Developmental Changes Research Articles

Towards a dynamic, idiographic approach to describing, explaining, and enhancing the development of SEL

Human development involves intraindividual changes across the life span. Developmental changes may involve instances of change common to all individuals (nomothetic change), change common to only some groups of individuals (differential change), and change specific to an individual (idiographic change). All three types of change must be measured to obtain a holistic and integrated understanding of any facet of human development. To date, most studies of the development of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills have focused on assessing nomothetic and differential change. The analysis of data derived from this research is variable-focused, and longitudinal studies with such a focus typically do not have enough time points to model intraindividual trajectories with sufficient power. Such trajectories require analysis wherein each individual is compared to themselves across time (ipsative analyses). Change-sensitive measures used within intensive longitudinal designs and analyses are suitable for ipsative analyses of participants and enable direct comparisons of whether intraindividual trajectories are reflected in group data. We discuss research findings reflecting that meaningful idiographic changes are not reflected in group data. We also argue that future studies of SEL should integrate idiographic data with differential and nomothetic data in the service of understanding the holistic development of SEL.

Transcriptome and metabolome analysis of the developmental changes in Cynanchum thesioides anther

Cynanchum thesioides, a xerophytic species utilized both as a medicinal herb and a food source, plays a significant role in arid and desert ecosystem management. Its inflorescence is an umbellate cyme, each carrying nearly a thousand flowers; however, its fruiting rate remains remarkably low. The normal development of the anther is a necessary prerequisite for plants to produce seeds. However, our understanding of the anther development process in Cynanchum thesioides remains limited. To better understand the pollen development process in Cynanchum thesioides, the stages of pollen development were determined through paraffin sectioning, and observations were made on the distribution characteristics of polysaccharides and lipid droplets in the pollen development of Cynanchum thesioides using Periodic Acid-Schiff stain (PAS) and 0.5% Sudan Black B tissue staining. Concurrently, the gene expression patterns and metabolite profiles were delineated across various developmental stages of Cynanchum thesioides anthers (T1: microspore stage, T2: tetrad stage, T3: mononuclear stage, and T4: maturation stage). The findings revealed that Cynanchum thesioides pollen is in an aggregate form. Polysaccharides gradually accumulate during maturation and lipid droplets form a surrounding membrane, thereby preventing pollen dispersion. Furthermore, transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses across distinct developmental phases uncovered a plethora of differentially expressed genes and metabolites associated with the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. Flavonoid levels exhibited dynamic changes concurrent with anther development, aligning with the gene regulatory patterns of the corresponding biosynthetic pathways. The study identified 63 differentially accumulated flavonoid compounds and 21 differentially expressed genes associated with flavonoid biosynthesis. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis revealed six MYB and ten bHLH transcription factors as key candidates involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, with CtbHLH (Cluster-6587.1050) and CtMYB (Cluster-6587.31743) specifically regulating structural genes within the pathway. These findings underscore the pivotal role of flavonoid biosynthesis in anther development of Cynanchum thesioides. In conclusion, this research offers a comprehensive insight into the anther development process in Cynanchum thesioides.

Modeling the Emergence of Circuit Organization and Function during Development.

Developing neural circuits show unique patterns of spontaneous activity and structured network connectivity shaped by diverse activity-dependent plasticity mechanisms. Based on extensive experimental work characterizing patterns of spontaneous activity in different brain regions over development, theoretical and computational models have played an important role in delineating the generation and function of individual features of spontaneous activity and their role in the plasticity-driven formation of circuit connectivity. Here, we review recent modeling efforts that explore how the developing cortex and hippocampus generate spontaneous activity, focusing on specific connectivity profiles and the gradual strengthening of inhibition as the key drivers behind the observed developmental changes in spontaneous activity. We then discuss computational models that mechanistically explore how different plasticity mechanisms use this spontaneous activity to instruct the formation and refinement of circuit connectivity, from the formation of single neuron receptive fields to sensory feature maps and recurrent architectures. We end by highlighting several open challenges regarding the functional implications of the discussed circuit changes, wherein models could provide the missing step linking immature developmental and mature adult information processing capabilities.

