While studies have documented neural correlates of language delay in toddlers with developmental conditions, those at genetic risk for language delay, and those born premature, no studies have examined neural correlates in toddlers exhibiting early language delay without known aetiology. This study examines brain morphometry in toddlers with and…

Executive control (EC) emerges in the first year of life, with the ability to inhibit prepotent responses (inhibitory control [IC]) and to flexibly readapt (cognitive flexibility [CF]) steadily improving. Simultaneously, electrophysiological brain activity undergoes profound reconfiguration, which has been linked to individual variability in EC.…

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies with adults provide evidence that functional brain networks, including the default mode network and frontoparietal network, underlie executive functioning (EF). However, given the challenges of using fMRI with infants and young children, little work has assessed the developmental trajectories of…

This dissertation investigates the neural bases and development of displacement, which is a language property that allows us to communicate about situations outside the "here-and-now." One way to displace from our immediate environment is to project ourselves into the here-and-now point of an alternative actuality. Another form of…

Previous research suggests that book reading and screen time have contrasting effects on language and brain development. However, few studies have explicitly investigated whether children's brains function differently during these two activities. The present study used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure brain response in 28…

This study uses CiteSpace, a bibliometric and visualization-analysis tool, to present a systematic analysis of literature in the Web of Science database on physiological-synchrony evoked by attentional engagement. It reviews the publication timeframe, authorship, keywords, and leading institutions and regions, along with burst terms and highly…

In this study, we aimed to determine the role of parental praise and child affect in the neural processes underlying parent-child interactions, utilizing functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning. We characterized the dynamic changes in interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) between parents and children (4-6 years old, n = 40…

Teachers and allied professionals change the brains of students with their instruction and interventions. Since their efforts lead to physiological changes through the brain's natural propensity for plasticity, it is perplexing that very few educators know about the brain, or how their actions influence brain development in the children they…

The physiological functions of micronutrients in neurodevelopment are well documented, but their protective effects on neurodevelopmental disorders remain controversial. We assessed the associations between micronutrients and three main neurodevelopmental disorders, that is, autism spectrum disorder (18,381 cases), attention-deficit/hyperactivity…

Identifying the neural processes that underlie the association between children's early adverse experiences and cognitive development could inform more effective intervention strategies. The goal of the current study (data collected 2015-2021) was to examine relations among early experiences at 6 months, electroencephalography (EEG) theta power at…

This systematic review synthesized current literature regarding the effect of physical activity (PA) interventions on brain structure (BS) and brain function (BF) in healthy children. This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews protocols and used the Rayyan web for data extraction. Eleven experimental studies were…

Error-monitoring is a crucial cognitive process that enables us to adapt to the constantly changing environment. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays a vital role in error-monitoring, and its prolonged maturation suggests that it can be influenced by experience-dependent plasticity. To explore this possibility, we collected morphometric…

The developmental course of neural tuning to visual letter strings is unclear. Here we tested 39 children longitudinally, at the beginning of grade 1 (6.45 ± 0.33 years old) and 1 year after, with fast periodic visual stimulation in electroencephalography to assess the evolution of selective neural responses to letter strings and their…

In this extensively revised edition, Martha Ann Bell and her contributors synthesize the newest research on how cognitive and emotional processes influence each other in child development. Historically, research in child development has treated cognitive processes as separate and distinct from social-emotional processes. However, many of the…

Inhibitory control (IC) emerges in infancy, continues to develop throughout childhood and is linked to later life outcomes such as school achievement, prosocial behavior, and psychopathology. Little, however, is known about the neural processes underpinning IC, especially in 2-year-olds. In this study, we examine functional connectivity (FC) in…