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Depression is a prevalent, heterogeneous, and debilitating disorder that often emerges in adolescence, and there is a need to better understand vulnerability processes to inform more targeted intervention efforts. Psychophysiological methods, like event‐related potentials (ERPs), can offer unique insights into the cognitive and emotional processes underlying depression vulnerability. I review my and others' research examining ERP measures of reward responsiveness in youth depression and present a conceptual model of the development of low reward responsiveness, its role in depression vulnerability, and potential windows for targeted intervention. There is evidence that a blunted reward positivity (RewP) is observable in children at risk for depression, appears to be shaped in part by early social experiences, and predicts later depressive symptoms in combination with other risk factors like stress exposure. Further, a component consistent with RewP is reliably elicited in response to social acceptance feedback in computerized peer interaction tasks and demonstrates unique associations with social contextual factors and depressive symptoms, supporting the utility of developing psychophysiological tasks that may better capture youths' real‐world experiences and social risk processes. In addition, I address the translational implications of clinical psychophysiological research and describe a series of studies showing that a reduced RewP predicts greater reductions in depressive symptoms with treatment but is not modifiable by current treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy. Finally, I describe our preliminary efforts to develop a positive emotion‐focused intervention for the offspring of depressed mothers, informed by the RewP literature, and describe future directions for translating psychophysiological research to intervention and prevention. In this review, I summarize research on depression vulnerability showing relatively consistent evidence of blunted reward responsiveness (measured by event‐related potentials) in children and adolescents at risk for depression that appears to be shaped in part by early social experiences and predicts later depressive symptoms in combination with other risk factors like stress exposure. I highlight the importance of examining reward processing in the social domain and offer future directions to translate psychophysiology research into intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Most neurodevelopmental tests used to assess child development in sub-Saharan Africa were developed in western or high-income countries, raising the question of their usefulness with African children. Objective This systematic review identified and synthesized key findings from studies measuring development in children in Sub-Saharan Africa in early childhood and again at school age, to assess neurocognitive associations longitudinally from infancy through middle childhood. Methods The study was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses method, selecting articles referenced in the PubMed, PsycInfo, and Embase databases using the following inclusion criteria: published between 2000 and 2022, written in French or English, and presenting results dealing with the objective assessment of child's neurodevelopment. All articles were registered in the Zotero reference manager and analyzed by title, abstract, and full text. Results Several of the seven selected studies confirmed that attention and working memory in infancy can predict children's neurocognitive performance, including mathematical ability, at school age. In two of the studies, children with poor mental development at 1 year of age are more likely to present with poorer behavioral development at school age, including learning difficulties in school and risk for grade repetition. Conclusion Cognitive ability assessed in early childhood is strongly associated with performance at school age in cohorts of African children followed longitudinally. Even with assessments adapted cross-culturally, infants and preschoolers at risk for poor developmental outcomes can be identified to better receive strategic early interventions to enhance their development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The tendency to prefer smaller, immediate rewards over larger, delayed rewards is known as delay discounting (DD). Developmental deviations in DD may be key in characterizing psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Recent work empirically supported DD as a transdiagnostic process in various psychiatric disorders. Yet, there is a lack of research relating developmental changes in DD from mid‐childhood to adolescence to psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Additionally, examining the interplay between socioeconomic status/total household income (THI) and psychiatric symptoms is vital for a more comprehensive understanding of pediatric pathology and its complex relationship with DD. Methods: The current study addresses this gap in a robust psychiatric sample of 1843 children and adolescents aged 5–18 (M = 10.6, SD = 3.17; 1,219 males, 624 females). General additive models (GAMs) characterized the shape of age‐related changes in monetary and food reward discounting for nine psychiatric disorders compared with neurotypical youth (NT; n = 123). Over 40% of our sample possessed a minimum of at least three psychiatric or neurodevelopmental disorders. We used bootstrap‐enhanced Louvain community detection to map DD‐related comorbidity patterns. We derived five subtypes based on diagnostic categories present in our sample. DD patterns were then compared across each of the subtypes. Further, we evaluated the effect of cognitive ability, emotional and behavioral problems, and THI in relation to DD across development. Results: Higher discounting was found in six of the nine disorders we examined relative to NT. DD was consistently elevated across development for most disorders, except for depressive disorders, with age‐specific DD differences compared with NTs. Community detection analyses revealed that one comorbidity subtype consisting primarily of Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Combined Presentation and anxiety disorders displayed the highest overall emotional/behavioral problems and greater DD for the food reward. An additional subtype composed mainly of ADHD, predominantly Inattentive Presentation, learning, and developmental disorders, showed the greatest DD for food and monetary rewards compared with the other subtypes. This subtype had deficits in reasoning ability, evidenced by low cognitive and academic achievement performance. For this ADHD‐I and developmental disorders subtype, THI was related to DD across the age span such that participants with high THI showed no differences in DD compared with NTs. In contrast, participants with low THI showed significantly worse DD trajectories than all others. Our results also support prior work showing that DD follows nonlinear developmental patterns. Conclusions: We demonstrate preliminary evidence for DD as a transdiagnostic marker of psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders in children and adolescents. Comorbidity subtypes illuminate DD heterogeneity, facilitating the identification of high‐risk individuals. Importantly, our findings revealed a marked link between DD and intellectual reasoning, with children from lower‐income households exhibiting lower reasoning skills and heightened DD. These observations underscore the potential consequences of compromised self‐regulation in economically disadvantaged individuals with these disorders, emphasizing the need for tailored interventions and further research to support improved outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Difficulties in social skills are highly prevalent in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), however, the reasons for these social difficulties are poorly understood. This study aimed to understand social motivation in children (aged 5–8) and adolescents (aged 13–17) with and without ADHD, and the relationship between social anxiety and social motivation in youth with ADHD. Method: 204 parents of children and adolescents with and without ADHD completed online questionnaires on social motivation, social anxiety, and ADHD symptoms. Results: Adolescents with ADHD had significantly lower social motivation than typically developing adolescents, and children with ADHD. Higher social anxiety significantly predicted lowered