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Globally, there is a crucial need to prioritize research directed at reducing neurological, mental health and substance-use disorders in adolescence, which is a pivotal age for the development of self-control and regulation. In adolescence, behaviour optimally advances towards adaptive long-term goals and suppresses conflicting maladaptive short-lived urges to balance impulsivity, exploration and defiance, while establishing effective societal participation. When self-control fails to develop, violence, injury and neurological, mental health and substance-use disorders can result, further challenging the development of self-regulation and impeding the transition to a productive adulthood. Adolescent outcomes, positive and negative, arise from both a life- course perspective and within a socioecological framework. Little is known about the emergence of self-control and regulation in adolescents in low- and middle- income countries where enormous environmental threats are more common (for example, poverty, war, local conflicts, sex trafficking and slavery, early marriage and/or pregnancy, and the absence of adequate access to education) than in high-income countries and can threaten optimal neurodevelopment. Research must develop or adapt appropriate assessments of adolescent ability and disability, social inclusion and exclusion, normative development, and neurological, mental health and substance-use disorders. Socioecological challenges in low- and middle-income countries require innovative strategies to prevent mental health, neurological and substance-use disorders and develop effective interventions for adolescents at risk, especially those already living with these disorders and the consequent disability. Nature527, S161-S166 (19 November 2015), DOI: 10.1038/nature16030 This article has not been written or reviewed by Nature editors. Nature accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided., Adolescent neurological, mental health and substance-use (NMS) disorders in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) must be addressed to ensure optimal development of 'human capital' for the future (1). Adolescents, defined [...]

We define neurodevelopment as the dynamic inter-relationship between genetic, brain, cognitive, emotional and behavioural processes across the developmental lifespan. Significant and persistent disruption to this dynamic process through environmental and genetic risk can lead to neurodevelopmental disorders and disability. Research designed to ameliorate neurodevelopmental disorders in low- and middle-income countries, as well as globally, will benefit enormously from the ongoing advances in understanding their genetic and epigenetic causes, as modified by environment and culture. We provide examples of advances in the prevention and treatment of, and the rehabilitation of those with, neurodevelopment disorders in low- and middle-income countries, along with opportunities for further strategic research initiatives. Our examples are not the only possibilities for strategic research, but they illustrate problems that, when solved, could have a considerable impact in low-resource settings. In each instance, research in low- and middle-income countries led to innovations in identification, surveillance and treatment of a neurodevelopmental disorder. These innovations have also been integrated with genotypic mapping of neurodevelopmental disorders, forming important preventative and rehabilitative interventions with the potential for high impact. These advances will ultimately allow us to understand how epigenetic influences shape neurodevelopmental risk and resilience over time and across populations. Clearly, the most strategic areas of research opportunity involve cross-disciplinary integration at the intersection between the environment, brain or behaviour neurodevelopment, and genetic and epigenetic science. At these junctions a robust integrative cross- disciplinary scientific approach is catalysing the creation of technologies and interventions for old problems. Such approaches will enable us to achieve and sustain the United Nations moral and legal mandate for child health and full development as a basic global human right. Nature 527, S155-S160 (19 November 2015), DOI: 10.1038/nature16029 This article has not been written or reviewed by Nature editors. Nature accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided., One evaluation of early childhood developmental status in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) estimates that 15.7% of children are significantly delayed in their cognitive development, 26.3% in socioemotional development and [...]

We provide initial evidence that an eye-tracking based measure of infant attention and working memory (gaze preference for novel human faces) can predict aspects of neurocognitive performance years later among Ugandan children. 49 HIV-exposed/uninfected Ugandan children (22 boys, 27 girls) 6-12 months old were tested with the Mullen Scales of Early Learning and a modified Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence (FTII). Modified FTII measures pertaining to attention are correlated to the KABC-II Mental Processing Index (MPI) (rp = -0.40), p Cognitive assessments adapted to eye-tracking instrumentation can be useful to evaluate attention and working memory in HIV-affected children living in low- and middle-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past studies have demonstrated an inverse relationship between religiosity and addictive behaviors, such as gambling, smoking, alcoholism, and substance use. This association suggests that religiosity may act as a buffer [...]

