Early Childhood Age Research Articles

Is developmental timing of trauma exposure associated with depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in adulthood?

BackgroundTrauma exposure is a known risk factor for psychopathology. However, the impact of the developmental timing of exposure remains unclear. This study examined the effect of age at first trauma exposure on levels of adult depressive and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. MethodsLifetime trauma exposure (including age at first exposure and frequency), current psychiatric symptoms, and sociodemographic information were collected during interviews with adults participating in a study at a public urban hospital in Atlanta, GA. Multiple linear regression models assessed the association between timing of first trauma exposure, classified as early childhood (ages 0–5), middle childhood (ages 6–10), adolescence (ages 11–18), and adulthood (ages 19+), on adult psychopathology in 2892 individuals. ResultsParticipants exposed to trauma (i.e., child maltreatment, other interpersonal violence, non-interpersonal violence, and other events) at any age had higher depressive and PTSD symptoms compared to their unexposed peers. However, participants first exposed to child maltreatment during early childhood had depression and PTSD symptoms that were about twice as high as those exposed during later developmental stages. This association was detected even after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, exposure to other trauma types, and frequency of exposure. Participants first exposed during middle childhood to other interpersonal violence also had depressive symptoms scores that were about twice as high as those first exposed during adulthood. ConclusionsTrauma exposure at different ages may differentially impact depressive and PTSD symptoms in adulthood. More detailed examination of timing of trauma exposure is warranted to aid in identifying sensitive periods in development.

Association between early childhood caries and age and gender specific height, weight and mid upper arm circumference of school children in puducherry- “a comparative study”

Background: Caries is an infectious disease that is induced by the diet. Despite its decline in all age groups on a worldwide basis, it is still a serious public health problem in Indian children and its control should be a priority. It has been demonstrated that ECC can gradually reduce the children’s weight, which can be reversed after complete oral rehabilitation. Aim: The purpose of this study was to find out whether there is an association between ECC and age and gender specific height, weight and mid upper arm circumference (muac). Materials and Method: A study was conducted in a total of 450 children belonging to the age group of 4-6 years attending pre schools in Puducherry. Oral health status was assessed by using decayed extractedfilled teeth index (deft). Weight assessment was done using Akai weighing scale and height was measured using height measuring scale, while MUAC was measured using measuring plastic tape. The obtained data was collected and statistically analyzed. Results: Statistically, there was no significant association between height, weight and MUAC when compared with ECC (p=0.946,0.955,0.909) respectively. No Significant association was found when gender and ECC were compared (males p=0.222) (females p=0.272),but girls were found to be more prone to ECC than boys. Conclusion: In our study, we found that there was no significant association between early childhood caries and age. When gender was compared with ECC, a significant association was found stating that girls are more prone to ECC than males. Overall, When ECC was compared with age and gender specific height, weight and MUAC, there was no significant association found.

Samsun’da Erken Çocukluk Çağı Zehirlenmeleri 2010-2015

Amaç: Bu çalışma, Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Sağlık Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezine zehirlenme nedeniyle getirilen erken çocukluk yaş grubundaki (1-4 yaş) olguların değerlendirilmesi ve elde edilen bulguların koruyucu önlemlerin alınmasında yol gösterici olması amacıyla yapılmıştır.Gereç ve Yöntem: 01 Ağustos 2010 – 31 Temmuz 2015 tarihleri arasındaki beş yıllık süre içerisinde zehirlenme nedeniyle Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Sağlık Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezine getirilen 1-4 yaş aralığındaki 761 çocuk çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir.Kesitsel nitelikteki bu çalışmada elde edilen veriler SPSS istatistik programı kullanılarak değerlendirilmiştir.Bulgular: Olguların 413 (%54,3)’ü erkek, 348 (%45,7)’i kadındır. En fazla olgu; Temmuz (%11,8) ve Mayıs (%11,6) ayında, Pazartesi günleri (%18,3) ve saat 16.00–23.59 arasında başvurmuştur. Çocuklar istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir şekilde en çok ilaç (%48,3) ile zehirlenmiştir.Sonuç: Erken çocukluk yaş grubunda ev içinde meydana gelebilecek zehirlenmelere karşı ebeveynlere ya da çocuğa bakım verenlere yönelik yapılacak eğitim çalışmaları oldukça önemlidir. Bunun yanı sıra hastaların zehire daha kısa süre maruz kalması açısından acil servislerde insan gücü planlaması başvuru zamanları gözetilerek düzenlenmelidir.Anahtar Kelimeler: çocukluk çağı; zehirlenme; kaza; acil servis; önleme

Children's Media Use and Self-Regulation Behavior: Longitudinal Associations in a Nationwide Japanese Study.

