DIET FOR BRAIN DEVELOPMENT, FROM THE BEGINNING

Studies looking into how diet and nutrition affect central nervous system development from birth are being conducted by Agricultural Research Service(ARS)-funded scientists. They are using noninvasive tools to assess infant, toddler and school-aged children's psychological, neurological and physiological development, as well as other brain-related functions.

Healthy newborns soak up information from their surroundings while their developing brains sprout billions of nerve cell connections, or synapses. The brain's "hardwiring" actually starts in the womb, directed by the growing fetus' genetic game plan acquired from both parents. Good nutrition is key to supporting the growth of this network of neurons from the beginning.

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Early Intervention Essential to Success for at-Risk Children, Study Finds

Children living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods are more likely to succeed if they participate in a community-based prevention program, according to findings released recently from a multi-year research study based at Queen's University.

Children participating in the Better Beginnings, Better Futures (BBBF) project showed improved social and academic functioning. The project also impacted positively on families and on neighbourhoods.

"The results from our study indicate that the project has been a success," says Queen's psychology professor emeritus Ray Peters, the lead researcher on the study. "The project was designed to prevent young children in low-income, high-risk neighbourhoods from experiencing poor developmental outcomes, and to decrease the use of expensive health, education and social services. The study has proven that goal to be attainable."

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YOUNG CHILDREN PERCEIVE MORAL INTENTIONS

Researchers have discovered that 3-year-old children appear to have a moral compass.

Investigators found that a young child’s helpfulness is tempered when they see that the person they intend to help has harmed another person.

Moreover, a child is less helpful when they see that the object of their attention meant to harm another, even if no harm was done.

That’s the conclusion of two new studies of 3-year-olds conducted by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.

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SMOKING DURING PREGNANCY AFFECTS MYELIN GENES IN OFFSPRING

Smoking during pregnancy may interfere with brain development. New animal research shows maternal smoking affects genes important in the formation and action of a fatty brain substance called myelin that insulates brain cell connections.

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

The finding may explain why the children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy are more likely to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, autism, drug abuse, and other psychiatric disorders. "Myelin deficits have been previously observed in adults with various psychiatric disorders," said Ming Li, PhD, of the University of Virginia, who directed the study.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL SIDE IN PERIODIZATION OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Psychiatric education is very important for forming the soul of balance in the child's personality. Psychiatric education means educating the children so they can be brave, open, independent, helpful, able to control anger, and love against all forms of moral virtue dam soul absolutely. In order to achieve optimal educational purposes, so parents should pay attention to mental growth of children in the educational process.

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PHYSIOLOGICAL SIDE IN PERIODIZATION OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

The scope of a life full of limitations, but felt complete peace with everything that full dependence, that was experienced by the child while in his mother's womb. When children are born into the world, child physical dependence on the mother ends and move to a freer world. In the new world, children will encounter things that are different from previous condition.

Sumadi Suryabrata states that in the early years, child development is still limited in the development of physical function. Children interpret that the development of their soul on the basis of function and development of bodily functions. Developments in the physical‘s side is the basis for development in the side of mental health. Mental development will go well if it is preceded by physical maturity.

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PERIODIZATION OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Period means the circle of time. In this case, the period is periodization. This is a way to facilitate understanding of child development, namely by determining the stages of child's age to be educated in accordance with the physical and psychological condition.

The development is a process from childhood to reach maturity and character of progress or perfection of personality. In other words, development is the emergence of new things, for example, children who initially self-centered, it will eventually turn into a social, and if it was once full of fantasy life, in time they would like reality.

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