ACTIVE FATHER-FIGURE HELPS KIDS

A new research study highlights the benefit of an active father figure for reducing behavioral problems in boys and psychological problems in young women.

Swedish researchers also found that regular positive contact reduces criminal behavior among children in low-income families and enhances cognitive skills like intelligence, reasoning and language development.

Children who lived with both a mother and father figure also had less behavioral problems than those who just lived with their mother.

The review is published in the February issue of Acta Paediatrica.

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People Who Stutter Show Abnormal Brain Activity When Reading and Listening

A new imaging study finds that people who stutter show abnormal brain activity even when reading or listening. The results suggest that individuals who stutter have impaired speech due to irregular brain circuits that affect several language processing areas -- not just the ones for speech production.

The research was presented at Neuroscience 2010, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, held in San Diego.

Stuttering affects about one in every 20 children; most grow out of it, but one in five continues to struggle. While the particular cause of stuttering is still unknown, previous studies showed reduced activity in brain areas associated with listening, and increased activity in areas involved in speech and movement. In the new study, researchers considered whether irregular activity would also be apparent when stuttering speakers silently read.

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