Use of population pharmacokinetic‐pharmacodynamic modelling to inform antimalarial dose optimization in infants

Infants bear a significant malaria burden but are usually excluded from participating in early dose optimization studies that inform dosing regimens of antimalarial therapy. Unlike older children, infants' exclusion from early‐phase trials has resulted in limited evidence to guide accurate dosing of antimalarial treatment for uncomplicated malaria or malaria‐preventive treatment in this vulnerable population. Subsequently, doses used in infants are often extrapolated from older children or adults, with the potential for under‐ or overdosing. Population pharmacokinetic‐pharmacodynamic (PK‐PD) modelling, a quantitative methodology that applies mathematical and statistical techniques, can aid the design of clinical studies in infants that collect sparse pharmacokinetic data as well as support the analysis of such data to derive optimized antimalarial dosing in this complex and at‐risk yet understudied subpopulation. In this review, we reflect on what PK‐PD modelling can do in programmatic settings of most malaria‐endemic areas and how it can be used to inform antimalarial dose optimization for preventive and curative treatment of uncomplicated malaria in infants. We outline key developmental physiological changes that affect drug exposure in early life, the challenges of conducting dose optimization studies in infants, and examples of how PK‐PD modelling has previously informed antimalarial dose optimization in this subgroup. Additionally, we discuss the limitations and gaps of PK‐PD modelling when used for dose optimization in infants. To utilize modelling well, there is a need to generate useful, sparse, PK and PD data in this subpopulation to inform antimalarial optimal dosing in infancy.

Serial Cascade Effects of Relative Deprivation and Anger Rumination on the Development of Social Aggression Over 2.5 Years in Emerging Adults.

Although the mechanisms of development of aggression have been focused on day by day, the complicated effects of distal and proximal factors on the development of social aggression in emerging adults have not been uncovered. A serial cascade model of aggression was proposed to address this issue. A longitudinal investigation over 2.5 years was conducted to test this model by exploring the serial cascade effects of relative deprivation (a representative of distal factors) and anger rumination (a representative of proximal factors) on the development of social aggression. A total of 1113 Chinese university students (Mage = 18.95 ± 0.96, 63.10% female) from six universities in five areas participated in this study. The results suggest that developmental trajectories and longitudinal changes in anger rumination mediate the relationship between developmental trajectories and longitudinal changes in relative deprivation and social aggression, and developmental trajectories and changes in relative deprivation mediate the longitudinal relationship between anger rumination and social aggression. These findings support the serial cascade effects of distal and proximal factors on the development of aggression and expand upon the general aggression model (GAM).

Developmental plasticity to desiccation risk in tadpoles of a tropical inselberg specialist

Developmental plasticity evolves in heterogeneous environmental conditions as long as individuals can accurately perceive them. A paradigmatic example of developmental plasticity is the ability of amphibian larvae to alter growth and development in response to the risk of pond drying. Such responses are often found in amphibian species breeding in highly dynamic water bodies with high desiccation risk. The inselbergs of the Guianan Shield are rocky outcrops with extremely high and fluctuating temperatures and a marked seasonality in precipitation. During the rainy season, eroded depressions form precipitation-dependent pools with a high and variable risk of desiccation within the timeframe of a few days. The frog Leptodactylus lithonaetes specializes in breeding in this extreme environment, and its tadpoles are thus forced to cope with desiccation risk by adjusting their developmental trajectories and physiological performance. We experimentally assessed the effect of different levels of desiccation risk, under controlled temperature conditions, on developmental rate, growth, and temperature-dependent locomotor performance in tadpoles of Leptodactylus lithonaetes. We did not find an effect of desiccation risk on developmental rate, but under simulated drying conditions, tadpoles showed larger body size, greater body mass, and enhanced locomotor performance compared to constant (high or low) water levels. These results suggest that drying pools offer cues that trigger developmental and behavioral changes in these tadpoles, enabling them to enhance growth over a short time span without accelerating development. We discuss the potential compensatory mechanisms behind these responses and highlight the need for further investigations in species with semiterrestrial life histories in extreme environments.

