One of the first senses you receive in the womb is sound; whether that be your mother’s voice or muffled talking and noise coming from outside the womb, your unborn infant can hear it. Plenty of studies have been conducted by researchers about what they can hear, respond to, and prefer, but what about newly born infants?

In the article, Neonatal Musicality: Do Newborns Detect Emotions in Music?, the goal of the study is to determine the emotional effects of various background music on neonates that are deemed healthy. This was examined through analyzing the baby’s’ movements frame by frame paired with their heart rate in two different experiments (one experiment for behavioral responses and the other on heart rate). Behavior that was recorded was yawning, sucking, arm stretching, arm flexion, finger movement, finger clench, finger stretch, smiling, leg flexion, leg stretch, toes curled, toes stretched, and eyes open, barely open, and closed. The emotions that were used in the study were happy and sad and songs were pulled from a various large collection of lullabies and children’s songs. A control (referred to as ‘baseline’ in the study) was also used that monitored the neonates’ responses with no music playing.

The study found that infants’ heart rate would decrease along with decreased their movement and forms of self-regulatory behavior while sad music there was stillness and longer leg stretches. There were no differences in heart rate examined while infants listened to sad music. Further discussion on this experiment goes deeper into why this may have occurred as well as other various aspects that may explain the results.

What is interesting is how this is how like how we respond to music. Later the study mentions that with happier music the infants were more likely to have stronger response and are noted to “absorb” the sad music. With how today’s society is, music is something we constantly are exposed to and listen to on an everyday basis. Next time you listen to music, think about how your child may be interacting and responding to music and how your responses, even close to your first day of life, are quite similar!

 

Read the full article here!

Mikayla Clemens

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Stress is an aspect of everyones lives. The amount of stress we all have differs and so does the way that we respond to it. As a baby being born into a family of abuse or where resources are scarce will change the way that your brain reacts to stress and the emotions you have.

A study done by Ross A. Thompson looked at the way that children respond to the struggle of living in poverty. It was found that it can change their neurobiology in a way that can hurt their physical health, social competence, and their ability to succeed in school and life. It can also make them have a hard time controlling their emotions, focusing, and creating relationships later on in life.

The study found that this neurobiological change can be altered. Creating warm and nurturing relationships in children’s lives can help to reverse this change. Programs to build this relationship have been very helpful for children. These programs don’t only focus on biological parents or caregivers but move onto grandparents or distant relatives to make it a multigenerational program. Thompson suggests this multigenerational approach to helping children living in poverty cope and thrive with their chronic stress.

Learn more by reading the article Here!

Ben Solomon

Research Assistant, UConn Kids

With fair season right around the corner (some of them are already here), there are plenty of opportunities to get outside and enjoy the remaining summer weather and the upcoming cool fall air! With that being said, without these fun fall activities, it can be harder to get outside with your kids. As screens are constantly around us, it is so easy to forget to connect with nature and let our kids explore the world around us.

In this literature review, the importance of allowing children to connect with nature and exploring the ecosystems around them is described as necessary and often overlooked in importance. Exploration of the environment reaps multiple positive benefits such as enhanced cognitive development, increased levels of social esteem and self-management skills, and even independence and/or skills in team building. Not to mention, it is proven that children who had access to the outdoors were able to have focused, direct attention as well as increased cognitive ability.

These skills are deemed important and necessary for development but can be forgotten about and overlooked as kids may seek an altered sense of connection to nature virtually or within a video game. As mentioned in the review, fear of injury by parents or lack of access to an accessible outdoor area can inhibit the availability for outdoor exploration. As children still have their curious nature and ability for fantasy and role playing, the lack of an outdoor play area may lead children to turn to video games and virtual reality.

With the outdoors providing a space for children to explore and grow, it brings to the table new ways for children to expand their cognitive abilities as well as provide a way for kids to unplug and de-stress naturally.

Read the full article here

Mikayla Clemens

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Today’s Friday Feature is Nolyette Verastegui!