social motivation in participants with ADHD. Conclusions: These findings indicate a unique pattern of social motivation in ADHD, specifically a reduction during adolescence, reflecting social intervention inefficacy. Additionally, these findings establish a link between social motivation and social anxiety, suggesting that they may act as barriers to social intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adolescence, a developmental period characterized by significant changes in sleep, is associated with normative increases in impulsivity. While short sleep duration has been linked to elevated impulsivity, the neural mechanism underlying the relationship between short sleep duration and elevated impulsivity remains poorly understood. Methods: We analyzed a dataset of 7,884 drug‐naive 9–10 year‐olds from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Among them, 5,166 have two‐year follow‐up neuroimaging data. Linear mixed‐effects models, mediation analyses, and longitudinal mediation analyses were used to investigate the relationship between parent‐reported sleep duration, impulsivity, and functional and structural connectivity between the cortex and the striatum. Results: We found that less sleep duration is significantly associated with higher positive and negative urgency, which are two affect‐related components of impulsivity. In addition, we observed a link between short sleep duration and reduced corticostriatal connectivity. Neural pathways associated with short sleep duration—functional connectivity between the cingulo‐opercular network and the left caudate, and between the cingulo‐parietal network and the right pallidum—mediated the association between sleep duration and positive urgency both at baseline and two‐year follow‐up. Longitudinal mediation analyses further revealed that short sleep duration and elevated positive urgency exacerbated each other through these two corticostriatal connectivities. Conclusions: These findings highlight the key role of corticostriatal connectivities in the reciprocal relationship between short sleep duration and elevated impulsivity. Given the increasing prevalence of short sleep duration in adolescents, the link between sleep duration, impulsivity, and corticostriatal connectivities has important implications for timely interventions to address impulsive problems in early adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has found an association between irritability and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) in children and adolescents, but the overall evidence has been mixed and the nature of this association remains unclear. In this study, we investigated whether the link between irritability and STB might be more pronounced among older youth and those with lower levels of hope. Participants were 142 children and adolescents (ages 6–18) referred for mental health services at a university outpatient clinic. At intake, clinicians administered self-report measures assessing irritability, STB, hope, and depression. Multiple regression models with robust maximum likelihood estimation were used to test irritability's association with STB, as well as age and hope as moderators. Irritability, hope, and age all showed significant associations with STB. Further, hope and age moderated the associations between irritability and STB; specifically, the link between irritability and STB was evident only at older ages (among adolescents, not children) and only at lower levels of hope. These findings are consistent with the view that hope may be a protective factor, and adolescence a vulnerability factor, in the association between irritability and STB. Results may help explain previous mixed findings on this association while also underscoring the role of irritability as a risk factor. Further research is warranted to better understand irritability and hope as transdiagnostic mechanisms in STB from childhood through adulthood, and through other informants and methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In large parts of the Western world prevention is considered a necessary, core component of successful youth care practice. Yet, mental health problems in young people do not appear to have declined over the past decades. How to explain this paradox? In this editorial for the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, several possible explanations are explored, one of which centers around how prevention is being operationalized—primarily, nowadays, as a screen‐and‐resolve 'troubleshooting' approach, rather than as an approach that supports the development of good health, competence, and resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study followed up ADHD/autistic symptoms and attentional performance in children/adolescents with ASD and typically developing ones (TD) over 5–7 years. The participants were stratified by age at baseline into child (< 12 years) and adolescent (12–19 years) groups. ADHD symptoms, especially hyperactivity, and attentional functions significantly improved during follow-up, more in children than in adolescents, in both ASD and TD. Significantly more omission errors and perseverations were noted in ASD than TD through the follow-up. Children with ASD had more improvement in reaction time while adolescents with ASD had less improvement in commission errors and detectability than TD. No correlation of attentional functions and ADHD symptoms in ASD implied different neural mechanisms of ADHD symptoms between ASD and ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Executive functions are cognitive processing skills associated with planning, problem-solving, decision making, and regulating behaviour. For some individuals these abilities may be impaired, which can have negative long-term impacts. It has been proposed that interacting with animals may provide an opportunity to strengthen these skills. A systematic review was carried out to assess the ways in which interacting with animals may improve executive functions. This review included 23 studies exploring executive functions across three contexts: the human–pet relationship, the presence of an animal, and involvement in an animal-assisted service. There is some evidence to suggest that interacting with an animal may be beneficial for older adults, whilst horseback riding seems particularly beneficial for children; however, the overall methodological rigour is limited. There has been growing interest in the potential benefits of using human–animal interactions to improve executive functions: cognitive processes that allow individuals to plan, solve problems, and self-regulate behaviour. To date, no comprehensive review has been conducted. The purpose of this study was to evaluate existing literature, adopting broad inclusion criteria. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, 16 papers were identified from peer-reviewed literature. Additional papers were identified from grey literature, including 6 dissertations and 1 thesis. A review of these 23 studies found that human–animal interactions and executive functions are investigated in three main ways: (1) exploring the potential benefits of the human–pet relationship, (2) exploring the impact of an animal's presence during administration of executive function tests, and (3) evaluating the efficacy of animal-assisted services (e.g., animal-assisted therapy) on executive functions. Five of the included studies reported a significant improvement across all measured domains of executive functions, but effect sizes were underreported. Comparatively, 9 studies reported mixed findings, d = 0.32–0.55, while 8 studies reported no significant results. The overall rigour of the research was limited, with great heterogeneity between the study methodologies and outcome measures used. It is recommended that future studies utilise high-quality research methodologies through the use of randomisation, pre- and postmeasures, and appropriate control conditions, where possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying both latent variable and network frameworks, we conducted a comprehensive psychometric evaluation of the diverse array of symptoms from three externalizing dimensions, including attention problems, aggressive behavior, and delinquency/rule-breaking of the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991) across six time points from childhood to early adolescence. We also examined sex differences. Participants (N = 1,339) were drawn from two multisite longitudinal studies: Fast Track and the Child Development Project. Parents reported