Executive function (EF) underpins the ability to set goals and work towards those goals by co-ordinating thought and action. Its emergence during the first 3 years of life is understudied, largely due to the limitations that early social, motor and language skills place on performance on traditional EF tasks. Nevertheless, across the fields of cognitive psychology, neuroscience, social development and temperament research, evidence is amassing of meaningful precursors and predictors of EF. This review draws together the evidence, highlighting methodological considerations and areas of theoretical debate, and identifies 4 domains critical to the development of EF: control of attention, self-regulation, processing speed and cognitive flexibility. Individual differences within these domains have clinical significance both in terms of the identification of risk markers for later executive dysfunction and for the target or delivery of early intervention to ameliorate this risk. By the end of the third year, typically-developing infants are able to selectively employ impulse control and cognitive flexibility to achieve goal-directed responses to novel situations. KeywordsExecutive function, cognitive development, infancy, regulation, attention, effortful control EXECUTIVE FUNCTION IN THE FIRST 3 YEARS OF LIFE 3 What is Executive Function and Why is it Important?Executive function (EF) can be described as the cognitive toolkit of success. It underpins the ability to set goals and work towards those goals by co-ordinating thought and action, particularly in new situations. The precise nature of the 'tools' in the 'kit' is a matter of considerable debate, but they are largely considered to be higher-order self-regulatory processes, including the control of attention and motor responses, resistance to interference, and delay of gratification (Carlson, Mandell & Williams, 2004;Diamond, 2013;Jurado & Rosselli, 2007), or, as Barkley puts it "those self-directed actions needed to choose goals and to create, enact, and sustain actions toward those goals" (Barkley, 2012, p. 60).From its emergence in very early childhood through to its decline in late adulthood, EF supports and constrains an individual's ability to learn and thrive across their lifespan (Diamond, 2013). Not only does early EF have strong links to children's later social and academic functioning (Blair & Peters Razza, 2007; Eisenberg et al., 2009) but difficulties with some EFs are implicated in a range of disorders including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (Barkley, 1997;Ozonoff, Pennington & Rogers, 1991;Rommelse, Geurts, Franke, Buitelaar & Hartman, 2011). However, currently executive dysfunction is primarily detected during a child's school years. By developing our understanding of the developmental pathway(s) involved in EF we may be able to monitor and intervene in cases where emergent EF is delayed or disrupted, whilst the brain is most responsive to treatment (Johnson, 2012;Wass, 2015). Goals and ...

BackgroundIn Australia, there is limited evidence on the impact of antenatal depression on perinatal outcomes. This study investigates the association between maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy and key perinatal outcomes, including birth weight, gestational age at birth, breastfeeding indicators and postnatal depressive symptoms.MethodA retrospective cohort of mothers (N = 17,564) of all infants born in public health facilities within South Western Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Local Health District in 2014, in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, was enumerated from routinely collected antenatal data to investigate the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes associated with maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy. Antenatal depressive symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Logistic regression models that adjusted for confounders were conducted to determine associations between antenatal depressive symptoms and low birth weight, early gestational age at birth (<37 weeks), breast feeding indicators and postnatal depressive symptoms.ResultsThe prevalence of maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy was 7.0% in the cohort, and was significantly associated with postnatal depressive symptoms [Adjusted Odd Ratios (AOR) = 6.4, 95% CI: 4.8–8.7, P<0.001]. Antenatal depressive symptoms was associated with a higher odds of low birth weight [AOR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2–2.3, P = 0.003] and a gestational age at birth of <37 weeks [AOR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1–1.7, P = 0.018] compared to women who reported lower EPDS scores in antenatal period. Antenatal depressive symptoms were not strongly associated with non-exclusive breast feeding in the early postnatal period.ConclusionMaternal depressive symptoms in the antenatal period are strongly associated with postnatal depressive symptoms and adverse perinatal outcomes in Australian infants. Early identification of antenatal and postnatal depressive symptoms, and referral for appropriate management could benefit not only the mother’s mental health, but also the infant’s health and development.

BackgroundDepression is a leading source of morbidity and health loss in Australian women. This study investigates the determinants of antenatal depressive symptoms and postnatal depressive symptoms in an Australian population, including people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.MethodThe study used a retrospective cohort of mothers of all live births in public health facilities in 2014 (N = 17,564) within South Western Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Local Health District in New South Wales, Australia. Prevalence of antenatal and postnatal depressive symptoms were estimated for the cohort. Multivariate logistic regression models were conducted to investigate the sociodemographic, psychological and health service determinants of antenatal and postnatal depressive symptoms, measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).ResultsThe prevalence of antenatal and postnatal depressive symptoms was 6.2% and 3.3% of the cohort, respectively. Significant risk factors for maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy were, a lack of partner support, history of intimate partner violence, being from the CALD population and low socioeconomic status. Self-reported antenatal depressive symptoms were strongly associated with postnatal depressive symptoms. Risk factors for postnatal depressive symptoms were similar to those for antenatal depressive symptoms, as well as assisted delivery.ConclusionFactors relating to demographic and psychosocial disadvantage were associated with subsequent antenatal and postnatal depressive symptoms in New South Wales, Australia. Our study suggests that screening for probable depression and timely referral for expert assessment of at-risk mothers may be an effective strategy to improve maternal mental health outcomes.

