[Article Review] The Benefits of Midday Napping for Children's Health and Well-being

Reference

Liu, J., Feng, R., Ji, X., Cui, N., Raine, A., & Mednick, S. C. (2019). Midday napping in children: associations between nap frequency and duration across cognitive, positive psychological well-being, behavioral, and metabolic health outcomes. Sleep, 42(9), zsz126. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsz126

Review

Liu et al. (2019) investigated the associations between midday napping and various cognitive, behavioral, psychological, and metabolic health outcomes in elementary school children from the China Jintan Cohort Study. The study collected data on nap frequency and duration, behavioral and academic achievement, positive psychology measures, metabolic indices, and IQ tests. The results showed that regular midday napping was associated with better cognition, psychological wellness, and reduced emotional/behavioral problems in children. Specifically, napping was significantly associated with higher happiness, grit, and self-control, reduced internalizing behavior problems, higher verbal IQs, and better academic achievement. The study also found that the specific patterns of associations varied across frequency and duration for different outcomes. However, limited significant associations were found for decreased externalizing behavior problems, and no significant associations were found for performance IQ and metabolic outcomes.

The findings of this study have important implications for promoting healthy sleep habits in children. The study provides evidence that midday napping can be a useful strategy to reduce the negative impacts of poor sleep and daytime sleepiness in children and adolescents. Regular napping may help children improve their cognition, psychological wellness, and emotional/behavioral regulation, which can lead to better academic achievement and long-term health outcomes. However, the study also highlights the need for further large-scale intervention studies to establish causal effects and determine optimal nap frequency and duration for different outcomes.

Overall, Liu et al. (2019) conducted a comprehensive investigation of the associations between midday napping and various health outcomes in elementary school children. The study provides evidence that regular midday napping can have beneficial effects on cognition, psychological wellness, and emotional/behavioral regulation in children. The study emphasizes the importance of promoting healthy sleep habits in children and highlights the need for further research to establish causal effects and determine optimal nap frequency and duration for different outcomes.

[Article Review] Cognitive Abilities, Not Math Skills, Predict Wealth for Preterm Adults

Reference

Jaekel, J., Baumann, N., Bartmann, P., & Wolke, D. (2019). General cognitive but not mathematic abilities predict very preterm and healthy term born adults’ wealth. PLOS ONE, 14(3), e0212789. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212789

Review

In this article, the authors investigate the impact of very preterm (VP) or very low birth weight (VLBW) on adult wealth and whether this impact is mediated by mathematic abilities or general cognitive abilities. They conducted a longitudinal study of 193 VP/VLBW and 217 healthy term comparison participants from birth to adulthood in Bavaria, South Germany. At the age of eight, both mathematic and general cognitive abilities were assessed, and wealth information was collected at 26 years of age.

The authors found that VP/VLBW participants had lower mathematic and general cognitive abilities than healthy term comparison children, and they had accumulated significantly lower overall wealth at 26 years of age. Structural equation modeling showed that VP/VLBW birth and childhood IQ both directly predicted adult wealth, while math did not. This study highlights the importance of focusing on general cognitive abilities in designing effective interventions for individuals born at the highest neonatal risk to reduce the burden of prematurity.

The implications of this research are crucial for policymakers, educators, and healthcare professionals to develop targeted support systems for children born with VP/VLBW. By focusing on general cognitive abilities rather than specific mathematic problems, interventions can help alleviate the negative life-course consequences of premature birth, ultimately leading to more successful outcomes for individuals in terms of adult wealth accumulation.

[Article Review] Uncovering the Brain's Response to Socioeconomic Status: A Longitudinal Study

Reference

McDermott, C. L., Seidlitz, J., Nadig, A., Liu, S., Clasen, L. S., Blumenthal, J. D., ... & Raznahan, A. (2019). Longitudinally Mapping Childhood Socioeconomic Status Associations with Cortical and Subcortical Morphology. Journal of Neuroscience, 39(8), 1365-1373. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1808-18.2018

Review

In the study conducted by McDermott et al. (2019), the researchers sought to examine the associations between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and structural brain development in a longitudinal manner. By analyzing 1,243 MRI scans from 623 youth aged 5 to 25 years, the authors provided a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between SES and cortical and subcortical morphology.

The results indicated positive associations between SES and the total volumes of the brain, cortical sheet, and four separate subcortical structures. These associations were stable across the entire age range studied. Moreover, the authors found areal expansion in specific cortical and subcortical regions, such as lateral prefrontal, anterior cingulate, lateral temporal, and superior parietal cortices, as well as ventrolateral thalamic and medial amygdala-hippocampal subregions, to be associated with higher SES. The findings from meta-analyses of functional imaging data suggest that the cortical correlates of SES are primarily focused on brain systems that support sensorimotor functions, language, memory, and emotional processing.

In conclusion, McDermott et al. (2019) demonstrated that anatomical variation within a subset of the identified regions partially mediates the positive association between SES and IQ, while also identifying neuroanatomical correlates of SES that exist independently of IQ variation. The study offers valuable insights into the potential neuroanatomical mediators linking SES and cognitive outcomes, paving the way for future research on this topic.