Reactivity In Childhood Research Articles

Association Between Television Viewing and Sensory Reactivity in Childhood: The Cross-Sectional InProS Study

BackgroundCurrent evidence suggests a potential detrimental effect of increased television viewing on children's health, including sensory processing issues. Therefore, this study examined the association between television viewing time and atypical sensory reactivity (SR) in children aged from three to seven years. MethodsWe evaluated data from the InProS cross-sectional study (n = 545). Daily television viewing was categorized into tertiles: ≤1.5, 1.5 to 2.5, and ≥2.5 hours. SR was evaluated using the Short Sensory Profile (SSP). Children with atypical SR were those with a global SSP score below 155, 30 for tactile sensitivity, 15 for taste/olfactory sensitivity, 13 for movement sensitivity, 27 for under-responsive/seeks sensation, 23 for auditory filtering, 26 for low energy/weak, and 19 for visual/auditory sensitivity. We used multiple Poisson regression models with robust variance to explore associations. ResultsAfter adjusting for covariates, children who watched television 1.5 to 2.5 and ≥2.5 hours/day showed a higher prevalence of atypical global SR (prevalence ratio [PR]: 1.54; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03 to 2.30; PR: 1.81; 95% CI: 1.19 to 2.76, respectively) and auditory filtering (PR: 1.50; 95% CI: 1.15 to 1.96; PR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.83, respectively), compared with children who watched ≤1.5 hours/day. In addition, watching television ≥2.5 hours/day, compared with watching ≤1.5 hours/day, was associated with having atypical SR in movement sensitivity (PR: 1.73; 95% CI: 1.06 to 2.83), under-responsive/seeks sensation (PR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.02 to1.69), and low energy/weak (PR: 2.02; 95% CI: 1.01 to 4.06). ConclusionsThe findings showed that television viewing ≥1.5 hours/day was associated with a higher prevalence of atypical SR in childhood. However, further longitudinal studies are required to confirm these results.

Experimental evidence for a child-to-adolescent switch in human amygdala-prefrontal cortex communication: A cross-sectional pilot study.

Interactions between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex are fundamental to human emotion. Despite the central role of frontoamygdala communication in adult emotional learning and regulation, little is known about how top-down control emerges during human development. In the present cross-sectional pilot study, we experimentally manipulated prefrontal engagement to test its effects on the amygdala during development. Inducing dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) activation resulted in developmentally-opposite effects on amygdala reactivity during childhood versus adolescence, such that dACC activation was followed by increased amygdala reactivity in childhood but reduced amygdala reactivity in adolescence. Bayesian network analyses revealed an age-related switch between childhood and adolescence in the nature of amygdala connectivity with the dACC and ventromedial PFC (vmPFC). Whereas adolescence was marked by information flow from dACC and vmPFC to amygdala (consistent with that observed in adults), the reverse information flow, from the amygdala to dACC and vmPFC, was dominant in childhood. The age-related switch in information flow suggests a potential shift from bottom-up co-excitatory to top-down regulatory frontoamygdala connectivity and may indicate a profound change in the circuitry supporting maturation of emotional behavior. These findings provide novel insight into the developmental construction of amygdala-cortical connections and implications for the ways in which childhood experiences may influence subsequent prefrontal function.

From the pages of AllergyWatch®: November 2020

For this month's edition of "From the Pages of AllergyWatch," I have chosen reviews of articles of interest to the clinical allergist. The first study found that wheezing infants with atopic sensitization at the time of the first wheezing episode was strongly associated with bronchial reactivity in childhood. The next review, of an article published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, investigated the complexity of atopic sensitization to foods in children with atopic dermatitis (AD). The final study confirms the determination of the US Environmental Protection Agency to the likely causal link between exposures to particulate matter and ozone and respiratory illness.

Early parenting predicts hippocampal subregion volume via stress reactivity in childhood.

