Model ( LGCM) was implemented to study interindividual differences in intraindividual change across trials. Results showed that the + SRD group recalled fewer words correctly in the first trial, learned at a slower rate during the subsequent trials, and demonstrated a more linear learning pattern compared to the − SRD group. This study illustrates the promise of LGCM applied to multi-trial learning tasks, by isolating three components of the learning process (initial recall, rate of learning, and functional pattern of learning). Implications of this microdevelopmental approach to SRD research in low-to-middle income countries are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike intelligence, creativity has rarely been investigated from the standpoint of cross-cultural invariance of the structure of the instruments used to measure it. In the study reported in this article, we investigated the cross-cultural invariance of expert ratings of creative stories written by undergraduate students from the Russian Federation and the United States. Analyses of differential rater and item functioning using Many-Facet Rasch Measurement and multiple levels of invariance using confirmatory factor analyses suggested partial measurement invariance of creative ability estimates obtained using this method in two cultures. Russian and U.S. students demonstrated similar overall levels of creativity; however, U.S. students received higher emotionality ratings than Russian students did. The findings are discussed in the context of viewing creativity as at least a partially culturally invariant trait whose manifestation is moderated by culture-specific semantic knowledge and patterns of linguistic behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the Intensive In-home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Service (IICAPS), a large-scale home-based intervention that collaboratively engages the family, school, and various other service providers (e.g. health practitioners or judicial systems) to prevent the hospitalization, institutionalization or out-of-home placement of children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance. Multi-informant data (youth, parents and clinician) on the level of youth problem severity and functioning was gathered from 7169 youth and their families served by the IICAPS network, pre- and post-intervention. A newly developed 'Multi-informant Latent Consensus' (MILC) approach was employed to measure mental health 'baseline levels' and change, within a Structural Equation Modeling framework. The MILC approach demonstrated promise integrating information from multiple informants involved in the therapeutic process to yield a more accurate and systemic view of a child's level of functioning and problem severity than each report taken individually. Results indicated that the IICAPS family and community based intervention model led to a reduction of problem severity and improved functioning in children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempted to establish and quantify the connections between parenting, offspring psychosocial adjustment, and the epigenome. The participants, 35 African American young adults (19 females and 16 males; age = 17-29.5 years), represented a subsample of a 3-wave longitudinal 15-year study on the developmental trajectories of low-income urban mother-offspring dyads. Mothers were assessed on their perceptions of maternal stress at each wave. Offspring were assessed on their perceptions of maternal parenting at each wave and on their adaptive and maladaptive behavior at the last wave. Genome-wide DNA methylation in peripheral T lymphocytes at the third wave was assayed using Methyl Binding Domain(MBD) sequencing. Statistically significant associations were identified between the change in offspring's perception of parenting from middle childhood to adulthood and the DNA methylation in offspring's adult genomes. Specifically, the slope of perceived parental rejection across the 3 time points was related to an increase in methylation, or a potential downregulation, of 565 genes thought to be involved in the control of a broad spectrum of biological functions generally related to cellular signaling. A subset of these epigenetic marks, clustered in 23 genes, some of which participate in the development and functioning of the CNS, were in turn associated with psychosocial adjustment as captured by interpersonal relationships and emotional self-evaluation. This appears to be one of the first investigations of the modulating role of the methylome in associations between developmental dynamics of parenting throughout the formative years of child and adolescent development and psychosocial adjustment in adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay, we comment on the dominant practice in high-resource societies of placing children without biological parental care (CwoBPC) into substitution families, and the promotion of this solution as evidence-based and state of the art. As the Russian Federation has formulated and is now addressing in matching legislation, it possibly overestimated the role of substitution families and underestimated the importance of specialized institutions in addressing the CwoBPC issue. Although we do not question the overall benefit of placing all CwoBPC in adequate family settings, we question the specifics of its realization in particular societies, including that of modern Russia. We argue for the importance of a mixed model, in which informed and supervised family placements are combined with high-quality family-environment institutional settings as the most appropriate model for middle- and, perhaps, even high-resource societies, especially for young children and children with disabilities. Diversifying placements based on the individual needs of each CwoBPC, especially children with special needs, is what is best for these children. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The etiological forces of development have been a central question for the developmental sciences (however defined) since their crystallization as a distinct branch of scientific inquiry. Although the history of these sciences contains examples of extreme positions capitalizing on either the predominance of the genome (i.e., the accumulation of genetic factors driving development) or the environmentome (i.e., the accumulation of environmental factors driving development), the moderate view of development as the emergence of a person from a particular genome and within a specific context has settled into the driver's seat and is disputed no longer. Yet, although there is a converging theoretical perspective, a gap between this perspective and practice remains. In other words, society needs to translate this position into praxis. This opinion exemplifies the current state of corresponding knowledge in the developmental sciences, with a particular emphasis on the understanding of the role of the genome in child and adolescent development, and offers a set of comments on how this translation is being shaped by the newest technologies in the genomic sciences. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background As both lifetime and daily use of marijuana remain prevalent among US adolescents and are likely to increase, given the legalisation of marijuana in a number of states, their correlates with other negative (including delinquent) behaviours have been studied. Most of this research has been carried out with general-population-based samples. Thus, little is known about this association among court-involved and detained juveniles. Aims This study aimed to assess lifetime and daily marijuana use among detainees aged 10-16 years. Our hypotheses were that such use would be higher among youth who had been in detention than in general population samples and that it would be associated with other mental health indicators and criminal justice indicators, such as total number of detentions and number and types of charges. Methods The records of a random 20% sample of all juveniles in detention in Connecticut's state facilities were studied. Data extracted included self-reported information on lifetime and daily use of marijuana, mental health indicators, lifetime psychiatric diagnoses and criminal justice indicators. Results Rates of both lifetime (54%) and daily (16%) use of marijuana in this sample of 371 young people were substantially higher than previous studies have reported in general population samples. As a group, daily users of marijuana demonstrated a more negative mental health profile but did not differ from the rest of the sample in their criminal justice indicators. Conclusions/implications for practice Our findings suggest that it is unlikely that cannabis use by young offenders can serve as an independent factor in understanding the frequency and severity of delinquency, although it might be associated with the severity of mental health disorder or dysfunction among them. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The study examined Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis and inflammatory signaling in 206 youth with histories of prenatal drug exposure and self-reported histories of maltreatment. Youth with histories of severe neglect showed elevated levels of cortisol, the end product of the HPA axis, in comparison to youth with lower or minimal levels of neglect. Histories of severe neglect also were associated with increased levels of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF), a cytokine known to be intricately involved in HPA axis regulation. Salivary MIF levels also were positively associated with youth age and prenatal drug exposure. These MIF and cortisol alterations may signal pathophysiological disruptions in the neuro-endocrine and immune systems, which may lead to trajectories of increased disease risk among vulnerable youth. Our findings also provide preliminary support for the validity and reliability of a noninvasive salivary assessment of MIF. