Brain Development Archives - Page 3 of 4 - National Wraparound Initiative (NWI)
Study of first-graders shows fetal alcohol spectrum disorders prevalent in U.S. communities
March 21, 2018 | Emily Taylor
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), funded a study of more than 6,000 first-graders across four U.S. communities and found rates of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) from 1 to 5 percent in community samples. The effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on the brain can result in a range of neurobiological deficits that contribute to physical, cognitive, behavioral, and social challenges throughout life.
How ‘Sesame Street’ is helping kids learn to cope with trauma
October 6, 2017 | Emily Taylor
Sesame Street in Communities has released a new set of free materials designed to help young children and their families deal with trauma. The online resources include videos of the beloved Sesame Street Muppets focused on coping strategies and strengthening children’s natural resilience. The launch was timed with the release of new analysis of the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health indicating that nearly half of American children experience adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). While these experiences have been shown to have a negative impact during childhood and into adulthood, responsive care can help minimize that impact.
Read the NPR article on the Sesame Street in Communities resources»
Child Mind Institute’s 2017 Children’s Mental Health Report
September 25, 2017 | Emily Taylor
The Child Mind Institute recently published its 2017 Children’s Mental Health Report. This year the report has an emphasis on adolescent brain development and mental health disorders that develop during adolescence and young adulthood.
New Research Finds Unique Fingerprint-Like Pattern in Human Brain
February 28, 2017 | Emily Taylor
A study by researchers from the University of Oslo in Norway published recently in Nature Neuroscience, found unique, fingerprint-like patterns in the human brain. These unique network patterns develop during childhood and adolescence. Children and adolescents with mental illness symptoms were found to have a delay in the way these brain network patterns developed.
Research: Maternal Depression Impacts Children’s Basis of Empathy
February 8, 2017 | Emily Taylor
A study published in the January 2017 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry followed children of mothers with depression from birth to preadolescence to look at the impact of mothers’ depression on children’s neural empathic response. Researchers found the neural reaction to pain in others stops earlier for children of depressed mothers than in controls. The patterns of interaction between mother–child were also found to be a factor.
Emerging Research: Can Mental Illness Be Prevented In The Womb?
November 21, 2016 | Emily Taylor
Story about emerging research investigating potential impact of prenatal supplement of B vitamin choline for the future mental health. Multiple researchers in the field agree the subject deserves additional study.
Read about the research into benefits of prenatal choline supplements for mental health»
Policing the Teenage Brain
September 12, 2016 | Emily Taylor
In this Atlantic interview, Lisa Thurau, founder and executive director of Strategies for Youth discusses the positive impact of their training program for police on youth mental health. In Cambridge, the program led to a 65 percent decline in juvenile arrests and an 80 percent decline in runaways.
Read the article about the benefits of training police on youth mental health issues»
Common brain changes found in children with autism, ADHD and OCD
August 11, 2016 | Emily Taylor
New research from the Province of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Disorders Network (POND) founds similarities in brain imaging of white matter in 200 children with autism, ADHD, OCD or no diagnosis.
Read about the MRI study of shared brain biology across ADHD, OCD and autism»
New Recommendation: Limit Exposure to ‘virtual violence’ in children’s lives
August 1, 2016 | Emily Taylor
New guidelines from American Academy of Pediatrics recommend limiting children’s exposure to “virtual violence” in video games and media. One recommendation is to “protect children under age six from all virtual violence, because they cannot always distinguish fantasy from reality”.
Read the article on guidelines for limiting kids’ exposure to virtual violence»
Poor outcomes for adolescents who use Marijuana
June 22, 2016 | Emily Taylor
A recent study by RAND Corporation followed a group of LA-area students over a seven year period, from their participation in an alcohol and other drug use prevention program in middle schools through high school, surveying them on their drug use and academic progress.