Childhood Brain Research Articles

The ecology of poverty and children's brain development: A systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis of brain imaging studies.

A growing number of studies have demonstrated associations between poverty and brain structure and function. However, the strength of this association and the effects of poverty level (e.g., family or neighborhood poverty), age and sex on the association are strikingly inconsistent across studies. We aimed to synthesize findings on gray matter volume and task-based brain activation associated with poverty in youth samples and disentangle the effects of poverty level, age, and sex. In general, poverty was associated with alterations in volume and activation in the frontal, temporal, and subcortical regions. Among 14,188 participants and 14,057 participants, poverty was associated with smaller gray matter volumes in the amygdala and hippocampus, respectively. Moderator testing revealed that family poverty had a stronger association than neighborhood poverty and that poverty was related to slower development of amygdala volume. Among 2696 participants, convergent functional alterations associated with poverty were observed in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and left middle frontal gyrus across all task domains, with the percentage of girls positively associated with increased activation in the precuneus. Subgroup analyses revealed that greater poverty was associated with deactivation in the left MTG for top-down control and hyperactivity in the right superior temporal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus, left insula, cerebellum/left fusiform gyrus, and left amygdala/hippocampus for bottom-up processing. These findings provide insights into the neuroscience of poverty, suggesting implications for targeted interventions to support the cognitive and mental health of children living in poverty.

Eğitim Yönetiminde Okul Öncesi Eğitiminin Önemi ve Amaçları Kapsamında Teknoloji Kullanımının İncelenmesi

This study focuses on the study of the use of technology within the scope of the importance and objectives of preschool education in educational management. Preschool education allows the child to be more productive and creative at the same time while addressing all areas of development and to reveal his/her own potential at a high rate. During the preschool period, when preparation for life is made, children are able to reveal their identity in society by acquiring certain habits and developing individually. During this period, the physical environment consisting of rich stimulants contributes to the completion of the educational process in a good way by supporting the child's learning life and all areas of development. The preschool period, which is characterized as the first six years of life, covers the most active years when the child shows the fastest development and interacts with society. During these years, when brain development is progressing rapidly, the interaction and stimulants established with the social environment support the child's multifaceted development. All warnings received have an impact on the child's mental health and thinking skills. When the child's brain development and mental health are evaluated as a whole, the importance of environmental factors will be better understood and it will be serious for the child to complete his development in a healthy environment. Within this scope, technology, which covers every area of life, reaches every audience starting from preschool by enabling children to get acquainted with technological devices at a young age. With the widespread use of technological devices, various academic debates have also emerged about the dimension that children add to their lives. As a result of these discussions, it has been reached that technology poses a risk in child development. The reason is stated as the fact that the touch screen takes over the child's life and he faces various diseases while distancing himself from society. Like the technological activities that have increased recently, the time that children devote to technology is also increasing at the same rate. Although many researchers and educators have advocated the importance of children learning with technology since preschool and have devoted themselves to researching and implementing technology-related applications, the impact of young children's technology use on their development still needs to be discussed. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a typology in order to Deconstruct the interaction between technology and critical factors affecting children's learning in an effective way. Key Words: Education Management, Preschool Education, Digitalization, Technology

Eğitim Yönetiminde Okul Öncesi Eğitiminin Önemi ve Amaçları Kapsamında Teknoloji Kullanımının İncelenmesi

This study focuses on the study of the use of technology within the scope of the importance and objectives of preschool education in educational management. Preschool education allows the child to be more productive and creative at the same time while addressing all areas of development and to reveal his/her own potential at a high rate. During the preschool period, when preparation for life is made, children are able to reveal their identity in society by acquiring certain habits and developing individually. During this period, the physical environment consisting of rich stimulants contributes to the completion of the educational process in a good way by supporting the child's learning life and all areas of development. The preschool period, which is characterized as the first six years of life, covers the most active years when the child shows the fastest development and interacts with society. During these years, when brain development is progressing rapidly, the interaction and stimulants established with the social environment support the child's multifaceted development. All warnings received have an impact on the child's mental health and thinking skills. When the child's brain development and mental health are evaluated as a whole, the importance of environmental factors will be better understood and it will be serious for the child to complete his development in a healthy environment. Within this scope, technology, which covers every area of life, reaches every audience starting from preschool by enabling children to get acquainted with technological devices at a young age. With the widespread use of technological devices, various academic debates have also emerged about the dimension that children add to their lives. As a result of these discussions, it has been reached that technology poses a risk in child development. The reason is stated as the fact that the touch screen takes over the child's life and he faces various diseases while distancing himself from society. Like the technological activities that have increased recently, the time that children devote to technology is also increasing at the same rate. Although many researchers and educators have advocated the importance of children learning with technology since preschool and have devoted themselves to researching and implementing technology-related applications, the impact of young children's technology use on their development still needs to be discussed. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a typology in order to Deconstruct the interaction between technology and critical factors affecting children's learning in an effective way. Key Words: Education Management, Preschool Education, Digitalization, Technology

Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Brain Health Indicators in Cuban Preschoolers.

Secondhand smoke affects nearly 40% of children worldwide, leading to serious health and behavioral problems. Being neurotoxic, it poses potential risks for child health and learning. In Cuba, there is limited research on the association of secondhand smoke with children's brain health, especially in vulnerable populations like young children at home. The overall purpose of this study is two-fold. First, we determined the relationship between household smoke exposure and risks to brain health in Cuban children. Second, we analyzed the role of family environment factors, such as socio-economic status, in our estimates. Although this research represents the first investigation of its kind in Cuba, we expect to find evidence of neurotoxic associations with household smoke. We collected data between 2015 and 2018 using the medical records of 627 Cuban preschool children to explore the link between brain health indicators and exposure to tobacco smoke at home. We assessed archival reports on parental smoking, duration and frequency of exposure, and several indicators of brain health, including executive function, language development, sleep quality, and fluid intelligence. The findings indicate that exposure to tobacco smoke at home has a negative association with children's brain health, affecting both the cognitive (executive and linguistic functions) and non-cognitive aspects (sleep quality) of child development. Continuous exposure (five to seven times per week) and transient exposure (two to three times per week) were found to be more negatively related to sleep quality than in cognitive functions, particularly in children of middle socio-economic status. This highlights the need to implement parental information campaigns in Cuba.

The Influence of Smartphones on Children's Brain Development

The Influence of Smartphones on Children's Brain Development

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 (DL) of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tumor features could improve postoperative pLGG risk stratification. We used a pretrained 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 2 institutions: Dana Farber/Boston Children's Hospital (DF/BCH) and the Children's Brain Tumor Network (CBTN). We trained 3 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 < .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.

Nitric oxide and peroxynitrite as new biomarkers for early diagnosis of autism.

Autism spectrum disorder, or autism, is a neurodevelopmental disorder of the developing child's brain with a genetic causality. It can be diagnosed at about three years after birth when it begins to present itself via a range of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Nitric oxide is a crucial small molecule of life synthesized within cells of our body systems, including cells of our brain. Peroxynitrite is the product of reaction between superoxide anion and nitric oxide. It normally isomerizes into harmless nitrates or nitrites. However, when excessive superoxide anion is present, the cellular concentration of peroxynitrite can increase to a toxic level. Autism has been suggested to cause oxidative damage to brain cells. Until now, it is impossible to sample tissue from a live brain. Instead, stem cells can be derived (from an autism patient's somatic cells) which can then be differentiated and chemically directed to grow into miniature 3-dimensional tissue masses resembling specific brain regions (e.g., the cortex) called brain organoids. This review discusses utilizing nitric oxide and peroxynitrite as biomarkers and comparing their relative concentrations in stem cells and stem cell derived brain organoids of healthy and autistic individuals to develop a bioanalytical process for early diagnosis of autism.

Evaluation of gray-matter and white-matter microstructural abnormalities in children with growth hormone deficiency: a comprehensive assessment with synthetic magnetic resonance imaging.