on externalizing psychopathology in kindergarten and Grades 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7. Using exploratory structural equation modeling, we found almost uniformly excellent fit across time and samples. However, we also observed multiple cross-loadings and heterogeneity in terms of which symptoms cross-loaded across time points. Alternatively, using network modeling, we observed that symptoms of attention problems and aggressive behavior had stronger connections, relative to delinquency/rule-breaking, across time and samples. Significant differences in overall connectivity were found at early (kindergarten vs. Grade 1, Grade 1 vs. Grade 2) and late (Grade 5 vs. Grade 7) time points for the combined sample and only late time points for the male sample. In addition, the items impulsive and lies or cheats consistently displayed the greatest bridge strength, that is, symptom from one dimension that connects to symptoms from another dimension, across time and samples. Our results illustrate how two methods-latent variable and network modeling-provide important and complementary information on multidimensional constructs. Findings also inform understanding of externalizing psychopathology through childhood to early adolescence by identifying key symptoms, critical transition points, and possible transdiagnostic liabilities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the influence of intent understanding on children's moral development has been long studied, little research has examined the influence of belief understanding on that development. In two studies we presented children with morally relevant belief vignettes to examine the extent to which they incorporate both intent and belief information in their moral judgments. In Study 1 (N = 64), 5-year-olds with higher false belief understanding (FBU) rated agents with false beliefs as more positively intentioned in good intent trials (even though the outcome was bad) than in bad intent trials (even though the outcome was good). In contrast, 4-year-olds with higher FBU were generally unable to integrate their belief understanding with their moral evaluations, performing no better on intention questions than children with lower FBU. Neither age group significantly differentiated reward and punishments as a function of intent when a false belief was involved. In Study 2 (N = 109 children, N = 42 adults), we found that by simplifying our study design and reducing the task demands, 4-year-olds with higher FBU were able to make appropriate intent judgments. Yet, as in Study 1, all children had difficulty assigning punishment/reward based on intent. For both moral intentions and moral consequences, 4- and 5-year-olds with higher FBU differed from those of adults in several respects, indicating that moral reasoning develops substantially beyond the preschool years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From early ages, gaze acts as a cue to infer the interests, behaviours, thoughts and emotions of social partners. Despite sharing attentional properties with other non‐social directional stimuli, such as arrows, gaze produces unique effects. A spatial interference task revealed this dissociation. The direction of arrows was identified faster on congruent than on incongruent direction‐location trials. Conversely, gaze produced a reversed congruency effect (RCE), with faster identifications on incongruent than congruent trials. To determine the emergence of these gaze‐specific attentional mechanisms, 214 Spanish children (4–17 years) divided into 6 age groups, performed the aforementioned task across three experiments. Results showed stimulus‐specific developmental trajectories. Whereas the standard effect of arrows was unaffected by age, gaze shifted from an arrow‐like effect at age 4 to a gaze‐specific RCE at age 12. The orienting mechanisms shared by gaze and arrows are already present in 4‐year olds and, throughout childhood, gaze becomes a special social cue with additional attentional properties. Besides orienting attention to a direction, as arrows would do, gaze might orient attention towards a specific object that would be attentionally selected. Such additional components may not fully develop until adolescence. Understanding gaze‐specific attentional mechanisms may be crucial for children with atypical socio‐cognitive development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of getting up from the floor from a supine position (Supine-to-Stand task, STS) can be considered a milestone in motor development and a potential indicator of motor competence in global terms. However, the knowledge about the performance of STS task and anthropometric characteristics is limited. This study examined the relationship between STS task performance and anthropometry in youth and the differences between the sexes, range age and nationality. Participants (n= 397; 45% girls) from Spain and Brazil (M= 9.13 years; SD= 3.79) had the following variables measured: timed STS task, mass, height, chronological age, hip, and waist circumference; Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist/Hip Ratio (WHR), Waist/Height Ratio (WHtR) were calculated. The analysis included ANOVA, Pearson's correlation test and Stepwise multiple regression analysis in four age groups. Age was the variable that obtained statistically significant associations with timed STS task in the youngest age group; the BMI in the children group corresponded to the second childhood phase, and the WHR and the WHtR in the oldest age group. The timed STS task decreased as age groups were increasingly older, confirming that timed STS is strongly associated with growth and maturation processes; there were little differences between sexes or nationalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The rate of various anxiety disorders in early childhood and whether they continue into middle childhood or adolescence is not known. We therefore report on the prevalence and stability of DSM‐5‐defined anxiety disorders and their symptoms, capturing the period from preschool to adolescence. Methods: By means of interviewer‐based clinical interviews, anxiety was measured in a sample of Norwegian children at six measurement points from age 4 to 14 (n = 1,041). To adjust for time‐invariant factors, we applied random intercept cross‐lagged panel models (RI‐CLPMs) capturing within‐person changes. Results: Nearly 10% (95% CI = 7.29, 12.63) had an anxiety disorder at some timepoint. Specific phobia was the most prevalent disorder in early and middle childhood, whereas generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) increased in prevalence and became the most common anxiety disorder at age 14 (4.51%, 95% CI = 2.78, 6.23). When time‐invariant confounding was adjusted for, homotypic continuity in anxiety symptoms typically first emerged in late middle childhood or adolescence. Even so, such within‐person analyses revealed a heterotypic path from increased number of early childhood symptoms of specific phobia to increased number of GAD symptoms in middle childhood (B =.41, 95% CI =.06,.75). Increased separation anxiety in middle childhood predicted increased symptoms of GAD in adolescence (B =.38, 95% CI =.14,.62), and vice versa (B =.05, 95% CI =.00,.09). Only minor gender differences were revealed. Conclusions: Anxiety disorders are prevalent in childhood. In early childhood, anxiety symptoms generally do not predict later anxiety symptoms. In middle childhood, however, such symptoms are less likely to vanish, indicating this developmental period to be particularly important for preventive and treatment efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atypical learning and memory in early life can promote atypical behaviors in later life. Less relational learning and inflexible retrieval in childhood may enhance restricted and repeated behaviors in patients with autism spectrum disorder. