(AAP) recommends limits on screen-based media use, citing its cognitive-behavioral risks. Screen use by young children is prevalent and increasing, although its implications for brain development are unknown. OBJECTIVE To explore the associations between screen-based media use and integrity of brain white matter tracts supporting language and literacy skills in preschool-aged children. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cross-sectional study of healthy children aged 3 to 5 years (n = 47) was conducted from August 2017 to November 2018. Participants were recruited at a US children's hospital and community primary care clinics. EXPOSURES Children completed cognitive testing followed by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and their parent completed a ScreenQ survey. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES ScreenQ is a 15-item measure of screen-based media use reflecting the domains in the AAP recommendations: access to screens, frequency of use, content viewed, and coviewing. Higher scores reflect greater use. ScreenQ scores were applied as the independent variable in 3 multiple linear regression models, with scores in 3 standardized assessments as the dependent variable, controlling for child age and household income: Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing, Second Edition (CTOPP-2; Rapid Object Naming subtest); Expressive Vocabulary Test, Second Edition (EVT-2; expressive language); and Get Ready to Read! (GRTR; emergent literacy skills). The DTI measures included fractional anisotropy (FA) and radial diffusivity (RD), which estimated microstructural organization and myelination of white matter tracts. ScreenQ was applied as a factor associated with FA and RD in whole-brain regression analyses, which were then narrowed to 3 left-sided tracts supporting language and emergent literacy abilities. RESULTS Of the 69 children recruited, 47 (among whom 27 [57%] were girls, and the mean [SD] age was 54.3 [7.5] months) completed DTI. Mean (SD; range) ScreenQ score was 8.6 (4.8; 1-19) points. Mean (SD; range) CTOPP-2 score was 9.4 (3.3; 2-15) points, EVT-2 score was 113.1 (16.6; 88-144) points, and GRTR score was 19.0 (5.9; 5-25) points. ScreenQ scores were negatively correlated with EVT-2 (F 2,43 = 5.14; R 2 = 0.19; P < .01), CTOPP-2 (F 2,35 = 6.64; R 2 = 0.28; P < .01), and GRTR (F 2,44 = 17.08; R 2 = 0.44; P < .01) scores, controlling for child age. Higher ScreenQ scores were correlated with lower FA and higher RD in tracts involved with language, executive function, and emergent literacy abilities (P < .05, familywise error-corrected), controlling for child age and household income. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study found an association between increased screen-based media use, compared with the AAP guidelines, and lower microstructural integrity of brain white matter tracts supporting language and emergent literacy skills in prekindergarten children. The findings suggest further study is needed, particularly during the rapid early stages of brain development.

Objectives: Preclinical studies have shown that blueberry supplementation can improve cognitive performance and neuronal function in aged animals and have identified associations between anthocyanins and such benefits. Preliminary human trials also suggest cognitive improvement in older adults, although direct evidence of enhancement of brain function has not been demonstrated. In this study, we investigated the effect of blueberry supplementation on regional brain activation in older adults at risk for dementia. Methods: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial we performed pre- and post-intervention functional magnetic resonance imaging during a working memory task to assess the effect of blueberry supplementation on blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, a risk condition for dementia. Results: Following daily supplementation for 16 weeks, blueberry-treated participants exhibited increased BOLD activation in the left pre-central gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, and left inferior parietal lobe during working memory load conditions (corrected p < 0.01). There was no clear indication of working memory enhancement associated with blueberry supplementation. Diet records indicated no between-group difference in anthocyanin consumption external to the intervention. Discussion: These data demonstrate, for the first time, enhanced neuronal response during working memory challenge in blueberry-treated older adults with cognitive decline and are consistent with prior trials showing neurocognitive benefit with blueberry supplementation in this at-risk population.

Objective To explore the relationship between maternal shared reading quality (verbal interactivity and engagement) and brain function during story listening in at-risk, preschool-age children, in the context of behavioral evidence and American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations. Study design In this cross-sectional study, 22 healthy, 4-year-old girls from low-socioeconomic status (SES) households completed functional MRI using an established story listening task, followed by videotaped observation of un-coached mother-daughter reading of the same, age-appropriate picture book. Shared reading quality was independently scored applying dialogic reading and other evidence-based criteria reflecting interactivity and engagement, and applied as a predictor of neural activation during the fMRI task, controlling for income and maternal education. Results Shared reading quality scores were generally low, and negatively correlated with maternal distraction by smartphones (P < .05). Scores were positively correlated with activation in left-sided brain areas supporting expressive and complex language, social-emotional integration and working memory (p < 0.05, false discovery rate corrected). Conclusion Maternal shared reading quality is positively correlated with brain activation supporting complex language, executive function, and social-emotional processing in at-risk, preschool-age children. These findings represent novel neural biomarkers of how this modifiable aspect of home reading environment may influence foundational emergent literacy skills, reinforce behavioral evidence and AAP recommendations, and underscore the potential of dialogic reading interventions to promote healthy brain development, especially in at-risk households.