Functional connectivity changes in the brain of adolescents with internet addiction: A systematic literature review of imaging studies

Internet usage has seen a stark global rise over the last few decades, particularly among adolescents and young people, who have also been diagnosed increasingly with internet addiction (IA). IA impacts several neural networks that influence an adolescent’s behaviour and development. This article issued a literature review on the resting-state and task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies to inspect the consequences of IA on the functional connectivity (FC) in the adolescent brain and its subsequent effects on their behaviour and development. A systematic search was conducted from two databases, PubMed and PsycINFO, to select eligible articles according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Eligibility criteria was especially stringent regarding the adolescent age range (10–19) and formal diagnosis of IA. Bias and quality of individual studies were evaluated. The fMRI results from 12 articles demonstrated that the effects of IA were seen throughout multiple neural networks: a mix of increases/decreases in FC in the default mode network; an overall decrease in FC in the executive control network; and no clear increase or decrease in FC within the salience network and reward pathway. The FC changes led to addictive behaviour and tendencies in adolescents. The subsequent behavioural changes are associated with the mechanisms relating to the areas of cognitive control, reward valuation, motor coordination, and the developing adolescent brain. Our results presented the FC alterations in numerous brain regions of adolescents with IA leading to the behavioural and developmental changes. Research on this topic had a low frequency with adolescent samples and were primarily produced in Asian countries. Future research studies of comparing results from Western adolescent samples provide more insight on therapeutic intervention.

Developmentally dynamic changes in DNA methylation in the human pancreas

Development of the human pancreas requires the precise temporal control of gene expression via epigenetic mechanisms and the binding of key transcription factors. We quantified genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation in human fetal pancreatic samples from donors aged 6 to 21 post-conception weeks. We found dramatic changes in DNA methylation across pancreas development, with > 21% of sites characterized as developmental differentially methylated positions (dDMPs) including many annotated to genes associated with monogenic diabetes. An analysis of DNA methylation in postnatal pancreas tissue showed that the dramatic temporal changes in DNA methylation occurring in the developing pancreas are largely limited to the prenatal period. Significant differences in DNA methylation were observed between males and females at a number of autosomal sites, with a small proportion of sites showing sex-specific DNA methylation trajectories across pancreas development. Pancreas dDMPs were not distributed equally across the genome and were depleted in regulatory domains characterized by open chromatin and the binding of known pancreatic development transcription factors. Finally, we compared our pancreas dDMPs to previous findings from the human brain, identifying evidence for tissue-specific developmental changes in DNA methylation. This study represents the first systematic exploration of DNA methylation patterns during human fetal pancreas development and confirms the prenatal period as a time of major epigenomic plasticity.

Excessive interstitial free-water in cortical gray matter preceding accelerated volume changes in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis.

Recent studies show that accelerated cortical gray matter (GM) volume reduction seen in anatomical MRI can help distinguish between individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis who will develop psychosis and those who will not. This reduction is suggested to represent atypical developmental or degenerative changes accompanying an accumulation of microstructural changes, such as decreased spine density and dendritic arborization. Detecting the microstructural sources of these changes before they accumulate into volume loss is crucial. Our study aimed to detect these microstructural GM alterations using diffusion MRI (dMRI). We tested for baseline and longitudinal group differences in anatomical and dMRI data from 160 individuals at CHR and 96 healthy controls (HC) acquired in a single imaging site. Of the CHR individuals, 33 developed psychosis (CHR-P), while 127 did not (CHR-NP). Among all participants, longitudinal data was available for 45 HCs, 17 CHR-P, and 66 CHR-NP. Eight cortical lobes were examined for GM volume and GM microstructure. A novel dMRI measure, interstitial free water (iFW), was used to quantify GM microstructure by eliminating cerebrospinal fluid contribution. Additionally, we assessed whether these measures differentiated the CHR-P from the CHR-NP. In addition, for completeness, we also investigated changes in cortical thickness and in white matter (WM) microstructure. At baseline the CHR group had significantly higher iFW than HC in the prefrontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes, while volume was reduced only in the temporal lobe. Neither iFW nor volume differentiated between the CHR-P and CHR-NP groups at baseline. However, in many brain areas, the CHR-P group demonstrated significantly accelerated changes (iFW increase and volume reduction) with time than the CHR-NP group. Cortical thickness provided similar results as volume, and there were no significant changes in WM microstructure. Our results demonstrate that microstructural GM changes in individuals at CHR have a wider extent than volumetric changes or microstructural WM changes, and they predate the acceleration of brain changes that occur around psychosis onset. Microstructural GM changes, as reflected by the increased iFW, are thus an early pathology at the prodromal stage of psychosis that may be useful for a better mechanistic understanding of psychosis development.

