Developmental Psychology

Children with consistent sleep schedules show better emotional regulation, reduced impulsivity, and stronger social skills. Irregular sleep timing was linked to poorer behavior, but early parenting interventions mitigated these negative effects.

A study published in Pediatrics has shown that exercise doesn’t just benefit physical health—it can also boost intelligence in children and adolescents.

A recent study found that 18-month-old infants adapt their pointing gestures based on their partner’s knowledge, providing clearer signals to uninformed or misinformed partners, showcasing early development of mentalization.

Newborns can detect non-adjacent dependencies in sound patterns, relying on the frontal cortex, while six-month-olds engage broader, language-related brain networks, highlighting early developmental shifts in auditory and cognitive processing.

A recent study found a link between secure attachment and lower PTSD symptoms, while insecure attachment correlated with higher symptoms. These findings emphasize the potential importance of attachment styles in understanding responses to childhood trauma.

Teen binge drinking disrupts brain development, affecting white and grey matter, functional connectivity, and neurodevelopmental processes like myelination.

Higher stress during pregnancy is linked to increased inflammation in children at age 9 and more severe anxiety and depression in adolescence.

A recent study found that fussy eating is highly heritable (60–84%), stable from toddlerhood to adolescence, and influenced by shared environments only in early life.

A study has found that early-life family stressors, like harsh parenting and unsafe neighborhoods, are linked to smaller amygdala volumes and disrupted anterior cingulate cortex development, suggesting stress-related blunting rather than accelerated brain maturation.

New research suggests pandemic lockdowns accelerated adolescent brain aging, with girls' brains aging 4.2 years and boys' 1.4 years. This may increase neuropsychiatric disorder risks, highlighting the need for ongoing mental health support for affected teens.

A study found that eating fish during pregnancy was linked to a 20% lower risk of autism in children, especially in girls, while omega-3 supplements showed no similar benefits.

Could probiotics during pregnancy boost a baby’s brain development? A recent mouse study by researchers at the University of Cambridge and University of Birmingham suggests so.

Sleep deprivation in young mice hinders brain development and causes cognitive impairments far more than it does in adults. These results suggest that sleep helps build essential brain structures in childhood

Research found no causal link between moderate coffee intake during pregnancy and children’s neurodevelopmental issues, supporting guidelines that low to moderate caffeine consumption (under 200mg daily) is safe for expectant mothers and their babies.

Childhood exposure to blue spaces is linked to greater nature connectedness in adulthood, leading to more frequent nature visits and increased pro-environmental behaviors