Childhood Brain Research Articles

Fathers' Experience of Their Child's Paediatric Brain Tumour.

This exploratory study explores the impact of paediatric brain cancer on the experiences of the fathers from the time of diagnosis, while most studies have focused on the mothers. The content of interviews conducted with six fathers of children who had brain tumours at the age of approximately 10 years was analysed using a qualitative methodology, following the COREQ guidelines. The fathers first talked about their feelings about the way the brain tumour affected their child and how he/she coped with the illness and treatments, and they also described the difficulties encountered. These French fathers likewise talked about their rights, their need to be listened to, and their wish to remain close to their child during treatment. Improving communication with fathers during care and medical visits could help promote more balanced support for both parents in the vulnerable period of serious paediatric illnesses such as brain tumours.

Neural Tracking to Auditory Statistical Structures in Children.

Children's brain is able to track the linguistic structures in continuous speech. When there was no prior knowledge, we found that children also automatically detected and tracked the statistical structures in auditory tone steam as reflected by neural entrainment, but their ability was immature.

A Multivariate and Network Analysis Uncovers a Long-Term Influence of Exclusive Breastfeeding on the Development of Brain Morphology and Structural Connectivity.

Exclusive breastfeeding (eBF) in infancy appears to offer a developmental advantage for children's brains compared to formula-fed counterparts. Existing research has predominantly focused on global brain measures (i.e., total white/grey matter volumes) or on limited sets of specific brain regions, in selected age groups, leaving uncertainties about the impact of eBF on the overall structural connectomes. In this cross-sectional study encompassing participants from childhood to adulthood, partial least squares correlations (PLSC) were employed to assess white and grey matter volumes. Furthermore, a network analytic approach was used to estimate the structural connectome based on cortical thickness data. The results revealed that eBF duration correlated with increased white matter volumes in children and with the volume of the medial orbital gyrus in adults. Structural connectome analyses demonstrated heightened anatomical connectivity in eBF children, evidenced by enhanced network density and local/global efficiency, along with increased node degree and local efficiency in frontal and temporal lobes. Similarly, eBF in adults was associated to an improved node connectivity in the frontal lobe. These findings imply a lasting impact of eBF on brain morphometry and structural connectivity. Childhood benefits include heightened white matter development, while in adulthood, eBF may contribute to reduced neural loss associated with aging and enhanced connectivity, particularly in frontal regions.

MONITORING MUSICAL DEVELOPMENTOF CHILDREN OF THE THIRD YEAR OF LIFE,TAKING INTO ACCOUNT HOLISTIC THINKING

The article discusses the concept of functional asymmetry of the child’s cerebral hemispheres and the universal developmental paradigm. The universal developmental paradigm means that the characteristic of the world in which we exist is its duality, its division into right and left, light and dark, good and evil... It is thinking, as a function of the human mind, that can be considered the essence of man - a fundamentally intelligent being, and therefore thinking, since thinking is a system-forming factor of man as a living system, and at the same time a necessary and sufficient factor of his being as a rational being, as a species of Homo sapiens. Therefore, the main developmental goal of education should be considered the development of thinking in pupils. Preschool children's brains are used to remembering everything as it is - in a variety of colors, smells, sounds, and other factors. During reproduction, an image-model is created in the right hemisphere, and a verbal definition corresponding to the image is created in the left hemisphere. As a result, perception is not erased, it gives rise to brilliant poems, books, paintings, discoveries. This is unlimited and natural for him. During learning, in most cases, either the left or the right hemisphere of the brain is loaded, while the opposite remains unused. Experimentally, using K. Pearson’s criterion, it was confirmed that the musical development of a child of the third year of life will be more effective and qualitative if the holistic thinking of the two hemispheres of the child's brain is involved. Holistic thinking is the combined work of the two cerebral hemispheres, relying on all channels of information perception. Of course, the tasks of developing preschool children’s personality will be successfully solved if music lessons include consideration of the main issues of factual material. In this case, the music teacher varies the methods of study and forms of work. We propose conditions for individual and personal development of the child, namely, within the framework of the program, thematic planning, conducting classes, games, matinees, etc. the music teacher should have didactic material that changes the type and form of presentation of educational material, and the child has the freedom to choose the task (the same task should provide the possibility of its implementation through an image, word, scheme, modelling, musical accompaniment, movement, etc.), that is, to promote the integration of the right and left types of being in learning and development. Activities that involve two hemispheres of the preschoolers' brain simultaneously will be more effective.