An update of the development of motor behavior.

This primer describes research on the development of motor behavior. We focus on infancy when basic action systems are acquired-posture, locomotion, manual actions, and facial actions-and we adopt a developmental systems perspective to understand the causes and consequences of developmental change. Experience facilitates improvements in motor behavior and infants accumulate immense amounts of varied everyday experience with all the basic action systems. At every point in development, perception guides behavior by providing feedback about the results of just prior movements and information about what to do next. Across development, new motor behaviors provide new inputs for perception. Thus, motor development opens up new opportunities for acquiring knowledge and acting on the world, instigating cascades of developmental changes in perceptual, cognitive, and social domains. This article is categorized under: Cognitive Biology > Cognitive Development Psychology > Motor Skill and Performance Neuroscience > Development.

Developmental Changes in Pharyngeal Airway in the Male Population From Adolescence to Adulthood.

During adolescence, there is a significant surge in height and total body mass of males. Consequently, they simultaneously experience enhancements in their circulatory and respiratory systems, which adapt to these physiological transformations. The purpose of present study was to investigate the developmental changes in male pharyngeal airway from adolescence to adulthood. Lateral cephalograms of 192 males were obtained and divided into 5 groups: early adolescence (age 10-13 years), middle adolescence (age 14-17 years), late adolescence (age 18-21 years), early adulthood (age 22-30 years), and middle adulthood (ages 31-50 years). The dimensions of pharyngeal airway spaces and the related anatomical structures were investigated. The one-way analysis of variance and Pearson correlation analysis were employed for statistical analysis. During middle adolescence, the pharyngeal airway seems to be nearly completed in males. A significant negative correlation was found between the ANB angle and SPS, TPS, and EPS values.

Neural Tracking of Perceived Parent, but Not Peer, Norms Is Associated with Longitudinal Changes in Adolescent Attitudes about Externalizing Behaviors.

Adolescents' perceptions of parent and peer norms about externalizing behaviors influence the extent to which they adopt similar attitudes, yet little is known about how the trajectories of perceived parent and peer norms are related to trajectories of personal attitudes across adolescence. Neural development of midline regions implicated in self-other processing may underlie developmental changes in parent and peer influence. Here, we examined whether neural processing of perceived parent and peer norms in midline regions during self-evaluations would be associated with trajectories of personal attitudes about externalizing behaviors. Trajectories of adolescents' perceived parent and peer norms were examined longitudinally with functional neuroimaging (n = 165; ages 11-16 years across three waves; 86 girls, 79 boys; 29.7% White, 21.8% Black, 35.8% Latinx, 12.7% other/multiracial). Behavioral results showed perceived parent norms were less permissive than adolescents' own attitudes about externalizing behaviors, whereas perceived peer norms were more permissive than adolescents' own attitudes, effects that increased from early to middle adolescence. Although younger adolescents reported less permissive attitudes when they spontaneously tracked perceived parent norms in the ventromedial and medial pFCs during self-evaluations, this effect weakened as they aged. No brain-behavior effects were found when tracking perceived peer norms. These findings elucidate how perceived parent and peer norms change in parallel with personal attitudes about externalizing behaviors from early to middle adolescence and underscore the importance of spontaneous neural tracking of perceived parent norms during self-evaluations for buffering permissive personal attitudes, particularly in early adolescence.

