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Eye tracking reveals untapped potential in individuals with multiple disabilities

Using eye-tracking - a technique for recording and analysing eye movements - a team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has shown that individuals with multiple disabilities can improve their social and emotional skills.

10 Apr 2025

Oklahoma Children's Hospital improves care for babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome

In years past, health care providers took a punitive stance toward women giving birth to babies exposed to substances like opioids in the womb.

9 Apr 2025

Eating ultra-processed foods may rewire your brain’s hunger and reward circuits

High intake of ultra-processed foods is linked to adverse metabolic health and microstructural brain changes in regions that control appetite and reward. These effects occur both through obesity-related pathways and independently via inflammation and dyslipidemia.

9 Apr 2025

Early-life ozone exposure linked to increased risk of childhood asthma and wheezing

Researchers investigate the impact of early-life ozone exposure on asthma and wheezing in children alone and in combination with other air pollutants.

9 Apr 2025

How preschool in Japan shaped teen choices decades later

Researchers explored the long-term effects of preschool expansion in Japan in the 1960s, revealing significant reductions in risky behaviors amongst teenagers. By analyzing regional differences in the rollout of the program, the study identified links between early childhood education and lower rates of juvenile violent arrests and teenage pregnancy.

9 Apr 2025

Can nature-based therapies heal people and the planet? Study investigates holistic solutions

Researchers at Swansea University have developed a protocol for a scoping review to explore how nature-based interventions influence individual, collective, and planetary well-being.

9 Apr 2025

Children with potential ASD show preference for predictable movements

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience social communication impairments and engage in restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs).

8 Apr 2025

Your season of conception could shape your body’s calorie-burning ability

Being conceived in colder months may enhance your body’s ability to burn calories throughout life. A new study shows cold-season conception is linked to more active brown fat and greater energy expenditure in adulthood.

8 Apr 2025

Cannabis extract can improve behavior of children and teens with autism spectrum disorder

New research presented at the 2025 European Congress of Psychiatry reveals that the use of cannabidiol (CBD) cannabis extract can lead to meaningful benefits and improve the behavior of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

8 Apr 2025

Babies as young as three months can sense their own heartbeat

Body signals such as heartbeat and breathing accompany us constantly, often unnoticed as background noise of our perception. Even in the earliest years of life, these signals are important as they contribute to the development of self-awareness and identity. However, until know little has been known about whether and how babies can perceive their own body signals. A recent study from Wiener Kinderstudien Lab at the University of Vienna demonstrates for the first time that babies as young as 3 months can perceive their own heartbeat. In addition, the team, headed by researchers from the University of Vienna, together with colleagues from the University of Potsdam and Royal Holloway University of London, also investigated for the first-time infants' perception of their own breathing and found developments during the first two years of life. The results are now published in the prestigious journal eLife. The perception of internal body signals is closely linked to emotional awareness, mental health, and self-perception. Early in life the ability to perceive one's own body signals may be particularly important, as it often forms the basis for interactions with caregivers - for example babies rely on their caregivers to respond appropriately to signs of hunger or discomfort. Moreover, the development of self-awareness and identity partly depends on the perception and experience of one's own body. The study shows that even 3-month-old babies can perceive their own heartbeat and that this ability remains relatively stable during the first two years of life. At the same time, the findings indicate that the perception of breathing improves significantly during the second year. Interestingly, the ability to perceive the heartbeat and breathing does not appear to be related - much like in adults. Measuring body awareness in babies is challenging, as, unlike adults, you cannot simply rely on verbal report. Therefore, the research team used innovative methods by tracking the infants' eye movements as they watched child-friendly figures. These figures moved either in synchrony with the child's heartbeat or breathing, or with a slight time delay. Results showed that even at an early age, babies recognize the correspondence between their own heartbeat or breathing rhythm and the animated figures. They looked longer at the screen when the figures were in synchrony than when they were delayed. "The babies must have recognized that the figures moved simultaneously with their heartbeat or breathing, and then they paid more attention," said the study's lead author, Markus Tünte from the University of Vienna. These findings open up exciting perspectives for future developmental psychology research. In particular, it is important to explore how early body awareness relates to the development of emotional and social skills, as well as the role parents play in shaping early body perception. In the long term, such research could be used to promote healthy body awareness and, consequently, the mental health of children.

8 Apr 2025

Poor dietary habits in adolescence associated with social media overuse

Poor dietary habits in adolescence – lots of sweets, sugary drinks or skipping breakfast – is directly linked to overusing social media, University of Queensland research has found.

7 Apr 2025

Early life adversities linked to reduced brain connectivity and cognitive performance

Mass General Brigham investigators have linked difficult early life experiences with reduced quality and quantity of the white matter communication highways throughout the adolescent brain.

7 Apr 2025

Twins begin pregnancy smaller than singletons earlier than expected

Twins—smaller at birth, on average, than singletons—start out smaller in pregnancy than was previously known, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

7 Apr 2025

Millions of teen girls face barriers to abortion access after Dobbs

More than 7 million American adolescent girls ages 13 to 17 live in states with abortion bans, restrictive gestational limits or parental involvement requirements, according to Rutgers Health researchers.

7 Apr 2025

New guidelines aim to improve diagnosis and treatment of mycoplasma pneumoniae in children

The Chinese Medical Association has released new guidelines for diagnosing and treating Mycoplasma pneumoniae in children.

7 Apr 2025

ADHD medications show minimal impact on heart health in large study

A new study led by the University of Southampton has found that medications for ADHD have overall small effects on blood pressure and heart rate after weeks or a few months of use.

7 Apr 2025

Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures: A Conversation with WHO’s Dr. Allotey

Dr. Pascale Allotey advocates for comprehensive maternal health policies, stressing the importance of women's voices in shaping effective healthcare solutions.

7 Apr 2025

Gut bacteria and blood metabolites directly affect children’s height, study finds

Researchers used Mendelian randomization to uncover causal links between gut microbiota, blood metabolites, and short stature in children.

7 Apr 2025

How schools used pandemic relief funds to identify and serve students experiencing homelessness

University of Michigan research sheds new light on how school districts used their share of $800 million in pandemic relief funds that were specifically dedicated to the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness.

4 Apr 2025

Swedish study highlights prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Out of 206 fourth-grade students, 19 met criteria for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. This was found in a pilot study conducted at the University of Gothenburg.

4 Apr 2025

Child Health News

Eye tracking reveals untapped potential in individuals with multiple disabilities

Oklahoma Children's Hospital improves care for babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome

Eating ultra-processed foods may rewire your brain’s hunger and reward circuits

Early-life ozone exposure linked to increased risk of childhood asthma and wheezing

How preschool in Japan shaped teen choices decades later

Can nature-based therapies heal people and the planet? Study investigates holistic solutions

Children with potential ASD show preference for predictable movements

Your season of conception could shape your body’s calorie-burning ability

Cannabis extract can improve behavior of children and teens with autism spectrum disorder

Babies as young as three months can sense their own heartbeat

Poor dietary habits in adolescence associated with social media overuse

Early life adversities linked to reduced brain connectivity and cognitive performance

Twins begin pregnancy smaller than singletons earlier than expected

Millions of teen girls face barriers to abortion access after Dobbs

New guidelines aim to improve diagnosis and treatment of mycoplasma pneumoniae in children

ADHD medications show minimal impact on heart health in large study

Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures: A Conversation with WHO’s Dr. Allotey

Gut bacteria and blood metabolites directly affect children’s height, study finds

How schools used pandemic relief funds to identify and serve students experiencing homelessness

Swedish study highlights prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

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CellVoyant's AI-Powered Vision for the Future of Cell Therapy

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