Search results for "brain development"
showing 10 items of 24 documents
Do informal musical activities shape auditory skill development in preschool-age children?
2013
The influence of formal musical training on auditory cognition has been well established. For the majority of children, however, musical experience does not primarily consist of adult-guided training on a musical instrument. Instead, young children mostly engage in everyday musical activities such as singing and musical play. Here, we review recent electrophysiological and behavioral studies carried out in our laboratory and elsewhere which have begun to map how developing auditory skills are shaped by such informal musical activities both at home and in playschool-type settings. Although more research is still needed, the evidence emerging from these studies suggests that, in addition to f…
Systematic review and meta-analysis found that malnutrition was associated with poor cognitive development
2021
Aim: Malnutrition is a major public health issue that has been associated with high susceptibility for impaired brain development and mental functioning. However, to date studies on this topic have not been collated and appraised. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the association between malnutrition and cognitive development. Methods: We searched the MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL, Embase PsycINFO and Cochrane Library databases in English up to 8 December 2020. All studies reporting an association between nutritional status and cognitive development were included. p values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant and the results are reported as standardised …
Role of en and novel interactions between msh, ind, and vnd in dorsoventral patterning of the Drosophila brain and ventral nerve cord
2010
AbstractSubdivision of the neuroectoderm into discrete gene expression domains is essential for the correct specification of neural stem cells (neuroblasts) during central nervous system development. Here, we extend our knowledge on dorsoventral (DV) patterning of the Drosophila brain and uncover novel genetic interactions that control expression of the evolutionary conserved homeobox genes ventral nervous system defective (vnd), intermediate neuroblasts defective (ind), and muscle segment homeobox (msh). We show that cross-repression between Ind and Msh stabilizes the border between intermediate and dorsal tritocerebrum and deutocerebrum, and that both transcription factors are competent t…
Isolation and differential expression of two isoforms of the ROBO2/Robo2 axon guidance receptor gene in humans and mice.
2006
AbstractExpression of Robo receptor molecules is important for axon guidance across the midline of the mammalian central nervous system. Here we describe novel isoform a of human ROBO2, which is initially strongly expressed in the fetal human brain but thereafter only weakly expressed in adult brain and a few other tissues. The known isoform b of ROBO2 shows a more or less ubiquitous expression pattern, suggesting diverse functional roles. The genomic structure and distinct expression patterns of Robo2a and Robo2b have been conserved in the mouse, but in contrast to human ROBO2a mouse Robo2a is also abundant in adult brain. Exons 1 and 2 of human ROBO2a lie in an inherently unstable DNA seg…
La mente del bambino: tra lungimiranza pedagogica ed evidenze neuroscientifiche. Uno studio comparato su Maria Montessori e la Brain-based Education
2021
Il paper intende tracciare una linea di congiunzione tra le intuizioni di Maria Montessori e le recenti evidenze neuroscientifiche: “La scoperta del bambino”, auspicata dalla studiosa all’inizio del XX secolo, è tuttora in corso e punta alla conquista della comprensione del funzionamento della mente del bambino. In particolare, la riflessione si sviluppa attorno ai seguenti temi: neuroplasticità neuronale e sinaptogenesi, lo sviluppo motorio, il processo attentivo e il meccanismo della mimesi. Questi argomenti, rinvigoriti dal dialogo tra la pedagogia montessoriana e le ricerche neuroscientifiche, possono determinare un nuovo modo di intendere la questione e la prassi educativa. The paper i…
P27-S Sex differences and cortical excitability in healthy adolescents
2019
Background Sex is known to influence brain development. However, sex differences in cortical excitability and their relationship to motor functions is unclear. Aim We examined the sex related differences in the degree of handedness, left and right motor cortex excitability and manual dexterity. Methods 28 healthy adolescents (age 16–19 years,19 girls) were studied. The degree of right-handedness was determined by the Waterloo Handedness Questionnaire. Motor threshold (MT) of the abductor pollicis brevis was measured on both hemispheres. Box and block test (BBT) was used for manual dexterity. Independent samples t-test was used in statistical analysis. Results There were no differences betwe…
Hierarchical imaging and computational analysis of three-dimensional vascular network architecture in the entire postnatal and adult mouse brain
2021
The formation of new blood vessels and the establishment of vascular networks are crucial during brain development, in the adult healthy brain, as well as in various diseases of the central nervous system. Here, we describe a step-by-step protocol for our recently developed method that enables hierarchical imaging and computational analysis of vascular networks in postnatal and adult mouse brains. The different stages of the procedure include resin-based vascular corrosion casting, scanning electron microscopy, synchrotron radiation and desktop microcomputed tomography imaging, and computational network analysis. Combining these methods enables detailed visualization and quantification of t…
HGG-03. THE GLYCOSPHINGOLIPIDS METABOLISM IS A NOVEL TARGET IN H3K27M-MUTANT DIFFUSE MIDLINE GLIOMA
2021
Abstract H3K27M-mutant diffuse midline glioma (H3K27M-mutant DMG) is a rare malignant brain tumour entity in children and adults with a median overall survival of around 12 months. Genomic and proteomic analysis may help to identify new target structures, however not all relevant targets are covered by these analyses. Glycosphingolipids and particularly gangliosides play a major role in brain development and have been involved in the pathology of brain tumours. The conversion of ceramide to glucosylceramide via glucosylceramide synthase (GCS) is one of the first steps in the synthesis of glycosphingolipids. Therefore, targeting GCS will inhibit their synthesis. Here we analysed the glycosph…
Structural effects and neurofunctional sequelae of developmental exposure to psychotherapeutic drugs: experimental and clinical aspects
2004
The advent of psychotherapeutic drugs has enabled management of mental illness and other neurological problems such as epilepsy in the general population, without requiring hospitalization. The success of these drugs in controlling symptoms has led to their widespread use in the vulnerable population of pregnant women as well, where the potential embryotoxicity of the drugs has to be weighed against the potential problems of the maternal neurological state. This review focuses on the developmental toxicity and neurotoxicity of five broad categories of widely available psychotherapeutic drugs: the neuroleptics, the antiepileptics, the antidepressants, the anxiolytics and mood stabilizers, an…