Prediction of chronological age from resting-state EEG power in the first three years of life.

The infant brain undergoes rapid and significant developmental changes in the first three years of life. Understanding these changes through the prediction of chronological age using neuroimaging data can provide insights into typical and atypical brain development. We utilized longitudinal resting-state EEG data from 457 typically developing infants, comprising 938 recordings, to develop age prediction models. The multilayer perceptron model demonstrated the highest accuracy with an R2 of 0.82 and a mean absolute error of 92.4 days. Aperiodic offset and periodic theta, alpha, and beta power were identified as key predictors of age via Shapley values. Application of the model to EEG data from infants later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or Down syndrome revealed significant underestimations of chronological age. This study establishes the feasibility of using EEG to assess brain maturation in early childhood and supports its potential as a clinical tool for early identification of alterations in brain development.

Development of EEG alpha and theta oscillations in the maintenance stage of working memory

Several studies have shown developmental changes in EEG oscillations during working memory tasks. Although the load-modulated theta and alpha activities in adults are well-documented, the findings are inconsistent if children possess the adult-like brain oscillations that are similarly modulated by memory load. The present study compares children’s and adults’ true theta and alpha EEG oscillations, separated from aperiodic components, in the maintenance stage of working memory. The EEG was recorded in 25 Chinese-speaking children (14 male, Mage = 9.4 yrs) and 31 adults (19 male, Mage = 20.8 yrs) in Hong Kong while they performed an n-back task that included four conditions differing in load (1- vs. 2-back) and stimulus type (Chinese character vs. visual pattern). The results show that aperiodic activities (i.e., broadband power and slope) during the maintenance stage in the n-back task were significantly higher in children than adults. The periodic theta and alpha oscillations also changed with age. More importantly, adults showed significant periodic theta increase with memory load, whereas such an effect was absent in children. Regardless of age, there was a significant alpha power decrease with load increase, and a significant theta power enhancement when maintaining visual patterns than Chinese characters. In adults, load-modulated alpha peak shift (towards higher frequency) was linked to higher behavioral efficiency in the n-back task. In children, higher load-modulated theta enhancement was linked to better behavioral efficiency. The findings suggest that the load-modulated theta power during working memory maintenance matures from childhood to adulthood.

The Longitudinal Effects of Parenting Styles on Adolescents’ Grit: The Mediating Role of Subjective Well-Being

Objectives: Grit, defined as the perseverance of effort and consistency of interests for long-term goals, is associated with adolescents’ positive outcomes across various developmental domains. Previous studies have shown that parenting styles are linked to adolescents’ grit; however, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. In the current longitudinal prospective study, we examined whether adolescents’ subjective well-being mediated the relationship between parenting styles and grit.Methods: Data from Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey 2018 was used for this study (KCYPS 2018). Our sample consisted of first-year middle school students (N = 2,590). The KCYPS 2018 currently has four waves of data, and we analyzed the data from waves 1 to 3 to investigate developmental changes within the same education system. We used Mplus 8.4 to examine longitudinal mediation models based on the autoregressive cross-lagged panel model.Results: Adolescents who perceived their parents as warm, structured, and autonomy-supportive at T1 tended to report better subjective well-being at T2, which, in turn, predicted higher grit at T3. Conversely, adolescents who saw their parents as rejective, chaotic, and coercive at T1 exhibited lower levels of subjective well-being at T2, which consequently predicted lower grit at T3.Conclusion: Our findings underscore the significance of parenting styles in promoting adolescents’ subjective well-being, which, in turn, enhances their grit. Consequently, researchers and practitioners should consider developing and promoting initiatives that educate parents about positive parenting styles to foster adolescents’ happiness and grit, which can further lead to many positive outcomes into adulthood.

Full-Length Transcriptome Analysis of Skeletal Muscle of Jiangquan Black Pig at Different Developmental Stages.

