Listening to Mom in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A randomized trial of increased maternal speech exposure on white matter connectivity in infants born preterm.

Background: Early speech experiences have been proposed to contribute to the development of brain structures involved in processing spoken language. However, previous research has been limited to correlational studies. Here, we conducted an RCT with preterm neonates to determine whether increased exposure to maternal speech during NICU hospitalization is causally linked to structural white matter maturation.

Inpatient Skin-to-skin Care Predicts 12-Month Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Very Preterm Infants.

Objective: To examine the relationship between inpatient skin-to-skin care rates and neurodevelopmental scores measured at 12 months in very preterm (VPT) infants.

Study Design: From a retrospective review of medical records of 181 VPT infants (<32 weeks gestational age [GA] at birth), we derived skin-to-skin care rate, ie, total minutes of skin-to-skin care each infant received over the number of days of hospital stay. We used scores on the Capute Scales from routine follow-up assessments at 12 months to measure neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Early language processing efficiency and pre-literacy outcomes in children born full term and preterm.

Language processing efficiency-that is, the skill at processing language in real time-assessed in toddlerhood is associated with later language outcomes in children born full term (FT) and preterm (PT) during school age. No studies to date have assessed patterns of relations between early language processing efficiency and pre-literacy skills, such as print knowledge and phonological awareness, and whether relations are similar in FT and PT children. In this study, participants (N = 94, 49 FT and 45PT) were assessed in the looking-while-listening (LWL) task at 18 months of age (corrected for degree of prematurity), deriving measures of processing speed and accuracy.

Using Parent Report to Measure Vocabulary in Young Bilingual Children: A Scoping Review.

A large number of children are exposed to more than one language. One well-established method of assessing early vocabulary development in monolingual children is parent report; however, its use in bilingual/multilingual contexts is less established and brings unique challenges. In this methodological scoping review, we reviewed studies of early vocabulary development using parent report with bilingual/multilingual children (January 1980-March 2022).

The role of translation equivalents in bilingual word learning.

Bilingual environments present an important context for word learning. One feature of bilingual environments is the existence of translation equivalents (TEs)-words in different languages that share similar meanings. Documenting TE learning over development may give us insight into the mechanisms underlying word learning in young bilingual children.

Comparing apples to manzanas and oranges to naranjas: A new measure of English-Spanish vocabulary for dual language learners.

The valid assessment of vocabulary development in dual-language-learning infants is critical to developmental science. We developed the Dual Language Learners English-Spanish (DLL-ES) Inventories to measure vocabularies of U.S.

The BabyView camera: Designing a new head-mounted camera to capture children's early social and visual environments.

Head-mounted cameras have been used in developmental psychology research for more than a decade to provide a rich and comprehensive view of what infants see during their everyday experiences. However, variation between these devices has limited the field's ability to compare results across studies and across labs. Further, the video data captured by these cameras to date has been relatively low-resolution, limiting how well machine learning algorithms can operate over these rich video data.

Evaluation of a course for neonatal fellows on providing psychosocial support to NICU families.

Objectives: Families in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) experience significant psychological distress. Fellowship training requires education on mental health issues. No standardized program exists.

Inpatient Skin-to-Skin Care Predicts 12-month Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Very Preterm Infants.

Objective: Limited research links hospital-based experiences of skin-to-skin (STS) care to longer-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm children. The present study examined relations between inpatient STS and neurodevelopmental scores measured at 12 months in a sample of very preterm (VPT) infants.

Study Design And Methods: From a retrospective study review of medical records of 181 VPT infants (<32 weeks gestational age (GA)) we derived the STS rate, i.

Maternal mental health and engagement in developmental care activities with preterm infants in the NICU.

Objective: To examine associations between maternal mental health and involvement in developmental care in the NICU.

Study Design: Mothers of infants born <32 weeks gestation (n = 135) were approached to complete mental health screening questionnaires at two weeks after admission. Mothers who completed screening (n = 55) were further classified as with (n = 19) and without (n = 36) elevated scores.

Investigating Relations between the NICU Speech Environment and Weight Gain in Infants Born Very Preterm.

Objective: Children born preterm, especially those born very preterm (<32 weeks of gestational age [GA]) are at risk for poor growth and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Adverse growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm children have been attributed, in part, to the aversive sounds and relative speech paucity of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Experimental studies that directly expose preterm infants to speech sounds in the NICU find significant improvements in health factors relevant to neurodevelopment.

Spanish-speaking caregivers' use of referential labels with toddlers is a better predictor of later vocabulary than their use of referential gestures.

Variation in how frequently caregivers engage with their children is associated with variation in children's later language outcomes. One explanation for this link is that caregivers use both verbal behaviors, such as labels, and non-verbal behaviors, such as gestures, to help children establish reference to objects or events in the world. However, few studies have directly explored whether language outcomes are more strongly associated with referential behaviors that are expressed verbally, such as labels, or non-verbally, such as gestures, or whether both are equally predictive.

Associations between early efficiency in language processing and language and cognitive outcomes in children born full term and preterm: similarities and differences.

