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Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is rapidly becoming ubiquitous in many contexts. There is limited scholarship, however, in the fields of Developmental Psychology and Early Childhood Education exploring the implications of generative AI for babies and young children. In this Perspectives piece, we discuss potential use cases, opportunities, and risks for the application of AI in early childhood. Our insights are informed by extensive discussion with stakeholders and by desk research carried out in our roles as academics and analysts in a social innovation foundation. Our aim is to stimulate nuanced and informed discourse on the topic of generative AI in early childhood that can inform innovation in both research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The ketogenic diet was an amazing approach to treating epilepsy from its beginning. The body undergoes a change in obtaining energy, going from depending on carbohydrates to depending on fats, and then a whole series of biochemical routes are launched that, independently but also complementary, give rise to a set of effects that benefit the patient. This search for its mechanism of action, of devising how to improve compliance and take advantage of it for other diseases has marked its trajectory. This article briefly reviews these aspects, emphasizing the importance of continuing to carry out basic and clinical research so that this treatment can be applied with solid scientific bases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Appetitive traits, including food responsiveness, enjoyment of food, satiety responsiveness and slowness in eating, are associated with childhood body mass index. Change in appetitive traits from infancy to childhood and the direction of causality between appetitive traits and body mass index are unclear. The present study examined the developmental trajectory of appetitive traits and their bidirectional relations with body mass index, from infancy to early childhood. Mothers in the Pregnancy Eating Attributes Study and follow‐up (n = 162) reported child appetitive traits using the Baby and Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaires at ages 6 months and 3.5 years, respectively. Standardized body mass index (zBMI) was calculated from child anthropometrics. Cross‐lagged panel models estimated bidirectional relations between appetitive traits and zBMI. Food responsiveness, satiety responsiveness and slowness in eating increased from infancy to early childhood. In cross‐lagged panel models, lower infant satiety responsiveness (B ± SE = −0.45 ± 0.19, p =.02) predicted greater child zBMI. Infant zBMI did not predict child appetitive traits (p‐values >.36). From infancy to early childhood, appetitive traits may amplify. Appetitive traits, particularly satiety responsiveness, appear to influence body mass index during this period, suggesting early intervention targeting these traits may reduce childhood obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive psychology began over three-quarters of a century ago and we have learned a great deal in that time, including concerning the development of cognitive abilities such as perception, attention, and memory, all of which develop across infancy and childhood. Attention is one aspect of cognition that is vital to success in a variety of life activities and, arguably, the foundation of memory, learning, problem solving, decision making, and other cognitive activities. The cognitive abilities of later childhood and adulthood generally appear to depend on the reflexes, abilities, and skills of infancy. Research in developmental cognitive science can help us understand adult cognition and know when to intervene when cognitive function is at risk. This area of research can be challenging because, even in typical development, the course of cognitive development for a particular child does not always improve monotonically. In addition, the typical trajectory of this development has been understood differently from different historical perspectives. Neither the history of thought that has led to our current understanding of attention (including its various types) nor the importance of developmental aspects of attention are frequently covered in training early career researchers, especially those whose primary area of research in not attention. My goal is to provide a review that will be useful especially to those new to research in the subfield of attention. Sustained attention in adults and children has been well-studied, but a review of the history of thought on the development of reflexive attention with a focus on infancy is overdue. Therefore, I draw primarily on historical and modern literature and clarify confusing terminology as it has been used over time. I conclude with examples of how cognitive development research can contribute to scientific and applied progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to represent absent objects using signs and symbols, in accordance with age and socio- cultural environment, is known as symbolic function. Acquiring this ability plays a key role in cognitive development and in meeting the challenges characteristic of each stage of growth. An empirical study was conducted to investigate the level of acquisition of verbal symbolic function in children from urban areas of Buenos Aires, Argentina, to describe it in detail and to find out differences according to gender and age. The study design was non-experimental, crosssectional, descriptive, and correlational, using non-probabilistic sampling (N=52; mean age= 6.31 years, SD= 2.07; 52% male). Among the main results, it was found that, as hypothesized, symbolic ability increases as children get older. In addition, boys obtained higher mean scores than girls. Finally, using logistic regression analysis, it was shown that age was an explanatory variable for symbolic function, while gender was not. It is noteworthy that only four boys completed the symbolic function test without making errors and obtained the maximum score. These findings indicate that it cannot be assumed that children automatically acquire verbal symbolic function when they pass the kindergarten stage or when they reach the age of six or older. A discussion of the results is conducted in the light of socio-historicalcultural theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence from animal models or children with neurodevelopmental disorders has implicated the gut microbiome (GM) in neurocognitive development. However, even subclinical impairement of cognition can have negative consequences, as cognition serves as the foundation for skills necessary to succeed in school, vocation and socially. The present study aims to identify gut microbiome characteristics or changes in gut microbiome characteristics that consistently associate with cognitive outcomes in healthy, neurotypical infants and children. Of the 1,520 articles identified in the search, 23 were included in qualitative synthesis after applying exclusion criteria. Most studies were cross-sectional and focused on behavior or motor and language skills. Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, Clostridia, Prevotella, and Roseburia were related to these aspects of cognition across several studies. While these results support the role of GM in cognitive development, higher quality studies focused on more complex cognition are needed to understand the extent to which the GM contributes to cognitive development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program is a research initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health that capitalizes on existing cohort studies to investigate the impact of early life environmental factors on child health and development from infancy through adolescence. In the initial stage of the program, extant data from 70 existing cohort studies are being uploaded to a database that will be publicly available to researchers. This new database will represent an unprecedented opportunity for researchers to combine data across existing cohorts to address associations between prenatal chemical exposures and child neurodevelopment. Data elements collected by ECHO cohorts were determined via a series of surveys administered by the ECHO Data Analysis Center. The most common chemical classes quantified in multiple cohorts include organophosphate pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, environmental phenols (including bisphenol A), phthalates, and metals. For each of these chemicals, at least four ECHO cohorts also collected behavioral data during infancy/early childhood using the Child Behavior Checklist. For these chemicals and this neurodevelopmental assessment (as an example), existing data from multiple ECHO cohorts could be pooled to address research questions requiring larger sample sizes than previously available. In addition to summarizing the data that will be available, the article also describes some of the challenges inherent in combining existing data across cohorts, as well as the gaps that could be filled by the additional data collection in the ECHO Program going forward.

Decades of research underscore the profound impact of adversity on brain and behavioral development. Recent theoretical models have highlighted the importance of considering specific features of adversity that may have dissociable effects at distinct developmental timepoints. However, existing measures do not query these dimensions in sufficient detail to support the proliferation of this approach. The Dimensional Inventory of Stress and Trauma Across the Lifespan (DISTAL) was developed with the aim to thoroughly and retrospectively assess the timing, severity (of exposure and reaction), type, persons involved, controllability, predictability, threat, deprivation, proximity, betrayal, and discrimination inherent in an individual's exposure to adversity. Here, we introduce this instrument, present descriptive statistics drawn from a sample of N = 187 adults who completed the DISTAL, and provide initial information about its psychometric properties. This novel measure facilitates the expansion of research focused on assessing the relative impact of exposure to key dimensions of adversity on the brain and behavior across development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The circadian clock is a prominent regulator of physiology. Most studies so far have investigated its role in health and disease in adult subjects and animals. However, circadian clock characteristics change over one's lifetime. This review describes how the clock develops during pregnancy and infancy, how it evolves in childhood and adolescence and, finally, how its function is impacted by aging, with a special focus on the female reproductive system. Understanding those changes can contribute to adapting behavioral and medical interventions to the patients' age and sex-specific needs. Most lifeforms on earth use endogenous, so-called circadian clocks to adapt to 24-h cycles in environmental demands driven by the planet's rotation around its axis. Interactions with the environment change over the course of a lifetime, and so does regulation of the circadian clock system. In this review, we summarize how circadian clocks develop in humans and experimental rodents during embryonic development, how they mature after birth and what changes occur during puberty, adolescence and with increasing age. Special emphasis is laid on the circadian regulation of reproductive systems as major organizers of life segments and life span. We discuss differences in sexes and outline potential areas for future research. Finally, potential options for medical applications of lifespan chronobiology are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive psychology began over three-quarters of a century ago and we have learned a great deal in that time, including concerning the development of cognitive abilities such as perception, attention, and memory, all of which develop across infancy and childhood. Attention is one aspect of cognition that is vital to success in a variety of life activities and, arguably, the foundation of memory, learning, problem solving, decision making, and other cognitive activities. The cognitive abilities of later childhood and adulthood generally appear to depend on the reflexes, abilities, and skills of infancy. Research in developmental cognitive science can help us understand adult cognition and know when to intervene when cognitive function is at risk. This area of research can be challenging because, even in typical development, the course of cognitive development for a particular child does not always improve monotonically. In addition, the typical trajectory of this development has been understood differently from different historical perspectives. Neither the history of thought that has led to our current understanding of attention (including its various types) nor the importance of developmental aspects of attention are frequently covered in training early career researchers, especially those whose primary area of research in not attention. My goal is to provide a review that will be useful especially to those new to research in the subfield of attention. Sustained attention in adults and children has been well-studied, but a review of the history of thought on the development of reflexive attention with a focus on infancy is overdue. Therefore, I draw primarily on historical and modern literature and clarify confusing terminology as it has been used over time. I conclude with examples of how cognitive development research can contribute to scientific and applied progress.