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms of atypical memory in children with autism spectrum disorder. We conducted picture–name pair learning and delayed-recognition tests with two groups: one group with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder children (aged 7–16, n = 41) and one group with typically developing children (n = 82) that matched the first group's age, sex, and IQ. We assessed correlations between successful recognition scores and seed-to-whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity. Although both learning and retrieval performances were comparable between the two groups, we observed slightly lower category learning and significantly fewer memory gains in the autism spectrum disorder group than in the typically developing group. The right canonical anterior hippocampal network was involved in successful memory in youths with typically developing, while other memory systems may be involved in successful memory in youths with autism spectrum disorder. Context-independent and less relational memory processing may be associated with fewer memory gains in autism spectrum disorder. These atypical memory characteristics in autism spectrum disorder may accentuate their inflexible behaviors in some situations. Atypical learning and memory in early life can promote atypical behaviors in later life. Specifically, less relational learning and inflexible retrieval in childhood may enhance restricted and repeated behaviors in patients with autism spectrum disorder. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms of atypical memory in children with autism spectrum disorder. We conducted picture–name pair learning and delayed-recognition tests with two groups of youths: one group with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder children (aged 7–16, n = 41) and one group with typically developing children (n = 82) that matched the first group's age, sex, and full-scale IQ. We examined correlations between successful recognition scores and neural connectivity during resting in the magnetic resonance imaging scanner without thinking about anything. Although both learning and retrieval performances were comparable between the two groups, we observed significantly fewer memory gains in the autism spectrum disorder group than in the typically developing group. The memory network was involved in successful memory retrieval in youths with typically developing, while the other memory systems that do not depend to a great degree on networks may be involved in successful memory in youths with autism spectrum disorder. Context-independent and less relational memory processing may be associated with fewer memory gains in autism spectrum disorder. In other words, autism spectrum disorder youths might benefit from non-relational memory. These atypical memory characteristics in autism spectrum disorder may exaggerate their inflexible behaviors in some situations, or—vice versa—their atypical behaviors may result in rigid and less connected memories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many sports, elite players outperform novices on tests for perceptual-cognitive skills, such as anticipation, decision-making and pattern recall. However, the developmental trajectory of these perceptual-cognitive skills has received limited attention. Therefore, this study examined the development of anticipation, decision-making and pattern recall in 202 female volleyball players aged between 7 and 26 years old. Participants were categorized into six age groups: U9, U11, U13, U15, U17 and Seniors. Using a video-based occlusion protocol, we assessed participants' ability to predict pass direction, decide the most optimal attack zone, or recall the opponents' defence positions. The results demonstrated that U17 and adult players had superior accuracy and shorter response times than younger players on all three tests. Notably, U9 players performed worse than older players on all tests. Binomial distributions showed that decision-making was above chance for U17 players and adults, whereas anticipation was above chance for almost all players. Our findings indicate that age-related improvements of perceptual-cognitive skills are evident at 11 years old. However, decision-making seems to develop considerably later than anticipation and pattern recall, suggesting different developmental trajectories for the different perceptual-cognitive skills. Longitudinal research regarding the development of perceptual-cognitive skills and their underlying mechanisms is warranted, as this could have important implications for talent detection and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early‐onset depression during childhood and adolescence is associated with a worse course of illness and outcome than adult onset. However, the genetic factors that influence risk for early‐onset depression remain mostly unknown. Using data collected over 13 years, we examined whether polygenic risk scores (PRS) that capture genetic risk for depression were associated with depressive symptom trajectories assessed from childhood to adolescence. Methods: Data came from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a prospective, longitudinal birth cohort (analytic sample = 7,308 youth). We analyzed the relationship between genetic susceptibility to depression and three time‐dependent measures of depressive symptoms trajectories spanning 4–16.5 years of age (class, onset, and cumulative burden). Trajectories were constructed using a growth mixture model with structured residuals. PRS were generated from the summary statistics of a genome‐wide association study of depression risk using data from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, UK Biobank, and 23andMe, Inc. We used MAGMA to identify gene‐level associations with these measures. Results: Youth were classified into six classes of depressive symptom trajectories: high/renitent (27.9% of youth), high/reversing (9.1%), childhood decrease (7.3%), late childhood peak (3.3%), adolescent spike (2.5%), and minimal symptoms (49.9%). PRS discriminated between youth in the late childhood peak, high/reversing, and high/renitent classes compared to the minimal symptoms and childhood decrease classes. No significant associations were detected at the gene level. Conclusions: This study highlights differences in polygenic loading for depressive symptoms across childhood and adolescence, particularly among youths with high symptoms in early adolescence, regardless of age‐independent patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children and adolescents are affected in various ways by the lockdown measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is crucial to better understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in this age-group. Objective: The objective was to investigate and compare the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in three age groups (1–6 years, 7–10 years, 11–19 years) and to examine the associations with psychological factors. Methods: An anonymous online survey was conducted from 9 April to 11 May 2020 during the acute phase of major lockdown measures. In this cross-sectional study, children and adolescents aged between 1 and 19 years were recruited as a population-based sample. They were eligible if they were residents in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, were parents/caregivers of a child aged between 1 and 10 years or adolescents ≥11 years, had sufficient German language skills and provided informed consent. Results: Among 5823 participants, between 2.2% and 9.9% reported emotional and behavioural problems above the clinical cut-off and between 15.3% and 43.0% reported an increase in these problems during the pandemic. Significant age-related effects were found regarding the type and frequency of problems (χ2(4)≥50.2, P ≤ 0.001). While preschoolers (1–6 years) had the largest increase in oppositional-defiant behaviours, adolescents reported the largest increase in emotional problems. Adolescents experienced a significantly larger decrease in emotional and behavioural problems than both preschoolers and school-children. Sociodemographic variables, exposure to and appraisal of COVID-19, psychotherapy before COVID-19 and parental mental health significantly predicted change in problem-scores (F ≥ 3.69, P ≤ 0.001). Conclusion: A substantial proportion of children and adolescents experience age-related mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. These problems should be monitored, and support should be offered to risk-groups to improve communication, emotion regulation and appraisal style. Between 15.3% and 43.0% of the 1 to 19 years old children and adolescents reported an increase of problems during COVID-19. Between 2.0% and 9.9% reported emotional and behavioural problems above the clinical cut-off. Effects were associated with age, gender, exposure to and appraisal of COVID-19, attending psychotherapy before COVID-19 and parental mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood physical fitness relative to adult health outcomes coupled with scant longitudinal research indicates that tracking of fitness components throughout childhood/adolescence is