Associations between children's early language processing efficiency and later verbal and non-verbal outcomes shed light on the extent to which early information processing skills support later learning across different domains of function. Examining whether the strengths of associations are similar in typically developing and at-risk populations provides an additional lens into the varying routes to learning that children may take across development. In this follow-up study, children born full-term (FT,  = 49) and preterm (PT,  = 45, ≤32 weeks gestational age, birth weight <1800 g) were assessed in the Looking While Listening (LWL) task at 18 months (corrected for degree of prematurity in PT group).

Peekbank: An open, large-scale repository for developmental eye-tracking data of children's word recognition.

The ability to rapidly recognize words and link them to referents is central to children's early language development. This ability, often called word recognition in the developmental literature, is typically studied in the looking-while-listening paradigm, which measures infants' fixation on a target object (vs. a distractor) after hearing a target label.

Online Computerized Adaptive Tests of Children's Vocabulary Development in English and Mexican Spanish.

Purpose: Measuring the growth of young children's vocabulary is important for researchers seeking to understand language learning as well as for clinicians aiming to identify early deficits. The MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDIs) are parent report instruments that offer a reliable and valid method for measuring early productive and receptive vocabulary across a number of languages. CDI forms typically include hundreds of words, however, and so the burden of completion is significant.

Associations of Behavioral Problems and White Matter Properties of the Cerebellar Peduncles in Boys and Girls Born Full Term and Preterm.

Accumulating evidence suggests that the role of cerebellum includes regulation of behaviors; cerebellar impairment may lead to behavioral problems. Behavioral problems differ by sex: internalizing problems are more common in girls, externalizing problems in boys. Behavioral problems are also elevated in children born preterm (PT) compared to children born full term (FT).

Disparities in Kangaroo Care for Premature Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether preterm infants whose families have lower socioeconomic status (SES) or communicate with clinical staff in a language other than English experience differences in the rate, frequency, and duration of kangaroo care (KC) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) compared with preterm infants of higher SES or primarily English-speaking families.

Methods: Participants were infants born <32 weeks' gestational age (GA), N = 116. We defined SES by the infants' health insurance (private/higher vs public/lower) and language by the language mothers used to communicate with clinical staff (English vs Other language).

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on developmental care practices for infants born preterm.

Objectives: To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rates of hospital visitation and rates and durations of developmental care practices for infants born preterm.

Methods: We analyzed electronic medical record data from 129 infants born at less than 32 weeks gestational age (GA) cared for in the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in a COVID-19-affected period (March 8, 2020 to Nov 30, 2020, n = 67) and the analogous period in 2019 (n = 62). Rates of family visitation and of family- and clinical staff-delivered developmental care were compared across cohorts, adjusting for covariates.

Building theories of consistency and variability in children's language development: A large-scale data approach.

Young children typically begin learning words during their first 2 years of life. On the other hand, they also vary substantially in their language learning. Similarities and differences in language learning call for a quantitative theory that can predict and explain which aspects of early language are consistent and which are variable.

Listening to Mom in the NICU: effects of increased maternal speech exposure on language outcomes and white matter development in infants born very preterm.

Background: Infants born very preterm (< 32 weeks gestational age (GA)) are at risk for developmental language delays. Poor language outcomes in children born preterm have been linked to neurobiological factors, including impaired development of the brain's structural connectivity (white matter), and environmental factors, including decreased exposure to maternal speech in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Interventions that enhance preterm infants' exposure to maternal speech show promise as potential strategies for improving short-term health outcomes.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on developmental care practices for infants born preterm.

Objectives: To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rates of hospital visitation and rates and durations of developmental care practices for infants born preterm delivered by both families and clinical staff.

Methods: We analyzed electronic medical record data from infants born at less than 32 weeks gestational age (GA) cared for in the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in a COVID-19-affected period (March 8, 2020 to May 31, 2020) and the analogous period in 2019. Our final sample consisted of 52 infants ( =27, 2019 cohort; =25, 2020 cohort).

Accuracy of the Language Environment Analyses (LENA) system for estimating child and adult speech in laboratory settings.

Laboratory observations are a mainstay of language development research, but transcription is costly. We test whether speech recognition technology originally designed for day-long contexts can be usefully applied to this use-case. We compared automated adult word and child vocalization counts from Language Environment Analysis (LENATM) to those of transcribers in 20-minute play sessions with Spanish-speaking dyads (n = 104) at 1;7 and 2;2.

Assessing speech exposure in the NICU: Implications for speech enrichment for preterm infants.

Objective: Quantify NICU speech exposure over multiple days in relation to NICU care practices.

Methods: Continuous measures of speech exposure were obtained for preterm infants (n = 21; 12 M) born <34 weeks gestational age in incubators (n = 12) or open cribs (n = 9) for 5-14 days. Periods of care (routine, developmental) and delivery source (family, medical staff, cuddler) were determined through chart review.

Off to a good start: Early Spanish-language processing efficiency supports Spanish- and English-language outcomes at 4½ years in sequential bilinguals.

Many Latino children in the U.S. speak primarily Spanish at home with few opportunities for exposure to English before entering school.