Abstract: Research indicates some early life stresses can have a profound impact, resulting in changes in brain function and behavior, and even differences in the ways some genes express their particular genetic code signature. At various times during early development, different neural systems appear to have an increased sensitivity to stress and can influence long-term social behavior in a number of ways. photo of William Greenough A stable, nurturing environment is an important element in normalizing the development of a child experiencing stress.

Abstract: Betsy Lozoff is among the world’s leading experts on iron deficiency and its effects on infant brain development and behavior. Iron deficiency is the most common single nutrient disorder in the world, affecting more than half of the world’s infants and young children. Research by Lozoff and others has shown that there are long-lasting developmental disadvantages among children who experienced severe, chronic iron deficiency as infants—disadvantages that are not corrected by giving iron later.

Abstract: Recent advances in neuroscience show clearly how experience can change brain neurochemicals, and how this in turn affects the way the brain functions. As a result, early negative events actually get built into the growing brain’s neurochemistry, altering the brain’s architecture. Research is continuing to investigate how children with genetic vulnerabilities, such as autism, schizophrenia, and anxiety and attention disorders, are affected by early experiences, and the relationship between brain chemistry the expression of these genes.

Abstract: Early experience has a powerful and lasting influence on how the brain develops. The physical and chemical conditions that encourage the building of a strong, adaptive brain architecture are present early in life. As brains age, a number of changes lock in the ways information is processed, making it more difficult for the brain to change to other ways of dealing with information. photo of Eric Knudsen Maintaining plasticity -- keeping the brain open to change -- takes energy, and this energy is finite.

NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL ON THE DEVELOPING CHILD is a multidisciplinary collaboration of leading scientists in early childhood and early brain development. Its mission is to bring sound and accurate science to bear on public decision-making affecting the lives of young children. THE ISSUE Healthy development depends on the quality and reliability of a young child’s relationships with the important people in his or her life, both within and outside the family. Even the development of a child’s brain architecture depends on the establishment of these relationships.

Headlines across the nation proclaim news that educators have seen with their own eyes during the past two decades: children in the United States are getting heavier and heavier. Accompanying stories in this issue of the Standard describe the negative consequences of this trend on the physical health and self-esteem of our nation’s young people, as well as the financial burden that the obesity epidemic is placing on our medical care system.

If students get a bad teacher in third grade, their test scores will still be suffering two years later, according to a new University of Tennessee study. And students who get three bad teachers in a row are at a huge disadvantage to students who get three average or highly effective teachers. "It basically says that school administrators should pay special attention in assigning students to teachers," said Dr. Williams Sanders, the University of Tennessee statistician who conducted the study.

Has your teenager become so silent that you wonder if you still speak the same language? Are you hanging onto each syllable, trying to glean one iota of information about what's going on in his life? Don't despair. You're not alone. Many parents of adolescents struggle when it comes to communicating with their children. But while kids' movements toward independence are normal between the ages of 12 and 18, there are tactics moms and dads can try to help keep their teens talking:

Postmenopausal women who have taken long-term estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) have an overall lower risk of death from all causes than women who have not taken ERT, according to a study in the January 1996 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The primary apparent effect of long-term ERT use was a reduction in coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death for women.

Do kids in America eat too much fat? That's practically a given. Just look around you at all of the obese children (many of whom have obese parents as role models). But that doesn't tell the whole story. Because something much more insidious and deadly is going on in the cardiovascular systems of America's children. Fatty deposits are forming in the coronary arteries of more than 70% of kids who consume a typical American diet. Kids are being taught by their parents -- who usually mean well -- to love, cherish, seek out, and consume fatty foods by the grocery-cartful.

Contrary to the belief of some parents, police officers, and other professionals familiar with firearms, many young children are strong enough to fire most commercially available guns, according to an article in the December 1995 issue of the AMA's Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Sara M. Naureckas, M.D., Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Ill., and colleagues tested the pull strength of 556 children. The mothers of the children were also tested.

More than 150 symptoms have been reported in association with PMS. There are five basic categories: Anxiety (includes nervousness, mood swings, irritability & impatience) Depression (includes crying, confusion, social withdrawal & insomnia) Pain (includes backache, cramps and breast pain) Water retention (includes abdominal bloating, weight gain & swelling) Hypoglycemia (includes headache, craving sweets, increased appetite & fatigue)

More than 20 million Americans have osteoporosis and over 16 million don't even know it. This condition, in which the bones are thin, brittle and susceptible to fracture, is usually silent until a bone is broken and the individual is left with pain, deformity and possible disability. As our population ages, the numbers of those affected will soar -- unless we do something about it before it is too late! With recent advances in medical science, there is better understanding of principles in prevention and hope for improvement once damage has been done.

Injuries and deaths of children associated with child safety seats and passenger-side air bags have been reported. Parents, therefore, should be reminded that the safest place for any infant or small child when riding in a car is buckled into a safety seat or seat belt in the back seat. This is true whether or not the car is equipped with a passenger-side air bag.

Efforts to prolong people's lives too often merely prolong dying, say researchers, citing findings from the largest clinical study ever conducted in the United States with patients near death. The eight-year study, involving nearly 10,000 seriously ill patients in five leading medical institutions, was reported in the November 22/29, 1995 issue of JAMA (The Journal of The American Medical Association).

In the good old days, nothing came between physicians and their patients. Today, however, telephone-based nurse counseling, a relatively unknown yet booming service, is being positioned as a major point-of-entry to the health care system, according to a report in the American Medical News.

Leukemia is a malignancy or cancer of the bone marrow. All of the cells in the bloodstream are normally produced in the bone marrow. In leukemia, there is an unrestrained proliferation of a "clone" of immature white blood cells. These abnormal white blood cells gradually crowd out the normal blood cells. This can lead to anemia, an increased risk of infection, and bleeding.

Immunizations aren't just kid stuff. Adults also need protection against infectious disease. Yet, surveys find that most American adults, and many children, fail to get the recommended shots that protect against tetanus, hepatitis b, and other possibly fatal diseases.

Virtually every child, teen, and even adult I see in my clinical practice, suffers from a self-esteem problem in some way, shape, or form. And essentially all parents seeking information or counseling about their child's emotional development want to know how to build their child's self-esteem. Whether intuitively or from exposure to psychological research findings, we all seem to recognize the importance of self-esteem to a person's emotional well-being and mental health.

More children under age 10 die from home accidents than from any single disease. Older Americans are also at a higher risk from home accidents which, each year, kill more than 21,000 and injure 25 million Americans of all ages. However, with a little planning, any home can be made safer for its youngest as well as its oldest residents. Child Safety. Here are a few tips to make your home safer for children. Keep plastic bags and deflated or broken balloons away from young children. Cover unused electric outlets with plastic inserts.