imperative. The study examined the stability/tracking of 9 measures of fitness for boys and girls at 5 points throughout childhood/adolescence. Tracking coefficients between individual fitness measures at various age comparisons were calculated. Using a sample with recorded data at 4 time-points, tertiles (high, moderate, low) were calculated for each fitness measure for boys and girls. Stability of fitness measures was calculated. Boys outperformed girls on fitness measures at most time points. Significantly low to moderately high tracking coefficients for each fitness measure at all time points for boys (r =.21-.79) and girls (r =.23-.89) were found. Tertile ratings remained stable across the 4 time-points. Findings highlight the importance of developing healthy fitness behaviors early in life and the significance of intervention during adolescence in low-fit youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has found that insecure attachment is associated with depression. In the present study, we use an accelerated longitudinal cohort design to examine how the association between attachment and depression develops during childhood and adolescence. Specifically, 690 children from 3 distinct cohorts (grades 3, 6, and 9) completed self-report measures of attachment and depressive symptoms 3 times over 3 years. Growth curve analyses indicated that attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were uniquely related to depressive symptoms. Higher levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms over time. Additionally, changes in attachment security were associated with changes in depressive symptoms. The analyses suggest that insecure attachment and depressive symptoms co-vary and that these dynamics are evident in childhood and adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of P300 research from infancy through adolescence. First, a brief historical overview is provided highlighting seminal studies that began exploration of the P300 component in developmental groups. Overall, these studies suggest that the P300 can be detected in children and appears to reflect similar cognitive processes to those in adults; however, it is significantly delayed in its latency to peak. Second, two striking findings from developmental research are the lack of a clear P300 component in infancy and differential electrophysiological responses to novel, unexpected stimuli in children, adolescents, and adults. Third, contemporary questions are described, which include P300‐like components in infancy, alteration of P300 in atypically developing groups, relations between P300 and behavior, individual differences of P300, and neural substrates of P300 across development. Finally, we conclude with comments regarding the power of a developmental perspective and suggestions for important issues that should be addressed in the next 50 years of P300 research. This article is the first to provide an overview of P300 research from infancy through adolescence. Given the vast amount of research on P300 during typical and atypical development, this article will serve as a useful summary of previous work and guide for future investigations. It includes a brief historical review of seminal studies and a summary of the most striking findings from developmental research. Contemporary questions are described and suggestions for future research are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently released National Institutes of Health Toolbox (NIHTB) batteries for neurological and behavioral function were designed to serve as standardized, common measures in clinical and epidemiological research. The current study aimed to examine constructs assessed by the self-report and parental proxy-report scales in the NIHTB Emotion Battery (NIHTB-EB) for Children by using factor analyses on data from the U.S. national normative sample of 2,916 English-speaking children. This battery contains 31 scales designed to assess both positive and negative aspects of social and emotional functioning that are considered developmentally relevant at each of three age ranges (3-7, 8-12, and 13-17 years). Results revealed four similar self-report factors for ages 8 to 12 years and 13 to 17 years. Proxy reports for ages 3 to 7 years revealed three factors, and for ages 8 to 12 years two factors. Based on the standardization sample data, age- and gender-corrected norms are presented for all NIHTB-EB individual scales and factor-based composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined differences in generalized and social anxiety symptoms across two age groups of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) while accounting for overall anxiety level, gender, and intellectual functioning. Older children (12–18 years) expressed more overall and social anxiety symptoms than younger children (6–11 years), and social anxiety symptoms were predominant in the older group. Younger children expressed more generalized anxiety symptoms than the older youth, and there was a trend for generalized anxiety symptoms to be more dominant in the younger group. Findings are consistent with theory of differential expression of specific anxiety symptoms across different ages seen with typically developing children, yet social evaluative concerns may be even stronger for adolescents with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differences in motivation during adolescence relative to childhood and adulthood in autism was tested in a cross-sectional study. 156 Typically developing individuals and 79 individuals with autism ages 10–30 years of age completed a go/nogo task with social and non-social cues. To assess age effects, linear and quadratic models were used. Consistent with prior studies, typically developing adolescents and young adults demonstrated more false alarms for positive relative to neutral social cues. In autism, there were no changes in attention across age for social or non-social cues. Findings suggest reduced orienting to motivating cues during late adolescence and early adulthood in autism. The findings provide a unique perspective to explain the challenges for adolescents with autism transitioning to adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sentiment analysis is a computational method that automatically analyzes the valence of massive quantities of text. Basic sentiment analysis involves extracting and counting emotionally-laden keywords from passages of text (e.g., hate, love, happy, sad). This study describes using sentiment analysis to explore changes in emotion expression in a developmental context. A sample of n = 8,688 poems published online by children and adolescents from Grade 4 to Grade 12 was analyzed. Sentiment analysis coded words as positive or negative and these were averaged within each poem to obtain its relative percentage of positive and negative sentiment. Polynomial regressions explored linear and nonlinear trends in sentiment scores by grade. Among the results, negative sentiment demonstrated an upward curvilinear trend, increasing sharply from Grade 6 to Grade 11 and then decreasing afterward. Positive sentiment demonstrated a sinusoidal pattern throughout development. Overall, these findings are consistent with previous research on the progressions of emotion expression in childhood and adolescence. Despite some limitations, sentiment analysis presents an opportunity for researchers in developmental psychology to explore basic questions in emotional development using large quantities of data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Abstract In adults, oscillatory activity in the sensorimotor cortex is coherent with contralateral muscle activity at beta frequencies (15–35 Hz) during tonic contraction. This functional coupling reflects the involvement of the sensorimotor cortex, the corticospinal pathway, and likely also ascending sensory feedback in the task at hand. However, little is known about the developmental trajectory of task-related corticomuscular connectivity relating to the voluntary control of the ankle muscles. To address this, we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) from the vertex (Cz) and electromyography (EMG) from ankle muscles (proximal and distal anterior tibial, TA; soleus, SOL; gastrocnemius medialis, GM) in 33 participants aged 7–23 yr during tonic dorsi- and plantar flexion requiring precise maintenance of a submaximal torque level. Coherence was calculated for Cz-TA, Cz-SOL, TA-TA, and SOL-GM signal pairs. We found strong, positive associations between age and beta band coherence for