Child Psychology 560 Biological Foundations 3 01 23 2014 An Unhealthy Start in Life Environmental Effects on Development Extra Motor Experience Enhancement Sticky Mittens 3 m o o o Study How babies begin to learn to grasp and reach toys and gloves with Velcro Results interest in objects Earlier reaching to objects interest in faces preferred looking at faces Stepping reflex Thelen Why does the newborn stepping reflex disappear at 2 months Competence vs performance o o o o Hypothesis weight gain eliminates stepping How to test the idea Plunge legs underwater they start to step again Add weights to younger legs Reflex never really goes away turns into walking and is being masked by development getting bigger harder to show motor actions Reflex never really goes away 7 month olds supported on treadmill When stationary 50 movements alternate When moving 85 An Unhealthy Start in Life Environmental Effects on Development Correlational designs humans o Prospective longitudinal PL design o Getting a measure at birth or before birth and looking forward Dose response relationship It is not an all or nothing effect amt of exposure changes effects on outcomes o Timing When certain things happen Causal mechanisms confounds Public Health Issues How widespread concentrated is exposure How fair is the exposure Involuntary o Some groups more exposed than others Mercury Known to be toxic since 1800s Minimata Japan 1950s fertilizer o o o Human illnesses Bizarre behaviors in cats Local seafood was cause Prenatal exposure intellectual disabilities cerebral palsy seizures blindness deafness o Placenta cleans out mercury from mom and dumps it into fetus Iraq Grain contamination 1970s Dose response relationship More mercury in maternal hair o o o More infant neurological symptoms More developmental milestones delayed More seizures Dose response curve for delayed walking o Positive correlation in higher mercury concentration and delayed walking Prospective Longitudinal Study in the Faroe Islands 50 moms 3 fish dinners per week Mercury concentration Cord blood maternal hair at birth 2 week old infants o Dose response relationship prenatal mercury infant neuro function o neurological test Babies more optimal in function tended to have less mercury At 7 years of age mother s mercury level at birth and their functioning But fish is healthy Fish contains long chain fatty acids Does mercury negate positive effects of eating fish 2005 study MA PL study o Pregnant women Dietary questionnaire Mom s hair at birth Infant memory at 6 months Mechanisms Mercury crosses placenta blood brain barrier Timing o o After early neural development Regulatory genes that turn off cell growth Lead The Hidden Poison Teaching ratings of behavior graphed by tooth lead N 2000 o How much lead is in the tooth correlated with negative attributes of children behavior o Lead levels under 10 was okay more than 10 was bad now changed to number 5 Lead ADHD shoes a Dose Response Relationship o Estimates 21 of ADHD due to lead 2 0 290 000 children in US 32 of ADHD due to either prenatal tobacco or lead 480 000 children Who is more exposed to lead o o Poverty is a predictor kids with dangerous lead levels 1988 1971 Most risk black children below poverty o kids with dangerous lead levels 1992 1994 o Least risk Caucasian children above poverty For all the groups the percentage with high blood lead has decline but inequities have worsened Impact of inequity attempt to make more concrete Every increase in 1 ug dL blood lead decrease in 1 2 IQ points Controlling for SES maternal IQ Black kids and white kids Lead abatement Policy Success Lead removed from gasoline o Avg blood levels dropped New EPA law April 2010 focused on places where kids are o Group difference 4 7 IQ points Supposed to get rid of lead paint for older historic buildings Lead in toys recalled Recalled in June 1998 Oscar Mayer wiener toy car Noise Pollution Bridge Apartment Study NYC 1973 o o o o Income restrictions All children attended same school DVs reading auditory word discrimination ex fin vs thin Control for parental education siblings o Results Kids living on lower floors showed poorer scores Kids living on higher floors showed greater scores o o o Kids speech perception easily disrupted 1 in 7 children slight hearing loss Bilingual kids o Noise is a barrier to learning for many kids NYC Airport Noise 1980s Lowest School Noise have fewest kids below grade level Highest School Noise have greater of kids above grade level Noise and Stress LAX 1980s o School Noise o o Floor residence correlated with scores Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were higher for noisy than quiet noisy noise abated quiet Munich in 1990s 2000s Stress Hormones and readings o o Moved airport and took studies before and after airport moved in both areas Flight path for new airport Initially quiet no more stressed than control group airport comes in and their stress level increases Who attends high noise schools o Road traffic how many cars go past the school everyday Risk for respiratory disease Double whammy o Same kids multiple pollutants o More risks more likely to develop special needs o o Poor nutrition low quality schools exacerbate effects Need policies prevention vs consequences News coverage on low income inequality Total Grey Matter o o What is leading to these different trajectories of growth These groups of infants seem to start out the same High SES Mid SES Low SES 01 23 2014 01 23 2014