Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday!

This weeks question is…What is an example of multifinality: “any one component may function differently depending on the organization of the system in which it operates.”

A. The same childhood experience can lead to different outcomes in adulthood
B. People with different experiences in childhood can develop the same mental health disorder

Last weeks question was “True or false: a “rooting reflex” is defined as “an automatic, unlearned response in newborns to a gentle stimulus on the cheek or corner of the mouth.” A newborn will turn their heads and make a sucking motion.” The answer was true!

Tune in next week to find out the answer to this weeks question!

Baby media has been around for decades. Most notably, the rise of the “Baby Einstein” TV series since 1997 has captivated parents, believing that such media would make their babies learn better and faster. From old VHS tapes to current media, parents have been quoted and testified to the benefits of media on infant development, thus encouraging more parents to do the same for their children. 

However, parents who say that exposure to media assisted in their child’s development could in fact be mistaken. A phenomenon occurs in the second stage of an infant’s stage of life, called the “word spurt” where they gain knowledge of many new words. This phenomenon could instead be aiding in development rather than media exposure.  

Researchers wondered how many new words 12–18-month-old infants can learn from watching a popular series multiple times a week. Interestingly, the results yielded that children who viewed media more often did not learn new words compared to children who didn’t watch any media. Therefore, they concluded that infant media was not as useful to development as parents think; rather, parents overestimate the influence of media on their children. 

To read more, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant

There is no doubt that teens value their friends and what they think of them. In fact, friendship is considerably one of the most important parts of adolescence. High quality friendships have been related to positive developmental outcomes, as well as mental health. Conversely, quality friendships can help to protect against the negative effects of hardships. But what about the way these friendships actually affect the brain itself?

Interestingly, there seems to be a connection between reward and friendships. There were a few areas of activation when a brain imaging study was done, having teens visualize their friends and having them determine whether they would approach them. However, two of note were the ventral striatum(VS) and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). The VS has been well established on its role in reward in the brain, but the role of the VS and vmPFC has been hypothesized to form a valuation system in the brain. This means that they guide decision making by responding to rewards. These areas can be more activated during the sharing of emotions, such as watching an emotional video together. 

If you want to read more about how friendships affect the brain, click here!

Kaitlyn Vitucci
UConn KIDS, Research Assistant

If I were to ask you what babies think, your response would most likely be nothing. We think of babies as having blank minds and slowly absorbing the world around them. According to research, babies are far more ahead than we first imagine. In her Ted Talk, Gopnik talks about different studies that showcase babies’ abilities to learn. She even goes as far as that babies are designed to learn due to their powerful brains.  

She draws a comparison between babies and scientists in the sense that they both observe, hypothesize, experiment, and draw conclusions. While they do not do this to the same degree, the idea is still there!

Interested in learning more? Click this link here to watch! 

 

Rachel Silverman 

UConn KIDS, Research Assistant 

Pets, to many, are an extension of our families. We view our lovely 4-legged friends as one of our own. They bring us tons of laughs, love, and other positive benefits!

One of those benefits includes reducing anxiety in kids. This study has found that dogs have led to a probable decrease in anxiety levels in children. Because this study demonstrates the probability of this relationship to exist, it opens the door for future studies to examine how and why this may be in the case. In the meantime, it is another reason to love our furry friends even more!

To read more about this study, click here!

Mikayla Clemens

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday!

This weeks question is…True or false: a “rooting reflex” is defined as “an automatic, unlearned response in newborns to a gentle stimulus on the cheek or corner of the mouth.” A newborn will turn their heads and make a sucking motion. 

A. True
B. False

Last weeks question was “True or false: Maturation is defined as ‘an increase, through experience, of problem-solving ability.'” The answer was false, the correct term is learning!

Tune in next week to find out the answer to this weeks question!

In today’s digital world, children are spending more time in front of screens than ever before. But how does this impact their development? A recent article was posted discussing the effects that technology has on children’s cognitive, emotional and social development. The article stresses that while technology has its positives, there is an overwhelming number of negatives. 

 It is crucial that screen time is limited for children. Prolonged screen time can lead to sleep disturbances, obesity, attention problems, and even emotional disorders mental health disorders like depression and anxiety. With that being said, technology is an incredibly useful tool when it comes to enhancing education and developing early literacy skills. Strategies such as encouraging face-to-face interactions, and focusing on high-quality, educational content are ways to minimize those negative effects. 

Interested in learning more? Click on the link here! 

 

Rachel Silverman 

UConn KIDS, Research Assistant 

Parents who are in high conflict with one another, divorced, or in court child custody may have their kid(s) engage in parental alienation, where the child strongly prefers to be with one parent and refuses to engage at all with the other parent. A common form of parental alienation is when the preferred parent encourages their child to negatively engage with and alienate the nonpreferred parent, which leads to a one-sided, unhealthy phenomenon. 

Factors of parental alienation can influence negative beliefs and resistance in a child’s relationship with their alienated parent. If the child sees one of their parents’ hostile with the other, they can internalize those negative emotions and place them on the nonpreferred parent. 

Parental alienation can lead to short- and long-term negative impacts on the child, mental health issues in the alienated parent, and damage the overall parent-child familial relationship. It’s important to understand the reasoning behind a child’s alienation from a certain parent, and to find methods to address it. More research is needed in regards to the psychology of parental alienation! 

To read more, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Terms such as “sperm donor,” “deadbeat dad,” and “baby daddy” are often used in reference to fathers who help conceive a child but do not actively participate in the child’s life. However, the term “co-parent” offers a more positive side to fathers who are in their child’s life, even if not always living together. 

Joel Leon, this Ted Talk speaker, says that co-parenting involves many sacrifices, but the weight of raising a child will not fall on one parent alone. Co-parenting is an important thing for parents to do for their child in order for them to have both parents present, which benefits the child’s well-being greatly.  

He acknowledges the struggles of single mothers, even mentioning his own personal experiences and upbringing. Therefore, he encourages parents to play an equal role in their child’s life and to remember that being a parent is a gift, not an inconvenience. 

To watch the full Ted Talk, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Psychologists have been interested in the influence of early musical training on executive functions, especially when musical training began during the “sensitive period”. The sensitive period is a time when children are sensitive to specific stimuli or interactions, this is similar to the critical period, however the distinction is that skills learned during the sensitive period can be learned later in life; such as musical training. Executive functions are defined as “a set of cognitive skills involved in goal-directed problem solving, including working memory, inhibitory control, and set shifting/flexibility.” 

A study was conducted to determine executive functions’ association with musical training, and whether there was a sensitive period involved.Two experiments conducted: The first experiment had children who were musically trained and those who were not complete tasks, and the results of the first experiment showed that children who were musically trained had an advantage in attention and response inhibition, and working memory. The second experiment tested the difference between those who were musical trained from a young age and those who were musically trained at a later age, and the results for those who were musically trained earlier were conclusive with the first experiment, but those who were musically trained later did better in attention inhibition compared to those who are not musically trained. 

This study highlighted the benefits of being musically trained at an early age, however it is never too late to learn a new skill and experience the benefits that come with it!

If you want to read more, click here! 

Kaitlyn Vitucci
Research Assistant, UConn KIDS