Evidence from animal models or children with neurodevelopmental disorders has implicated the gut microbiome (GM) in neurocognitive development. However, even subclinical impairement of cognition can have negative consequences, as cognition serves as the foundation for skills necessary to succeed in school, vocation and socially. The present study aims to identify gut microbiome characteristics or changes in gut microbiome characteristics that consistently associate with cognitive outcomes in healthy, neurotypical infants and children. Of the 1,520 articles identified in the search, 23 were included in qualitative synthesis after applying exclusion criteria. Most studies were cross-sectional and focused on behavior or motor and language skills. Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, Clostridia, Prevotella, and Roseburia were related to these aspects of cognition across several studies. While these results support the role of GM in cognitive development, higher quality studies focused on more complex cognition are needed to understand the extent to which the GM contributes to cognitive development.

Most research has studied self-regulation by presenting experimenter-controlled test stimuli and measuring change between baseline and stimulus. In the real world, however, stressors do not flash on and off in a predetermined sequence, and there is no experimenter controlling things. Rather, the real world is continuous and stressful events can occur through self-sustaining interactive chain reactions. Self-regulation is an active process through which we adaptively select which aspects of the social environment we attend to from one moment to the next. Here, we describe this dynamic interactive process by contrasting two mechanisms that underpin it: the "yin" and "yang" of self-regulation. The first mechanism is allostasis, the dynamical principle underlying self-regulation, through which we compensate for change to maintain homeostasis. This involves upregulating in some situations and downregulating in others. The second mechanism is metastasis, the dynamical principle underling dysregulation. Through metastasis, small initial perturbations can become progressively amplified over time. We contrast these processes at the individual level (i.e., examining moment-to-moment change in one child, considered independently) and also at the inter-personal level (i.e., examining change across a dyad, such as a parent–child dyad). Finally, we discuss practical implications of this approach in improving the self-regulation of emotion and cognition, in typical development and psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the multiple images of children found in early cinema, we propose a reflection on the relationships between childhood and cinema. According to Walter Benjamin (2009), both childhood and cinema can be considered modern creations: the concept of childhood as an important period of individual formation emerges inseparably from the technologies of image production and reproduction that allow us to see children in a unique way, first in the still images of photography and later in the moving images of cinema. From this starting point, we wonder if it would be possible to consider the "invention" of cinema as a gesture of childhood. We propose to think of a notion of childhood in cinema that goes beyond teleological reductionism. To do so, we start from a psychoanalytic perspective about the process of language acquisition, which coincides with the subject's process of individuation in early childhood. From this perspective, we establish an analogy between childhood and the development of cinema as moments equally marked by the entrance into language: from a situation strongly influenced by visuality, experimentation, discovery, and free play, towards an entrance into the structured symbolic system of language through constant negotiation with the conventions and limits of the adult world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Color is a pervasive feature of our psychological experience, having a role in many aspects of human mind and behavior such as basic vision, scene perception, object recognition, aesthetics, and communication. Understanding how humans encode, perceive, talk about, and use color has been a major interdisciplinary effort. Here, we present the current state of knowledge on how color perception and cognition develop. We cover the development of various aspects of the psychological experience of color, ranging from low-level color vision to perceptual mechanisms such as color constancy to phenomena such as color naming and color preference. We also identify neurodiversity in the development of color perception and cognition and implications for clinical and educational contexts. We discuss the theoretical implications of the research for understanding mature color perception and cognition, for identifying the principles of perceptual and cognitive development, and for fostering a broader debate in the psychological sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The onset of puberty has become earlier over the decades, and nutrients and diet are related to the timing of puberty onset. Hence, we aimed to investigate the association between diet or nutrients in infancy, childhood and early puberty. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library were searched systematically up to 15 April 2022. The pooled relative risks (RRs) or regression coefficients (beta) were estimated using the random-effect model or fixed-effect model according to the heterogeneity between studies. Twenty-two articles on diet or nutrients in childhood and six about breastfeeding in infancy were included. The prolonged breastfeeding duration in infancy could reduce the risk of early menarche (beta 0.31, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.60, p = 0.045). The high intake of yogurt was associated with a 35% reduction in the risk of earlier menarche (RR 0.65, 95% CI: 0.47, 0.89, p = 0.008). Girls with severe food insecurity experienced later menarche (RR 0.81, 95% CI: 0.67, 0.98, p = 0.027). Conversely, due to the high intake of protein, the risk of early menarche increased by 8% (RR 1.08, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.16, p = 0.016). High intake of