СТАТИСТИЧНІ МЕТОДИ У ПРОВЕДЕННІ ПЕДАГОГІЧНИХ ДОСЛІДЖЕНЬ (ПРИКЛАДНИЙ АСПЕКТ)

The article discusses the concept of functional asymmetry of the child’s cerebral hemispheres and the universal developmental paradigm. The universal developmental paradigm means that the characteristic of the world in which we exist is its duality, its division into right and left, light and dark, good and evil. It is thinking, as a function of the human mind, that can be considered the essence of man - a fundamentally intelligent being, and therefore thinking, since thinking is a system-forming factor of man as a living system, and at the same time a necessary and sufficient factor of his being as a rational being, as a species of Homo sapiens. Therefore, the main developmental goal of education should be considered the development of thinking in pupils. Preschool children's brains are used to remembering everything as it is - in a variety of colours, smells, sounds, and other factors. During reproduction, an image-model is created in the right hemisphere, and a verbal definition corresponding to the image is created in the left hemisphere. As a result, perception is not erased, it gives rise to brilliant poems, books, paintings, discoveries. This is unlimited and natural for him. During learning, in most cases, either the left or the right hemisphere of the brain is loaded, while the opposite remains unused. Experimentally, using K. Pearson’s criterion, it was confirmed that the musical development of a child of the third year of life will be more effective and qualitative if the holistic thinking of the two hemispheres of the child's brain is involved. Holistic thinking is the combined work of the two cerebral hemispheres, relying on all channels of information perception. Of course, the tasks of developing preschool children’s personality will be successfully solved if music lessons include consideration of the main issues of factual material. In this case, the music teacher varies the methods of study and forms of work. We propose conditions for individual and personal development of the child, namely, within the framework of the programme, thematic planning, conducting classes, games, matinees, etc. the music teacher should have didactic material that changes the type and form of presentation of educational material, and the child has the freedom to choose the task (the same task should provide the possibility of its implementation through an image, word, scheme, modelling, musical accompaniment, movement, etc.), that is, to promote the integration of the right and left types of being in learning and development. Activities that involve two hemispheres of the preschoolers’ brain simultaneously will be more effective.

Enhanced neural sensitivity to brief changes of happy over angry facial expressions in preschoolers: A fast periodic visual stimulation study.

Across childhood, emotion perception from facial expressions has traditionally been studied with event-related potentials (ERP). Here, we explored the novel fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) electroencephalography (EEG) approach to provide information about how brief changes in facial expressions are processed implicitly in young children's brains. Utilizing two FPVS tasks for the first time in preschoolers, we examined brain responses to (1) the discrimination of brief changes in facial expressions at maximum intensity and (2) thresholds for discrimination of gradual increasing facial expression intensities. Within a stream of neutral faces at 6 Hz, happy and angry faces were embedded with a frequency of 1.2 Hz. Additionally, children performed an emotion recognition task (ERT). Data were collected in the context of a training study for socio-emotional competencies with typically developing children (N = 74; 5.1[0.9] years; 34 females). FPVS data were collected post-training, where training was included as a controlling factor. Across FPVS tasks, we detected robust expression change responses, particularly with larger responses for happy versus angry faces in the maximum intensity task. ERT results paralleled neural findings with faster reaction times and higher accuracy rates for happy versus angry faces. For gradual increases in emotional intensity, we found linear increases in responses across emotions. The majority of the sample showed a significant expression change at 60% intensity. With its implicit nature, short duration, and robustness of individual responses, our results highlight the potential of FPVS in comparison to classical ERP methods to study neural mechanisms of emotion perception in preschool samples.

Empowering Data Sharing in Neuroscience: A Deep Learning De-identification Method for Pediatric Brain MRIs.