Skeletal muscle grows in response to a combination of genetic and environmental factors, and its growth and development influence the quality of pork. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms regulating the growth and development of skeletal muscle is of great significance to both animal husbandry and farm management. The Jiangquan black pig is an excellent pig breed based on the original Yimeng black pig, importing the genes of the Duroc pig for meat traits, and cultivated through years of scientific selection and breeding. In this study, full-length transcriptome sequencing was performed on three growth stages of Jiangquan black pigs, aiming to study the developmental changes in Jiangquan black pigs at different developmental stages at the molecular level and to screen the key genes affecting the growth of skeletal muscle in Jiangquan black pigs. We performed an enrichment analysis of genes showing differential expression and constructed a protein-protein interaction network with the aim of identifying core genes involved in the development of Jiangquan black pigs. Notably, genes such as TNNI2, TMOD4, PLDIM3, MYOZ1, and MYH1 may be potential regulators of muscle development in Jiangquan black pigs. Our results contribute to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of skeletal muscle development in this pig breed, which will facilitate molecular breeding efforts and the development of pig breeds to meet the needs of the livestock industry.

Fetal growth delay caused by loss of non-canonical imprinting is resolved late in pregnancy and culminates in offspring overgrowth.

Germline epigenetic programming, including genomic imprinting, substantially influences offspring development. Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) plays an important role in Histone 3 Lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3)-dependent imprinting, loss of which leads to growth and developmental changes in mouse offspring. In this study, we show that offspring from mouse oocytes lacking the PRC2 protein Embryonic Ectoderm Development (EED) were initially developmentally delayed, characterised by low blastocyst cell counts and substantial growth delay in mid-gestation embryos. This initial developmental delay was resolved as offspring underwent accelerated fetal development and growth in late gestation resulting in offspring that were similar stage and weight to controls at birth. The accelerated development and growth in offspring from Eed-null oocytes was associated with remodelling of the placenta, which involved an increase in fetal and maternal tissue size, conspicuous expansion of the glycogen-enriched cell population, and delayed parturition. Despite placental remodelling and accelerated offspring fetal growth and development, placental efficiency, and fetal blood glucose levels were low, and the fetal blood metabolome was unchanged. Moreover, while expression of the H3K27me3-imprinted gene and amino acid transporter Slc38a4 was increased, fetal blood levels of individual amino acids were similar to controls, indicating that placental amino acid transport was not enhanced. Genome-wide analyses identified extensive transcriptional dysregulation and DNA methylation changes in affected placentas, including a range of imprinted and non-imprinted genes. Together, while deletion of Eed in growing oocytes resulted in fetal growth and developmental delay and placental hyperplasia, our data indicate a remarkable capacity for offspring fetal growth to be normalised despite inefficient placental function and the loss of H3K27me3-dependent genomic imprinting.

The pattern of the follicle cell diversification in ovarian follicles of the true fruit flies, Tephritidae.

In flies (Diptera), the ovary displays several distinct patterns of the follicular epithelium formation and diversification. Two main patterns have been identified in the true flies or Brachycera, namely the Rhagio type and the Drosophila type. These patterns align with the traditional division of Brachycera into Orthorrhapha and Cyclorrhapha. However, studies of the follicular epithelium morphogenesis in cyclorrhaphans other than Drosophila are scarce. We characterise the developmental changes associated with the emergence of follicle cell (FC) diversity in two cyclorrhaphans belonging to the family Tephritidae (Brachycera, Cyclorrhapha). Our analysis revealed that the diversification of FCs in these species shows characteristics of both the Rhagio and Drosophila types. First, a distinct cluster of FCs, consisting of polar cells and border-like cells, differentiates at the posterior pole of the ovarian follicle. This feature is unique to the Rhagio type and has only been reported in species representing the Orthorrhapha group. Second, morphological criteria have identified a significantly smaller number of subpopulations of FCs than in Drosophila. Furthermore, while the general pattern of FC migration is similar to that of Drosophila, the distinctive migration of the anterior-dorsal FCs is absent. In the studied tephritids, the migration of the anterior polar cell/border cell cluster towards the anterior pole of the oocyte is followed by the posterior migration of the main body cuboidal FCs to cover the expanding oocyte. Finally, during the onset of vitellogenesis, a distinct subset of FCs migrates towards the centre of the ovarian follicle to cover the oocyte's anterior pole. Our study also highlights specific actions of some FCs that accompany the migration process, which has not been previously documented in cyclorrhaphans. These results support the hypothesis that the posterior and centripetal migrations of morphologically unique FC subsets arose in the common ancestor of Cyclorrhapha. These events appear to have occurred fairly recently in the evolutionary timeline of Diptera.

