Search

Abstract. Recent research suggests that early physical touch provided by caregivers play a critical role in cognitive and affective development. The discovery of the C-tactile fibers – which selectively respond to low-speed physical stimulations, such as maternal affectionate touch and caresses – opened a promising field of research into the physiological bases of human togetherness. Notably, C-tactile fiber stimulation is primarily elaborated in a specific brain area (i.e., the insula), which is involved in affective and socio-cognitive skills as well as in the development of an individual’s body image. In the present study, we provide a narrative overview of the research conducted so far on the role of maternal affectionate touch in infants’ cognitive and emotional development, and we highlight potential implications for clinical practice with children and adults.

Purpose: This study aimed to describe speech sound development in a group of 18-month-old children with sex chromosome trisomies (SCTs), compared with a group of typically developing (TD) peers. Concurrent and longitudinal relationships between speech sound abilities and lexical development were examined. Method: A group of 76 children aged 18 months, 38 children prenatally diagnosed with SCTs (12 with XXY, 12 with XYY, and 14 with XXX) and 38 TD children, participated in the study. From video recordings of semistructured naturalistic parent–child play sessions, quantitative and qualitative measures of speech sound development were collected (e.g., the number of consonants, type and place of articulation, and syllable structures used), and group differences were observed. The relationships between the number of consonants produced and vocabulary size at 18 and 24 months were assessed. Results: At 18 months, children with SCTs used a significantly lower number of consonants than TD children. Qualitatively, children with SCTs used significantly fewer articulatory complex consonants (fricative/affricates) and a more restricted inventory of syllable structures. The number of consonants used was significantly correlated with lexical development at 18 months. Moreover, in the SCTs group (but not in the TD group), the children with lower speech sound development at 18 months showed a significantly smaller vocabulary growth between 18 and 24 months than those with higher speech-sound development. Conclusions: Toddlers with SCTs showed a significantly delayed speech sound development pattern rather than an atypical one. Children with SCTs with low speech sound development also showed lower vocabulary growth between 18 and 24 months of age. These results can be clinically relevant for follow-up and treatment planning for children with SCTs.

Despite its widespread use to measure functional lateralization of language in healthy subjects, the neurocognitive bases of the visual field effect in lateralized reading are still debated. Crucially, the lack of knowledge on the nature of the visual field effect is accompanied by a lack of knowledge on the relative impact of psycholinguistic factors on its measurement, thus potentially casting doubts on its validity as a functional laterality measure. In this study, an eye-tracking-controlled tachistoscopic lateralized lexical decision task (Experiment 1) was administered to 60 right-handed and 60 left-handed volunteers and word length, orthographic neighborhood, word frequency, and imageability were manipulated. The magnitude of visual field effect was bigger in right-handed than in left-handed participants. Across the whole sample, a visual field-by-frequency interaction was observed, whereby a comparatively smaller effect of word frequency was detected in the left visual field/right hemisphere (LVF/RH) than in the right visual field/left hemisphere (RVF/LH). In a subsequent computational study (Experiment 2), efficient (LH) and inefficient (RH) activation of lexical orthographic nodes was modelled by means of the Naïve Discriminative Learning approach. Computational data simulated the effect of visual field and its interaction with frequency observed in the Experiment 1. Data suggest that the visual field effect can be biased by word frequency. Less distinctive connections between orthographic cues and lexical/semantic output units in the RH than in the LH can account for the emergence of the visual field effect and its interaction with word frequency. Remarkably, the size of the interaction between the visual field effect and word frequency did not differ in the two hand preference groups, suggesting that psycholinguistic factors don't hamper the measurement of interindividual differences in the functional lateralization of language.