Privacy concerns, such as identifiable facial features within brain scans, have hindered the availability of pediatric neuroimaging datasets for research. Consequently, pediatric neuroscience research lags adult counterparts, particularly in rare disease and under-represented populations. The removal of face regions (image defacing) can mitigate this, however existing defacing tools often fail with pediatric cases and diverse image types, leaving a critical gap in data accessibility. Given recent NIH data sharing mandates, novel solutions are a critical need. To develop an AI-powered tool for automatic defacing of pediatric brain MRIs, deep learning methodologies (nnU-Net) were employed using a large, diverse multi-institutional dataset of clinical radiology images. This included multi-parametric MRIs (T1w, T1w-contrast enhanced, T2w, T2w-FLAIR) with 976 total images from 208 brain tumor patients (Children's Brain Tumor Network, CBTN) and 36 clinical control patients (Scans with Limited Imaging Pathology, SLIP) ranging in age from 7 days to 21 years old. Face and ear removal accuracy for withheld testing data was the primary measure of model performance. Potential influences of defacing on downstream research usage were evaluated with standard image processing and AI-based pipelines. Group-level statistical trends were compared between original (non-defaced) and defaced images. Across image types, the model had high accuracy for removing face regions (mean accuracy, 98%; N=98 subjects/392 images), with lower performance for removal of ears (73%). Analysis of global and regional brain measures (SLIP cohort) showed minimal differences between original and defaced outputs (mean r S=0.93, all p < 0.0001). AI-generated whole brain and tumor volumes (CBTN cohort) and temporalis muscle metrics (volume, cross-sectional area, centile scores; SLIP cohort) were not significantly affected by image defacing (all r S>0.9, p<0.0001). The defacing model demonstrates efficacy in removing facial regions across multiple MRI types and exhibits minimal impact on downstream research usage. A software package with the trained model is freely provided for wider use and further development (pediatric-auto-defacer; https://github.com/d3b-center/pediatric-auto-defacer-public). By offering a solution tailored to pediatric cases and multiple MRI sequences, this defacing tool will expedite research efforts and promote broader adoption of data sharing practices within the neuroscience community. AI = artificial intelligence; CBTN = Children's Brain Tumor Network; CSA = cross-sectional area; SLIP = Scans with Limited Imaging Pathology; TMT = temporalis muscle thickness; NIH = National Institute of Health; LH = left hemisphere; RH = right hemisphere.

Quantitative assessment of neurodevelopmental maturation: a comprehensive systematic literature review of artificial intelligence-based brain age prediction in pediatric populations.

Over the past few decades, numerous researchers have explored the application of machine learning for assessing children's neurological development. Developmental changes in the brain could be utilized to gauge the alignment of its maturation status with the child's chronological age. AI is trained to analyze changes in different modalities and estimate the brain age of subjects. Disparities between the predicted and chronological age can be viewed as a biomarker for a pathological condition. This literature review aims to illuminate research studies that have employed AI to predict children's brain age. The inclusion criteria for this study were predicting brain age via AI in healthy children up to 12 years. The search term was centered around the keywords "pediatric," "artificial intelligence," and "brain age" and was utilized in PubMed and IEEEXplore. The selected literature was then examined for information on data acquisition methods, the age range of the study population, pre-processing, methods and AI techniques utilized, the quality of the respective techniques, model explanation, and clinical applications. Fifty one publications from 2012 to 2024 were included in the analysis. The primary modality of data acquisition was MRI, followed by EEG. Structural and functional MRI-based studies commonly used publicly available datasets, while EEG-based studies typically relied on self-recruitment. Many studies utilized pre-processing pipelines provided by toolkit suites, particularly in MRI-based research. The most frequently used model type was kernel-based learning algorithms, followed by convolutional neural networks. Overall, prediction accuracy may improve when multiple acquisition modalities are used, but comparing studies is challenging. In EEG, the prediction error decreases as the number of electrodes increases. Approximately one-third of the studies used explainable artificial intelligence methods to explain the model and chosen parameters. However, there is a significant clinical translation gap as no study has tested their model in a clinical routine setting. Further research should test on external datasets and include low-quality routine images for MRI. T2-weighted MRI was underrepresented. Furthermore, different kernel types should be compared on the same dataset. Implementing modern model architectures, such as convolutional neural networks, should be the next step in EEG-based research studies.

The Correlation Between Screen Time and the Probability of Developing Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Background Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a collection of neurological, psychological, and developmental anomalies that manifest in early life, affecting individuals across all racial, cultural, and socioeconomic groups. Its prevalence has grown significantly over the past 20 years. Exposure to digital devices has increased alongside the rise in ASD prevalence. Research suggests that prolonged screen time can negatively impact a child's brain development, language, literacy, and cognitive function. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between screen time and the probability of developing autism spectrum disorder. Methodology This study employed a case-control design to examine 231 children in Zakho City diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The study was conducted from October 1, 2023, to March 1, 2024. The participants included neurotypical individuals and individuals with autism. Data were gathered through standardized questionnaires and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26(Released 2019; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York). The study was approved by the College of Medicine/University of Zakho, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and ethical permission was obtained. Results The study revealed a uniform age distribution between cases and controls, with a majority of male participants and a smaller percentage of female participants. ASD patients had a significantly longer duration of exposure to electronic devices compared to controls, with cases averaging 3.61 hours of screen time daily (t-test: t = 0.0001). Conclusion In summary, screens have a major impact on children's neurodevelopment and may increase their risk of developing ASD. However, no appreciable distinction was observed between children diagnosed with ASD and those without regarding early exposure to screens. Our findings can be used to create guidelines for children's media consumption and to raise awareness of this issue. Further research is needed to evaluate the association.