Cz-TA, Cz-SOL, and TA-TA, suggesting that oscillatory corticomuscular connectivity is strengthened during childhood development and adolescence. Directionality analysis indicated that the primary interaction underlying this age-related increase was in the descending direction. In addition, performance during dorsi- and plantar flexion tasks was positively associated with age, indicating more precise control of the ankle joint in older participants. Performance was also positively associated with beta band coherence, suggesting that participants with greater coherence also exhibited greater precision. We propose that these results indicate an age-related increase in oscillatory corticospinal input to the ankle muscle motoneuron pools during childhood development and adolescence, with possible implications for maturation of precision force control. Within the theoretical framework of predictive coding, we suggest that our results may reflect an age-related increase in reliance on feedforward control as the developing nervous system becomes better at predicting the sensory consequences of movement. These findings may contribute to the development of novel intervention strategies targeting improved sensorimotor control in children and adolescents with central motor disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Our knowledge about the developmental change of neuropsychological functioning in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is limited. This prospective longitudinal study examined the changes in neuropsychological functions and their associations with the changes of ADHD symptoms across the developmental stages from early adolescence to young adulthood. Methods: We followed up 53 individuals diagnosed with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) ADHD during childhood (mean age 12.77 years at time 1, 19.81 years at time 2) and 50 non-ADHD controls (mean age 12.80 years at time 1, 19.36 years at time 2) with repeated psychiatric interviews at two time points to confirm ADHD and other psychiatric diagnoses. Neuropsychological functions with high- and low-executive demands, measured by the Cambridge Neuropsychological Testing Automated Battery (CANTAB) at two time points, were compared. Results: Both groups showed improvements in all neuropsychological tasks except reaction time in the ADHD group. Despite having a greater improvement in spatial working memory (SWM) than controls, individuals with ADHD still performed worse in various neuropsychological tasks than controls at follow-up. Better baseline intra-dimension/extra-dimension shift and parental occupation predicted fewer ADHD symptoms at follow-up independent of baseline ADHD symptoms. The degree of ADHD symptom reduction was not significantly linearly correlated to the magnitude of neuropsychological function improvement. Conclusion: Individuals with ADHD and controls had parallel developments in neuropsychological functioning, except a catch-up in SWM in ADHD. Almost all neuropsychological functions herein were still impaired in ADHD at late adolescence/young adulthood. There may be a threshold (i.e. non-linear) relationship between neuropsychological functioning and ADHD symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate a possible confabulation resilience of the developing brain. Methods: We performed a literature search on confabulation in PubMed and identified all empirical studies of children and adolescents under the age of 18. Results: The analysis identified only three case studies of confabulation in children under the age of 18 of 286 empirical studies of confabulation. This reveals a striking discrepancy in the number of reported cases caused by brain injury between children and adults. We hypothesize that there may be a resilience toward confabulation in the developing brain and present three tentative explanations regarding the possible underlying mechanisms. Conclusions: Additional awareness on the scarcity of reported cases of confabulation in children could lead to important insights on the nature of confabulation and greater understanding of the resilience and plasticity of the developing brain. (JINS , 2019, 25 , 426–431) [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]

Soyfoods have been intensely researched, primarily because they provide such abundant amounts of isoflavones. Isoflavones are classified as both plant estrogens and selective estrogen receptor modulators. Evidence suggests that these soybean constituents are protective against a number of chronic diseases, but they are not without controversy. In fact, because soyfoods contain such large amounts of isoflavones, concerns have arisen that these foods may cause untoward effects in some individuals. There is particular interest in understanding the effects of isoflavones in young people. Relatively few studies involving children have been conducted, and many of those that have are small in size. While the data are limited, evidence suggests that soy does not exert adverse hormonal effects in children or affect pubertal development. On the other hand, there is intriguing evidence indicating that when soy is consumed during childhood and/or adolescence, risk of developing breast cancer is markedly reduced. Relatively few children are allergic to soy protein, and most of those who initially are outgrow their soy allergy by 10 years of age. The totality of the available evidence indicates that soyfoods can be healthful additions to the diets of children, but more research is required to allow definitive conclusions to be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundVarious sources indicate that mental disorders are the leading contributor to the burden of disease among youth. An important determinant of functioning is current mental health status. This study investigated whether psychiatric history has additional predictive power when predicting individual differences in functional outcomes.MethodWe used data from the Dutch TRAILS study in which 1778 youths were followed from pre-adolescence into young adulthood (retention 80%). Of those, 1584 youths were successfully interviewed, at age 19, using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI 3.0) to assess current and past CIDI-DSM-IV mental disorders. Four outcome domains were assessed at the same time: economic (e.g. academic achievement, social benefits, financial difficulties), social (early motherhood, interpersonal conflicts, antisocial behavior), psychological (e.g. suicidality, subjective well-being, loneliness), and health behavior (e.g. smoking, problematic alcohol, cannabis use).ResultsOut of the 19 outcomes, 14 were predicted by both current and past disorders, three only by past disorders (receiving social benefits, psychiatric hospitalization, adolescent motherhood), and two only by current disorder (absenteeism, obesity). Which type of disorders was most important depended on the outcome. Adjusted for current disorder, past internalizing disorders predicted in particular psychological outcomes while externalizing disorders predicted in particular health behavior outcomes. Economic and social outcomes were predicted by a history of co-morbidity of internalizing and externalizing disorder. The risk of problematic cannabis use and alcohol consumption dropped with a history of internalizing disorder.ConclusionTo understand current functioning, it is necessary to examine both current and past psychiatric status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Children and adolescents are faster to visually search for parents than strangers. • However, a fear prime attenuates this parental orienting during childhood and adolescence. • Fear may reallocate attention toward possible danger in childhood and adolescence. Adults quickly orient toward sources of danger and deploy fight-or-flight tactics to manage threatening situations. In contrast, infants who cannot implement the safety strategies available to adults and depend heavily on caregivers for survival are more likely to turn toward familiar adults, such as their parents, to help them navigate threatening circumstances. However, work has yet to investigate how readily children and adolescents orient toward their parents in threatening or fearful contexts. The current work addressed this question using a visual search paradigm that included arrays of parents' and strangers' faces as target and distractor stimuli, preceded by a fear or neutral emotional priming procedure. Linear mixed-effects models showed that children and adolescents (N = 88, age range = 