Combining developmental and sleep health measures for autism spectrum disorder screening: an ECHO study.

Background: Sleep problems are reported for up to 80% of autistic individuals. We examined whether parsimonious sets of items derived from the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised (M-CHAT-R) and the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BISQ) are superior to the standard M-CHAT-R in predicting subsequent autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses.

Methods: Participants from 11 Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) cohorts were included.

Two-Year Autism Risk Screening and 3-Year Developmental Outcomes in Very Preterm Infants.

Importance: Use of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised With Follow-Up, a 2-stage parent-report autism risk screening tool, has been questioned due to reports of poor sensitivity and specificity. How this measure captures developmental delays for very preterm infants may provide support for continued use in pediatric care settings.

Objective: To determine whether autism risk screening with the 2-stage parent-report autism risk screening tool at age 2 years is associated with behavioral and developmental outcomes at age 3 in very preterm infants.

DNA methylation of NR3c1 in infancy: Associations between maternal caregiving and infant sex.

Caregivers play a critical role in scaffolding infant stress reactivity and regulation, but the mechanisms by which this scaffolding occurs is unclear. Animal models strongly suggest that epigenetic processes, such as DNA methylation, are sensitive to caregiving behaviors and, in turn, offspring stress reactivity. We examined the direct effects of caregiving behaviors on DNA methylation in infants and infant stress reactivity.

Early life stress and environmental influences on the neurodevelopment of children with prenatal opioid exposure.

Prenatal opioid exposure has reached epidemic proportions. In the last 10 years, there has been a 242% increase in the number of babies born with the drug withdrawal syndrome known as Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS). Developmental outcome studies of infants with prenatal opioid exposure are limited by methodological issues including small sample sizes and lack of control for confounding variables such as exposure to poverty and maternal psychopathology.

Prenatal Stress, Fearfulness, and the Epigenome: Exploratory Analysis of Sex Differences in DNA Methylation of the Glucocorticoid Receptor Gene.

Exposure to stress in utero is a risk factor for the development of problem behavior in the offspring, though precise pathways are unknown. We examined whether DNA methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene, NR3C1, was associated with experiences of stress by an expectant mother and fearfulness in her infant. Mothers reported on prenatal stress and infant temperament when infants were 5 months old (n = 68).

Methylation of the Glucocorticoid Receptor (NR3C1) in Placenta Is Associated with Infant Cry Acoustics.

Epigenetic mechanisms regulating expression of the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) promoter may influence behavioral and biological aspects of stress response in human infants. Acoustic features of infant crying are an indicator of neurobehavioral and neurological status not yet investigated in relation to epigenetic mechanisms. We examined NR3C1 methylation in placental tissue from a series of 120 healthy newborn infants in relation to a detailed set of acoustic features extracted from newborn infant cries.

The Contributions of Maternal Sensitivity and Maternal Depressive Symptoms to Epigenetic Processes and Neuroendocrine Functioning.

This study tested whether maternal responsiveness may buffer the child to the effects of maternal depressive symptoms on DNA methylation of NR3C1, 11β-HSD2, and neuroendocrine functioning. DNA was derived from buccal epithelial cells and prestress cortisol was obtained from the saliva of 128 infants. Mothers with depressive symptoms who were more responsive and who engaged in more appropriate touch during face-to-face play had infants with less DNA methylation of NR3C1 and 11β-HSD2 compared to mothers with depressive symptoms who were also insensitive.

The Roles of Maternal Depression, Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Treatment, and Concomitant Benzodiazepine Use on Infant Neurobehavioral Functioning Over the First Postnatal Month.

Objective: The purpose of this article was to systematically compare the developmental trajectory of neurobehavior over the first postnatal month for infants with prenatal exposure to pharmacologically untreated maternal depression, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (collectively: SSRIs), SSRIs with concomitant benzodiazepines (SSRI plus benzodiazepine), and no maternal depression or drug treatment (no exposure).

Method: Women (N=184) were assessed at two prenatal time points to determine psychiatric diagnoses, symptom severity, and prenatal medication usage. Infants were examined with a structured neurobehavioral assessment (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Network Neurobehavioral Scale) at multiple time points across the first postnatal month.

Prenatal predictors of infant self-regulation: the contributions of placental DNA methylation of NR3C1 and neuroendocrine activity.

We examined whether placental DNA methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene, NR3C1 was associated with self-regulation and neuroendocrine responses to a social stressor in infancy. Placenta samples were obtained at birth and mothers and their infants (n = 128) participated in the still-face paradigm when infants were 5 months old. Infant self-regulation following the still-face episode was coded and pre-stress cortisol and cortisol reactivity was assessed in response to the still-face paradigm.

Sex-specific associations between placental leptin promoter DNA methylation and infant neurobehavior.

Background: Leptin (LEP) is a hormone central for energy homeostasis and has been implicated in neurodevelopment. This adipokine is produced by the placenta and is epigenetically regulated by promoter DNA methylation. Recent evidence has suggested a role for LEP in behavioral development.

Refining Neurobehavioral Assessment of the High-Risk Infant Using the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale.

Nurses caring for high-risk infants use advanced assessment skills to identify the nature of infant instability and to assure timely intervention. The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) is a comprehensive assessment of neurological integrity and behavioral function of infants at risk. Research evidence supports its validity and reliability for clinical and research use.

Genetic and epigenetic variation of the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1) in placenta and infant neurobehavior.

The intrauterine environment can impact the developing infant by altering the function of the placenta through changes to the epigenetic regulatory features of this tissue. Genetic variation, too, may impact infant development or may modify the relationship between epigenetic alterations and infant outcomes. To examine the associations of these variations with early life infant neurodevelopment, we examined the extent of DNA methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) promoter and a common single nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter region in a series of 186 placentas from healthy newborn infants.

Prenatal Cocaine Exposure and Motor Performance at 4 Months.

Objective: The relation between prenatal cocaine exposure and quality of movement was studied at 4 mo using the Posture and Fine Motor Assessment of Infants (PFMAI-I).

Method: Posture and fine motor scores of 4-month-old infants exposed to cocaine in utero ( = 370) were compared with an unexposed group ( = 533) within the context of gestational age, medical and demographic characteristics, and level of prenatal substance exposure using the PFMAI-I.

Results: Infants prenatally exposed to cocaine had significantly lower posture scores than infants in the unexposed group.