Faculty Bibliography

In this clinical review we summarise what in our view have been some the most important advances in the past two decades, in terms of diagnostic definition, epidemiology, genetics and environmental causes, neuroimaging/cognition and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), including: (1) the most recent changes to the diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and International Classification of Diseases; (2) meta-analytic evidence showing that, after accounting for diagnostic methods, the rates of ADHD are fairly consistent across Western countries; (3) the recent finding of the first genome-wide significant risk loci for ADHD; (4) the paradigm shift in the pathophysiological conceptualisation of ADHD from alterations in individual brain regions to a complex dysfunction in brain networks; (5) evidence supporting the short-term efficacy of ADHD pharmacological treatments, with a different profile of efficacy and tolerability in children/adolescents versus adults; (6) a series of meta-analyses showing that, while non-pharmacological treatment may not be effective to target ADHD core symptoms, some of them effectively address ADHD-related impairments (such as oppositional behaviours for parent training and working memory deficits for cognitive training). We also discuss key priorities for future research in each of these areas of investigation. Overall, while many research questions have been answered, many others need to be addressed. Strengthening multidisciplinary collaborations, relying on large data sets in the spirit of Open Science and supporting research in less advantaged countries will be key to face the challenges ahead.

Although a fundamental goal of developmental science is to identify general processes of change, developmental scientists rarely generalize beyond their specific content domains. As a first step toward a more unified approach to development, we offer 15 suggestions gleaned from a century of research on infant walking. These suggestions collectively address the multi-leveled nature of change processes, cascades of real-time and developmental events, the diversity of developmental trajectories, inter- and intraindividual variability, starting and ending points of development, the natural input for learning, and the roles of body, environment, and sociocultural context. We argue that these 15 suggestions are not limited to motor development, and we encourage researchers to consider them within their own areas of research.

In psychological experiments, behavioral speed varies across trials, and this variation is often associated with corresponding fluctuations in cortical activity. Little is known about such cortical variations in semantic priming tasks where target words are matched with preceding sensory object cues. Here, two visually presented target words ("pear" and "lilac") were repeatedly cued by corresponding odors or pictures, and the participants were to indicate matching or nonmatching combinations. Data were split in behaviorally "fast" versus "slow" trials. We hypothesized that slow trials would be associated with higher prestimulus alpha activity and reduced ERP amplitudes, and that response-time differences between odor-cued and picture-cued trials would be especially large in slow behavioral trials. Results confirmed that slow trials showed increased alpha-band activity prior to word target onset, as well as amplitude decreases in the sensory P1 and semantic N400 components. However, no interactions between cue-modality and processing speed were observed. Instead, odor-cue integration responses were uniquely delayed on incongruent trials, a novel behavioral effect that was not observed in EEG measures. The results show that semantic integration speed is reflected in cortical activity before and during stimulus processing. Behavioral interactions with cue modality did not correspond to observed cortical activity changes, perhaps because olfactory circuits are not readily observed in scalp-recorded EEG. We conclude that combining behavioral speed variability and cortical EEG measures is useful in understanding the fluctuating nature of cognitive processing sequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

What incites infant locomotion? Recent research suggests that locomotor exploration is not primarily directed toward distant people, places, or things. However, this question has not been addressed experimentally. In the current study, we asked whether a room filled with toys designed to encourage locomotion (stroller, ball, etc.) elicits different quantities or patterns of exploration than a room with no toys. Caregivers were present but did not interact with infants. Although most walking bouts in the toy-filled room involved toys, to our surprise, 15-month-olds in both rooms produced the same quantity of locomotion. This finding suggests that mere space to move is sufficient to elicit locomotion. However, infants' patterns of locomotor exploration differed: Infants in the toy-filled room spent a smaller percent of the session within arms' reach of their caregiver and explored more locations in the room. Real-time analyses show that infants in the toy-filled room took an increasing number of steps per bout and covered more area as the session continued, whereas infants in the no-toy room took fewer and fewer steps per bout and traveled repeatedly over the same ground. Although not required to elicit locomotion, moving with toys encouraged infants to travel farther from their caregivers and to explore new areas.

Although preterm infants are at risk for social deficits, interventions to improve mother-infant interaction in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are not part of standard care (SC). Study participants were a subset from a randomized controlled trial of a new intervention for premature infants, the Family Nurture Intervention (FNI), designed to help mothers and infants establish an emotional connection. At infants' 4 months corrected age, mother-infant face-to-face interaction was filmed and coded on a 1-s time base for mother touch, infant vocal affect, mother gaze, and infant gaze. Time-series models assessed self- and interactive contingency. Comparing FNI to SC dyads, FNI mothers showed more touch and calmer touch patterns, and FNI infants showed more angry-protest but less cry. In maternal touch self-contingency, FNI mothers were more likely to sustain positive touch and to repair moments of negative touch by transitioning to positive touch. In maternal touch interactive contingency, when infants looked at mothers, FNI mothers were likely to respond with more positive touch. In infant vocal affect self-contingency, FNI infants were more likely to sustain positive vocal affect and to transition from negative to positive vocal affect. In maternal gaze interactive contingency, following infants' looking at mother, FNI mothers of male infants were more likely to look at their sons. In maternal gaze self-contingency, following mothers' looking away, FNI mothers of male infants were more likely to look at their sons. Documentation of positive effects of the FNI for 4-month mother-infant face-to-face communication is useful clinically and has important implications for an improved developmental trajectory of these infants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an important and often neglected comorbidity of pregnancy; left untreated, it can lead to serious health complications for the mother and developing fetus. Structured interviews were conducted to identify risk factors of PTSD among culturally diverse women with depressive symptomatology receiving perinatal services at community obstetric/gynecologic clinics. Women abused as adults, with two or more instances of trauma, greater trauma severity, insomnia, and low social support were more likely to present perinatal PTSD symptoms. Perinatal PTSD is prevalent and has the potential for chronicity. It is imperative healthcare providers recognize salient risk factors and integrate culturally sensitive screening, appropriate referral, and treatment services for perinatal PTSD.

Please note that following publication of the original article [1], one of the authors has flagged that the abbreviations section lists "BRIC" as "Britain, Russia, India and China".