Rodent models indicate that parenting shapes offspring outcomes by programming the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to stress and, ultimately, altering brain structure and function. The present study tested this hypothesis and explored possible timing-dependent associations in a longitudinal sample of children (N=63). At Time 1 (M=4.23±0.84years) and Time 2 (M=7.20±0.89years), children completed parent-child interaction tasks and a laboratory stressor after which salivary cortisol samples were collected. At Time 2, children also completed a structural MRI. Analyses revealed timing- and region-dependent associations between early and concurrent parenting and cortisol reactivity and hippocampal subregion volumes. Moreover, greater negative parenting during early childhood predicted greater cortisol reactivity three years later, which, in turn, led to reduced left hippocampal tail volume. Findings suggest that the hippocampus is sensitive to environmental influences during early childhood, a result that parallels findings from rodent models.

Maternal lipids in pregnancy are associated with increased offspring cortisol reactivity in childhood

Prenatal programming of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity has long term implications for offspring health. Biological mechanisms underlying programming of the offspring HPA axis are poorly understood. We hypothesised that altered maternal metabolism including higher maternal obesity, glucose and lipids are novel programming factors for altered offspring HPA axis activity. Salivary cortisol levels were measured in 54 children aged 3–5 years under experimental conditions (before and after a delay of self-gratification test). Associations of child cortisol responses with maternal obesity in early pregnancy and with fasting glucose, triglycerides, HDL and total cholesterol measured in each pregnancy trimester were tested. Higher levels of maternal triglycerides and total cholesterol throughout pregnancy were associated with increased offspring cortisol reactivity. The associations were independent of maternal obesity and other confounders, suggesting that exposure to maternal lipids could be a biological mechanism of in utero programming of the offspring’s HPA axis.

Pulse rate reactivity in childhood as a risk factor for adult hypertension: the 1970 British cohort study.

Cardiovascular reactivity to mental stress has been used as a tool to predict short-term hypertension risk in adults but the impact of cardiovascular reactivity in childhood on hypertension in adulthood is unknown. Using the 1970 British Cohort study, we examined the association between pulse rate reactivity in childhood and risk of hypertension in adulthood. A total of 6507 participants (51.6% women) underwent clinical examination at 10 years of age that involved measurement of blood pressure, BMI, and pulse rate pre and postexamination. Hypertension was ascertained by self-reported doctor diagnosis 32 years later at age 42. On average, there was a reduction in pulse rate after the medical examination (-1.2 ± 8.2 bpm), although nearly a third of the sample recorded an increase in pulse rate of at least 3 bpm. A total of 488 (7.5%) study members developed hypertension at follow-up. After adjustment for a range of covariates, including resting blood pressure and BMI in childhood, a heightened pulse rate response to the examination (≥3 bpm) was associated with greater risk of hypertension in adulthood (odds ratio = 1.30, 95% confidence interval, 1.02, 1.67). The association persisted whether we modelled pulse rate as an absolute measure (postexamination) or a change score. These observational data suggest that elevated childhood cardiovascular reactivity could increase risk for hypertension in adulthood.

Childhood interparental conflict and HPA axis activity in young adulthood: Examining nonlinear relations

Relations between early adversity and the neuroendocrine stress response are most often tested in a linear framework. Findings from studies of nonlinear relations between early stress and reactivity in childhood are suggestive, but curvilinear associations between childhood family stress and stress reactivity at later developmental stages remain unexplored. The current study examined curvilinear relations between childhood interparental conflict (IPC) and cortisol reactivity in young adulthood. Participants (n = 91; Mean age = 18.7, SD = .97; 59% White, 25% Hispanic) reported on the frequency and intensity of childhood exposure to IPC and salivary cortisol was sampled before and after a challenging interpersonal role-play task. Significant curvilinear relations were found such that higher total cortisol and cortisol reactivity during the task was observed among youth reporting lower and higher frequency of IPC, suggesting that moderate IPC exposure may be associated with lower cortisol activity at a later developmental stage.