4–17 years; 42M/46F) were faster to search for the face of their parent than of a stranger. However, fear priming attenuated this effect of the parent on search times, such that children and adolescents were significantly slower to orient toward their parent in an array of strangers' faces if they were first primed with fear as opposed to a neutral video. This work indicates that fear priming may phasically interfere with parental orienting during childhood and adolescence, possibly because fear reallocates attention away from parents and toward (potentially threatening) unfamiliar people in the environment to facilitate the development of independent threat learning and coping systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between ADHD symptoms and impairment within a sample that includes children in early childhood ( n = 250), middle childhood ( n = 269) and adolescence (i.e., high school; n = 269). Nested multivariate regression analyses were used to examine the extent to which each ADHD symptom dimension (inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity) is most associated with impairment in academic, social, and behavioral functioning within and across three developmental levels. Results indicated for academic impairment, inattention is more predictive than hyperactivity/impulsivity at all ages. For social functioning, both with peers and teachers, hyperactivity/impulsivity is more predictive than inattention but only for early childhood students; at the high school level, inattention is a significant predictor of social impairment. For behavioral functioning in the classroom, the pattern is mixed across dimensions and ages with HI decreasing in predictive utility across the three age groups and IA increasing in predictive utility. Forward stepwise regression was used to determine which of the 18 ADHD symptom items are most associated with impairment within and across developmental levels. Findings indicate that the symptoms that were most predictive of impairment varied by age group and by domain of impairment. Implications for assessment are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Individuals with fragile- X syndrome exhibit developmental delay, hyperexcitation and social anxiety; they also show lack of attention and hyperactivity. Few studies have investigated whether levels of functioning change with increasing age. Here, we explored developmental changes across adolescence in the cognitive and behavioural profile of individuals with fragile- X syndrome. To this scope, we assessed intellectual functioning, adaptive behaviour, autistic symptomatology, behavioural problems (e.g. hyperactivity/lack of attention) and strengths (prosocial behaviours). Method Thirty-six participants underwent standardised outcome measures (i.e. the Wechsler Intelligence Scales-Revised, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, and the Strengths and Difficulty Questionnaire) in three time points (Time 1: 9-11; Time 2: 11-13, and Time 3: 13-15 years). Results Verbal IQ improved across time, whereas Nonverbal IQ declined and Full Scale IQ was quite unchanged. Autism ratings decreased; communication and social aspects of adaptive behaviour also enhanced. Finally, elevated levels of hyperactivity/lack of attention at Time 1 significantly improved across the three time points, whereas emotional symptoms, behavioural difficulties, problems with peers and prosocial behaviours remained stable over time. Conclusion These findings revealed specific developmental changes in cognitive and behavioural functioning of individuals with fragile- X syndrome, likely related to a progressive maturation of brain systems devoted to attentional control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychosomatic health complaints (PHC) can significantly impair psychosocial development of children and adolescents and are therefore of considerable interest in health sciences and public health surveillance. Questions addressed the type of function that describes individual trajectories best, potential differences between these, and corresponding predictors from the perspective of both children and their parents. Based on the German population-based and representative BELLA cohort sample, 2,857 children and adolescents between 7 and 17 years of age at baseline were analysed over a period of 3 years with yearly follow-ups using mixed growth curve analyses. PHC were measured in accordance with the health behaviour in school-aged children-symptom checklist. The mean level of PHC was rather low, slightly lower for the parent report than for the self-report and significantly different between subjects. Concerning the parent report, the 2-year course is best described by a slowly increasing linear trend that decelerates somewhat over time. The increasing linear trend was more pronounced in the self-report from 11 to 17 years of age, but was significantly different for each subject and correlated with baseline scores. Trajectories could be explained by known predictors, most importantly by mental health problems of the child or adolescent. The results confirm the findings of previous studies and provide representative data about the individual short-term development of PHC in children and adolescents in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to perceive social intentions from people's eyes is present from an early age, yet little is known about whether this skill is fully developed in childhood or that subtle changes may still occur across adolescence. This fMRI study investigated the ability to read mental states by using an adapted version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task within adolescents (aged 12-19 years) over a 2-year test-retest interval. This longitudinal setup provides the opportunity to study both stability over time as well as age-related changes. The behavioral results showed that participants who performed well in the mental state condition at the first measurement also performed well at the second measurement. fMRI results revealed positive test-retest correlations of neural activity in the right superior temporal sulcus and right inferior frontal gyrus for the contrast mental state > control, suggesting stability within individuals over time. Besides stability of activation, dorsal medial prefrontal cortex showed a dip in mid-adolescence for the mental state > control condition and right inferior frontal gyrus decreased linearly with age for the mental state> control condition. These findings underline changes in the slope of the developmental pattern depending on age, even in the existence of relatively stable activation in the social brain network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mature amygdala-prefrontal circuitry regulates affect in adulthood but shows protracted development. In altricial and semialtricial species, caregivers provide potent affect regulation when mature neurocircuitry is absent. The present investigation examined a potential mechanism through which caregivers provide regulatory influences in childhood. Children, but not adolescents, showed evidence of maternal buffering, such that maternal stimuli suppressed amygdala reactivity. In the absence of maternal stimuli, children exhibited immature amygdala-prefrontal connectivity. However, in the presence of maternal stimuli, children’s connectivity was more mature, resembling adolescents’ connectivity. Children showed improved affect-related regulation in the presence of their mothers. Individual differences emerged, with greater maternal influence on amygdala-prefrontal circuitry associated with stronger mother-child relationships and maternal modulation of behavioral regulation. These findings suggest a neural mechanism through which caregivers modulate children’s regulatory behavior by inducing more mature connectivity and buffering against heightened reactivity. Maternal buffering in childhood, but not adolescence, suggests that childhood may be a sensitive period for amygdala-prefrontal development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Our ability to adapt to change is fundamental. The cortisol awakening response (CAR) is a sharp rise in cortisol 30min after waking to help prepare an individual for ensuing stress. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty adapting to change. Exploration of the CAR is warranted; yet, the few studies investigating it are inconclusive. The CAR was investigated in 94 pre-pubertal male children 8-to-12years of age with ASD (46) and typical development (TD, 48). Salivary samples were collected over three diurnal cycles involving two morning samples: M1: Immediately upon Waking and M2: 30-min Post Waking (M2−M1=CAR). The magnitude of the CAR was measured by independent two sample t-tests, variability was measured using Levene's Test, the sequence of the CAR was analyzed by a linear mixed-effects model and proportion of children exhibiting a CAR by chi-square test of independence. There were no significant differences on the CAR between the groups based on magnitude (t(92)=−0.14, p=0.89, d=0.04), variability (F(45,47)=1.11, p=0.72, η2 =0.11) or the sequence over three days (F(2,88)=0.26, p=0.77, η2 =0.01). No significant differences were shown in the proportion of children exhibiting a CAR across the groups based on child (χ2(1)=0.02, p=0.89) or adult criterion (χ2(1)=1.82, p=0.18). Despite group differences in the regulation and responsivity of cortisol, the CAR is indistinguishable between children with and without ASD. Inconsistencies across studies may be due to age, criterion used, and diagnostic distinctions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