Nolyette Verastegui (Noly) is a research assistant with UConn KIDS. She is a junior at the University of Connecticut majoring in Psychological Sciences. She is also a proud member of the UConn honors community. This is Noly’s first semester working as a research assistant and she is excited to meet new people and represent UConn KIDS.

Nolys interests include working with the youth in her community of Windham, especially with bilingual students at the middle school level. This past summer, she worked with school psychologists in the Windham Public School district. Alongside her mentor, she enacted a summer program called “Problem Solving in Middle School”, where students were able to engage their problem solving skills through prepared discussions and activities. Noly also enjoys learning about industrial and organizational psychology and human behavior in the workplace. After graduating, she plans to further her education in either I/O Psychology or continue her work with young children and become a school psychologist in her community. 

During her free time, Noly enjoys traveling. She has had the opportunity to travel to Germany, Puerto Rico, Peru, Mexico, and the Bahamas. She also loves fitness and exercise. Weightlifting, yoga, and pilates are some of her favorite ways to start her mornings. Aside from her hobbies, Noly loves spending time with family and friends.

 

 

 

Taking care of a baby can be overwhelming. With screen time so prevalent today, Is giving your kid a screen to watch a good solution to calm them down? Will giving your child more screen time affect their development?

In August 2021, Jama Pediatrics published a longitudinal study looking at a little over 7,000 mother/child pairs between 2013 to 2017. The study found that heavier screen use was associated with poorer communication and fine motor skills measured at both two and four years old. Social skills and problem solving delays were found at one and two but no longer at four. “Screen Time” is a very broad statement that can mean many different things. A baby watching violent movies vs educational shows will make a difference. Parental input and screening are important. Different children can view the same exact program, one will see it as a positive program and the other child can see it as an anxiety inducing punishment.  Media can be effective when used in the right way although it will not be surpassed by playing with pets, siblings, adult nuzzling, or simply enjoying life.

 

Read the full article here!: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/life-refracted/202308/babies-screens-parents-and-developmental-delays

Ben Solomon

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

 

Having a newborn baby can be one of the most exciting yet scary times in a parent’s life. For parents, so much of the neonatal period involves learning to bond, care for, and get to know their baby. There is also much uncertainty as babies discover the world around them and parents learn to manage caring for a new baby. One certainty is that being cautious is crucial during this time as babies are rapidly growing, developing, and changing. 

The World Health Organization and UNICEF recently launched a new progress report detailing the need to improve nurturing care around the world. This improvement would require investing more in care, especially in poorer countries. The two organizations emphasize that the first year of a child’s life provides numerous opportunities to improve lifelong well-being.

The report focuses on using the Nurturing Care Framework, which aims to support young children’s physical, emotional, and intellectual development. It promotes overall child health by covering nutrition, security, learning, and responsive caregiving. The report found that utilizing the Nurturing Care Framework has increased commitment to early child development worldwide. 

Improving the health of a child goes far beyond enhancing physical health. Their emotional health needs to be considered as well. We must help them develop positive relationships with those around them to improve their physical and emotional well-being.

Read the full article here

Emma Dineen

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

How are children’s emotions impacted by lower amounts of sleep? Researchers who sought to answer this question studied how nap deprivation impacts toddlers’ emotional expressions. In their study, Berger et al. assigned 10 toddlers to nap or no-nap conditions and later provided them with emotion elicitation and challenge protocol to examine how napping impacts both. In the emotion elicitation protocol, researchers showed toddlers positive, negative, and neutral emotion-eliciting pictures and noted their reactions to each. In the challenge protocol, researchers provided toddlers with first a solvable, and then an unsolvable puzzle to see how the toddlers behaved when doing both. The researchers also collected data concerning each toddlers’ actigraphy, sleep diaries, and regular emotional behaviors.

