Background: The dominant view based on the deficit model of developmental psychopathology is that early adverse rearing impairs cognition. In contrast, an emerging evolutionary-developmental model argues that individuals exposed to early-life stress may have improved cognitive abilities that are adapted to harsh environments. We set out to test this hypothesis by examining cognitive functions in parentally deprived children in Nigeria. Methods: Cognitive performance was compared between 53 deprived children who currently live in institutional homes and foster families and 51 nondeprived control participants. We used a multifaceted neurocognitive test battery for the assessment of inhibition, set-shifting and working memory. Results: Results showed that the deprived and nondeprived group did not significantly differ in their performance on set-shifting and inhibition tasks. Conversely, the deprived group performed significantly better than the nondeprived group in the working memory task. Discussion: We interpret the enhanced working memory ability of the deprived group as a correlate of its ecological relevance. In Nigeria, underprivileged children may need to rely to a larger extent on working memory abilities to attain success through academic work. This study provides further evidence that exposure to early adversity does not necessarily impair cognitive functions but can even enhance it under some conditions and in some domains.

No abstract

The dominant view based on the deficit model of developmental psychopathology is that early adverse rearing impairs cognition. In contrast, an emerging evolutionary-developmental model argues that individuals exposed to early life stress may have improved cognitive abilities that are adapted to harsh environments. We set out to test this hypothesis by examining cognitive functions in parentally deprived children in Nigeria. Cognitive performance was compared between 53 deprived children who currently live in institutional homes and foster families and 51 non-deprived control participants. We used a multifaceted neurocognitive test battery for the assessment of inhibition, set-shifting, and working memory. Results showed that the deprived group had slower response times than the non-deprived group in the inhibition task. Conversely, the deprived group performed significantly better than the non-deprived group in the working memory task. There was no significant difference between the groups with regard to set-shifting performance. We interpret the enhanced working memory ability of the deprived group as a correlate of its ecological relevance. In Nigeria, underprivileged children may need to rely to a larger extent on working memory abilities to attain success through academic work. This study provides further evidence that exposure to early adversity does not necessarily impair cognitive functions but can even enhance it under some conditions and in some domains.

This study used a novel approach that combined the latency and accuracy scores to examine the relative involvement of inhibition and working memory in two measures of cognitive flexibilitymixing cost and switch cost in 110 Nigerian adolescents. Results showed that inhibition was significantly associated with switch cost. On the other hand, working memory was negatively associated with mixing cost. These findings support the assumption that cognitive flexibility skills are dependent on inputs from inhibition and working memory processes. Inhibition is involved in the deactivation of irrelevant stimuli during switching trials while working memory is essential to maintain the current rule in sets that require no shifting.

O nline sports betting is a popular recreational activity in Nigeria. Like other forms of gambling, risk of pathological progression exists for gamblers who continue betting despite severe financial and psychosocial consequences. In the present study, we examined whether this population of gamblers shows deficits in decision making and cognitive flexibility that have been documented in Western gambling populations. Thirty-six online sports bettors and 42 non-gambling participants completed a version of the Iowa gambling task (IGT) and an established set-shifting task for the assessment of cognitive flexibility. The two groups did not differ significantly in the selection of disadvantageous decks on the IGT. In contrast, sports bettors committed significantly more errors on the set-shifting task than non-gambling control participants. As this performance deficit was not specific to trials requiring a set shift, it most likely resulted from gambling-related changes in general cognitive or motivational abilities that are required to successfully complete challenging mental tasks. While our results illustrate that findings from Western populations cannot automatically be generalised to other contexts, it should be noted that we focused on only one particular type of gambling and included mostly participants with mild gambling-related problems.

No abstract

Background Early‐life adversity is associated with adverse mental health outcomes and poorer cognitive functioning in later development. However, little is known about how early‐life adversity, mental health, and cognition affect one another or how the effects unfold over time. Here, we test the hypothesis that early‐life adversity may lead to mental health challenges which in turn have adverse consequences for the development of cognitive abilities. Methods In a large (N = 13,287) longitudinal (5 wave) sample assessed at ages 3, 5, 7, 11 and 14, we use both path analysis approach and latent growth curve mediation model to study whether poorer mental health in childhood may mediate the effects of early‐life adversity on later working memory and vocabulary outcomes. Results We found a significant total association between early‐life adversity and poorer performance on working memory (β = .123, p < .001, [95% CI 0.106, 0.141]) and vocabulary scores (β = −.111, p < .001, [95% CI −0.129, −0.093]). Notably, current and previous mental health mediated a substantial proportion (working memory: 59%; vocabulary: 70%) of these effects. Further longitudinal modeling showed that early‐life adversity has an enduring adverse effect on mental health, and that poorer mental health is associated with poorer cognitive performance later on in development. In a complementary analysis using latent growth curve mediation model, we found indirect associations between early‐life adversity and working memory through baseline mental health at age 3 (intercept: β = .083, p < .001, [95% CI 0.072, 0.094]) and change in mental health across ages 3–11 (slope: β = −.012, p = .001, [95% CI −0.019, −0.005]). Likewise, baseline mental health at age 3 (intercept: β = −.095, p < .001, [95% CI −0.107, −0.083]) and change in mental health across ages 3–14 (slope: β = .007, p = .001, [95% CI 0.003, 0.011]) significantly and completely mediated the relation between early‐life adversity and vocabulary outcome. Conclusions These findings have important potential clinical and educational implications, because they suggest that academic and cognitive resilience may be supported through early mental health interventions in vulnerable children.

No abstract