Objective The effect of media use on child behavior has long been a concern. Although studies have shown robust cross-sectional relations between TV viewing and child behavior, longitudinal studies remain scarce. Methods We analyzed the Longitudinal Survey of Babies, conducted by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare since 2001. Among 53,575 families, 47,010 responded to the baseline survey; they were followed up every year for 8years. Complete data were available for longitudinal analysis among 32,439 participants. Daily media use (TV viewing and video game-playing hours at ages 3, 4, and 5years) was used as the main exposure. We employed an index of the children's self-regulatory behavior as the outcome variable. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. Results Among boys, longer TV-viewing times at ages 4 and 5 were related to problematic self-regulatory behavior. Compared with boys who watched just 1-2h of TV a day, those who watched it 4-5h had a 1.79-fold greater risk (CI 1.22-2.64) of problematic self-regulatory behavior, according to parental report. Among girls, similar results were evident at ages 4 and 5 (e.g., adjusted odds ratios for 4-5h daily viewing versus 1-2h at age 4: 2.59; 95% CI 1.59-4.22). Video games may have a protective effect on the risk of problematic self-regulatory behavior at ages 3 and 5. Conclusion Longer daily exposure to TV during early childhood (age 4-5) may be associated with subsequent problematic child self-regulatory behavior.

Children of two to three years of age in France: early childhood settings and age divisions

ABSTRACTIn a French early childhood care and education system that is strongly divided by age and institution, the current research studies the collective life of children at the pivotal age of two to three years of age in four different early childhood settings: 1) a group of ‘grands’ (nursery) in a crèche (daycare centre), 2) a jardin maternel, 3) a classe passerelle and 4) a group including ‘tout-petits’ in an école maternelle (nursery school). Our methods combine the observation of children and the point of view of professionals, obtained using visual aids (photos and videos). We analyse successively the institutional organisation of ages, material culture and professional practices. Depending on the ways in which their age is defined by these settings, we show how these settings create different experiences for children, which make them ‘petit’ (at the école maternelle) or ‘grand’ (at the crèche). The interest of the jardin maternel and the classe passerelle is to show intermediate ways of framing the age of children two to three years old.

Can reactivity to stress and family environment explain memory and executive function performance in early and middle childhood?

According to the literature, children's overall reactivity to stress is associated with their socioeconomic status and family environment. In turn, it has been shown that reactivity to stress is associated with cognitive performance. However, few studies have systematically tested these three constructs together. To investigate the relationship between family environment, salivary cortisol measurements and children's memory and executive function performance. Salivary cortisol levels of 70 children aged 9 or 10 years were measured before and after performing tasks designed to assess memory and executive functions. Questionnaires on socioeconomic issues, family environment and maternal psychopathologies were administered to participants' families during the children's early childhood and again when they reached school age. Data were analyzed by calculating correlations between variables and conducting hierarchical regression. High cortisol levels were associated with poorer working memory and worse performance in tasks involving executive functions, and were also associated with high scores for maternal psychopathology (during early childhood and school age) and family dysfunction. Family environment variables and changes in cortisol levels explain around 20% of the variance in performance of cognitive tasks. Family functioning and maternal psychopathology in early and middle childhood and children's stress levels were associated with children's working memory and executive functioning.

Feeling the Squeeze: The Effect of Birth Spacing on Infant and Child Mortality During the Demographic Transition