Objectives In this study, we tested the hypothesis that, with treatment, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) regional brain activation in first-episode mania would normalize, i.e., differences from health subjects would diminish over time, and would be associated with clinical remission status, potentially identifying neuroanatomic treatment response markers. Methods Forty-two participants with bipolar I disorder were recruited during their first manic episode, pseudo-randomized to open-label lithium or quetiapine, and followed for eight weeks. fMRI scans were obtained at baseline and then after one and eight weeks of treatment, while participants performed a continuous performance task with emotional distracters. Healthy participants received fMRI scans at these same intervals. Specific region-of-interest (ROI) activations within prefrontal emotional networks were assessed as potential measures of treatment response. Results ROI data were reduced using exploratory factor analysis, which identified five factors that were organizationally consistent with functional anatomic models of human emotion modulation, replicating previous factor analyses in this population. One-half of the participants with bipolar disorder achieved remission by Week 8 and were contrasted with the other one-half that did not. Analyses demonstrated that, in the bipolar disorder group in general, treatment led to decreases in activation across brain regions toward healthy subject values. However, differences in activation changes were observed between subjects with bipolar disorder who did or did not achieve remission in subcortical and amygdala factors. Conclusions These findings provide evidence for potential neuroanatomic treatment response markers in first-episode bipolar disorder.

These preliminary data indicate that those who do not later sustain an ACL injury exhibit a stronger functional connection between a cortical sensory-motor region and a cerebellar region responsible for balance and coordination. These findings may help to guide development of brain-driven biofeedback training that optimizes and promotes adaptive neuroplasticity to reduce motor coordination errors and injury risk.

AimCaregiver‐child reading is advocated by health organisations, citing cognitive and neurobiological benefits. The influence of home literacy environment (HLE) on brain structure prior to kindergarten has not previously been studied.MethodsPreschool‐age children completed assessments of language (EVT‐2, CTOPP‐2 Rapid Object Naming) and emergent literacy skills (Get Ready to Read!, The Reading House) followed by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Parents completed a survey of HLE (StimQ‐P2 READ), which has four subscales. DTI measures included axial diffusivity (AD), radial diffusivity (RD), mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA).ResultsForty‐seven children completed DTI (54 ± 7 months, range 36‐63; 27 girls). StimQ‐P2 READ scores correlated with higher EVT‐2, GRTR and TRH scores, controlling for age and gender (P < .01), and also with lower AD, RD and MD in tracts supporting language and literacy skills, controlling for age, gender and income (P < .05, family‐wise error corrected). Correlations were strongest for the Bookreading Quantity subscale, including with higher scores on all cognitive measures including CTOPP‐2, and also with higher FA in left‐lateralised literacy‐supporting tracts, controlling for age, gender and income.ConclusionMore nurturing home reading environment prior to kindergarten may stimulate brain development supporting language and literacy skills, reinforcing the need for further study.

PurposeTo (1) quantify white matter (WM) alterations in female high school athletes during a soccer season and characterise the potential for normalisation during the off-season rest period, (2) determine the association between WM alterations and exposure to repetitive subconcussive head impacts, and (3) evaluate the efficacy of a jugular vein compression collar to prevent WM alterations associated with head impact exposure.MethodsDiffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data were prospectively collected from high school female soccer participants (14–18 years) at up to three time points over 9 months. Head impacts were monitored using accelerometers during all practices and games. Participants were assigned to a collar (n=24) or non-collar group (n=22). The Tract-Based Spatial Statistics approach was used in the analysis of within-group longitudinal change and between-group comparisons.ResultsDTI analyses revealed significant pre-season to post-season WM changes in the non-collar group in mean diffusivity (2.83%±2.46%), axial diffusivity (2.58%±2.34%) and radial diffusivity (3.52%±2.60%), but there was no significant change in the collar group despite similar head impact exposure. Significant correlation was found between head impact exposure and pre-season to post-season DTI changes in the non-collar group. WM changes in the non-collar group partially resolved at 3 months off-season follow-up.DiscussionMicrostructural changes in WM occurred during a season of female high school soccer among athletes who did not wear the collar device. In comparison, there were no changes in players who wore the collar, suggesting a potential prophylactic effect of the collar device in preventing changes associated with repetitive head impacts. In those without collar use, the microstructural changes showed a reversal towards normal over time in the off-season follow-up period.

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