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 57: 131-139, 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay is focused on the research into the genetic etiology of creativity and related processes. In an attempt to identify the most salient points of this research, the article provides a brief overview of quantitative-genetic (family and twin) and molecular-genetic (candidate-gene and whole-genome) studies of creativity. To conclude, the essay formulates a future agenda for this subfield of scientific inquiry into creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although creativity has long been recognized as an important aspect of mathematical thinking, both for the advancement of the field and in students' developing expertise in mathematics, assessments of student creativity in that domain have been limited in number and focus. This article presents an assessment developed for creativity that provides a score for mathematical creativity (MaC) in addition to a score for general creativity in the numeric domain, or what we might call numerical creativity (NuC). We developed different rating scales for each and then explored how each scoring method accounts for the students' mathematical/numerical and creative skills. The psychometric properties for both scoring approaches were examined. Each method was shown to reflect different relationships with other performance tests. In addition, it is proposed that MaC may provide useful insight into students' levels of adaptive expertise in mathematics, as reflected by their ability to apply mathematical knowledge (i.e., language, operations, concepts) to novel situations, representing an informative supplement to performance indicators of math achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Schooling is considered one of the major contributors to the development of intelligence within societies and individuals. Genetic variation might modulate the impact of schooling and explain, at least partially, the presence of individual differences in classrooms. Method We studied a sample of 1,502 children (mean age = 11.7 years) from Zambia. Approximately 57% of these children were enrolled in school, and the rest were not. To quantify genetic variation, we investigated a number of common polymorphisms in the catechol- O-methyltransferase ( COMT) gene that controls the production of the protein thought to account for >60% of the dopamine degradation in the prefrontal cortex. Results Haplotype analyses generated results ranging from the presence to absence of significant interactions between a number of COMT haplotypes and indicators of schooling (i.e., in- vs. out-of-school and grade completed) in the prediction of nonverbal intelligence, depending on the parameter specification. However, an investigation of the distribution of corresponding p-values suggested that these positive results were false. Conclusions Convincing evidence that the variation in the COMT gene is associated with individual differences in nonverbal intelligence either directly or through interactions with schooling was not found. p-values produced by the method of testing for haplotype effects employed here may be sensitive to parameter settings, invalid under default settings, and should be checked for validity through simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The aim of this study was to determine if a latent variable approach might be useful in identifying shared variance across genetic risk alleles that is associated with antisocial behaviour at age 15 years. Methods Using a conventional latent variable approach, we derived an antisocial phenotype in 328 adolescents utilizing data from a 15-year follow-up of a randomized trial of a prenatal and infancy nurse-home visitation programme in Elmira, New York. We then investigated, via a novel latent variable approach, 450 informative genetic polymorphisms in 71 genes previously associated with antisocial behaviour, drug use, affiliative behaviours and stress response in 241 consenting individuals for whom DNA was available. Haplotype and Pathway analyses were also performed. Results Eight single-nucleotide polymorphisms ( SNPs) from eight genes contributed to the latent genetic variable that in turn accounted for 16.0% of the variance within the latent antisocial phenotype. The number of risk alleles was linearly related to the latent antisocial variable scores. Haplotypes that included the putative risk alleles for all eight genes were also associated with higher latent antisocial variable scores. In addition, 33 SNPs from 63 of the remaining genes were also significant when added to the final model. Many of these genes interact on a molecular level, forming molecular networks. The results support a role for genes related to dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, glutamate, opioid and cholinergic signalling as well as stress response pathways in mediating susceptibility to antisocial behaviour. Conclusions This preliminary study supports use of relevant behavioural indicators and latent variable approaches to study the potential 'co-action' of gene variants associated with antisocial behaviour. It also underscores the cumulative relevance of common genetic variants for understanding the aetiology of complex behaviour. If replicated in future studies, this approach may allow the identification of a 'shared' variance across genetic risk alleles associated with complex neuropsychiatric dimensional phenotypes using relatively small numbers of well-characterized research participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to a special section discussing genomics is presented in which articles on topics including association studies, epigenetics and epigenomics, and transcriptomics are examined.