Overall, Berger et al. discovered that in the emotion-eliciting trials, toddlers who didn’t nap were confused by fewer slides than those who napped, and also showed more negative reactions to the neutral pictures. In the challenge trials, toddlers who didn’t nap showed less positive emotions, more neutral emotions, were less confused when doing the unsolvable puzzle, and were overall more worried and anxious.

These findings suggest that children who do not receive enough sleep may struggle in challenging environments, such as school, as their lack of sleep can lead to confusion and negative emotions. Toddlers’ lack of confusion when trying to solve the unsolvable puzzle may have been because without sleep, they were deprived of attentiveness that would have otherwise allowed them to register that the puzzle could not be completed. In all, napping may be an essential component of toddlers’ regular sleep as it impacts their cognitive and emotional responses to stimulating environments.

Kylie Robinshaw

UConn KIDS, Research Assistant

Read the full article here

A team lead by Vanderbilt University Medical Center has developed the Perceptions of Research Trustworthiness (PoRT) scale to gauge minority populations’ perceptions of the reliability of scientific research. By enabling researchers to assess the degree of trust or mistrust in their work, the tool, as published in JAMA Network Open, intends to increase engagement in research. The historical perspective on trust in science has changed, and by emphasizing the trustworthiness of research and investigators, the responsibility of trust is moved from the participant to the researcher. A member of the research team’s leadership, Wilkins, said that research organizations should own responsibility for being trustworthy and measure their performance in gaining and keeping trust.

The goal of the research team is to assess and analyze how trust affects outcomes across the nation using PoRT. Although it took many years to develop and validate, PoRT is now regarded as essential for selecting study participants who are representative of the general population. Using this tool, researchers can actively better themselves prior to starting the study, putting their commitments to conducting equitable studies into practice.

Teaching empathy in schools can help young people retain it as a social skill, enhancing their learning and preparing them for adulthood.
Read the full article here
https://phys.org/news/2023-04-team-scale-rebalance-burden-science.html
Hsin-Yu Huang
UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Children often behave in ways we may not understand. It’s impossible to know exactly what is happening in their head, which can sometimes worry parents. Preschool teachers are taught that children’s behavior is the key to communication. They shared some of the best tips that parents can use when observing their children’s behavior. 

The first tip they shared is to look for patterns. Behaviors that occur repeatedly happen for a reason. Finding the pattern in which the behavior occurs is essential for stopping it. Preschool teachers recommend writing down when certain behaviors take place. Writing down behaviors can help parents remember when and why the behavior occurred.

The second tip given was the ABCs of behavior. The ABCs of behavior is what teachers refer to as the Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence model. This model essentially looks for what happened before the behavior, what the behavior was, and what happened right after. Understanding the catalyst and consequences of the behavior is crucial for determining why it might have taken place.

Many teachers emphasize the importance of writing down observations when stuck trying to understand a child’s behavior. Identifying the pattern is the first step to changing it. Writing down behavior may feel weird at first, but it will be greatly beneficial in the long run.

Read the full article here.

Emma Dineen

UConn KIDS, Research Assistant

Empathy is often seen as a fixed trait, but research shows it can be taught. Reading is one-way children can develop empathy, as they can experience and reflect on situations different from their own and reflect on them. Empathy Week is a program that shows pupils documentary films with scenarios from different cultures to inspire empathy, and early findings suggest that as little as one week of empathy lessons can improve pupils’ emotional awareness. 

Levels of empathy vary depending on personality traits, genes, and environment. Research shows that only about 10% of our empathy is genetic, suggesting that a large amount of empathy can be acquired from everyday interactions. However, empathy can also decrease as we age, and biases can reduce empathy. 

Empathy helps children build relationships, engage with learning, and work and play together. Teaching empathy can also enhance creativity. In a study, pupils who were taught empathy and asked to design a product for children with asthma and their families showed increased levels of creative responses. 

Teaching empathy in schools can help young people retain it as a social skill, enhancing their learning and preparing them for adulthood.

Read the full article here

Hsin-Yu Huang

UConn KIDS Research Assistant