A negative association between birth spacing and infant and child mortality has been consistently identified within modern populations in developing countries. Generally speaking, children born following shorter birth intervals have been found to have higher mortality (Hobcraft, McDonald, & Rutstein, 1985; Kozuki et al., 2013; Rutstein, 2005). The reasons for this association are unclear, however. Leading hypotheses attempt to explain these differences as a result of sibling competition, maternal depletion, infection transmission, or unobserved maternal factors that simultaneously influence fertility and infant mortality (e.g. inadequate breastfeeding practices), but none has had overwhelming support. This study contributes to this body of research in a few important ways. First, it examines this association in a historical context, which has largely been ignored, and documents how the relationship evolved over the course of economic development. The data come from the Roteman Database, a longitudinal register kept for Stockholm, Sweden between 1878 and 1926. Second, it attempts to isolate some of the hypothesized causal mechanisms by studying variation within families by controlling for maternal fixed-effects thereby eliminating the potential for compositional differences among mothers to drive this relationship. Third, it exploits variation in the timing of death of older siblings to assess the plausibility of the different causal mechanisms. Results suggest that the relationship between preceding interval length and mortality holds even when accounting for unobservable maternal factors, particularly for post-neonatal and early childhood (age 1-4) mortality. The association disappeared over time as infectious disease mortality fell and deaths of previous siblings during the postnatal period disproportionately tended to increase the risk of dying among index children. These findings strongly suggest that the relationship is related to the transmission of disease between siblings.

Early Childhood Victimization and Physical Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy: A Developmental and Person-Oriented Approach.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization during pregnancy is a major public health concern, yet little is known about how risk factors for IPV during pregnancy may depend on whether women have histories of victimization dating back to early childhood (ages 0-5 years). This study examined whether risk factors for physical IPV victimization during pregnancy (a pregnancy that was not planned and prenatal substance use) differed for women with versus without early childhood victimization. Participants were 236 ethnically diverse, low-income biological mothers ( M = 30.94 years; 50.0% Latina, 16.9% Caucasian, 13.1% African American, and 16.9% multiracial) of children aged 0 to 6 years. Mothers were classified into four groups based on whether they had experienced early childhood victimization and physical IPV victimization during pregnancy with the target child. Multinomial logistic regressions, controlling for demographic characteristics, examined whether a pregnancy not planned and prenatal substance use predicted group membership. Compared to mothers with early victimization only, mothers with both early childhood victimization and physical IPV during pregnancy were more than 3 times as likely to report that their pregnancy with the target child was not planned. In follow-up analyses, mothers with early victimization and physical IPV during pregnancy also reported higher lifetime parity than mothers with physical IPV during pregnancy but no early victimization. Early childhood victimization may place women on a risk pathway to physical IPV during pregnancy, particularly if the pregnancy is not planned. Prevention and policy efforts should screen women for early childhood victimization to understand risks for physical IPV during pregnancy.

Maltreatment history as persistent risk: An extension of Li and Godinet (2014)

Using individual growth curves with mixed models, this study examined the influence of maltreatment on the trajectories of both internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems from early childhood (age 4) to late adolescence/emerging adulthood (age 16) in the LONGSCAN samples of children with early maltreatment exposure or early risk for maltreatment. Maltreatment reports for each child were used to create a time-varying predictor, which was assessed on an ongoing basis in the LONGSCAN study. Child/youth emotional and behavioral problems were measured at ages 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 using the Child Behavior Checklist. Maltreatment allegations significantly predicted subsequent trajectories of both internalizing and externalizing problems. For both types of problems, the effect of repeated maltreatment was on the rate of change (the trajectory), and in the case of externalizing problems, this effect grew more pronounced through age 16. Although behavioral problems may not be seen in younger children who experience maltreatment, these children are at ongoing risk for such problems as they grow older, and this risk is either maintained through adolescence (in the case of internalizing problems) or increases in strength through adolescence (in the case of externalizing problems). Maltreatment history is a persistent risk factor for child outcomes through adolescence. Assessment for recent maltreatment, as well as for earlier history of maltreatment, in adolescent children would improve treatment and service plans for children with behavioral and emotional problems through adolescence.

Metabolomics Reveals Dynamic Metabolic Changes Associated with Age in Early Childhood.

