Children born to moms who smoked or ingested marijuana during pregnancy suffer higher rates of depression, hyperactivity, and inattention. We live in a medicated era. Recent data indicate that more than half of Americans are currently taking prescription drugs. Among … Continue reading
McGill researchers report those who suffer from traumatic experiences during childhood, like severe abuse, show significant abnormalities in the structure and cell function in the anterior cingulate cortex, an area of the brain associated with emotion and mood regulation. Researchers … Continue reading
Early childhood experience has a profound impact on structural and dynamical features of the brain and may shed light on precursors of brain dysfunction. In the year 2000, 136 abandoned children in Bucharest were enrolled in a now famous study. … Continue reading
The brains of children who suffer clinical depression as preschoolers develop abnormally, compared with the brains of preschoolers unaffected by the disorder, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Their gray matter — tissue … Continue reading
Don’t let your own reaction to stress negatively affect the children in your care! With new evidence indicating that undesirable stress is likely to have its roots in childhood, Childhood Stress in Contemporary Society is a much-needed resource for anyone … Continue reading
Sometimes we don’t give kids enough credit — as easy as childhood can seem to those of us who are on the other side of it, it’s also essentially a long slog through a bunch of things you don’t want … Continue reading
New research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) argues that children’s ability to make moral judgements has often been substantially underestimated. “The long-held claim has been that young children judge according to the outcome of an event, rather than … Continue reading
A new study looks at how the notion of equality and sense of justice develops in children. As they grow up, do children become young Robin Hoods? Depending on their age, they do not allocate resources in the same way … Continue reading
Childhood socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with cognitive achievement throughout life. How does SES relate to brain development, and what are the mechanisms by which SES might exert its influence? We review studies in which behavioral, electrophysiological and neuroimaging methods … Continue reading
We propose that human communication is specifically adapted to allow the transmission of generic knowledge between individuals. Such a communication system, which we call ‘natural pedagogy’, enables fast and efficient social learning of cognitively opaque cultural knowledge that would be … Continue reading