Pediatric growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is a disease resulting from the impaired growth hormone-insulin-like growth factor-1 (GH-IGF-1) axis, but the effects of GHD on children's behavior and brain microstructural structure alterations have not yet been fully clarified. We aimed to investigate the quantitative profiles of gray matter and white matter in pediatric GHD using synthetic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The data of 50 children with GHD and 50 typically developing (TD) children were prospectively collected. Group differences in brain volumetric parameters, individual-level T1 and T2 relaxometry values, and myelin volume fraction (MVF) were assessed. Subsequently, magnetic resonance-based indices with significant differences between groups were correlated with clinical variables via partial correlation. Compared with TD children, children with GHD showed significantly decreased whole-brain gray-matter volume [P false discovery rate (PFDR) <0.001] and increased non-gray-matter/white-matter/cerebrospinal fluid (NoN) volume (PFDR<0.001). For gray-matter microstructural profiles, altered T1 and T2 relaxometry values in children with GHD were mainly distributed in the default mode (PFDR<0.001) and central executive networks (PFDR<0.001). For white-matter microstructural profiles, widespread increased regional MVF was mainly distributed in the corpus callosum, corticospinal tract, internal capsule, external capsule, and cingulum (all PFDR values <0.001). Meanwhile, the T2 relaxation values in the left cuneus (r=0.400; P=0.005) and MVF in the right corticospinal tract (r=0.313; P=0.032) had a positive relationship with IGF-1. Altered T1 and T2 relaxometry values and MVF in gray and white matter indicate the relevance of the default mode, central executive, somatosensory, visual, and cerebellar networks underlying pediatric GHD, which may imply the involvement of the GH-IGF-1 axis and myelin in the pathophysiological mechanism of GHD. Moreover, the brain microstructure alteration in cortico-striatal-limbic loop might be influenced by the GH-IGF-1 axis and play an important role in the behavioral impairments in children with GHD.

Distinct Behavioural and Brain Response Profiles Between Arithmetic Word Problem Solving and Sentence Comprehension in Third and Fourth Graders.

Word problems are essential for math learning and education, bridging numerical knowledge with real-world applications. Despite their importance, the neural mechanisms underlying word problem solving, especially in children, remain poorly understood. Here, we examine children's cognitive and brain response profiles for arithmetic word problems (AWPs), which involve one-step mathematical operations, and compare them with nonarithmetic word problems (NWPs), structured as parallel narratives without numerical operations. Behavioural results suggested that AWP performance was associated with both reading comprehension and arithmetic fluency, whereas NWP performance correlated only with reading comprehension. Neuroimaging results revealed distinct neural substrates: AWP solving primarily activated the anterior insula, middle frontal gyrus and intraparietal sulcus, whereas NWP solving engaged in the inferior frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus and angular gyrus. Critically, we observed a developmental shift: Children showed heightened prefrontal activation during AWP solving, contrasting with increased posterior parietal engagement in adults. Moreover, although adults demonstrated brain-behaviour associations, with slower AWP solving linked to stronger parietal activation, this relationship was absent in children. Taken together, these findings suggest that AWP solving recruits specialized arithmetic brain circuits that undergo a frontal-to-parietal trajectory. Our study thus provides a neurological basis for AWP solving in children, emphasizing the crucial role of the fronto-insular-parietal network. These insights into brain-based contributions to developmental differences may guide the development of targeted remediation strategies and educational interventions tailored to individual learning needs.

Feeding Problems Assessment Tools in Children: A Scoping Review.

'Feeding problems' is a term used to describe problems that may present typically in children. Problems with feeding during infancy can result in significant negative consequences for a child's nutrition, growth, and brain development. This scoping review aims to map current research, provide summary of the available feeding problem assessment tools for children, and review current implications and the gaps between tools, providing information that academics, practitioners, and parents may find useful. Three electronic databases (PubMed, Science Direct, and ProQuest) were searched using terms related to feeding problem assessment tools in children, which included, but were not limited to, "feeding difficult*", "eating problem", "eating difficult*", "tool", "child*", and "pediatric". The following limits were implemented on the search: English language, age limit (<18 years old) and publication period (last 10 years). Data management and analysis carried out manually through discussion with the team. Authors 1 and 2 screened titles and abstracts, then full texts were discussed with the full team to identify articles that met inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were charted into a matrix table based on these categories: author, year, population, assessment tools, usage and aspects. Thematic analysis was carried out to summarize the characteristics of the studies. There were 47 papers included in the study and analysis, in which 23 assessment tools were found. Pedi-EAT was the most frequent assessment tool used in the studies, with nine papers covering this feeding problem assessment tool. MCH-FS came in second for its chosen tool quantifying children's feeding problems, with a total of seven papers covering this tool, along with BPFAS with seven papers. In this review, 23 assessment tools were validated and tested for reliability. Pedi-EAT, MCH-FS and BPFAS were commonly used instruments. However, it is clear that no single instrument covers comprehensively all aspects of feeding problems in children. In addition, usage of the tools and wide age range indicate that further research is needed to fill the gaps.