yogurt, longer duration of breastfeeding, and food insecurity decreased the possibility of earlier menarche, while high intake of protein increased that risk. As a modifiable factor, diet and nutrients in infancy and childhood provide new insights into the future prevention of early puberty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this longitudinal study, we investigated the factor structure and stability of early-life temperament in a German sample, using three measures developed within Rothbart’s psychobiological approach. Temperament was measured using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire Revised (IBQ-R) at the ages of 6 and 12 months, the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ) at the age of 18 months, and the Child Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ) at the ages of 36 and 48 months. We assessed longitudinal stability on a scale and factor level using data from the 85 participants that took part in each measurement. The latent factor structures were analyzed at each time point using all available data, ranging from 112 to 148 participants. Modest to high degrees of stability for most scales and all three latent factors was found. Stability was highest between measurements employing the same instrument and increased with age, indicating a consolidation of temperament traits over time. Model fit for the proposed factor structure consisting of Surgency, Negative Affect, and Effortful Control/Regulatory Capacity was poor, while exploratory factor analyses revealed similar but not identical structures for each time point. The third factor of Regulatory Capacity was not found at 6 months, but at 12 months and later, as is commonly the case in German samples. These findings further contribute to our understanding of the early development of temperament and its stability from infancy and beyond as well as expand on previous literature regarding its structure in German culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing evidence suggests that exposure to phthalates is higher among younger age groups. However, limited knowledge exists on how phthalate exposure, as well as exposure to replacement plasticizers, di(isononyl) cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate (DINCH) and di-2-ethylhexyl terephthalate (DEHTP), change from infancy through early childhood. Urine samples were collected across the first 5 years of life from typically developing infants and young children enrolled between 2017 and 2020 in the longitudinal UNC Baby Connectome Project. From 438 urine samples among 187 participants, we quantified concentrations of monobutyl phthalate (MnBP), mono-3-carboxypropyl phthalate (MCPP), monoisobutyl phthalate (MiBP), monoethyl phthalate (MEP), monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP), and metabolites of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), diisonoyl phthalate (DiNP), DINCH and DEHTP. Specific gravity (SG) adjusted metabolite and molar sum concentrations were compared across age groups. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated among 122 participants with multiple urine specimens (373 samples). Most phthalate metabolites showed high detection frequencies (>80% of samples). Replacement plasticizers DINCH (58–60%) and DEHTP (>97%) were also commonly found. DiNP metabolites were less frequently detected (<10%). For some metabolites, SG-adjusted concentrations were inversely associated with age, with the highest concentrations found in the first year of life. ICCs revealed low to moderate reliability in metabolite measurements (ρ = 0.10–0.48) suggesting a high degree of within-individual variation in exposure among this age group. The first 6 months (compared to remaining age groups) showed an increased ratio of carboxylated metabolites of DEHP and DEHTP, compared to other common metabolites, but no clear age trends for DINCH metabolite ratios were observed. Metabolites of phthalates and replacements plasticizers were widely detected in infancy and early childhood, with the highest concentrations observed in the first year of life for several metabolites. Higher proportions of carboxylated metabolites of DEHP and DEHTP in younger age groups indicate potential differences in metabolism during infancy. • We quantified metabolites of phthalates and replacement plasticizers from urine samples collected in infancy/early childhood. • We found widespread exposure to a range of phthalates and replacement plasticizers among this age group. • We found highest concentrations of several phthalates, including MnBP, MCPP, MiBP, MEP, and MBzP, in the first year of life. • Proportions of carboxylated metabolites of DEHP and DEHTP were higher in the first six months compared to remaining ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Severe obesity among children and adolescents has emerged as a public health concern in multiple places around the world. Methods: We searched the Medline database for articles on severe obesity rates in children published between January 1960 and January 2020. For studies with available prevalence rates for an early and a more recent time period, the relative increase in prevalence was imputed. Results: In total, 874 publications were identified, of which 38 contained relevant epidemiological data. Rates of severe obesity varied significantly according to age, gender, geographic area, and the definition of severe obesity. The highest rates of class II and III obesity in the USA according to the Centers of Disease Control cut-off were 9.5% and 4.5%, respectively. Seventeen studies reported prevalence rates in at least two time periods. Data for 9,190,718 individuals showed a 1.71 (95% CI, 1.53–1.90) greater odds for severe obesity in 2006–2017 (N = 5,029,584) versus 1967–2007 (N = 4,161,134). In an analysis limited to studies from 1980s with a minimum follow-up of 20 years, a 9.16 (95% CI, 7.76–10.80) greater odds for severe obesity in recent versus earlier time was found. An analysis limited to studies from 2000, with a follow-up of 5–15 years, a 1.09 (95% CI, 0.99–1.20) greater odds was noted when comparing (2011–2017; N = 4,991,831) versus (2000–2011; N = 4,134,340). Conclusion: Severe pediatric obesity is escalating with a marked increase from the 1980s and a slower rate from 2000.

