Developmental Psychology

A new study finds that higher maternal body fat during pregnancy increases systemic inflammation, which in turn predicts greater ADHD symptoms in toddlers. The findings highlight gestational inflammation as a potential pathway shaping early brain development.

Children from disadvantaged backgrounds often start school with lower working memory scores. A large study tracking students through fifth grade reveals how mentally stimulating activities like reading and puzzles can help buffer the cognitive impacts of socioeconomic inequality.

A large study tracking children for over a decade reveals that early intellectual giftedness rarely lasts into adulthood. The findings suggest that genetic factors guide cognitive development far more than a child's environment.

A new neuroimaging study reveals that the amygdala—the brain's emotion center—grows significantly from the fetal stage to early childhood. This growth is steeper in boys, and early left amygdala size is linked to later communication skills.

Children from higher-income families show greater fluid intelligence, a new study finds. However, researchers discovered that increased parental time and positive parenting can effectively bridge this developmental gap, especially for disadvantaged youth.

Even after being entirely forgotten, the tonal languages we hear during our first months of life permanently alter the physical wiring of our brains, according to new imaging research on international adoptees.

A recent study reveals that accumulated life knowledge helps adults manage their emotions across various situations, while fast mental processing speed is primarily linked to successfully reducing negative feelings like sadness and disgust.

Spending a year studying abroad makes college students more agreeable, curious, and less anxious. A recent study tracked students' daily habits and discovered that these momentary behaviors gradually accumulate to shape long-term personality development.

Temporarily pausing puberty with leuprolide in adolescent rats delays reproductive development. However, research in Biology of Sex Differences and Hormones and Behavior provides evidence that subjects achieve full physical and behavioral maturation after treatment ends.

Pickleball offers retirees a way to forge a new identity after leaving the workforce. But a new study suggests that building skills and social bonds is more important than simply spending hours on the court.

A parent's diet before and during pregnancy leaves lasting physical marks on offspring brains. A new mouse study shows that parental high-fat diets alter brain structure into adulthood, even if the offspring transition to healthy eating.

Can a one-year-old's brain structure forecast their childhood intelligence? By analyzing white matter connections using artificial intelligence, researchers discovered that infant brain scaffolding accurately predicts cognitive scores years later, highlighting the early biological foundations of individual ability.

A massive new study reveals that taking acetaminophen during pregnancy does not increase a child’s risk of autism or ADHD. By comparing siblings, researchers found previous concerns were likely driven by shared family genetics rather than the medication.

Scientists have discovered that a child’s early brain activity can forecast their future social life. Surprisingly, the same neural response to emotional faces predicts very different patterns of peer engagement for boys and girls entering adolescence.

A new brain imaging study reveals that newborn babies respond more strongly to infant cries than to spoken language. The findings suggest that a baby's physical ability to vocalize shapes how their brain processes communicative sounds from birth.