New research questions the strong claims that have been made about the benefits of ‘brain training’ – enhanced mental skills, a boost to education, improved clinical outcomes and sharper everyday functioning. This new study found evidence that ‘brain training’ changed brain signalling but no indication of other benefits.
To investigate whether standardized motor development screening and assessment tools that are used to evaluate motor abilities of children aged 0 to 2 years are valid in cultures other than those in which the normative sample was established. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Early life stress including childhood maltreatment has been associated with reduced head circumference and/or brain size, cognitive, and academic deficits in children and adolescents. However, little is known about the effect of childhood maltreatment on height, especially in early adulthood. This study was designed to examine the association between confirmed cases of multiple or subtypes of childhood maltreatment and stunted growth in young adulthood controlling for perinatal and familial confounding factors. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Resource lists for each topic include a list of books and E-books that the library currently stocks and a list of suggested titles.
Surveys are available for each topic, so you can vote for titles that you think the library should purchase and also suggest additional titles.
Childhood neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) typically are complex, heterogeneous, conditions that show considerable clinical overlap.1 There are both genetic and environmental contributions to their aetiology, which are not yet fully elucidated. However, immense progress has been made in our understanding of their genetic basis in the last two decades. This short review aims to synthesise the key findings in this regard, with a focus on some of the factors that are most relevant to clinical practice.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Open access. Pediatric pain is associated to patient weight and demographics in specialized settings, but pain prevalence and its associated patient attributes in general pediatric outpatient care are unknown. Our objective was to determine the rate of positive pain screenings in pediatric primary care and evaluate the relationship between reported pain and obesity, demographics, and exam findings during routine pediatric encounters.
Open access. Musculoskeletal complications of Down syndrome (DS) are common but infrequently reported. The combination of ligamentous laxity and low muscle tone contributes to increased risk of a number of musculoskeletal disorders and a delay in acquisition of motor milestones. The primary aim of this study was to describe musculoskeletal anomalies reported in a national cohort of children with DS.
This commentary is on the original article by Sakzewski et al.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens details. To access full-text: click “Log in/Register” (top right hand side). Click ‘Institutional Login’ then select 'OpenAthens Federation', then ‘NHS England’. Enter your Athens details to view the article.
Open access. The aim of this review was to synthesize empirical evidence of family factors associated with participation of children with disabilities aged 5 to 12 years to inform the development of family‐centred participation‐fostering interventions.
The developing brain in utero and during the first years of life is highly vulnerable to environmental influences. Experiences occurring during this period permanently modify brain structure and function through epigenetic modifications (alterations of the DNA structure and chromatin function) and consequently affect the susceptibility to mental disorders. In this review, we describe evidence linking adverse environmental variation during early life (from the fetal period to childhood) and long‐term changes in brain volume, microstructure, and connectivity, especially in amygdala and hippocampal regions. We also describe genetic variations that moderate the impact of adverse environmental conditions on child neurodevelopment, such as polymorphisms in brain‐derived neurotrophic factor and catechol‐O‐methyltransferase genes, as well as genetic pathways related to glutamate and monoaminergic signaling. Lastly, we have depicted positive early life experiences that could benefit childhood neurodevelopment and reverse some detrimental effects of adversity in the offspring.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens details. To access full-text: click “Log in/Register” (top right hand side). Click ‘Institutional Login’ then select 'OpenAthens Federation', then ‘NHS England’. Enter your Athens details to view the article.
Open access. Obesity and caries in young people are issues of public health concern. Even though research into the relationship between the two conditions has been conducted for many years, to date the results remain equivocal. The aim of this paper was to determine the nature of the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and caries in children and adolescents, by conducting a systematic review of the published literature.
BPS blog post. The power (or powerlessness) of parents to shape their children for good or ill continues to preoccupy psychologists and the public alike. Among evolutionary-minded developmental psychologists, one specific idea is that girls’ later attitudes to relationships is influenced by their fathers’ behaviour.
We'd like to hear your suggestions for new book alert topics. Simply reply to this email with 'Book Alert Topic' and your suggestions. You can also view and sign-up to our current new book alerts here: http://library.sssft.nhs.uk/librarykeepuptodate
In March 2015, an Archives editorial featured a Lancet paper describing neonatal, infant and child mortality trends, comparing UK data to other European countries and Canada, but not the USA (doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2014–3 07 678). The UK was improving more slowly than the comparator countries. Now American authors have done something similar (Khan S et al doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.3317). Using the US National Centre for Health Statistics database, and comparing to equivalent data from England/Wales (E&W) and Canada, they found that the US is actually doing much worse than the UK.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Short report: Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is independently associated with health and academic attainment in childhood and adolescence. Yet overweight/obesity remains the focus in public health policy. Surveillance of body mass index (BMI) and CRF considering school deprivation levels is limited. Therefore, we examined this in English primary schools.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.