Objectives: We investigated whether adverse experiences at age 1 (AE-1) affect the level of and change in cognition during childhood using harmonized data from four developing countries.Methods: Data included children born in 2001/2002 and were followed longitudinally in 2006/2007 and in 2009/2010 by Young Lives study in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam. Childhood cognition was measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) at ages 5 (PPVT-5) and 8 (PPVT-8). We also examined the effect on a change in cognition between age 5–8 (PPVT-Change). The AE-1 scores were constructed using survey responses at age 1. The ordinary least squares regression was used for estimation.Results: We found that children with higher adversities as infants had lower cognition scores at ages 5 and 8. The change in cognition between the two ages was also generally smaller for those with severe adversities at infancy. The negative association between adversities and childhood cognition was strongest for India.Conclusion: The results provide policy relevant information for mitigation of undesirable consequences of early life adversities through timely interventions.

Structural and functional brain alterations are found in adults with depression. It is not known whether these changes are a result of illness or exist prior to disorder onset. Asymptomatic offspring of parents with depression offer a unique opportunity to research neural markers of familial risk to depression and clarify the temporal sequence between brain changes and disorder onset. We conducted a systematic review to investigate whether asymptomatic offspring at high familial risk have structural and functional brain changes like those reported in adults with depression. Our literature search resulted in 44 studies on 18,645 offspring ranging from 4 weeks to 25 years old. Reduced cortical thickness and white matter integrity, and altered striatal reward processing were the most consistent findings in high-risk offspring across ages. These alterations are also present in adults with depression, suggesting the existence of neural markers of familial risk for depression. Additional studies reproducing current results, streamlining fMRI data analyses, and investigating underexplored topics (i.e intracortical myelin, gyrification, subcortical shape) may be among the next steps required to improve our understanding of neural markers indexing the vulnerability to depression.

According to the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the surveillance of motor development should accompany systematic appointments with medical professionals in infancy and early childhood. One of the standardized tools for evaluating motor development is the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS). This paper aims to present assumptions and psychometric properties of the AIMS, the methodology of assessment of an infant's performance with the AIMS, and research on the validation and standardization of the AIMS as well as the use of the scale as an outcome measure. We conducted a non-systematic literature review using three electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Embase (from June 1992 to February 2022). We included original research with a full-text manuscript in English. No geographical restrictions were applied. The search terms "alberta infant motor scale" AND "reliability" OR "validity" and "alberta infant motor scale" AND "norms" OR "reference" OR "standardization" were used for literature review on the validation and standardization of the AIMS in other non-Canadian populations. This narrative review also focuses on how the AIMS is applied as an outcome measure in research by presenting studies on the AIMS conducted over the last decade. Our review found that the AIMS is widely used for both research and clinical purposes. The AIMS has been used as an outcome measure in both interventional and observational studies conducted on both neurotypical infants and those with conditions affecting motor development. The advantages of the scale are its infant-friendliness, time duration of the examination, and relative ease of application for an examiner. The scale has been validated and standardized in many countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Nutrition across the first 2000 days of life, from conception to age five, is considered critical in shaping lifelong nutrition and health outcomes, with dietary patterns tracking from infancy into later childhood and adulthood. Identifying potential policy, programmatic, and research opportunities is essential to inform action in this area. Objectives: This research was undertaken to provide an overview of the evidence support, policy mechanisms and stakeholder perspectives on opportunities for improving nutrition across the first 2000 days of life to guide future investments and to inform policy dialogues with relevant government, non-government and external agencies within the state of Victoria, Australia. Methods: Underpinned by UNICEF’s Innocenti Framework, this research comprised: a) a rapid review of existing systematic reviews (n = 60) supplemented with key grey literature reports; b) mapping of potential policy and programmatic levers and partnerships against 14 identified areas; and c) qualitative semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders across health (n = 4), education (n = 2), local government (n = 1), non-government organisations/not-for-profits (n = 5), and peak bodies (n = 2). Results: The ‘caregiver behaviours’ determinant within the Innocenti Framework yielded the largest number of systematic reviews and had the strongest alignment to existing policy frameworks. Victoria has a robust state-level policy mechanism for preventive health. However, policy voids were identified within the ‘external food environment’ and ‘food supply chains’ determinants due to a lack of regulation to restrict marketing and advertising by harmful food industries and no national food and nutrition plan. Thematic analysis of interviews revealed three key themes: a) continuity of care from pre-conception to childcare; b) consistency and strengthening of early years nutrition messages; and c) capacity for early years nutrition initiatives. Conclusion: Numerous opportunities were identified to improve nutrition across the first 2000 days of life within national, state and local government systems, using policy, practice and research mechanisms. More joined-up action and greater program/policy coherence is needed, with funded capacity to facilitate the delivery of coordinated and integrated services to address nutrition in the first 2000 days of life. Further exploration is needed of the feasibility, acceptability and equity impacts, and in some cases effectiveness, of these opportunities in close collaboration with stakeholders.