In both children and adults there is large variability in reading skill, with approximately 5-10% of individuals characterized as having reading disability; these individuals struggle to learn to read despite adequate intelligence and opportunity. Although it is well established that a substantial portion of this variability is attributed to the genetic differences between individuals, specifics of the connections between reading and the genome are not understood. This article presents data that suggest that variation in the COMT gene, which has previously been associated with variation in higher-order cognition, is associated with reading and reading-related skills, at the level of both brain and behavior. In particular, we found that the COMT Val/Met polymorphism at rs4680, which results in the substitution of the ancestral Valine (Val) by Methionine (Met), was associated with better performance on a number of critical reading measures and with patterns of functional neural activation that have been linked to better readers. We argue that this polymorphism, known for its broad effects on cognition, may modulate (likely through frontal lobe function) reading skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gene expression is one of the main molecular processes regulating the differentiation, development, and functioning of cells and tissues. In this review a handful of relevant terms and concepts are introduced and the most common techniques used in studies of gene expression/expression profiling (also referred to as studies of the transcriptome or transcriptomics) are described. The main foci of this review are the advancements in studies of the transcriptome in the human brain, the transcriptome's variability across different brain structures, and the systematic changes that occur through different developmental stages across the life span in general and childhood in particular. Finally, the question of how the accumulating data on the spatial and temporal dynamics of the transcriptome may shed light on the molecular mechanisms of the typical and atypical development of the central nervous system is addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the developing brain has begun to shed light on the underpinnings of both early and adult onset neuropsychiatric disorders. Neuroimaging of the human brain across developmental time points and the use of model animal systems have combined to reveal brain systems and gene products that may play a role in autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and many other neurodevelopmental conditions. However, precisely how genes may function in human brain development and how they interact with each other leading to psychiatric disorders is unknown. Because of an increasing understanding of neural stem cells and how the nervous system subsequently develops from these cells, we have now the ability to study disorders of the nervous system in a new way - by rewinding and reviewing the development of human neural cells. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), developed from mature somatic cells, have allowed the development of specific cells in patients to be observed in real time. Moreover, they have allowed some neuronal-specific abnormalities to be corrected with pharmacological intervention in tissue culture. These exciting advances based on the use of iPSCs hold great promise for understanding, diagnosing and, possibly, treating psychiatric disorders. Specifically, examination of iPSCs from typically developing individuals will reveal how basic cellular processes and genetic differences contribute to individually unique nervous systems. Moreover, by comparing iPSCs from typically developing individuals and patients, differences at stem cell stages, through neural differentiation, and into the development of functional neurons may be identified that will reveal opportunities for intervention. The application of such techniques to early onset neuropsychiatric disorders is still on the horizon but has become a reality of current research efforts as a consequence of the revelations of many years of basic developmental neurobiological science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skilled interpersonal relations are crucial for effective teaching and learning but much professional knowledge here is tacit and thus not easily communicated. This article presents the results of a study that examined the tacit knowledge of trainee and experienced teachers in relation to various problematic interpersonal aspects of school life. Trainee (n = 501) and experienced (n = 163) teachers in secondary schools were presented with a series of hypothetical vignettes and asked to rate each of 128 potential response options. Trainees completed the survey at the beginning and end of their professional training year. It was found that experience appeared to be related to the capacity to identify 'bad' responses, but there was little difference in relation to the identification of 'good' responses. Further differences between novice and experienced teachers in relation to preferred strategies are reported. Implications for teacher education and for future research are identified and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of dopamine-related genes have been implicated in the etiology of violent behavior and conduct problems. Of these genes, the ones that code for the enzymes that influence the turnover of dopamine (DA) have received the most attention. In this study, we investigated 12 genetic polymorphisms in four genes involved with DA functioning (COMT, MAOA and MAOB, and DβH) in 179 incarcerated male Russian adolescents and two groups of matched controls: boys without criminal records referred to by their teachers as (a) “troubled-behavior-free” boys, n=182; and (b) “troubled-behavior” boys, n=60. The