Deskripsi Kemampuan Bahasa Reseptif Anak Usia (5-6 Tahun) Di TK Negeri Pembina Kecamatan Kota Tengah Kota Gorontalo

The purpose of this study was to determine the receptive language ability of children aged (5-6) years in the Pembina State Kindergarten, Kota Tengah District, Gorontalo City. The researcher conducted a qualitative research method discussing the receptive language ability of children aged (5-6) years. The subjects of this study were three children and one teacher of the Pembina State Kindergarten. Data were collected through interviews and documentation. Data analysis was carried out by data reduction, data presentation and drawing conclusions. The results of the study conducted at the Pembina State Kindergarten, Kota Tengah District, Gorontalo City aimed to see a child's ability to understand and process language received from others. The research activities were carried out for approximately 1 month. In writing this thesis, the author aims to describe the receptive language ability of children aged 5-6 years. The importance of optimizing aspects of child development including aspects of language development from an early age considering that at that time the child's brain is at an unlimited potential to be developed, children must be given the opportunity to develop their abilities with various fun learning activities.

Faktor Faktor Yang Mempengaruhi Status Gizi pada Balita Literature Review

The nutritional status of toddlers is an important thing that every parent must know. Malnutrition during this golden age is irreversible (cannot be recovered). Malnutrition can affect a child's brain development. Malnutrition among children under five in Indonesia appears to be increasing from year to year. Malnutrition can occur due to internal and external factors that are not prevented or addressed as early as possible and have an impact on health conditions, growth and development of toddlers, and productivity in adulthood. This phenomenon reveals the importance of preventive efforts to prevent the risk of malnutrition in children under five from all possible risk factors. This article aims to review and analyze factors that influence the nutritional status of toddlers through the literature review method. There are 5 main articles used and have been selected through search results on the Google Scholar database. The results of the study found that factors that influence nutritional status in toddler include infectious diseases, knowledge, birth spacing, socio-economics, parenting patterns.

A neural network to create super-resolution MR from multiple 2D brain scans of pediatric patients.

High-resolution (HR) 3D MR images provide detailed soft-tissue information that is useful in assessing long-term side-effects after treatment in childhood cancer survivors, such as morphological changes in brain structures. However, these images require long acquisition times, so routinely acquired follow-up images after treatment often consist of 2D low-resolution (LR) images (with thick slices in multiple planes). In this work, we present a super-resolution convolutional neural network, based on previous single-image MRI super-resolution work, that can reconstruct a HR image from 2D LR slices in multiple planes in order to facilitate the extraction of structural biomarkers from routine scans. A multilevel densely connected super-resolution convolutional neural network (mDCSRN) was adapted to take two perpendicular LR scans (e.g., coronal and axial) as tensors and reconstruct a 3D HR image. A training set of 90 HR T1 pediatric head scans from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study was used, with 2D LR images simulated through a downsampling pipeline that introduces motion artifacts, blurring, and registration errors to make the LR scans more realistic to routinely acquired ones. The outputs of the model were compared against simple interpolation in two steps. First, the quality of the reconstructed HR images was assessed using the peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity index compared to baseline. Second, the precision of structure segmentation (using the autocontouring software Limbus AI) in the reconstructed versus the baseline HR images was assessed using mean distance-to-agreement (mDTA) and 95% Hausdorff distance. Three datasets were used: 10 new ABCD images (dataset 1), 18 images from the Children's Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) study (dataset 2) and 6 "real-world" follow-up images of a pediatric head and neck cancer patient (dataset 3). The proposed mDCSRN outperformed simple interpolation in terms of visual quality. Similarly, structure segmentations were closer to baseline images after 3D reconstruction. The mDTA improved to, on average (95% confidence interval), 0.7 (0.4-1.0) and 0.8 (0.7-0.9) mm for datasets 1 and 3 respectively, from the interpolation performance of 6.5 (3.6-9.5) and 1.2 (1.0-1.3) mm. We demonstrate that deep learning methods can successfully reconstruct 3D HR images from 2D LR ones, potentially unlocking datasets for retrospective study and advancing research in the long-term effects of pediatric cancer. Our model outperforms standard interpolation, both in perceptual quality and for autocontouring. Further work is needed to validate it for additional structural analysis tasks.