According to the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the surveillance of motor development should accompany systematic appointments with medical professionals in infancy and early childhood. One of the standardized tools for evaluating motor development is the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS). This paper aims to present assumptions and psychometric properties of the AIMS, the methodology of assessment of an infant's performance with the AIMS, and research on the validation and standardization of the AIMS as well as the use of the scale as an outcome measure. We conducted a non-systematic literature review using three electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Embase (from June 1992 to February 2022). We included original research with a full-text manuscript in English. No geographical restrictions were applied. The search terms “alberta infant motor scale” AND “reliability” OR “validity” and “alberta infant motor scale” AND “norms” OR “reference” OR “standardization” were used for literature review on the validation and standardization of the AIMS in other non-Canadian populations. This narrative review also focuses on how the AIMS is applied as an outcome measure in research by presenting studies on the AIMS conducted over the last decade. Our review found that the AIMS is widely used for both research and clinical purposes. The AIMS has been used as an outcome measure in both interventional and observational studies conducted on both neurotypical infants and those with conditions affecting motor development. The advantages of the scale are its infant-friendliness, time duration of the examination, and relative ease of application for an examiner. The scale has been validated and standardized in many countries.

For centuries, philosophers have pondered over how bodies are represented as unitary entities and contemporary research is beginning to elucidate the answer. This paper will argue that different aspects of body representation develop at different rates across infancy and childhood, with body representation maturing to adult-like states by early adolescence. Firstly, the role of somatosensory cues will be outlined, before highlighting the influence of multisensory temporal and spatial congruity in body representation.

The maternal immune system is very important in the development of the foetal immune system. Probiotics have been shown to help regulate immune responses. Therefore, it is possible that the administration of probiotics to pregnant women could influence the development of the foetal immune system, reducing the likelihood of infants and children developing an allergic condition. The aim of this research was to conduct a systematic review to determine whether administering probiotics to pregnant women can reduce the incidence of allergic disease in their children. Medline, CINAHL and Embase databases were searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared supplementation of probiotics to pregnant women to a placebo control and recorded the presentation of allergic conditions in their children. Data extracted from the study reports included their characteristics and findings. Study quality and risk of bias were assessed. From a total of 850 articles identified in the search, 6 were eligible for inclusion in this review. Two studies found no effect of maternal probiotics on the outcomes measured, two studies found that the incidence of eczema or atopic dermatitis (AD) was reduced by maternal probiotics, one study found no effect on the overall incidence of atopic sensitisation, but a reduction in a subgroup of children at high hereditary risk of allergic disease, and one study found no effect in an intention to treat analysis, but a reduction in AD in complete case analysis. The results of these studies are inconsistent but demonstrate that probiotics may have the potential to reduce infant allergies when administered prenatally, particularly in children at high risk of allergy development. There is a need for further larger-scale studies to be performed in order to provide a more definitive answer. Such studies should focus on at-risk groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is emergent literature on the relationship between the development of sleep-wake cycles, sleep architecture, and sleep duration during the neonatal period on neurodevelopmental outcomes among children born preterm. There is also a growing literature on techniques to assess sleep staging in preterm neonates using either EEG methods or heart and respiration rate. Upon discharge from hospital, sleep in children born preterm has been assessed using parent report, actigraphy, and polysomnography. This review describes the ontogeny and measurement of sleep in the neonatal period, the current evidence on the impact of preterm birth on sleep both in the NICU and in childhood and adolescence, and the interaction between sleep, cognition, and social-emotional outcomes in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores portrayals of childhood in Coleridge's poetry in the light of the poet's own objections to Wordsworth's description of a child as a philosopher in Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood. Coleridge suggests that by forcing adult ideas of rationality upon the child, Wordsworth undermines the uniqueness of childhood as a separate form of consciousness with its own ways of thinking and communicating. I argue that Coleridge avoids this deficiency in his own poetry by using the musical dimension of the lyric to celebrate childhood in its own language. The pre-literate child's off-page tears, gurgles, and whimpers can be heard in the adult speaker's infant-directed speech. The speaker's acoustic choices allow the reader to 'read' the moods of the child in the melodic part of the lyric (melos) and anticipate a time when the child will be able to join its opsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Severe obesity among children and adolescents has emerged as a public health concern in multiple places around the world. Methods: We searched the Medline database for articles on severe obesity rates in children published between January 1960 and January 2020. For studies with available prevalence rates for an early and a more recent time period, the relative increase in prevalence was imputed. Results: In total, 874 publications were identified, of which 38 contained relevant epidemiological data. Rates of severe obesity varied significantly according to age, gender, geographic area, and the definition of severe obesity. The highest rates of class II and III obesity in the USA according to the Centers of Disease Control cut-off were 9.5% and 4.5%, respectively. Seventeen studies reported prevalence rates in at least two time