participants were classified as (1) being incarcerated or not, (2) having the DSM-IV diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD) or not, and (3) having committed violent or nonviolent crimes (for the incarcerated individuals only). The findings indicate that, although no single genetic variant in any of the four genes differentiated individuals in the investigated groups, various linear combinations (i.e., haplotypes) and nonlinear combinations (i.e., interactions between variants within and across genes) of genetic variants resulted in informative and robust classifications for two of the three groupings. These combinations of genetic variants differentiated individuals in incarceration vs. nonincarcerated and CD vs. no-CD groups; no informative combinations were established consistently for the grouping by crime within the incarcerated individuals. This study underscores the importance of considering multiple rather than single markers within candidate genes and their additive and interactive combinations, both with themselves and with nongenetic indicators, while attempting to understand the genetic background of such complex behaviors as serious conduct problems. Aggr. Behav. 36:158–176, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The use of cognitive tests is increasing in Africa but little is known about how such tests are affected by the great ethnic and linguistic diversity on the continent. Aim. To assess ethnic and linguistic group differences in cognitive test performance in the West African country of the Gambia and to investigate the sources of these differences. Samples. Study I included 579 participants aged 14-19 years from the Wolof and Mandinka ethnic groups of the Gambia. Study 2 included 41 participants aged 12-18 years from the two ethnic groups. Methods. Study I assessed performance on six cognitive tests. Participants were also asked about their history of education, residence in the city, parental education, and family socio-economic status. Study 2 assessed performance on two versions of the digit span test. Recall of the numbers 1-5 were compared with recall of numbers 1-9 for both the Wolof (who count in base 5) and the Mandinka (who count in base 10). Results. Study I established that Wolof performance was lower than that of the Mandinka on five out of six cognitive tests. In four of these tests, group differences were partially mediated by participation in primary school and migration to the city. Group differences were substantial for the digit span test and were not attenuated by mediating variables. Study 2 found that digit span among the Wolof was shorter than that of the Mandinka for numbers 1-9 but not for numbers 1-5. Conclusions. Several suggestions are made on how to consider the ethnicity, language, education, and residence (urban vs. rural) of groups when conducting comparative cognitive assessments or collecting normative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This article selectively reviews the status of the genetic research in the field of speech and language disorders. Methods: Major contributions to the field are selected, presented, and discussed. Results: The field presents itself through a variety of findings, characterized by both consistencies and inconsistencies. Conclusions: The last 30 + years of the field unequivocally testify to the importance of genetic factors in the acquisition of speech and language. However, the details of how these factors exert their influence are yet to be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article offers comments on the infusion of methodologies, approaches, reasoning strategies, and findings from the fields of genetics and genomics into studies of complex human behaviors (hereafter, complex phenotypes). Specifically, I discuss issues of generality and specificity, causality, and replicability as they pertain to molecular genetic studies of human phenotypes. These issues are illustrated with findings from genetic linkage and association studies investigating the etiology of disorders of spoken and written language—an area of inquiry that has been consistently referenced as one of the most successful in terms of its progress in understanding the genetic bases of human behaviors. I complete this discussion with comments on how the stronger presence of genetics and genomics in psychology is changing the conceptualization and investigation of research questions and affecting the next generation of interdisciplinary research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers some thoughts on possible connections between genomics and education. Genomics is already revolutionizing the way medical care is delivered and distributed; it will inevitably affect children‘s developmental trajectories by introducing more pharmacological and behavioral therapies. Educators should be prepared to understand the effect of these changes on children in the classroom, where children around the world spend a large portion of their formative years. Educators should also be prepared to understand the current advances in genomics and be able to discuss them with the parents and health care providers of their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we discuss two characteristics of the majority of current behaviour- and molecular-genetic studies of reading ability and disability, specifically, the ascertainment strategies and the populations from which samples are selected. In the context of this discussion, we present data that we collected on a sample of Swahili-speaking siblings from Tanzania. With this sample, we (1) explore the efficiency and practicality of the single proband sibpair design and (2) provide data on the predictability of reading and spelling performance using reading-related componential measures in a