A5039566633- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Child Abuse and Trauma
- Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Early Childhood Education and Development
- Child Welfare and Adoption
- Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Migration, Health and Trauma
- Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
- Infant Development and Preterm Care
- Child and Animal Learning Development
- Down syndrome and intellectual disability research
- Infant Health and Development
- Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Children's Physical and Motor Development
- Mental Health via Writing
- Language Development and Disorders
- Anesthesia and Neurotoxicity Research
- Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor
- Employment and Welfare Studies
University of Houston
2018-2024
Emory University
2024
Tulane University
2015-2017
Although there is an established link between smaller hippocampal volume and anxiety, the longitudinal relations hippocampus structure anxiety in diverse youth are not well understood. The present study investigated volumes related to symptoms a sample of Black 8-14-year-old (N = 64), population historically underrepresented neuroimaging research. Smaller were associated with greater independent age, sex, intracranial trauma exposure. Exploratory analyses showed as predictor for (n 37)...
Abstract Background Expressive writing requires journaling stressor-related thoughts and feelings over four daily sessions of 15 min. Thirty years research have popularized expressive as a brief intervention for fostering trauma-related resilience; however, its ability to surpass placebo remains unclear. This study aimed determine the efficacy improving post-traumatic stress symptoms in perinatal women who were living Houston area during major flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey. Methods A...
Abstract Prenatal maternal stress and mental health problems are known to increase risk for developmental psychopathology in offspring, yet pathways leading or resiliency poorly understood. In a quasi-experimental design, we prospectively examined associations between disaster-related prenatal stress, symptoms, infant temperament outcomes. Mothers who were pregnant during Hurricane Harvey ( N = 527) reported on objective hardships (e.g., loss of belongings income, evacuation, home flooding)...
Recent research has provided evidence on genome-wide alterations in DNA methylation patterns due to trisomy 21, which have been detected various tissues of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) across different developmental stages. Here, we report new data the systematic perturbations blood cells DS from a previously understudied age group—young children. We show that study findings are highly consistent those prior literature. In addition, utilizing relevant published two other stages,...
Abstract This study examined autonomic nervous system activity (respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) as a biomarker of psychopathology in an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample ( N = 57) young children ages 4–7 years. RSA was measured at baseline across four standardized tasks designed to assess self‐regulation both affective (i.e., “hot”) cognitive “cool”) contexts during early childhood. Our findings reveal that age moderated activity, such reduced suppression associated with...
Prior human and animal research suggests prenatal stress alters developmental systems that support emotion regulation in offspring, which may underlie vulnerability to psychopathology risk. We examined prospective associations between from a natural disaster infant biobehavioral outcomes across toddlerhood. Women pregnant during Hurricane Harvey 2017 completed assessments of their objective levels hardship subjective distress the disaster. Offspring (n = 47) follow-up at 24 months collect...
For human infants, producing recognizable speech is more than a cognitive process. It motor skill that requires infants to learn coordinate multiple muscles of varying functions across their body. This coordination directly linked ongoing fluctuations in heart rate; physiological process can scaffold behavior. We investigated whether rate coincide with vocal production and word formation 24-mo-old infants. Infants were most likely produce vocalization when reached peak (local maximum) or...
Young children who experience maltreatment are at increased risk for disruptive behavior problems. In high-risk environments, children’s difficulties regulating negative emotions and may be an important precursor to later This longitudinal study examined associations between early home factors trajectories of in young Child Protective Services–involved families. Standardized observations behavior, environment quality, parenting were measured when ( N = 142) 36 48 months old. Results multiple...
This study investigated middle childhood resting electroencephalography (EEG) and behavioral adjustment in 35 internationally adopted children removed from early caregiving adversity between 6 29 months of age. Older age adoption was associated with more immature or atypical profiles cortical function, based on higher relative theta power (4-6 Hz), lower alpha (7-12 peak frequency, absolute beta (13-20 Hz) gamma (21-50 power. More EEG spectral indirectly linked older increased risk for...
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder affecting young adults worldwide and remains an unmet clinical challenge. MS caused by autoimmune reaction against constituents of central nervous system (CNS). Subsequent immune cell infiltration into CNS tissues lead to widespread inflammation, demyelination, pathological lesions causing debilities such as tremors, fatigue, progressive loss motor functions. These hallmarks are reproducible in mouse experimental...
Children reared in socioeconomically disadvantaged environments are at risk for academic, cognitive, and behavioral problems. Mounting evidence suggests that childhood adversities, encountered disproportionate rates contexts of socioeconomic risk, shape the developing brain ways explain disparities. Circuitries subserve neurocognitive functions related to memory, attention, cognitive control especially affected. However, most work showing altered neural function has focused on middle...