While it is clear that the development of dexterous manipulation in children exhibits dramatic improvements over an extended period, it is difficult to separate musculoskeletal from neural contributors to these important functional gains. This is in part due to the inability of current methods to disambiguate improvements in hand strength from gains in finger dexterity (i.e., the dynamic control of fingertip force vectors at low magnitudes). We adapted our novel instrumentation to evaluate finger dexterity in 130 typically developing children between the ages of 4 and 16 yr. We find that finger dexterity continues to develop well into late adolescence and musculoskeletal growth and strength are poorly correlated with the improvements in dexterity. Importantly, because these behavioral results seem to mirror the known timelines of neuroanatomical development up to adolescence, we speculate that they reflect the functional benefits of such continual neural maturation. This novel perspective now enables the systematic study of the functional roles of specific neuroanatomical structures and their connectivity, maturity, and plasticity. Moreover, the temporal dynamics of the fingertip force vectors shows improvements in stability that provide a novel way to look at the maturation of finger control. From a clinical perspective, our results provide a practical means to chart functional development of dexterous manipulation in typically developing children and could be adapted for clinical use and for use in children with developmental disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the differences between children's voices and adult voices. We give an overview of the anatomy in the head and neck and specifically the anatomy of the respiratory system and the larynx. We also describe the development of children's voices including different physiological measures and voice quality. The development and consequences for voice production and voice quality are addressed and related to gender differences in the growing child. We also discuss the prevalence of voice problems and hoarseness in children. Environmental and other factors contributing to voice problems in children are described, and finally, issues related to intervention and evidence-based practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Face recognition performance improves during childhood, not reaching adult levels until late adolescence, yet the source of this improvement is unclear. Recognition of faces across changes in viewpoint appears particularly slow to develop. Poor cross-view recognition suggests that children's face representations may be more view specific than those of adults and is consistent with arguments that extensive experience with faces may be required to form representations that are robust to view changes. We conducted the first direct test of the view specificity of children's face representations by using face aftereffects to investigate whether children's face aftereffects transfer across changes in viewpoint. Using both the figural aftereffect (E1) and the identity aftereffect (E2) we showed that 8-year-old children's aftereffects transferred across substantial changes in viewpoint and that children did not differ from adults in the amount of transfer across viewpoint. These results suggest that children's coding of identity is no more view specific than that of adults and are consistent with a growing body of evidence indicating that the key perceptual mechanisms of face recognition emerge early in life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes a study of peak handgrip muscle strength development from childhood to adulthood, focusing on the comparison between wrestlers and control group nonathletes. Researchers looked at factors such as hand preference, body height and mass, and hand measurements in various age groups related to handgrip strength, finding the strongest statistical correlations between handgrip and height and hand length.

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]

Summary The aim of this study was to assess the links between religious discrimination and developmental and contextual variables. Based on the assumption that discrimination results from the interplay of prejudice and moral thinking, discriminatory behaviour was hypothesised to be linked to age, school environment, minority or majority group membership, and parental religious socialisation practices. The results indicate that discrimination is more frequent during childhood than during pre-adolescence or adolescence, more common in homogeneous schools than in heterogeneous schools, and more likely when parents frequently express messages promoting mistrust of other religious groups. Participants from the minority group were more likely to discriminate against their own ingroup than were those from the majority group. Further studies are needed to determine whether these links are correlative or predictive, and to understand the underlying processes of religious discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Children's performance on face identification tests improves dramatically between age 4 and adolescence, yet the source of this improvement is controversial. We used face identity aftereffects to examine whether changes in the organization of face-space during childhood could be a source of this improvement. Specifically we tested whether 7- to 9-year-old children, like adults, show patterns of aftereffects predicted by coding facial identity relative to a norm or the patterns predicted by exemplar-based coding. Consistent with use of norm-based coding children's aftereffects were larger (a) for opposite than non-opposite adapt-test pairs equated for perceptual similarity, and (b) for adaptors far from the average than for adaptors closer to the average. In addition, face identity aftereffects were present by age 5, suggesting adult-like face-space properties by 5, though we did not conduct specific tests to distinguish norm-based from exemplar-based coding in this age group. We conclude that children's poor face identification skills cannot be attributed to a failure to use norm-based coding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trauma is associated with alterations in cortisol activity and reactivity that may vary in relationship to development, time, predisposition, personality, the nature of a traumatic event, and other circumstances. This article reviews existing research findings related to cortisol in laboratory, general stress, and traumatic conditions. We discuss variables that may influence cortisol activity and reactivity in an effort to discover what is known and what still needs to be learned about cortisol levels in youth exposed to traumas. The extant literature points to a number of potentially negative physical, emotional, and behavioral outcomes of altered cortisol reactivity, which suggests a clear need for early and effective interventions. Furthermore, research has often provided mixed findings from relatively small samples of youth. Improving the understanding of cortisol activity and reactivity in children and adolescents will necessitate examining large samples of different developmental age groups across time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents abstracts on planning literature which include approaches to empirical work in regional economics, understanding the barriers to social adaptation, and management of large city regions.