Publications by authors named "S C Deoni"
Background: Hippocampal volume increases throughout early development and is an important indicator of cognitive abilities and mental health. However, hippocampal development is highly vulnerable to exposures during development, as seen by smaller hippocampal volume and differential epigenetic programming in genes implicated in mental health. However, few studies have investigated hippocampal volume in relation to the peripheral epigenome across development, and even less is known about potential genetic moderators.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMyelination is a fundamental process of neurodevelopment that facilitates the efficient brain messaging and connectivity that underlies the emergence and refinement of cognitive skills and abilities. Healthy maturation of the myelinated white matter requires appropriate neural activity and coordinated delivery of key nutritional building blocks, including short and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, phospholipids, and sphingolipids. While many of these nutrients are amply supplied by breastmilk, they are often provided in only limited quantities in infant formula milk.
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- Childhood sleep quality is influenced by factors such as maternal stress during pregnancy and can predict later health outcomes.
- The study examined data to understand how prenatal stress relates to sleep quality in children aged 4-8, finding that both prenatal and postnatal stress have significant effects.
- Results indicate that postnatal stress mediates the impact of prenatal stress on sleep issues, highlighting the need for further research on maternal mental health and child sleep disturbances.
Article Synopsis
- - National health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic led to school closures in the U.S., disrupting learning for many students in Spring 2020.
- - A study analyzed data from 282 children aged 5-12, finding that those with more than 4 weeks of learning disruption scored significantly lower in math assessments compared to those with fewer disruptions.
- - The findings highlight the need for educators to prioritize math support for students who faced prolonged learning interruptions, especially those impacted by their caregivers' pandemic-related stress and educational background.
Article Synopsis
- Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD) is a rare brain disorder affecting myelin development in children, prompting the need for advanced imaging techniques to evaluate myelination status and potential treatment effectiveness.
- The study focused on creating and testing different image analysis methods for qMRI data from PMD patients to accurately compare their myelination with healthy controls.
- Five PMD patients underwent MRI scans, with various registration techniques assessed for accuracy in aligning their brain images to a pediatric template, revealing differences in myelin water fraction between the PMD participants and healthy subjects.