periods. Data for 9,190,718 individuals showed a 1.71 (95% CI, 1.53–1.90) greater odds for severe obesity in 2006–2017 (N = 5,029,584) versus 1967–2007 (N = 4,161,134). In an analysis limited to studies from 1980s with a minimum follow-up of 20 years, a 9.16 (95% CI, 7.76–10.80) greater odds for severe obesity in recent versus earlier time was found. An analysis limited to studies from 2000, with a follow-up of 5–15 years, a 1.09 (95% CI, 0.99–1.20) greater odds was noted when comparing (2011–2017; N = 4,991,831) versus (2000–2011; N = 4,134,340). Conclusion: Severe pediatric obesity is escalating with a marked increase from the 1980s and a slower rate from 2000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lucia Margari, Lucia Marzulli, Alessandra Gabellone, Concetta de Giambattista Child Neuropsychiatric Unit, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, ItalyCorrespondence: Lucia MargariChild Neuropsychiatric Unit, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Piazza Giulio Cesare, 11, Bari 70124, ItalyTel +39 80 5592829Email lucia.margari@uniba.itAbstract: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social and communication skills and repetitive and restrictive behaviors. Children and adolescents with ASD are more likely to present feeding problems than their typically developing peers are. The present narrative review of literature aims to highlight the most recent evidence about epidemiology and presentations of eating and mealtime behavioral abnormalities in ASD from infancy to adolescence. Abnormalities in breastfeeding and acceptance of complementary foods have been described by most of the studies evaluating ASD early feeding history. Among the various eating and mealtime behaviors identified in ASD children and adolescents, the most common was food selectivity. The present review also provides brief overviews of the various aspects of food that may influence food acceptance by ASD patients and of the correlation between eating problems and ASD core symptoms, as well as with cognitive level, language skills, and family environment. However, studies evaluating eating problems in ASD children and adolescents are very heterogeneous and they show methodological differences. Moreover, the absence of unique definitions of eating and mealtime behaviors in ASD further limits the comparability of studies.Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, feeding, infancy, childhood, adolescence

Most lifeforms on earth use endogenous, so-called circadian clocks to adapt to 24-h cycles in environmental demands driven by the planet’s rotation around its axis. Interactions with the environment change over the course of a lifetime, and so does regulation of the circadian clock system. In this review, we summarize how circadian clocks develop in humans and experimental rodents during embryonic development, how they mature after birth and what changes occur during puberty, adolescence and with increasing age. Special emphasis is laid on the circadian regulation of reproductive systems as major organizers of life segments and life span. We discuss differences in sexes and outline potential areas for future research. Finally, potential options for medical applications of lifespan chronobiology are discussed.

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Background: Scrotal ultrasonography is an essential diagnostic tool in daily clinical practice. The availability of new‐generation ultrasound machines characterized by clearly improved image quality, low health cost, and higher patient safety, represents only some characteristics of ultrasound investigation. The usefulness of scrotal ultrasonography is particularly evident in the period of life from infancy to puberty, during which males undergo important morphofunctional changes, and several pathological conditions may occur. Objectives: This pictorial review primarily aimed to investigate the aspects of ultrasonography related to the normal physiological development of the gonads from mini‐puberty to pubertal onset. This study also aimed to provide an update on the use of ultrasonography in main andrological pathologies that may occur during this period. The conditions that are discussed in depth are: cryptorchidism, inguinoscrotal hernias, and hydrocele in the neonatal phase; acute scrotum, epididymo‐orchitis, and testicular cancers in childhood; and hypogonadism, varicoceles, testicular microlithiasis, and oncohematological pathology in puberty. Discussion: We provided an ultrasound slant for all the above‐mentioned pathologies while purposely avoiding excessive deepening of the pathogenetic, clinical, and therapeutic aspects. Studying the ultrasound aspects of the gonads also facilitates differential diagnosis between various conditions and represents a good aid in evaluating therapeutic success (e.g., in hypogonadism or postsurgical evaluation of varicoceles and cryptorchidism). Conclusion: Scrotal ultrasonography is now globally recognized as the necessary completion of clinical–laboratory overview in gonads evaluation. This diagnostic procedure is even more indispensable in the infancy–childhood–puberty period for the evaluation of normal gonadal development as well as diagnosis of other possible diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The onset of puberty has become earlier over the decades, and nutrients and diet are related to the timing of puberty onset. Hence, we aimed to investigate the association between diet or nutrients in infancy, childhood and early puberty. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library were searched systematically up to 15 April 2022. The pooled relative risks (RRs) or regression coefficients (beta) were estimated using the random-effect model or fixed-effect model according to the heterogeneity between studies. Twenty-two articles on diet or nutrients in childhood and six about breastfeeding in infancy were included. The prolonged breastfeeding duration in infancy could reduce the risk of early menarche (beta 0.31, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.60, p = 0.045). The high intake of yogurt was associated with a 35% reduction in the risk of earlier menarche (RR 0.65, 95% CI: 0.47, 0.89, p = 0.008). Girls with severe food insecurity experienced later menarche (RR 0.81, 95% CI: 0.67, 0.98, p = 0.027). Conversely, due to the high intake of protein, the risk of early menarche increased by 8% (RR 1.08, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.16, p = 0.016). High intake of yogurt, longer duration of breastfeeding, and food insecurity decreased the possibility of earlier menarche, while high intake of protein increased that risk. As a modifiable factor, diet and nutrients in infancy and childhood provide new insights into the future prevention of early puberty.