Functional brain activation to emotional and nonemotional faces in healthy children: evidence for developmentally undifferentiated amygdala function during the school-age period.

The amygdala is a key region in emotion processing. In particular, fMRI studies have demonstrated that the amygdala is active during the viewing of emotional faces. Previous research has consistently found greater amygdala responses to fearful than to neutral faces in adults, convergent with a focus in the animal literature on the amygdala's role in fear processing. Studies have shown that the amygdala also responds differentially to other facial emotion types in adults. Yet the literature regarding when this differential amygdala responsivity develops is limited and mixed. Thus, the goal of the present study was to examine amygdala responses to emotional and neutral faces in a relatively large sample of healthy school-age children (N = 52). Although the amygdala was active in response to emotional and neutral faces, the results did not support the hypothesis that the amygdala responds differentially to emotional faces in 7- to 12-year-old children. Nonetheless, amygdala activity was correlated with the severity of subclinical depression symptoms and with emotional regulation skills. Additionally, sex differences were observed in frontal, temporal, and visual regions, as well as effects of pubertal development in visual regions. These findings suggest important differences in amygdala reactivity in childhood.

Emotional Reactivity and Exposure to Household Stress in Childhood Predict Psychological Problems in Adolescence

In recent years, research has examined the role of heightened emotional reactivity and poor regulation on maladjustment during childhood and adolescence. Although much of this research has shown a direct link between high emotional reactivity and maladjustment, there is less research on the ways in which reactivity interacts with contextual factors. Using data from the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD), the current study asks how emotional reactivity in childhood, household chaos, and household income impact changes in emotional and behavioral problems between childhood and adolescence. Participants in the SECCYD were followed from birth until adolescence. Of these, 958 youth (52 % male; 80 % Caucasian, 13 % African American, 2 % Asian, and 5 % Other) who completed measures at age 15 were included in the current study. Results indicate that emotional reactivity and low household income during childhood directly predict higher levels of emotional and behavioral problems in adolescence. In contrast, the impact of household chaos on adolescent mental health depends on the child's emotional reactivity. Specifically, the adverse impact of household chaos on emotional problems was observed among adolescents who were highly emotionally reactive as children, but not among their less reactive counterparts. Taken together, the relationship between an individual's childhood context and temperament are important aspects in the prediction of outcomes in adolescents.

Hypertension and Cerebral Vascular Reactivity in Childhood: Challenge and Opportunity