The Relationship Between Nutritional Status And The Development Of Children Aged 4-60 Months

Child development is an important aspect of human life, especially in the early period of life, which is often referred to as the critical or golden period as the child's brain undergoes rapid growth. Developmental disorders in children under five, especially in terms of motor skills, have a long-term impact on their development, and a child's nutritional status has been shown to play a role in the process. Therefore, this study aims to determine the relationship between nutritional status and development of children aged 4-60 months in Jember Regency. The research method used was a quantitative correlational approach with a cross-sectional approach, involving a total of 57 children who had a Kartu Menuju Sehat (KMS) as the population. From the results of the formula calculation, the sample size was determined as 50 respondents using a non-randomized (non-probability) method, namely purposive sampling based on certain criteria. The research instruments involved the Kartu Menuju Sehat (KMS) to assess children's nutritional status and the Developmental Pre-Screening Questionnaire (KPSP) to identify children's development. The results of the chi-square statistical test revealed a significant relationship between nutritional status and development of children aged 4-60 months in Jember District. [ Children with good nutritional status show more optimal developmental progress, while children with poor nutritional status tend to experience slower or inappropriate development for their age. This finding supports theories that emphasize the importance of adequate nutrition for children's growth and development. Therefore, efforts to improve children's nutritional status should be a top priority in various child health and education programs. With the right understanding and action, we can help create a healthier and more potential future generation.

IMPLEMENTASI PEMBELAJARAN HADITS MELALUI METODE GERAKAN UNTUK MENINGKATKAN HAFALAN DAN KUALITAS SDM DI DESA WIBAMULYA

Learning Hadith for children, let alone memorizing and applying it in everyday life, is very important and good for children's brain development. The rapid development of children's brain makes it easier for educators to develop aspects of their development, one of which is religious values, positive habits that children will use in their daily lives. Based on the analysis of the problems received by the author from the community in Wibawamulya Village, with the availability of the number of Qur'anic education parks with adequate infrastructure, it is still necessary to make efforts to increase the literacy of hadith education by implementing a program to improve the quality of human resources in Wibawamulya Village with hadith education using the motion method. Children lack concentration when learning hadith, feel bored and less interested in learning hadith so that memorization of hadith is not well achieved and forget the hadith that has been learned before. This causes the class to be noisy and not conducive when learning hadith takes place. Children prefer to talk to themselves when the educator is guiding their memorization. Based on the existing problems, the author uses qualitative research methods. The purpose of this community service is to understand hadith learning and can be implemented to students. The method of implementing this community service applies community education methods in the form of teaching and training. The results of the service have a positive impact in the form of increasing interest in learning hadith, memorizing hadith, and teacher creativity in learning methods.

Information Regarding Shared Genes Between Humans Improves Attitudes Towards World Members

ABSTRACTLaypeople reason that different races share 68% of their genes. In fact, the Human Genome Project indicates that humans, regardless of race, share 99.9% of our genetic material and that only 1/200th of 1% has been used to group people into the five classically conceived races. We reasoned that information about shared genetics might compel participants to extend their ingroup to include those formerly in the outgroup. In three studies, we showed participants an 11‐min video with this information and compared this to a music video. In Study 1, we examined 123 European New Zealanders and found that attitudes towards individuals in other countries (measured by questions such as How much do you believe in being loyal to all mankind?) improved significantly from pre‐ to post‐test compared to a music video detailing the effect of music on a child's brain. In Study 2, we replicated this effect with a group of 93 European participants in the United Kingdom. In Study 3, we replicated this effect again with a group of 150 participants from the United Kingdom and showed that the effect is independent of age, political orientation, need for cognitive control and submissiveness.

Early Brain Development and Public Health.