Background Excessive abdominal adiposity is associated with health risks in children and adults. Higher consumption of fruit juice and other sources of fructose has been shown to promote weight gain and specifically visceral adiposity in adulthood. Objectives We aimed to examine the longitudinal associations of fruit juice intake in infancy with visceral adiposity in mid-childhood and early adolescence. Methods We analyzed data from 783 participants in Project Viva, a US prebirth cohort. Our exposure was fruit juice intake at 1 y old. We measured visceral adipose tissue (VAT), subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAAT), and total abdominal adipose tissue (TAAT) in mid-childhood (mean age 7.8 ± 0.7 y) and early adolescence (13 ± 0.8 y) using DXA. We examined longitudinal associations of fruit juice intake at 1 y with VAT, SAAT, and TAAT area sex-specific standard deviation scores (SDSs) in mid-childhood and early adolescence using linear mixed models. We adjusted for child age at outcome, sex, race/ethnicity, age and BMI z -score at 1 y-questionnaire, maternal prepregnancy BMI, level of education, and prenatal sugar-sweetened beverage intake, paternal BMI, and median household income at birth. Results After adjusting for child and parental covariates, each serving (120 mL) per day of fruit juice intake at 1 y was associated with persistently greater VAT area SDS (β = 0.08; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.13) at both timepoints in boys and girls. The association of fruit juice intake with VAT appeared stronger than that with SAAT (β = 0.05; 95% CI: 0.00, 0.09) and TAAT (β = 0.05; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.10). Conclusions Higher fruit juice intake in infancy was associated with greater abdominal adiposity, particularly VAT, in mid-childhood and early adolescence. Our findings support limiting fruit juice intake in infancy, which can have later impact on visceral adiposity in childhood and adolescence. Clinical Trial Registry number: NCT02820402 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02820402). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we present the electroclinical features and outcomes of 92 patients with epileptic spasms (ES) in clusters without modified or classical hypsarrhythmia that started in either in infancy or in childhood; we compared both groups in terms of electroclinical features, etiology, treatment, evolution, and outcome. Between June 2000 and July 2022, 92 patients met the electroclinical diagnostic criteria of ES in clusters without hypsarrhythmia. Patients with ES associated with other epileptic encephalopathies including West Syndrome, as well as those with the specific etiology of ES and developmental and epileptic encephalopathy associated with CDKL5 were excluded. The patients were divided into two groups based on the age at ES onset: those with ES onset before (Group 1) and those with ES onset after 2 years of age (Group 2). The features of ES and the type of associated seizures before and after ES onset, as well as the interictal and ictal EEG and electromyography findings were similar in both groups. The etiologies were mainly structural (40.2%), genetic (11.9%), and unknown (44.6%) in majority of the patients in both groups. Thirty-one patients were seizure-free, while in the remaining patients the seizures continued. Nine patients (9.8%) with unilateral structural lesions underwent surgery with good results. The neurological abnormalities and developmental findings prior to ES onset depended on the underlying etiology. Our series of patients may represent a well-defined epileptic syndrome or type of epilepsy with onset in infancy or childhood characterized by ES in clusters without hypsarrhythmia associated with focal and generalized seizures and EEG paroxysms without neurological deterioration. • Seventy-two infants had epileptic spasms in clusters without classic or modified hypsarrhythmia. • Thirty children presented with epileptic spasms in clusters without classic or modified hypsarrhythmia. • Both groups had similar electroclinical patterns, etiologies, response to the treatment and evolution. • None of the patients, except one, developed features of epileptic encephalopathy. • These patients may represent a well-defined epileptic syndrome involving different age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]