Longitudinal characterization of EEG power spectra during eyes open and eyes closed conditions in children.

This study is the first to examine spectrum-wide (1 to 250 Hz) differences in electroencephalogram (EEG) power between eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) resting state conditions in 486 children. The results extend the findings of previous studies by characterizing EEG power differences from 30 to 250 Hz between EO and EC across childhood. Developmental changes in EEG power showed spatial and frequency band differences as a function of age and EO/EC condition.

Prenatal Exposure to Tobacco and Alcohol Alters Development of the Neonatal Auditory System.

Prenatal exposures to alcohol (PAE) and tobacco (PTE) are known to produce adverse neonatal and childhood outcomes including damage to the developing auditory system. Knowledge of the timing, extent, and combinations of these exposures on effects on the developing system is limited. As part of the physiological measurements from the Safe Passage Study, Auditory Brainstem Responses (ABRs) and Transient Otoacoustic Emissions (TEOAEs) were acquired on infants at birth and one-month of age.

Improving detection and management of familial hypercholesterolaemia in Australian general practice.

Objective: Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is characterised by elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, FH remains substantially underdiagnosed and undertreated. We employed a two-stage pragmatic approach to identify and manage patients with FH in primary healthcare.

Association Between Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol and Tobacco and Neonatal Brain Activity: Results From the Safe Passage Study.

Importance: Research to date has not determined a safe level of alcohol or tobacco use during pregnancy. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a noninvasive measure of cortical function that has previously been used to examine effects of in utero exposures and associations with neurodevelopment.

Objective: To examine the association of prenatal exposure to alcohol (PAE) and tobacco smoking (PTE) with brain activity in newborns.

Challenges in Accurately Assessing Prenatal Alcohol Exposure in a Study of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in a Youth Detention Center.

Background: Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can result in permanent disability, including physical, neurodevelopmental, and cognitive impairments, known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Individuals with FASD are more likely to engage with the law, including being placed in detention, than individuals without FASD. Young people who were sentenced to detention participated in a FASD prevalence study in Western Australia.

Language diversity, language disorder, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder among youth sentenced to detention in Western Australia.

Background: While studies confirm high prevalence of language disorder among justice-involved young people, little is known about the impact of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) on language among this population. It is also not clear how language skills vary according to language diversity in Australian youth justice settings, where a disproportionate number of justice-involved youth are Aboriginal and may not speak Standard Australian English (SAE) as their first language. Language skills are important to understand, as language disorder and language difference can lead to a mismatch between the communication skills of a young person and the communication skills of the justice workforce with whom they are communicating.

Transient Otoacoustic Emissions and Auditory Brainstem Responses in Low-Risk Cohort of Newborn and One-Month-Old Infants: Assessment of Infant Auditory System Physiology in the Prenatal Alcohol in SIDS and Stillbirth Network Safe Passage Study.

Background: The Prenatal Alcohol and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Stillbirth Network, known as the "Safe Passage Study," enrolled approximately 12,000 pregnant women from the United States and South Africa and followed the development of their babies through pregnancy and the infant's first year of life to investigate the role of prenatal alcohol exposure in the risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as stillbirth and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Purpose: Auditory system tests were included in the physiologic test battery used to study the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on neurophysiology and neurodevelopment, as well as potential causal relationships between neurodevelopmental disorders and SIDS and/or stillbirth. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe normative results when using the auditory test battery applied.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and youth justice: a prevalence study among young people sentenced to detention in Western Australia.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) among young people in youth detention in Australia. Neurodevelopmental impairments due to FASD can predispose young people to engagement with the law. Canadian studies identified FASD in 11%-23% of young people in corrective services, but there are no data for Australia.

Neonatal eyelid conditioning during sleep.

Using an eyelid conditioning paradigm modeled after that developed by Little, Lipsitt, and Rovee-Collier (1984), Fifer et al. (2010) demonstrated that newborn infants learn during sleep. This study examined the role of sleep state in neonatal learning.