Can dog-assisted and relaxation interventions boost spatial ability in children with and without special educational needs? A longitudinal, randomized controlled trial.

Children's spatial cognition abilities are a vital part of their learning and cognitive development, and important for their problem-solving capabilities, the development of mathematical skills and progress in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) topics. As many children have difficulties with STEM topic areas, and as these topics have suffered a decline in uptake in students, it is worthwhile to find out how learning and performance can be enhanced at an early age. The current study is the first to investigate if dog-assisted and relaxation interventions can improve spatial abilities in school children.

The effect of mindfulness-based interventions on immunity-related biomarkers: a comprehensive meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

One proposed pathway that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) may offer a salutogenic effect on somatic disorders is by enhancing immune function. As such, we conducted a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials examining the effect of MBIs at post-intervention and follow-up for six immune-related biomarkers, including CD4+ cells, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, nuclear factor-κB, telomere length, and telomerase activity. Potential studies were identified by searching ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Academic Search Complete, AMED, MEDLINE, PsycARTICLES, and PsycINFO.

Animal-Assisted Interventions for School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analysis.

Research has indicated beneficial effects of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs) for children with Autism. However, there is a dearth of meta-analyses and findings are often contradictory. The current meta-analysis assesses the effectiveness of AAIs on social interaction, communication and global Autism symptoms.

Best Practice Standards in Animal-Assisted Interventions: How the Risk Assessment Tool Can Help.

Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) in educational and other settings have steadily increased over the last fifty years and a steep rise in AAI has been observed in many countries and settings in recent years. Surprisingly, while different providers and organisations provide a range of guidelines, no unified, standardised guidelines or risk assessment tools for AAI exist. This means that in practice AAI takes place in an unregulated manner and without a gold standard of best practice.

Measuring Cortisol in the Classroom with School-Aged Children-A Systematic Review and Recommendations.

The collection of salivary cortisol has been chosen as one of the least intrusive, easiest to collect, analyze, and store methods of obtaining information on physiological changes. It is, however, not clear what the best practice is when collecting salivary cortisol from children within the school setting. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the feasibility of cortisol collection in schools for future research and to make recommendations for best practice.