ObjectivesA detailed understanding of the metabolic processes governing rapid growth in early life is still lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the age-related metabolic changes in healthy children throughout early childhood.MethodsHealthy children from a birth cohort were enrolled in this study from birth through 4 years of age. Urinary metabolites were assessed at 6 months, and 1, 2, 3, and 4 yr of age by using 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy coupled with multivariate statistical analysis including principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Metabolic pathway analysis was performed using the MetPA web tool.ResultsA total of 105 urine samples from 30 healthy children were collected and analyzed. Metabolites contributing to the discrimination between age groups were identified by using supervised PLS-DA (Q2 = 0.60; R2 = 0.66). A significantly higher urinary trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and betaine level was found in children aged 6 months. Urinary glycine and glutamine levels declined significantly after 6 months of age and there was a concomitant compensatory increase in urinary creatine and creatinine. Metabolic pathway analysis using MetPA revealed similar nitrogen metabolism associated energy production across all ages assessed. Pathways associated with amino acid metabolism were significantly different between infants aged 6 months and 1 year, whereas pathways associated with carbohydrate metabolism were significantly different between children at ages 2 and 3 years.ConclusionsUrine metabolomics ideally represents dynamic metabolic changes across age. Urinary metabolic profiles change significantly within the first year of life, which can potentially provide crucial information about infant nutrition and growth.

Review

Reviewed by: Entranced by Story: Brain, Tale, and Teller from Infancy to Old Age by Hugh Crago Marek Oziewicz (bio) Entranced by Story: Brain, Tale, and Teller from Infancy to Old Age. By Hugh Crago. New York: Routledge, 2014. 269pp. Entranced by Story is a fascinating account of the evolution of the storytelling brain in its seven developmental stages: early childhood, preschool childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, maturity, and old age. Because most chapters concern stories we tell or read between childhood and young adolescence, it would seem that Hugh Crago’s argument is of particular relevance to students of children’s literature. The overall focus, however, makes this book eye-opening to anyone interested in how stories engage real readers. Crago’s premise is that the structure of the human brain explains surprisingly many aspects of the literary experience. The key lies in grasping the interaction of the two hemispheres and the relationship among the three layers of the brain, which perceive and represent the world in fundamentally different ways. Crago coins the term Old Brain to describe the archaic functions of our prehuman brains mediated mostly by the right hemisphere as they operate as and in stories. New Brain, in turn, is his term for the more detached and self-conscious experience of the world—and narrative—offered by the cortex and mediated predominantly by the left hemisphere. This framework of Old and New Brains in extremely complex interaction is the lens that Crago applies to examine the stories we are attracted to at different stages of our lives. [End Page 124] Chapter 1 looks at songstries and narratives composed by 2- to 4- year-olds, presenting them as quintessential Old Brain creations: concerned with the here and now, external actions, repetition, and formulas. Chapter 2 moves to stories that attract preschoolers, in which 4- to 5-year-olds begin to grapple with existential threats but remain dominated by Old Brain patterns. By middle childhood, the focus of Chapter 3, 7- to 9-year-olds have already made the Piagetan shift to the standards of realism, but the most appealing stories for this age group either describe “places of greater safety” (88) or offer what Crago calls “‘outlift’—the experience of being ‘taken out of oneself’ . . . into something strange, intense, and gratifying” (86). In Chapter 4 Crago deals with the special affinity between adolescence and romance—both as a search for love but also as a quest for the meaning of one’s life. The stories of young adulthood, examined in Chapter 5, reflect “the ebullience, the optimism, and the self confidence of young adulthood” (121). It is during this period that the New Brain finally comes into its own, so paradoxically young adults are also drawn to stories where wrongs are not righted and dreams do not come true. Chapter 6 deals with stories we create in midlife, as we are pulled back into our own pasts to recreate our own, “wish-we-had” childhoods. Chapter 7, finally, deals with storytelling in old age, when even mentally healthy people are drawn toward stories “like the Old-Brain-dominated narratives of early childhood” (192). This trajectory of the rise and fall of our storytelling capacities implies that we start with Old Brain narratives, develop the ability to enjoy New Brain narratives in young adulthood—when our cognitive and physical powers are at their peak—and then regress into Old Brain patterns again. Why is the Old Brain so dominant in the field of stories? Crago’s answer is that entranced reading—like its flip side, inspired writing—is essentially an Old Brain phenomenon that sweeps us into something bigger than we are. Our brains are hardwired for story-generated experiences of “immersion in a dramatic, significant present-ness” (222), and this immersion, according to Crago, can best be experienced through traditional tales. In his 2003 “What Is a Fairy Tale?” Crago asserted that the genre works through its effect and posited a close match between the fairy-tale consciousness and the level of consciousness displayed by children in Piaget’s pre-operational stage. In Entranced by Story, especially Chapters 1 to 3, he expands this claim, suggesting...

Gendered Pathways: Violent Childhood Maltreatment, Sex Exchange, and Drug Use.