Prenatal Tobacco Exposure, Brain Subcortical Volumes, and Gray-White Matter Contrast

Maternal tobacco use during pregnancy (MTDP) remains a major public health challenge. However, the complete spectrum of effects of MTDP is not fully understood. To examine the longitudinal associations of MTDP and children's brain morphometric subcortical volume and gray-white matter contrast (GWC) development. Cohort study of children aged 9 to 10 years at wave 1 (October 2016 to October 2018) and at a 2-year follow-up (wave 2; August 2018 to January 2021; aged 11-12 years) across 21 US sites in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Data were analyzed from October 2023 to October 2024. MTDP. Morphometric brain measures of subcortical volume and GWC. Among the 11 448 children (51.5% male; 13.1% Black; 24.0% Hispanic; and 52.9% White) at wave 1, 1607 (16.6%; 95% CI, 13.0%-20.2%) were identified with MTDP exposure. At wave 1, children with MTDP exposure (vs no exposure) exhibited lower GWC in widespread brain regions primarily located in the frontal (eg, superior frontal; regression coefficient [B] = -0.0019; SE, 0.0006; P = .004), parietal (eg, supramarginal; B = -0.0021; SE, 0.0007; P = .002) and temporal lobes (eg, middle temporal; B = -0.0024; SE, 0.0007; P < .001). These differences in GWC continued to be significant at wave 2. In regard to subcortical volume, children with MTDP exposure demonstrated smaller volume of the lateral ventricle (B = -257.5; SE, 78.6; P = .001) and caudate (B = -37.7; SE, 14.0; P = .01) in the left hemisphere at wave 1, and lower volume of the caudate in both left (B = -48.7; SE, 15.9; P = .002) and right hemisphere (B = -45.5; SE, 16.1; P = .01) at wave 2. This cohort study found that MTDP exposure was associated with lower GWC across the whole cortex and smaller caudate nuclei volume compared with no exposure, signifying the importance of preventing MTDP and necessitating further research on this topic.

Pediatric brain tumor classification using deep learning on MR images with age fusion.

To implement and evaluate deep learning-based methods for the classification of pediatric brain tumors (PBT) in magnetic resonance (MR) data. A subset of the "Children's Brain Tumor Network" dataset was retrospectively used (n = 178 subjects, female = 72, male = 102, NA = 4, age range [0.01, 36.49] years) with tumor types being low-grade astrocytoma (n = 84), ependymoma (n = 32), and medulloblastoma (n = 62). T1w post-contrast (n = 94 subjects), T2w (n = 160 subjects), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC: n = 66 subjects) MR sequences were used separately. Two deep learning models were trained on transversal slices showing tumor. Joint fusion was implemented to combine image and age data, and 2 pre-training paradigms were utilized. Model explainability was investigated using gradient-weighted class-activation mapping (Grad-CAM), and the learned feature space was visualized using principal component analysis (PCA). The highest tumor-type classification performance was achieved when using a vision transformer model pre-trained on ImageNet and fine-tuned on ADC images with age fusion (Matthews correlation coefficient [MCC]: 0.77 ± 0.14, Accuracy: 0.87 ± 0.08), followed by models trained on T2w (MCC: 0.58 ± 0.11, Accuracy: 0.73 ± 0.08) and T1w post-contrast (MCC: 0.41 ± 0.11, Accuracy: 0.62 ± 0.08) data. Age fusion marginally improved the model's performance. Both model architectures performed similarly across the experiments, with no differences between the pre-training strategies. Grad-CAMs showed that the models' attention focused on the brain region. PCA of the feature space showed greater separation of the tumor-type clusters when using contrastive pre-training. Classification of PBT on MR images could be accomplished using deep learning, with the top-performing model being trained on ADC data, which radiologists use for the clinical classification of these tumors.

The landscape of primary mismatch repair deficient gliomas in children, adolescents, and young adults: a multi-cohort study.

