This longitudinal, within-subjects study examined whether adolescents' biological sensitivity to socioeconomic status (SES) for emerging social difficulties varied day to day. Diverse adolescents (N = 315; ages 11-18; 57% female; 25% Asian, 18% Latinx, 11% Black) provided daily diaries and saliva samples for 4 days. We measured biological…

Background: Little is known about the nature, range and prevalence of different subgroups in language trajectories extant in a population from 4 to 11 years. This hinders strategic targeting and design of interventions, particularly targeting those whose difficulties will likely persist. Methods: Children's language abilities from 4 to 11 years…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between stuttering and a range of variables of possible relevance, with the main focus on neuromuscular reactivity, and anxiety. The explorative analysis also included temperament, biochemical variables, heredity, preonset lesions, and altered auditory feedback (AAF). An increased level of…

Investigated the effects of biomedical and social-environmental conditions on cognitive and language development in children toddlers. Hypothesized a strong effect of biomedical factors in first two years and a strong environmental influence at three years. Used analysis approach to estimate variables assumed to underlie measurement data. Results…

A study examined underlying factors for age-related decline in adaptive behavior in 128 adults with trisomy 21 over a three-year period. Presence of dementia was the only determining factor, although the difference in trend over time as compared to subjects without dementia was not significant. (Author/CR)

A study assessed genetic and environmental etiologies of reading, rapid naming (RN), and their covariation using data from 587 twin pairs (ages 7-20) in which one student had reading difficulties and from 360 control pairs. Correlation between reading and RN performances for subjects was significantly higher than that of controls. (Contains…

A comparison was made between a range of clinical and biochemical variables and zinc levels in 120 individuals with Down syndrome. No significant differences were found between the normal-zinc and low-zinc groups, except for IgG4 which was, unexpectedly, significantly decreased in the group with normal zinc levels. (Contains references.)…

Morning and afternoon salivary substance P and cortisol levels were measured in 26 adults with chronic self-injurious behavior (SIB) and severe developmental disabilities and compared with controls without SIB. Chronic SIB was associated with an altered diurnal pattern of salivary substance P, characterized by lower levels of morning substance P.…

We have used a genetically tractable model system, the fruit fly "Drosophila melanogaster" to study the interdependence between sensory processing and associative processing on learning performance. We investigated the influence of variations in the physical and predictive properties of color stimuli in several different operant-conditioning…

The role of biological maturity in behaviors in adolescents which most often are considered as negative by adults was investigated for a normal group of girls. (Author/LMO)

Examines the development of normative sleep-wake state characteristics in full-term infants, and atypical state characteristics as presented in several clinical populations including preterm and autistic children. Reviews and critiques the literature on the usefulness of infant state parameters in predicting developmental outcomes of infants at…

A new generation of study programs worldwide is examining the links between brain science and children's learning problems and skills. One of its aims is to help bridge the gap between the laboratory and the classroom. Thus, by bringing multiple academic fields to bear in studying the brain, scientists hope to fashion cutting-edge research…

This article discusses newer views of functional developmental plasticity occurring after biological insults to the developing central nervous system (CNS), including concepts of neurobehavioral outcome and ways to measure it, biological risk, age and development at onset of CNS insult, time since onset of CNS insult, and reserve. (Contains…

Used a bio-psychosocial approach to examine predictors of onset of sexual intercourse among adolescents interviewed at ages 13-14, 16-17, and 22-23 years. Found that for girls, always-married parents and less dating alone predicted later first intercourse. Earlier timing of first intercourse for boys was related to associating with peers with…

Examined ability of individuals biologically predisposed to poor spatial skills to capitalize on opportunities to develop these skills. Found that for girls with brothers, those from all right-handed families had lower mental-rotation scores than did others. Among children participating in mental-rotation-type activities with their brothers,…