Physiological Responsivity and Executive Functioning: Implications for Adaptation and Resilience in Early Childhood

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Obradović
2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 404-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad G. Kurowski ◽  
Amery Treble-Barna ◽  
Huaiyu Zang ◽  
Nanhua Zhang ◽  
Lisa J. Martin ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth A. Wilde ◽  
Ilirjana Hyseni ◽  
Hannah M. Lindsey ◽  
Jessica Faber ◽  
James M. McHenry ◽  
...  

Plasticity is often implicated as a reparative mechanism when addressing structural and functional brain development in young children following traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, conventional imaging methods may not capture the complexities of post-trauma development. The present study examined the cingulum bundles and perforant pathways using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in 21 children and adolescents (ages 10–18 years) 5–15 years after sustaining early childhood TBI in comparison with 19 demographically-matched typically-developing children. Verbal memory and executive functioning were also evaluated and analyzed in relation to DTI metrics. Beyond the expected direction of quantitative DTI metrics in the TBI group, we also found qualitative differences in the streamline density of both pathways generated from DTI tractography in over half of those with early TBI. These children exhibited hypertrophic cingulum bundles relative to the comparison group, and the number of tract streamlines negatively correlated with age at injury, particularly in the late-developing anterior regions of the cingulum; however, streamline density did not relate to executive functioning. Although streamline density of the perforant pathway was not related to age at injury, streamline density of the left perforant pathway was significantly and positively related to verbal memory scores in those with TBI, and a moderate effect size was found in the right hemisphere. DTI tractography may provide insight into developmental plasticity in children post-injury. While traditional DTI metrics demonstrate expected relations to cognitive performance in group-based analyses, altered growth is reflected in the white matter structures themselves in some children several years post-injury. Whether this plasticity is adaptive or maladaptive, and whether the alterations are structure-specific, warrants further investigation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Ursache ◽  
◽  
Clancy Blair ◽  
Cynthia Stifter ◽  
Kristin Voegtline

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christianne Laliberté Durish ◽  
Keith Owen Yeates ◽  
Terry Stancin ◽  
H. Gerry Taylor ◽  
Nicolay C. Walz ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectives:This study examined the relationship of the home environment to long-term executive functioning (EF) following early childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI).Methods:Participants (N=134) were drawn from a larger parent study of 3- to 6-year-old children hospitalized for severe TBI (n=16), complicated mild/moderate TBI (n=44), or orthopedic injury (OI;n=74), recruited prospectively at four tertiary care hospitals in the United States and followed for an average of 6.8 years post-injury. Quality of the home environment, caregiver psychological distress, and general family functioning were assessed shortly after injury (i.e., early home) and again at follow-up (i.e., late home). Participants completed several performance-based measures of EF at follow-up. Hierarchical regression analyses examined the early and late home environment measures as predictors of EF, both as main effects and as moderators of group differences.Results:The early and late home environment were inconsistent predictors of long-term EF across groups. Group differences in EF were significant for only the TEA-Ch Walk/Don’t Walk subtest, with poorer performance in the severe TBI group. However, several significant interactions suggested that the home environment moderated group differences in EF, particularly after complicated mild/moderate TBI.Conclusions:The home environment is not a consistent predictor of long-term EF in children with early TBI and OI, but may moderate the effects of TBI on EF. The findings suggest that interventions designed to improve the quality of stimulation in children’s home environments might reduce the long-term effects of early childhood TBI on EF. (JINS, 2018,24, 11–21)


Circulation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Orna Reges ◽  
Xiaoyun Yang ◽  
Amy Krefman ◽  
Lauren Wakschlag ◽  
Rachel Flynn ◽  
...  

Background: Cardiovascular health (CVH) declines with age starting in early childhood. Neurodevelopmental health (NDH) measures, such as executive function, in early childhood have been associated with subsequent behavioral and lifestyle outcomes; however, little is known about the association of NDH measures in early life with CVH during childhood. Objective: To assess the association of preschool NDH with CVH in later childhood/early adolescence. Methods: Among participants from the Multidimensional Assessment of Preschoolers Study (MAPS), we defined 3 neurodevelopment domains at baseline (ages 3-7 years): executive functioning, developmental functioning, and emotion and behavior regulation (each as a z-score of its component surveys and direct assessment). At the tween follow-up wave (ages 9-14 years), MAPS participants completed a CVH examination including assessment of physical activity, diet, blood pressure, and BMI defined as favorable vs unfavorable CVH metrics according to AHA recommendations. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the association of each NDH domain with favorable/unfavorable CVH metrics at follow up. Models were adjusted for age, race, gender, and poverty. Results: We included 229 SES-diverse children (46.2% boys; 52% living in poverty at baseline; mean baseline age 4.7 yr; mean follow-up age: 11.3 yr). At follow-up, there were 179 (78.2%) children with favorable CVH and 50 (21.8%) children with unfavorable CVH. Better performance on all 3 NDH domains at baseline was demonstrated among children with favorable CVH at follow-up compared to those with unfavorable CVH, with mean z-score of 0.04 among those with favorable CVH compared to -0.15 among those with unfavorable CVH for executive functioning (p<0.001), 0.02 compared to -0.07 for developmental functioning (p=0.004), and 0.02 compared to -0.06 for emotion and behavior regulation (p=0.027). After adjustment, associations between executive functioning, developmental functioning, and emotion/behavior regulation and favorable CVH were attenuated to non-significance {OR (95% CI): 1.21 (0.80-1.81), 1.03 (0.64-1.67), 1.08 (0.73-1.59), respectively}. Conclusions: These findings suggest a possible association between neurodevelopmental domains and CVH, although findings were not significant after adjustment. The heterogeneity of the sample may have obscured effects and the moderating role of the environment may elucidate explanatory pathways. More research with larger sample sizes is needed to better understand the impact of early-life NDH with adolescent CVH.


SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rackeb Tesfaye ◽  
Nicola Wright ◽  
Anat Zaidman-Zait ◽  
Rachael Bedford ◽  
Lonnie Zwaigenbaum ◽  
...  

Abstract Up to 80% of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience sleep disturbance. Poor sleep impairs executive functioning (EF), a lifelong difficulty in ASD. Evidence suggests EF difficulties in ASD are exacerbated by poor sleep. We examine whether early childhood sleep disturbances are associated with worsening EF trajectories in school-aged children with ASD. A subsample (n=217) from the Pathways in ASD longitudinal study was analyzed. The Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire captured sleep duration, onset, and night awakenings before age 5 (Mean=3.5years). Metacognition (MI) and Behavioral Regulation (BRI) indices, on the Teacher Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning, were used to measure cognitive and affective components of EF respectively at four time-points (7.8-11.8years). We applied latent growth curve models to examine associations between sleep and EF, accounting for relevant covariates, including school-age sleep (Mean=6.7years). Sleep traits had different age-related impacts on behavioral regulation, but not metacognition. Longer sleep onset at 3.5 years was associated with a worsening BRI difficulties slope (b=2.07, p&lt;0.04), but conversely associated with lower BRI difficulties at 7.7 years (b=-4.14, p=0.04). A longer sleep onset at 6.7 years was related to higher BRI difficulties at 7.7 years (b=7.78, p&lt;0.01). Longer sleep duration at 6.7 years was associated with higher BRI difficulties at age 7.7 (b=3.15, p=0.01), but subscale analyses revealed shorter sleep duration at age 6.7 was linked to a worsening inhibition slope (b=-0.60, p=0.01). Sleep onset is a robust early correlate of behavior regulation in children with ASD, whereas sleep duration is a later childhood correlate.


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