Early brain development research is important to public health professionals for understanding early development and strengthening systemic supports for young children's healthy brain growth. This overview describes basic processes of early brain development, including prenatal development and the "fetal programming" of brain and behavior, neural proliferation and the essential influence of experience in the creation of neural networks, the maturational timing of different brain systems and their behavioral consequences, the myelination of neural pathways and its influence on children's action and thinking, and the capacity of the brain to create new neural connections throughout life, which contributes to its continuing adaptability to new experiences. The implications of this research for public health and for strengthening support for early brain development are considered throughout this discussion.

Hubungan Penggunaan Gadget Terhadap Potensi Gangguan Pemusatan Perhatian Dan Hiperaktivitas Pada Anak Prasekolah Dipaud Bougenville Cawang

This study examines the relationship between gadget use and the potential for Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders (GPPH) in preschool children. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends gadget use for preschoolers for no more than 1 hour per day. Gadget addiction can affect a child's brain development because excessive production of the hormone dopamine disrupts the maturity of the prefrontal cortex function, namely controlling emotions, self-control, responsibility, decision making and other moral values. Excessive use of gadgets can also cause problems such as ADHD. The intensity of gadget use was measured using a gadget usage habits questionnaire and GPPH using the Abbreviated Conners Rating Scale (ACRS). This study used a cross-sectional design with 27 respondents in PAUD Bougenville, Cawang with a percentage of 100%, and as many as 29.6% had normal results with a total of 8 children and as many as 70.4% had potential ADHD results with a total of 19 people. Based on the Kendall Tau test, the p-value was 0.005 &lt; 0.05. The results of the correlation test between the gadget intensity variable and the potential for GPPH show that between the variables there is a correlation coefficient (R) of 1,000. This can mean that there is a perfect correlation between the two variables with a strong and significant level of relationship because of the sig value. less than 0.05. It is concluded that there is a significant relationship between gadget use and the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in preschool children

Intergenerational transmission of the structure of the auditory cortex and reading skills.

High-level cognitive skill development relies on genetic and environmental factors, tied to brain structure and function. Inter-individual variability in language and music skills has been repeatedly associated with the structure of the auditory cortex: the shape, size and asymmetry of the transverse temporal gyrus (TTG) or gyri (TTGs). TTG is highly variable in shape and size, some individuals having one single gyrus (also referred to as Heschl's gyrus, HG) while others presenting duplications (with a common stem or fully separated) or higher-order multiplications of TTG. Both genetic and environmental influences on children's cognition, behavior, and brain can to some to degree be traced back to familial and parental factors. In the current study, using a unique MRI dataset of parents and children (135 individuals from 37 families), we ask whether the anatomy of the auditory cortex is related to reading skills, and whether there are intergenerational effects on TTG(s) anatomy. For this, we performed detailed, automatic segmentations of HG and of additional TTG(s), when present, extracting volume, surface area, thickness and shape of the gyri. We tested for relationships between these and reading skill, and assessed their degree of familial similarity and intergenerational transmission effects. We found that volume and area of all identified left TTG(s) combined was positively related to reading scores, both in children and adults. With respect to intergenerational similarities in the structure of the auditory cortex, we identified structural brain similarities for parent-child pairs of the 1st TTG (Heschl's gyrus, HG) (in terms of volume, area and thickness for the right HG, and shape for the left HG) and of the lateralization of all TTG(s) surface area for father-child pairs. Both the HG and TTG-lateralization findings were significantly more likely for parent-child dyads than for unrelated adult-child pairs. Furthermore, we established characteristics of parents' TTG that are related to better reading abilities in children: fathers' small left HG, and a small ratio of HG to planum temporale. Our results suggest intergenerational transmission of specific structural features of the auditory cortex; these may arise from genetics and/or from shared environment.

Multimodal Deep Learning Improves Recurrence Risk Prediction in Pediatric Low-Grade Gliomas.