Socioeconomic Inequalities Affect Brain Responses of Infants Growing Up in Germany.

Developmental changes in functional neural networks are sensitive to environmental influences. This EEG study investigated how infant brain responses relate to the social context that their families live in. Event-related potentials of 255 healthy, awake infants between six and fourteen months were measured during a passive auditory oddball paradigm. Infants were presented with 200 standard tones and 48 randomly distributed deviants. All infants are part of a longitudinal study focusing on families with socioeconomic and/or cultural challenges (Bremen Initiative to Foster Early Childhood Development; BRISE; Germany). As part of their familial socioeconomic status (SES), parental level of education and infant's migration background were assessed with questionnaires. For 30.6% of the infants both parents had a low level of education (≤10 years of schooling) and for 43.1% of the infants at least one parent was born abroad. The N2-P3a complex is associated with unintentional directing of attention to deviant stimuli and was analysed in frontocentral brain regions. Age was utilised as a control variable. Our results show that tone deviations in infants trigger an immature N2-P3a complex. Contrary to studies with older children or adults, the N2 amplitude was more positive for deviants than for standards. This may be related to an immature superposition of the N2 with the P3a. For infants whose parents had no high-school degree and were born abroad, this tendency was increased, indicating that facing multiple challenges as a young family impacts on the infant's early neural development. As such, attending to unexpected stimulus changes may be important for early learning processes. Variations of the infant N2-P3a complex may, thus, relate to early changes in attentional capacity and learning experiences due to familial challenges. This points towards the importance of early prevention programs.

Characterising illness stages and recovery trajectories of eating disorders in young people via remote measurement technology (STORY): a multi-centre prospective cohort study protocol

BackgroundEating disorders (EDs) are serious, often chronic, conditions associated with pronounced morbidity, mortality, and dysfunction increasingly affecting young people worldwide. Illness progression, stages and recovery trajectories of EDs are still poorly characterised. The STORY study dynamically and longitudinally assesses young people with different EDs (restricting; bingeing/bulimic presentations) and illness durations (earlier; later stages) compared to healthy controls. Remote measurement technology (RMT) with active and passive sensing is used to advance understanding of the heterogeneity of earlier and more progressed clinical presentations and predictors of recovery or relapse.MethodsSTORY follows 720 young people aged 16–25 with EDs and 120 healthy controls for 12 months. Online self-report questionnaires regularly assess ED symptoms, psychiatric comorbidities, quality of life, and socioeconomic environment. Additional ongoing monitoring using multi-parametric RMT via smartphones and wearable smart rings (‘Ōura ring’) unobtrusively measures individuals’ daily behaviour and physiology (e.g., Bluetooth connections, sleep, autonomic arousal). A subgroup of participants completes additional in-person cognitive and neuroimaging assessments at study-baseline and after 12 months.DiscussionBy leveraging these large-scale longitudinal data from participants across ED diagnoses and illness durations, the STORY study seeks to elucidate potential biopsychosocial predictors of outcome, their interplay with developmental and socioemotional changes, and barriers and facilitators of recovery. STORY holds the promise of providing actionable findings that can be translated into clinical practice by informing the development of both early intervention and personalised treatment that is tailored to illness stage and individual circumstances, ultimately disrupting the long-term burden of EDs on individuals and their families.