Recent work has emphasized the role of violent victimization, along with risky contexts like sex exchange, in pathways to problems of externalizing and substance use in women. Nonetheless, few studies have empirically tested gender differences involving the roles of adversity factors (e.g., childhood violent maltreatment, sex exchange) in drug use patterns. The present study tested a model of gender differences in relationships between childhood physical and sexual abuse, sex exchange, and two indicators of drug use: engagement and symptoms of disorder. We recruited an ethnically-diverse sample of 304 (130 women) adults with recent histories of violence and/or drug use, who completed a substance use diagnostic interview, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and a sex exchange questionnaire. First, structural equation modeling revealed that childhood sexual and physical abuse were related to increased drug engagement in women and men, respectively, above the influence of early childhood contextual variables (e.g., neighborhood, family) and age. Second, sexual abuse was related to sex exchange, which in turn was related to drug use symptoms in women but not men. These data provide empirical support for distinct trauma-related pathways to drug use problems in men and women, which has implications for gendered explanations and prevention approaches.

Orville Gilbert Brim, Jr. (1923-2016).

Presents an obituary for Orville Gilbert Brim, Jr., who passed away in Vero Beach, Florida, on April 15, 2016, 8 days after celebrating his 93rd birthday. He was a social psychologist who served as president of the Russell Sage Foundation (1964-1972) and the Foundation for Child Development (1974-1985), led pioneering research on early childhood and middle age that shaped the emergent field of life span development. (PsycINFO Database Record

The long-term impacts of Medicaid exposure in early childhood: Evidence from the program's origin

This paper examines the long-term impact of exposure to Medicaid in early childhood on adult health and economic status. The staggered timing of Medicaid's adoption across the states created meaningful variation in cumulative exposure to Medicaid for birth cohorts that are now in adulthood. Analyses of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics suggest exposure to Medicaid in early childhood (age 0–5) is associated with statistically significant and meaningful improvements in adult health (age 25–54), and this effect is only seen in subgroups targeted by the program. Results for economic outcomes are imprecise and we are unable to come to definitive conclusions. Using separate data we find evidence of two mechanisms that could plausibly link Medicaid's introduction to long-term outcomes: contemporaneous increases in health services utilization for children and reductions in family medical debt.

Does developmental timing of exposure to child maltreatment predict memory performance in adulthood? Results from a large, population-based sample

Although maltreatment is a known risk factor for multiple adverse outcomes across the lifespan, its effects on cognitive development, especially memory, are poorly understood. Using data from a large, nationally representative sample of young adults (Add Health), we examined the effects of physical and sexual abuse on working and short-term memory in adulthood. We examined the association between exposure to maltreatment as well as its timing of first onset after adjusting for covariates. Of our sample, 16.50% of respondents were exposed to physical abuse and 4.36% to sexual abuse by age 17. An analysis comparing unexposed respondents to those exposed to physical or sexual abuse did not yield any significant differences in adult memory performance. However, two developmental time periods emerged as important for shaping memory following exposure to sexual abuse, but in opposite ways. Relative to non-exposed respondents, those exposed to sexual abuse during early childhood (ages 3–5), had better number recall and those first exposed during adolescence (ages 14–17) had worse number recall. However, other variables, including socioeconomic status, played a larger role (than maltreatment) on working and short-term memory. We conclude that a simple examination of “exposed” versus “unexposed” respondents may obscure potentially important within-group differences that are revealed by examining the effects of age at onset to maltreatment.

Montessori Early Childhood Teacher Perceptions of Family Priorities and Stressors

<p>Teachers of young children work closely with families. One component of teacher-family partnerships is teachers’ understanding of family priorities and stressors. This study examines Montessori early childhood (ages three through six) teacher perceptions of family priorities and stressors through an analysis of responses to two parallel surveys. Eighty teachers (37% of those who received the survey) and forty-nine family members (representing a 55% response rate) completed the survey. Significant differences were found between teachers’ perceptions of four (of seven) family priorities and families’ actual responses. Teachers ranked “making academic progress” as the most important of seven possible family priorities. However, families stated that “developing kindness” is the most important priority for their young children. No significant differences were found when comparing teacher rankings of family stressors with actual family responses. Montessori early childhood teachers ranked “not having enough time” as the most stressful of six possible stressors. Families confirmed that time pressures cause them the most stress. Maria Montessori’s recommendations for teachers and families are summarized. Recommendations for building stronger family partnerships in the context of Montessori’s philosophy, for example on-going self-reflection, are provided.</p><p> <em>Keywords: Montessori, teacher-family partnerships, early childhood teacher perceptions</em></p>

