Aim: The Infant Motor Profile (IMP) is a qualitative assessment of motor behaviour of infants aged 3 to 18 months. The aim of this study was to investigate construct validity of the IMP through the relation of IMP scores with prenatal, perinatal, and neonatal variables, including the presence of brain pathology indicated by neonatal ultrasound…

Aim: Little is known of minor neurological dysfunction (MND) in infancy. This study aimed to evaluate the inter-assessor reliability of the assessment of MND with the Touwen Infant Neurological Examination (TINE) and the construct and predictive validity of MND in infancy. Method: Inter-assessor agreement was determined in a sample of 40 infants…

This guide was created because parents revealed, through extensive social research, that they often received inconsistent and confusing parenting information from different professionals and practitioners across different disciplines, leading to misunderstandings and a lack of confidence about how best to support their children's development. In…

Objective: Cannabis is the most commonly consumed illicit drug among pregnant women. Intrauterine exposure to cannabis may result in risks for the developing fetus. The importance of intrauterine growth on subsequent psychological and behavioral child development has been demonstrated. This study examined the relation between maternal cannabis use…

Prenatal exposures to neurotoxins and postnatal parenting practices have been shown to independently predict variations in the cognitive development and emotional-behavioral well-being of infants and children. We examined the independent contributions of prenatal cigarette exposure and infant learning stimulation, as well as their…

In this collective case study of caregiver behaviors with their toddlers, two-minute videotaped reading interactions were analyzed using a constant comparative method. Twenty-four caregiver-toddler dyads from a high-risk sample of children prenatally exposed to cocaine were selected from a larger sample because they represented the extremes of…

Childhood-onset schizophrenia is an exceedingly rare mental illness whose complex, multifaceted behavioral presentation can disrupt child development and raise diagnostic and treatment difficulties for attending clinicians. The disorder, affecting one in 30,000 children, shares the same diagnostic criteria and symptoms as its adult counterpart,…

Genetic factors dynamically interact with both pre- and postnatal environmental influences to shape development. Considerable attention has been devoted to gene-environment interactions (G x E) on important outcomes (A. Caspi & T. E. Moffitt, 2006). It is also important to consider the possibility that these G x E effects may vary across…

The role of sensory feedback in the early ontogeny of motor coordination remains a topic of speculation and debate. On E20 of gestation (the 20th day after conception, 2 days before birth), rat fetuses can alter interlimb coordination after a period of training with an interlimb yoke, which constrains limb movement and promotes synchronized,…

In mammalian species, behavior begins in utero, hidden within the mother's body. This biological fact has made it difficult to observe or to access fetuses, leaving the beginnings of behavior to the imagination or allowing it to be forgotten or ignored. Such truncation of perspective probably helped many to consider behavioral capabilities first…

Research over the past several decades has provided insight into the processes that govern early brain development and how those processes contribute to behavior. In this article, the authors provide an overview of early brain development beginning with a summary of the prenatal period. They then turn to postnatal development and examine how brain…

Until recently, the impact of early brain insult (EBI) has been considered to be less significant than for later brain injuries, consistent with the notion that the young brain is more flexible and able to reorganize in the context of brain insult. This study aimed to evaluate this notion by comparing cognitive and behavioural outcomes for…

Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a significant social problem associated with developmental difficulties in young children. Child developmental and behavioral characteristics were examined from the 9-month data point of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies-Birth Cohort, a prospective nationally representative study. Several…

Background: Maternal nutrition during pregnancy has been linked with fetal brain development and psychopathology in the offspring. We examined for associations of maternal folate status and dietary intake during pregnancy with brain growth and childhood behavioural difficulties in the offspring. Methods: In a prospective cohort study, maternal red…

The continuity of social competence between 36 months and first grade was examined in a sample of children at risk due to prenatal exposure to cocaine (N = 92). Parent report data on social competence were collected at 36 months of age and both parent and teacher report data were collected when children were in first grade. Regression analyses…