This eleventh national annual immunisation coverage report focuses on data for the calendar year 2017 derived from the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) and the National Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Program Register. This is the first report to include data on HPV vaccine course completion in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) adolescents. ‘Fully immunised’ vaccination coverage in 2017 increased at the 12-month assessment age reaching 93.8% in December 2017, and at the 60-month assessment age reaching 94.5%. ‘Fully immunised’ coverage at the 24-month assessment age decreased slightly to 89.8% in December 2017, following amendment in December 2016 to require the fourth DTPa vaccine dose at 18 months. ‘Fully immunised’ coverage at 12 and 60 months of age in Indigenous children reached the highest ever recorded levels of 93.2% and 96.9% in December 2017. Catch-up vaccination activity for the second dose of measles-mumps-rubella-containing vaccine was considerably higher in 2017 for Indigenous compared to non-Indigenous adolescents aged 10–19 years (20.3% vs. 6.4%, respectively, of those who had not previously received that dose). In 2017, 80.2% of females and 75.9% of males aged 15 years had received a full course of three doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. Of those who received dose one, 79% and 77% respectively of Indigenous girls and boys aged 15 years in 2017 completed three doses, compared to 91% and 90% of non-Indigenous girls and boys, respectively. A separate future report is planned to present adult AIR data and to assess completeness of reporting.

Visual attention is a basic mechanism of information gathering and environment selection and consequently plays a fundamental role in influencing developmental trajectories. Here, we highlight evidence for predictive associations from early visual attention to emotion regulation, executive function, language and broader cognitive ability, mathematics and literacy skills, and neurodevelopmental conditions. Development of visual attention is also multifaceted and nonlinear. In daily life, core functions such as orienting, selective filtering, and processing of visual inputs are intertwined and influenced by many other cognitive components. Furthermore, the demands of an attention task vary according to the experience, motivation, and cognitive and physical constraints of participants, while the mechanisms underlying performance may change with development. Thus, markers of attention may need to be interpreted differently across development and between populations. We summarize research that has combined multiple measurements and techniques to further our understanding of visual attention development and highlight possibilities for the future.

BackgroundDifficulties with executive functioning (EF) are common in individuals with a range of developmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Interventions that target underlying mechanisms of EF early in development could be broadly beneficial, but require infant markers of such mechanisms in order to be feasible. Prospective studies of infants at high familial risk (HR) for ASD have revealed a surprising tendency for HR toddlers to show longer epochs of attention to faces than low-risk (LR) controls. In typical development, decreases in look durations towards the end of the first year of life are driven by the development of executive attention—a foundational component of EF. Here, we test the hypothesis that prolonged attention to visual stimuli (including faces) in HR toddlers reflects early differences in the development of executive attention.MethodsIn a longitudinal prospective study, we used eye-tracking to record HR and LR infants’ looking behaviour to social and non-social visual stimuli at ages 9 and 15 months. At age 3 years, we assessed children with a battery of clinical research measures and collected parental report of effortful control (EC)—a temperament trait closely associated with EF and similarly contingent on executive attention.ResultsConsistent with previous studies, we found an attenuated reduction in peak look durations to faces between 9 and 15 months for the HR group compared with the LR group, and lower EC amongst the HR-ASD group. In line with our hypothesis, change in peak look duration to faces between 9 and 15 months was negatively associated with EC at age 3.ConclusionsWe suggest that for HR toddlers, disruption to the early development of executive attention results in an attenuated reduction in looking time to faces. Effects may be more apparent for faces due to early biases to orient towards them; further, attention difficulties may interact with earlier emerging differences in social information processing. Our finding that prolonged attention to faces may be an early indicator of disruption to the executive attention system is of potential value in screening for infants at risk for later EF difficulties and for evaluation of intervention outcomes.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s11689-017-9219-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Early executive functions (EFs) lay the foundations for academic and social outcomes. In this parent-report study of 575 UK-based 8-to 36 month olds (218 followed longitudinally), we investigate how variation in the home environment before and during the 2020 pandemic relates to infants' emerging EFs. Parent-infant enriching activities were positively associated with infant Cognitive Executive Function (CEF) (encompassing inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility). During the most-restrictive UK lockdownbut not subsequently-socioeconomic status (SES) was positively associated with levels of parent-infant enriching activities. Parents who regard fostering early learning, affection, and attachment as important were more likely to engage in parent-infant enriching activities, yet there was no significant pathway from parental attitudes or SES to CEF via activities. Infant screen use was negatively associated with CEF and Regulation. Screen use fully mediated the effect of SES on CEF, and partially mediated the effect of SES on regulation.

Objectives To estimate SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific antibody seroprevalence after the first epidemic wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in Sydney. Setting, participants People of any age who had provided blood for testing at selected diagnostic pathology services (general pathology); pregnant women aged 20–39 years who had received routine antenatal screening; and Australian Red Cross Lifeblood plasmapheresis donors aged 20–69 years. Design Cross‐sectional study; testing of de‐identified residual blood specimens collected during 20 April – 2 June 2020. Main outcome measure Estimated proportions of people seropositive for anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific IgG, adjusted for test sensitivity and specificity. Results Thirty‐eight of 5339 specimens were IgG‐positive (general pathology, 19 of 3231; antenatal screening, 7 of 560; plasmapheresis donors, 12 of 1548); there were no clear patterns by age group, sex, or location of residence. Adjusted estimated seroprevalence among people who had had general pathology blood tests (all ages) was 0.15% (95% credible interval [CrI], 0.04–0.41%), and 0.29% (95% CrI, 0.04–0.75%) for plasmapheresis donors (20–69 years). Among 20–39‐year‐old people, the age group common to all three collection groups, adjusted estimated seroprevalence was 0.24% (95% CrI, 0.04–0.80%) for the general pathology group, 0.79% (95% CrI, 0.04–1.88%) for the antenatal screening group, and 0.69% (95% CrI, 0.04–1.59%) for plasmapheresis donors. Conclusions Estimated SARS‐CoV‐2 seroprevalence was below 1%, indicating that community transmission was low during the first COVID‐19 epidemic wave in Sydney. These findings suggest that early control of the spread of COVID‐19 was successful, but efforts to reduce further transmission remain important.