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to assess the health status and school-age neurodevelopmental progress of antiretroviral treatment (ARVT)--naive, HIV-infected Ugandan children who had been followed as part of cohorts of children born to HIV-infected and -noninfected mothers between 1989 and 1993. METHODS. Twenty-eight children, aged 6 to 12 years, vertically infected with HIV-1 and never treated with ARVT were evaluated in terms of health status, neurologic, and psychometric testing. A randomly selected group of 42 seroreverters and 37 HIV-1 negative children who were age- and gender-matched and who had been followed in the same cohorts were evaluated also. The families studied were homogenous in their socioeconomic status. None of the mothers or children had received ARVT or been exposed to illicit drugs. RESULTS. The HIV-infected children showed significantly more evidence of acute malnutrition. They also had more illness, especially parotitis, otitis media, upper respiratory infections, and lymphadenopathy. However, they did not differ significantly in neurologic and cognitive assessments when compared with age- and gender-matched seroreverter and HIV-negative children. They were in the normal range with respect to neurologic and psychometric development measures. CONCLUSIONS. These children seem to represent a significant subgroup of HIV-infected child survivors for whom the progress of the disease is less aggressive throughout early life. Given the fact that many infants, especially in developing countries, continue to be born without the benefit of perinatal ARVT, there will likely continue to be many older HIV-infected children in the same situation as those described in this follow-up study. They will not have been recognized as being HIV-infected. It is important that such children be identified and offered access to ARVT and other appropriate support services. Key Words HIV, pediatrics, AIDS, cognitive ability, intelligence, motor development, social development, neuropsychology, children, Africa, Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, K-ABC Abbreviations CDC--Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ARVT--antiretroviral treatment SES--socioeconomic status K-ABC--Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children WRAT-3--Wide Range Achievement--Third Edition ANOVA--analysis of variance WAZ--weight-for-age z score(s) HAZ-- height-for-age z score(s) FTT--failure to thrive PE--progressive encephalopathy, THE DEVELOPMENTAL DEFICITS described in HIV-1--infected children have included language and motor skills, (1,3) verbal and memory deficits, (4) visual-spatial integrative ability, (5,6) executive function, (7) hypotonia, and/or hyperactivity. (8) [...]

In an overview of God and evolutionary theory in recent thought, Barbour (2000) categorizes various proponents as representing either a conflict, independence, dialogue, or integration approach. Using an evolutionary psychological [...]

Background Malaria in pregnancy (MiP) contributes significantly to infant mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa and has consequences on survivors, such as preterm birth and low birth weight. However, its impact on long-term neurocognitive development in children remains unknown. Methods Our prospective cohort included pregnant women and their live-born singletons from the Malaria in Pregnancy Preventive Alternative Drugs clinical trial. MiP was assessed using microscopy and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Neurocognitive development in children was assessed using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd edition (KABC-II), at 1 and 6 years of age, respectively. Results Of 493 pregnant women, 196 (40%) were infected with malaria at least once: 121 (31%) with placental malaria diagnosed by qPCR. Multiple linear regression B-coefficients showed that impaired gross motor scores were associated with MiP at least once (−2.55; confidence interval [95% CI]: −5.15, 0.05), placental malaria by qPCR (−4.95; 95% CI: −7.65, −2.24), and high parasite density at delivery (−1.92; 95% CI: −3.86, 0.02) after adjustment. Malaria and high parasite density at the second antenatal care visit were associated with lower KABC-II Non-Verbal Index scores at 6 years (−2.57 [95% CI: −4.86, −0.28] and −1.91 [−3.51, −0.32]), respectively. Conclusions This prospective cohort study provides evidence that MiP, particularly late term, could have important negative consequences on child development at 1 and 6 years of age. Mechanisms behind this association must be further investigated and diagnostic methods in low-income countries should be strengthened to provide adequate treatment. Clinical Trials Registration NCT00811421. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]