From the very beginning of their life, human beings are immersed in a social and interactive environment that contributes to shaping their social and cognitive development under typical and at-risk conditions. In order to understand human development in its bidirectional relationship with the social environment, we need to develop a ‘complexity-sensitive’ approach in neuroscience. Recent advances have started to do so with the application of hyperscanning techniques which involve recording adult and child neural activity simultaneously and highlighting the presence of similar patterns of brain activity in the dyad. Numerous studies focused on typically developing children have been published in recent years with the application of this technique to different fields of developmental research. However, hyperscanning techniques could also be extremely beneficial and effective in studying development in atypical and clinical populations. Such application, namely translational hyperscanning, should foster the transition toward a two-brain translational neuroscience. In this paper, we envision how the application of hyperscanning to atypical and clinical child populations can inform family-centered care for children and their parents.

Individuals with sex chromosome trisomies (SCTs) have an increased risk of language delays and impairments. However, there are only a few data relative to their language development in early childhood. The present study aimed to investigate the preverbal skills shown by a group of 8-month-old children with SCTs to assess the presence of a possible early communicative delay. Moreover, the predictive role of early preverbal productions on later lexical development at 24 months was analysed. Twenty-six children with SCTs and 24 typically developing (TD) children participated in the study. Their use of vocal productions and gazes addressed to the communicative partner was assessed during a parent–child observation session held when the children were 8 months old. In addition, the children’s word comprehension at 8 months and their word production at 24 months were indirectly assessed by a parental report. Children’s word comprehension was similar in the two groups of children, whereas a significantly lower frequency per minute of gazes was found in children with SCTs than in TD children. A significantly lower proportion of children with SCTs showed the ability to produce babbling during the observation session, and significant differences were also found in the frequency of babbling utterances. No significant differences emerged among the subgroups of children with different types of SCTs. The predictive role of babbling on later lexical size was found in TD children but not in children with SCTs. This result could be probably explained by the small number of children in this group who could produce babbling utterances. The study leads to identify early signals of delay in the preverbal skills of children with SCTs. Early monitoring of their communicative development could help the clinicians in intervening with well-timed and targeted programmes.

Purpose: Describing language development in children with sex chromosome trisomies (SCT) and testing the predictive value of early language measures on later outcomes. Method: Thirteen children with SCT were followed longitudinally. Their developmental profile was assessed, with particular attention to language, at 2 and 4years. The predictive value of direct (spontaneous speech analysis) and indirect (communicative development inventory) language measures at 2 on performances at 4 was tested. Results: Language performances at both ages were lower than non-verbal development. At 2, more than 50% of the group produced less than 50 words. At 4, impaired performances were observed in speech sound development and expressive morpho-syntax. Direct measures of Pre-syntactic development predicted later global language outcomes and Sentence Repetition. The number of consonants used at 2 was significantly related to Nonword Repetition at 4. Conclusions: The study highlights the importance of early detection and careful follow-up for children with SCT.

Long before the orange carrot became established in the 16th century, the black carrot (Daucus carota ssp. sativus var. atrorubens) existed across Asia and eastern Mediterranean. The black carrot is still grown and consumed in oriental countries such as Turkey, Egypt and India. It shows an attractive bluish-purple colour conferred by the high anthocyanins levels and its extracts can serve as a natural food dye, because of their high heat, light and pH stability. Today black carrot extracts are used in juices, confectionery and soft drinks, as a healthy alternative to synthetic dyes. In recent years, several studies have shown that phenolic compounds and anthocyanins display a wide range of biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic activities. They display also a variety of effects on blood vessels, platelets and lipoproteins, able to reduce the risk of coronary heart diseases. For these reasons, a complete evaluation of the content of these compounds is critical to understand the nutraceutical power of this ancient vegetable. The aim of this research is the development and validation of an analytical method based on HPLC-F for the content control in black carrots of several classes of bioactive compounds such as aminoacids, phytohormones and organic acids. Spectrofluorimetric detection, taking advantage of the natural fluorescence of these analytes, ensures high method selectivity and sensitivity, while maintaining a good feasibility as there is no need for time- and money-consuming derivatisation procedures. The developed method is going to be applied for the analysis of black carrots coming from the Italian market and of commercial products containing their extracts.