HomeStrokeVol. 42, No. 7Hypertension and Cerebral Vascular Reactivity in Childhood: Challenge and Opportunity Free AccessEditorialPDF/EPUBAboutView PDFView EPUBSections ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationsTrack citationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InMendeleyReddit Jump toFree AccessEditorialPDF/EPUBHypertension and Cerebral Vascular Reactivity in Childhood: Challenge and Opportunity Rebecca Ichord, MD Rebecca IchordRebecca Ichord From the Department Neurology & Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Search for more papers by this author Originally published26 May 2011https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.617803Stroke. 2011;42:1805–1806Other version(s) of this articleYou are viewing the most recent version of this article. Previous versions: January 1, 2011: Previous Version 1 See related article, pages 1834–1838The study of childhood origins of adult cardiovascular disease has grown dramatically in the past decade. Childhood-onset obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia confer increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in adulthood.1 The mechanisms for these relationships are incompletely understood. Even less is known about the extent to which end-organ injury referable to these risk factors actually begins during childhood. The study by Wong et al2 provides new insights concerning the early-life effects of hypertension on cerebrovascular physiology. The rapid increase in prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity and hypertension among US children underscores the public health implications of their observations.Wong et al evaluated cerebrovascular reactivity to hypercapnia among children with essential hypertension compared with normotensive control subjects. They tested the hypothesis that hypertension is associated with impaired hypercapnic reactivity measured by increased cerebral blood flow velocity on transcranial Doppler. Hypertension was carefully measured and quantified using well-defined and standardized 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring methods. Cerebrovascular reactivity measures were likewise well-defined and carried out in a standardized manner. These transcranial Doppler data on cerebrovascular reactivity are interesting and novel in their own right, because there are few published studies reporting transcranial Doppler data, much less hypercapnic reactivity, in awake, neurologically well children. They found hypercapnic reactivity is decreased in hypertensive children compared with normotensive control subjects with a negative linear correlation between reactivity and both mean 24-hour diastolic blood pressure and diastolic load. The relatively small sample size precluded additional analyses of potential modifying factors such as sex, race, age, and the effect of treatment with antihypertensive drugs.Having confirmed that hypertension is associated with decreased cerebrovascular reactivity, as is seen in adults, a number of compelling questions beg to be further evaluated. The authors have raised the question, for example, as to whether impaired cerebrovascular reactivity with hypertension is associated with impaired neurocognitive function in children as is seen in adults. A few tantalizing clues already exist in a small number of published studies that support an association between hypertension and diminished neurocognitive function and academic attainment in children.3,4Much more study is needed, however, to reproduce these observations in larger populations to determine the longitudinal trends through different stages of childhood and beyond to adult life and, importantly, to establish what the causal relationships and mechanisms may be. For example, there are no published studies evaluating neuroimaging correlates of neurocognitive impairments in hypertensive children. The existence of potentially quantifiable and anatomically specific structural neuroimaging markers of cerebral injury from childhood hypertension may provide additional insights concerning mechanism as well as objective end points for interventions. Juonala et al5 reported age-dependent associations between cardiovascular risk factors and the findings of early atherosclerosis on vessel imaging in children and adolescents. It would be of great interest to evaluate the relative contribution of childhood hypertension compared with other cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity and hyperlipidemia on vessel wall markers of early atherosclerosis and to understand how this is related, if at all, to the development of disturbed cerebrovascular reactivity.Ultimately, a clearer understanding of the mechanisms and epidemiology of childhood precursors of cerebrovascular disease will be essential for designing interventions and subjecting these to clinical trial. The magnitude of the public health implications of these problems can hardly be overstated. Studies such as that of Dr Wong and colleagues are groundbreaking by demonstrating that understanding and effectively preventing chronic adult-onset cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease may best begin in childhood. Moreover, the dividends of treating childhood precursors of adult disease may become evident in childhood by halting or reversing clinically significant end-organ injury even early in life.DisclosuresNone.FootnotesThe opinions in this editorial are not necessarily those of the editors or of the American Heart Association.Correspondence to Rebecca Ichord, MD, CTRB 10th Floor, Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3501 Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104. E-mail [email protected]chop.edu

Pain reactivity and somatization in kindergarten-age children.

To evaluate predictors of somatization and pain reactivity in childhood. Facial expressions of children undergoing inoculation were scored for pain reactivity. Measures of temperament, pain experience, pain models, parental behavior, and parental ability to decode pain were examined for their ability to predict pain reactivity and somatization in a structural modeling analysis. Pain reactivity was associated positively with parental reports of their child's somatization. Child temperament, previous negative experiences with medical procedures, and maternal responses to their children's pain were positively associated with pain reactivity. Temperament and pain experience may play a role in children's pain reactivity, and reactivity may contribute to the development of somatization. Although the model that guided the analysis proved to be a reasonable description of the outcomes, several anticipated relationships were not significant. We discuss implications for a refined model of somatization and for early identification and prevention.

Association of tobacco smoke exposure and respiratory syncitial virus infection with airways reactivity in early childhood.

