Exploring the interplay of dopaminergic genotype and parental behavior in relation to executive function in early childhood

Abstract

Child genotype is an important biologically based individual difference conferring differential sensitivity to the effect of parental behavior. This study explored dopaminergic polygenic composite × parental behavior interactions in relation to young children’s executive function. Participants were 135 36-month-old children and their mothers drawn from a prospective cohort followed longitudinally from pregnancy. A polygenic composite was created based on the number of COMT, DAT1, DRD2, and DRD4 alleles associated with increased reward sensitivity children carried. Maternal negative reactivity and responsiveness were coded during a series of structured mother–child interactions. Executive function was operationalized as self-control and working memory/inhibitory control. Path analysis supported a polygenic composite by negative reactivity interaction for self-control. The nature of the interaction was one of diathesis-stress, such that higher negative reactivity was associated with poorer self-control for children with higher polygenic composite scores. This result suggests that children with a higher number of alleles may be more vulnerable to the negative effect of negative reactivity. Negative reactivity may increase the risk for developing behavior problems in this population via an association with poorer self-control. Due to the small sample size, these initial findings should be treated with caution until they are replicated in a larger independent sample.

Bidirectional relations between parents’ discipline strategies and children’s inhibitory control from early to middle childhood.

“…Child sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (parental education and financial stress) were included as covariates, given their relations to parental behavior or child IC (Gershoff, 2002; Vrantsidis et al, 2023). Child sex (girls = 0, boys = 1) and ethnicity (European Canadian = 0, non-European Canadian = 1) were dummy-coded.…”

Okul Öncesi Dönem Çocukların Öğrenme Güçlüğü Erken Belirtileri ile Erken Okuryazarlık ve Yürütücü İşlev Becerileri Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi

“…Balıkçı ve Görgün (2021) çalışmalarında, yürütücü işlev becerilerine yönelik müdahale yöntemlerinin, öğrenme güçlüğü görülen çocukların sergiledikleri akademik becerilere olumlu olarak yansıdığını belirtmiştir. Diğer bir ifade ile yürütücü işlev becerileri, akademik başarı ile ilişkilidir (Espy vd., 2004;McClelland vd., 2007) ve yürütücü işlev becerileri iyi olan çocukların akademik başarısının daha iyi olduğu görülmektedir (Vitiello ve Greenfield, 2017;Vrantsidis, 2016;Willoughby vd., 2012;Zelazo vd., 2003). Öğrenme güçlüğünün ağırlıklı olarak akademik başarıyı etkilediği (Güngörmüş-Özkardeş, 2013) düşünüldüğünde okul öncesi dönem çocuklarında yürütücü işlev becerilerinin akademik başarı ile ilişkisinin olmasından dolayı öğrenme güçlüğünün ön belirtisi olabileceği söylenebilir.…”

Prenatal Effects of Nicotine on Obesity Risks: A Narrative Review

“…The consumption of nicotine stimulates the production and utilization of DA in the brain [ 119 , 120 , 121 ], which would further encourage nicotine use in individuals with hypodopaminergic signaling. An individual with hypodopaminergic signaling (or RDS) may be more vulnerable to substance use, such as smoking [ 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 ], even during pregnancy [ 128 , 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 138 , 139 ], leading to potential obesity risks later on in offspring [ 65 , 66 , 91 , 103 , 113 , 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 ]. If this genetic risk is passed down as well, offspring may also then experience abnormal craving behaviors associated with both obesity and substance abuse.…”