Research dating back as early as the 1960s demonstrates the positive impact of studying
another language on cognitive function.
Not exact matches
In a second study, published today (June 2) in the Annals of Neurology, Bak set out to determine if the positive effects of bilingualism
on cognition could actually be the other way around: that people who have better
cognitive functions are more likely to learn foreign
languages.
Ramsey maintains that the
functions of religious
language are the evocation of commitment and worship, which are non-
cognitive functions, and also discernment, which is presumably
cognitive.26 For Ramsey, the
cognitive claims apparently rest
on both divine revelation and human intuition in the moment of disclosure.
Studies of the Nurse Family Partnership model followed children to 6 years and found significant program effects
on language and
cognitive functioning as well as fewer behaviour problems in a randomized controlled trial study.24 In addition, more recent evaluations of Healthy Families America have shown small, but favourable effects
on young children's development.25, 26
Named after the IBM Blue Gene supercomputer it relies
on, the Blue Brain Project has started modelling — in every detail — the cellular infrastructure and electrophysiological interactions within the cerebral neocortex, which represents about 80 % of the brain and is believed to house
cognitive functions such as
language and conscious thought.
Particularly interesting was the discovery that the thickness of the gray matter in the brain's temporal and prefrontal regions — the structures that are critical for
language and for higher - order
cognitive functions like self - control and problem - solving — were the most promising candidate traits for genetic mapping, based
on both their strong genetic basis and association with the disease.
These are complemented by tests
on specific
cognitive functions by subtests from the developmental neuropsychological test battery A Developmental NEuroPSYchological Assessment, version 2 (NEPSY - II) including attention and executive
functioning,
language, social perception, sensorimotor and visuospatial processing (Delhi) and adaptive
functioning by the Vineland Social Maturity Scale (Bangalore).
Children of depressed mothers also are more likely to have insecure attachment with their mothers, experience high social withdrawal, have poor communication and
language skills, perform poorly
on cognitive tasks, and show more disruptive behaviors across developmental periods.2 Particularly among low - income families, financial difficulties and related resource scarcity increase the detrimental impacts of maternal depression
on the children's adjustment, the mother's health status, and the family's
functioning as a whole.3
ECD programmes can take many forms, including promotion of good health and nutrition, support for safe and stimulating environments, protection from risks such as violence or abandonment, parenting support and early learning experiences, media, preschools and community groups.4 Poverty is the key underlying cause of poor child development; children living in poverty are exposed to many negative influences, including poor physical environments, inadequate nutrition, parental stress and insufficient
cognitive stimulation.5 Undernutrition can influence brain development directly by affecting brain structure and
function, or indirectly via poor physical or motor development, in addition to other pathways.6 — 8 Exposure to multiple co-occurring risks most likely contributes to greater disparities in developmental trajectories among children with differential exposure.9 — 12 This paper focuses
on associations between specific aspects of children's physical environments — access to improved water and sanitation (W&S)-- and childhood development as measured by performance
on a test of receptive
language.
Yet while many recent preschool interventions have been found to have short - term effects
on young children's
language, literacy, mathematics, executive
function, and social - emotional development, studies show that impacts
on cognitive and academic skills tend to diminish in early elementary school — a phenomenon commonly known as fade - out or convergence.
During the prenatal and infant periods, families have been identified
on the basis of socioeconomic risk (parental education, income, age8, 11) and / or other family (e.g. maternal depression) or child (e.g. prematurity and low birth weight12) risks; whereas with preschoolers a greater emphasis has been placed
on the presence of child disruptive behaviour, delays in
language /
cognitive impairment and / or more pervasive developmental delays.6 With an increased emphasis
on families from lower socioeconomic strata, who typically face multiple types of adversity (e.g. low parental educational attainment and work skills, poor housing, low social support, dangerous neighbourhoods), many parenting programs have incorporated components that provide support for parents» self - care (e.g. depression, birth - control planning), marital
functioning and / or economic self - sufficiency (e.g. improving educational, occupational and housing resources).8, 13,14 This trend to broaden the scope of «parenting» programs mirrors recent findings
on early predictors of low - income children's social and emotional skills.
Additionally, interns will have clinical opportunities to conduct assessments with referral questions centered around issues of bilingual
language development and the influence of culture and acculturation
on cognitive, academic, and socioemotional
functioning.