Exposure to infectious agents and environmental tobacco smoke are thought to induce bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). This study was undertaken to determine the effects of passive exposure to tobacco smoke and respiratory syncitial virus (RSV) lower respiratory infection (LRI) during infancy on the occurrence of BHR in the first 2 years of life. Eighty-six cases of documented RSV (mean age, 188 days) and 78 controls (mean age, 162 days) were enrolled from the clinic and in-patient service of a single hospital. None had a history of prior LRI. Subjects were studied at 6-month intervals up to 19 months of age with a standardized respiratory illness and parental smoking questionnaire, partial expiratory flow-volume curves by the "hug" (rapid thoracic compression) technique, and methacholine challenge. Exposure to maternal and paternal cigarette smoking, maternal history of asthma, and mold exposure were associated with decreased levels of length-corrected maximal flow at functional residual capacity (V'(maxFRC)). RSV-LRI was not related to V'(maxFRC). After adjustment of V'(maxFRC) for these factors, V'(maxFRC) was a significantly and positively correlated with a methacholine concentration provoking a 40% fall in V'(maxFRC) (PC40) and negatively correlated with dose-response slope. After adjustment for V'(maxFRC), there were no independent effects of tobacco smoke exposure or RSV-LRI on methacholine responses. These data do not support a role for RSV as a risk factor for airways reactivity in childhood and indicate that exposure to tobacco smoke affects airways reactivity through its effects on airways.

Skin reactivity and eosinophil count in relation to the outcome of childhood asthma

The aim of this study was to determine whether an association can be found between childhood skin reactivity and the outcome of asthma in young adulthood in a group of 406 asthmatic children, of whom 348 (86%) could be followed up in adulthood. A complete data set on skin tests and eosinophil count was available in 259 allergic subjects. They were stratified into three classes, according to initial skin test score in childhood. An increase in skin reactivity was noted from childhood to adulthood, while the differences in skin reactivity between the three classes remained significant. In childhood, a marked difference in total eosinophil count was found between the classes. Towards adulthood, a decrease in eosinophil count was noted, and the differences between the classes were no longer significant. The children with lowest skin reactivity also had the lowest symptom score in childhood. In adulthood, the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in this class was lower than in the other two classes. The prevalence of bronchial responsiveness to histamine was lowest in subjects with the lowest skin test score in childhood. Ventilatory parameters revealed no differences between the three classes. We conclude that although a low skin reactivity in childhood might be associated with a relatively favourable prognosis for asthma symptoms in adulthood, there is only limited evidence to support this hypothesis in our study.

Stability of Systolic Blood Pressure Reactivity to Exercise in Young Children

Blood pressure reactivity to stress in childhood has predicted development of hypertension 45 years later, so it is important to understand the characteristics of blood pressure reactivity in childhood. The present study assessed the 1-week and 6-month stability of systolic blood pressure reactivity to a 40-meter run stressor in preschool children. Sixty-three low-income children (mean age, 3.9 years) were assessed on four different days over a 6-month period. One-week stability (r = 0.39 to 0.50) and 6-month stability (r = 0.56) of reactive systolic blood pressure levels were highly significant. Reactive systolic blood pressure level was more stable than resting systolic or diastolic blood pressure in this sample. Sex, body mass index, family cardiovascular disease history, and child Type A behavior all were unrelated to systolic blood pressure reactivity. Systolic blood pressure reactivity to exercise appears to be an enduring characteristic that emerges in early childhood.

Normal pulmonary function measurements and airway reactivity in childhood after mild bronchiolitis

Concern about the long-term sequelae of bronchiolitis has been raised through studies of children hospitalized for bronchiolitis, but the long-term sequelae of mild bronchiolitis have not been studied. We assessed the hypothesis that 25 children with mild bronchiolitis (index subjects) were at greater risk for abnormalities of pulmonary function or airway reactivity to cold air between the ages of 8 and 12 years than were randomly selected, matched controls. There were no consistent differences in pulmonary function or airway reactivity between index and control groups. Airway hyperreactivity was found in five control subjects and three index subjects, and all children with symptomatic asthma were identified by cold air challenge. Our data suggest that children with a history of mild bronchiolitis are not at increased risk between ages 8 and 12 years for airway hyperreactivity or for abnormalities in pulmonary function.