Postoperative recurrence risk for pediatric low-grade gliomas (pLGGs) is challenging to predict by conventional clinical, radiographic, and genomic factors. We investigated if deep learning of MRI tumor features could improve postoperative pLGG risk stratification. We used pre-trained deep learning (DL) tool designed for pLGG segmentation to extract pLGG imaging features from preoperative T2-weighted MRI from patients who underwent surgery (DL-MRI features). Patients were pooled from two institutions: Dana Farber/Boston Children's Hospital (DF/BCH) and the Children's Brain Tumor Network (CBTN). We trained three DL logistic hazard models to predict postoperative event-free survival (EFS) probabilities with 1) clinical features, 2) DL-MRI features, and 3) multimodal (clinical and DL-MRI features). We evaluated the models with a time-dependent Concordance Index (Ctd) and risk group stratification with Kaplan Meier plots and log-rank tests. We developed an automated pipeline integrating pLGG segmentation and EFS prediction with the best model. Of the 396 patients analyzed (median follow-up: 85 months, range: 1.5-329 months), 214 (54%) underwent gross total resection and 110 (28%) recurred. The multimodal model improved EFS prediction compared to the DL-MRI and clinical models (Ctd: 0.85 (95% CI: 0.81-0.93), 0.79 (95% CI: 0.70-0.88), and 0.72 (95% CI: 0.57-0.77), respectively). The multimodal model improved risk-group stratification (3-year EFS for predicted high-risk: 31% versus low-risk: 92%, p<0.0001). DL extracts imaging features that can inform postoperative recurrence prediction for pLGG. Multimodal DL improves postoperative risk stratification for pLGG and may guide postoperative decision-making. Larger, multicenter training data may be needed to improve model generalizability.

Analysis of the Effect of Zinc Consumption on the Growth and Development of School Age Children

Zinc is an essential mineral for the health of school-age children even though the body requires only a small amount of it. Children are among those at high risk of zinc deficiency. The aim of this study is to find out the impact of zinc consumption on the growth of school-age children. This research method uses a literature review design by searching for some articles that are relevant to the topic taken to obtain information, then analyzed and presented in a narrative form. The results show that parents who lack knowledge about the importance of zinc for health and are less attentive to this, then children may be deficient in zinc intake. As a result, it affects the child's height, weight, and brain development. When children consume zinc on a regular basis, it can support their growth, effectively deal with stunting, prevent adverse effects on their temperament, maintain the immune system, and synergistically lower blood sugar levels in obese children. In conclusion, there is a positive influence that supports the growth of the child if the need for zinc is met from food as well as supplements and a negative influence when the child consumes less zinc.

Analisis Dampak Dari Penggunaan Gawai Pada Anak Usia Dini Di Sekitar Rumah

ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) refers to the broad category of technological tools used to process and communicate information. Gawais are one part of ICT that plays a crucial role in early childhood development. Advancements in media and technology present challenges to children's growth. This study uses qualitative methods with data collection technique to process it as research material. This data is sourced from several relevant journals, then selected, processed, presented, discussed, and finally complied into a single conclusion. There are various negative impacts that can affect children's health, development, safety, behavior, concentration, and brain function. Early childhood education aims to stimulate all aspects of a child's development by providing enjoyable play activities that support the integration of their abilities optimally. Language development in early childhood plays a central role in their lives. However, the use of Gawais can influence children's language skills, sosial interaction, health, information acquisition, and knowledge. These skills typically develop through a series of stages including habituation, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Parents play a crucial role in monitoring, controlling, and observing children's activities to ensure their optimal growth.

Sosialisasi Gizi dan Penyuluhan Keluarga Berencana Sebagai Upaya Menurunkan Angka Stunting di Desa Kemiri

Stunting is a chronic nutritional problem in young children that has serious implications for physical growth, cognitive development, and individual productivity. This condition is caused by a range of complex factors, including poor maternal nutrition and environmental conditions affecting quality of nutrition. The first 1,000 days of life represent a critical period for stunting prevention, as children's brain growth and development are particularly rapid during this time. Socialization regarding the importance of balanced nutrition and Family Planning programs is a strategic step to support optimal child growth and prevent stunting. This program begins with obtaining permits and coordinating with the Head of Kemiri Village to identify appropriate targets, as well as involving local neighborhood association in surveying facilities and infrastructure. The initiative aims to raise awareness in Kemiri Village about stunting and its prevention, and to educate the importance of balanced nutrition for supporting optimal child growth. Through socialization and counseling, it is hoped that the community will be able to recognize signs of stunting and take appropriate actions. This aligns with the village’s sustainable development goals (SDGs), particularly in achieving the target of a hunger-free village. By reducing the prevalence of stunting, the quality of life for the community can be significantly improved.

Physical Activity On Early Childhood Brain Growth

Physical activity in early childhood has a significant influence on brain growth and development. This study used a descriptive qualitative research method with a literature study to evaluate the impact of physical activity on various aspects of child development, such as motor skills, emotions, and the immune system. The results showed that regular and routine physical activity can improve motor skills, as well as strengthen children's immune system. In addition, physical activities that are tailored to the age and ability of the child and supported by a conducive environment can help maximize the potential of children's brain growth and development. Therefore, education and support from parents, educators, and communities in promoting active lifestyles for children is essential to support children's optimal health and development.