Preventive dental work with children of preschool age / Preventivni stomatološki rad sa djecom predškolskog uzrasta

Caries is today regardless of the knowledge of causes, and opportunities for prevention is still the most widespread disease of our civilization, a global problem. Treatment of caries and other oral diseases, due to the high price of dental services, is not only health but also social and economic problem. Caries prevention should begin in early childhood age, the promotion of all forms of promoting oral health. In order to take appropriate measures, it is necessary to investigate the state of oral health. In our study, we examined the condition of teeth in preschool children with milk teeth age 3 or 4 years and children with permanent teeth, age 6 years. With that examined the condition of teeth in pregnant women and conducted surveys on knowledge of prevention of oral health.The systematic examination included 654 child ages 3 and 4 years and found that 250 of them (38%) have carious milk teeth. In the group of 105-year-olds it was noted that 32 of them (30.47%) have healthy teeth (milk and permanent). Carious permanent teeth was 7 (2.18%) of the total erupted 321, while carious milk was in 77 children (73.3%).The analysis of systematic reviews 52 pregnant women, it was noted that 50% of respondents, has no awareness of oral health during pregnancy. Total decayed in all the examined 187 has extracted 118, rehabilitated 348thThe results of our research indicate a high prevalence of diseases of the teeth. Prevention programs and comprehensive health education, through a long period of time can bring adequate improvement of oral health. In these programs, it is necessary to actively participate on the entire population with the support of the wider community.

The trajectory of fidelity in a multiyear trial of the family check-up predicts change in child problem behavior.

Therapist fidelity to evidence-based family interventions has consistently been linked to child and family outcomes. However, few studies have evaluated the potential ebb and flow of fidelity of therapists over time. We examined therapist drift in fidelity over 4 years in the context of a Family Check-Up prevention services in early childhood (ages 2-5 years). At age 2, families engaging in Women, Infants, and Children Nutritional Supplement Program services were randomized and offered annual Family Check-Ups. Seventy-nine families with a child in the clinical range of problem behaviors at age 2 years were included in this analysis. Latent growth modeling revealed a significant linear decline in fidelity over time (M = -0.35, SD = 0.35) and that steeper declines were related to less improvement in caregiver-reported problem behaviors assessed at ages 7.5/8.5 years (b = -.69, p = .003; β = -.95, 95% CI [-2.11, -0.22]). These findings add to the literature concerning the need to continually monitor therapist fidelity to an evidence-based practice over time to optimize family benefits. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Breastfeeding, lung volumes and alveolar size at school-age

BackgroundPrevious studies found larger lung volumes at school-age in formerly breastfed children, with some studies suggesting an effect modification by maternal asthma. We wanted to explore this further in children...

Analysis of mutations in 7 genes associated with neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission in a cohort of children with non-syndromic infantile epileptic encephalopathy.

Epileptic Encephalopathy (EE) is a heterogeneous condition in which cognitive, sensory and/or motor functions deteriorate as a consequence of epileptic activity, which consists of frequent seizures and/or major interictal paroxysmal activity. There are various causes of EE and they may occur at any age in early childhood. Genetic mutations have been identified to contribute to an increasing number of children with early onset EE which had been previously considered as cryptogenic. We identified 26 patients with Infantile Epileptic Encephalopathy (IEE) of unknown etiology despite extensive workup and without any specific epilepsy syndromic phenotypes. We performed genetic analysis on a panel of 7 genes (ARX, CDKL5, KCNQ2, PCDH19, SCN1A, SCN2A, STXBP1) and identified 10 point mutations [ARX (1), CDKL5 (3), KCNQ2 (2), PCDH19 (1), SCN1A (1), STXBP1 (2)] as well as one microdeletion involving both SCN1A and SCN2A. The high rate (42%) of mutations suggested that genetic testing of this IEE panel of genes is recommended for cryptogenic IEE with no etiology identified. These 7 genes are associated with channelopathies or synaptic transmission and we recommend early genetic testing if possible to guide the treatment strategy.