Toward a global understanding of neonatal behaviour: adaptation and validation of the Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale (NBAS) in the UK and rural Gambia.

There is a need of expanding research on neonatal behaviour to encompass diverse global populations. However, few measures appropriate for use from birth in diverse cultural contexts exist. We present data from rural Gambia and the UK using the Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale (NBAS).

The Brain Imaging for Global Health (BRIGHT) Project: Longitudinal cohort study protocol.

There is a scarcity of prospective longitudinal research targeted at early postnatal life which maps developmental pathways of early-stage processing and brain specialisation in the context of early adversity. Follow up from infancy into the one-five year age range is key, as it constitutes a critical gap between infant and early childhood studies. Availability of portable neuroimaging (functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG)) has enabled access to rural settings increasing the diversity of our sampling and broadening developmental research to include previously underrepresented ethnic-racial and geographical groups in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs).

Trajectories of brain and behaviour development in the womb, at birth and through infancy.

Birth is often seen as the starting point for studying effects of the environment on human development, with much research focused on the capacities of young infants. However, recent imaging advances have revealed that the complex behaviours of the fetus and the uterine environment exert influence. Birth is now viewed as a punctuate event along a developmental pathway of increasing autonomy of the child from their mother.

Cognitive control in infancy: Attentional predictors using a tablet-based measure.

Cognitive control is a predictor of later-life outcomes and may underpin higher order executive processes. The present study examines the development of early cognitive control during the first 24-month. We evaluated a tablet-based assessment of cognitive control among infants aged 18- and 24-month.

Growth in early infancy drives optimal brain functional connectivity which predicts cognitive flexibility in later childhood.

Functional brain network organization, measured by functional connectivity (FC), reflects key neurodevelopmental processes for healthy development. Early exposure to adversity, e.g.