novel Swahili-speaking sample. Specifically, we present the selection criteria, discuss the pattern of behavioural and behaviour-genetic results obtained on the sample and compare these results with those available in the literature. We report behavioural and behaviour-genetic correlations in this sample that are comparable with other studied samples in other languages, and discuss the similarities and differences. Thus, we demonstrate the suitability and effectiveness of the single sib ascertainment method for genetic analyses of reading ability and disability in novel samples in previously unstudied languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hyperlexia is the phenomenon of spontaneous and precocious mastery of single-word reading that has been of interest to clinicians and researchers since the beginning of the last century. Methods: An extensive search of publications on the subject of hyperlexia was undertaken and all available publications were reviewed. Results: The literature can be subdivided into discussions of the following issues: (1) whether hyperlexia is a phenomenon that is characteristic only of specific clinical populations (e.g., children with developmental delays) or whether it can also be observed in the general population; (2) whether hyperlexia is a distinct syndrome comorbid with a number of different disorders or whether it is a part of the spectrum of some other clinical condition(s); (3) whether hyperlexia should be defined through single-word reading superiority with regard to reading comprehension, vocabulary, general intelligence, any combination of the three, or all three characteristics; (4) whether there is a specific neuropsychological profile associated with hyperlexia; (5) whether hyperlexia is characterized by a particular developmental profile; and (6) whether hyperlexia should be viewed as a disability (deficit) or superability (talent). Conclusions: We interpret the literature as supporting the view that hyperlexia is a superability demonstrated by a very specific group of individuals with developmental disorders (defined through unexpected single-word reading in the context of otherwise suppressed intellectual functioning) rather than as a disability exhibited by a portion of the general population (defined through a discrepancy between levels of single-word reading and comprehension). We simultaneously argue, however, that multifaceted and multi-methodological approaches to studying the phenomenon of hyperlexia, defined within the research framework of understanding single-word reading, are warranted and encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on a study that discussed the Cognitive Ability for Novelty in Acquisition of Language (Foreign) (CANAL-F) theory. Rationale for the CANAL-F theory to measure foreign language learning ability; Information on the construct and content validity of the CANAL-F test; Details on the criterion-validity of the test; Conclusions.

Investigates the etiology and nature of parents' beliefs about parenting styles. Predictors of reported beliefs about parental styles of responsiveness and demandingness; Relationship between individual attributes of parents and contextual characteristics of parenting; Implications for understanding the link between child development and parenting.

Using a sample school population (N = 333) in Voronezh, Russia, this study investigated the comparative effect of two different types of Russian public schooling-traditional and innovative-on students' analytical, creative, and practical abilities. These abilities were assessed through (1) ratings by parents and teachers and (2) student performances on tests and other evaluative exercises, as well as student self-reports. The study found that innovative schools appear to do a better job of developing students' cognitive abilities (analytical, creative, and practical) than do more traditional institutions; in particular, the innovative schools significantly enhanced students' creative abilities. This study begins to illuminate the impact of massive societal change, and accompanying educational responses, on the cognitive development of Russian youth. Cette etude compare l'effet de deux types differents d'ecoles publiques, traditionnelle et innovatrice, sur les habiletes pratiques, creatives et analytiques d'etudiants (N = 333) recrutes a Voronezh en Russie. Ces habiletes sont evaluees a partir (1) des scores fournis par les parents et les enseignants et (2) des resultats des etudiants a des tests et exercices ainsi qu'a des questionnaires d'auto-evaluation. Les ecoles innovatrices semblent mieux developper les habiletes cognitives (analytiques, creatives et pratiques) des etudiants, en particulier leurs habiletes creatives, que ne le font les institutions traditionnelles. Cette etude met en evidence l'impact d'un changement social important et les reponses educatives qui lui sont associees sur le developpement cognitif de la jeunesse russe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the development of the journal which include its three new features including independent commentaries from the field, editorial board, and submissions that are peer-reviewed. It states that the topics covered are teasers designed to highlight specific issues in child and adolescent development. The new leadership of the journal is also emphasized.

The article offers the author's insights on her role as editor-in-chief of the journal "New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development" (NDCAD) starting with the spring 2015 issue. Topics discussed include the keepers of the journal such as Bill Damon, Reed Larson, the editorial board of the journal, and Lene Arnett Jensen, the role of Moscow State University for Psychology and Education of Russia relating to child and adolescent development.