Gliomas are a major cause of cancer-related death among children, adolescents, and young adults (age 0-40 years). Primary mismatch repair deficiency (MMRD) is a pan-cancer mechanism with unique biology and therapeutic opportunities. We aimed to determine the extent and impact of primary MMRD in gliomas among children, adolescents, and young adults. Clinical and molecular data were collected from a population-based cohort of children, adolescents, and young adults with gliomas from Toronto (TOR-Ped, age 0-18 years, collected Jan 1, 2000, to Dec 31, 2021; and TOR-AYA, age 18-40 years, collected Jan 1, 2000, to June 30, 2019). Additional validation paediatric cohorts from St Jude Children's Research Hospital (0-18 years, 2015-21) and the Children's Brain Tumor Network (0-18 years, 1981-2021) were used. Functional genomic tools were applied with the primary aim of assessing primary MMRD prevalence among glioma subgroups and germline impact. To evaluate the effect of primary MMRD on therapy and overall survival, Kaplan-Meier estimates were used on an additional cohort of patients with primary MMRD gliomas treated with immunotherapy. 1389 gliomas were included in the study. The prevalence of primary MMRD ranged between 3·7% and 12·4% in high-grade gliomas (overall 30 of 483; 6·2%, 95% CI 4·2-8·7) and less than 1% in low-grade gliomas (four of 899; 0·4%, 0·1-1·1; p<0·0001 by χ2 test). Specific molecular analysis for all gliomas showed that primary MMRD was absent among oligodendrogliomas (none of 67) and uncommon in BRAFV600E gliomas (one of 110) and histone mutant-driven gliomas (one of 150). In the paediatric age group (<18 years), primary MMRD was common in IDHWT and H3WT gliomas harbouring pathogenic TP53 variants (21 of 61; 34·4%, 22·7-47·7) and in malignant IDHmut gliomas (five of eight; 62·5%, 24·5-91·5). Germline aetiology accounted for 33 (94·3%) of 35 primary MMRD gliomas, including children, adolescents, and young adults with previously unrecognised Lynch syndrome. Survival was poor for patients with primary MMRD gliomas. Particularly poor survival was observed for those with IDHmut astrocytomas with primary MMRD when compared with those with mismatch repair-proficient gliomas (HR 12·6, 95% CI 2·8-57·5; p=0·0011 by multivariable Cox regression). Immune checkpoint blockade was associated with improved survival for patients with primary MMRD gliomas compared with conventional chemoradiotherapy regimens (HR 0·4, 0·3-0·7; p=0·0017 by multivariable Cox regression), regardless of age or germline status. Primary MMRD is more common than previously reported in gliomas in children, adolescents, and young adults, is enriched in specific molecular subgroups, and is associated with poor outcomes. Accurate detection, genetic testing, early diagnosis through surveillance, and implementation of immunotherapy might improve survival for these patients. The Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Stand Up to Cancer-Bristol Myers Squibb Catalyst, US National Institutes of Health, Canadian Cancer Society, Brain Canada, The V Foundation for Cancer Research, BioCanRx, Canada's Immunotherapy Network, Harry and Agnieszka Hall, Meagan's Hug, BRAINchild Canada, and the LivWise Foundation.

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.

Transforming a hospital's organizational culture to promote parent-child relationships and child development.

Early caregiving interactions and experiences profoundly shape a child's brain development. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently advocated for a public-health approach to promoting safe, stable, nurturing relationships that is "founded on universal primary preventions", including consistent messaging on fostering family resilience, nurturing connections, and positive childhood experiences. Hospitals have unique access to families with children ages 0-5 and therefore play a key role in supporting these early experiences. This project sought to shift the organizational culture of maternity and pediatric units at a hospital towards promoting early relationships and child development through a physical messaging campaign paired with staff training. This study examined whether the messaging campaign and staff training shifted staff's self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Non-physician staff across six pediatric and maternity units in a large urban hospital participated in the intervention. Staff completed surveys before and after message installation and training. Analysis of 356 pre-intervention surveys and 320 post-intervention surveys showed significant changes in staff's knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors that promote early learning and parent-child relationships. Most staff also reported feeling more empowered in their work (88%) and that the hospital environment had become a friendlier place for parents and families (89%). A messaging and training intervention can create a culture whereby staff support early caregiving and child development in the hospital setting. Further research is needed to understand whether the intervention impacts caregivers and their children.

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.