Teen brains tune out mom’s voice

At around age 13, teenagers’ brains no longer find their mother’s voices uniquely rewarding, and begin to tune into unfamiliar voices, says a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience (April). Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine, California used functional MRI brain scans to understand adolescent children’s neurological activity while they listened to recordings of either their mother’s voice or unfamiliar female voices. They found that teens reward circuits and brain centers are more activated by unfamiliar voices than by their mothers.

“Just as an infant knows to tune into her mother’s voice, an adolescent knows to tune into novel voices. As a teen, you don’t know you’re doing this. You’re just being you: You’ve got your friends and new companions and you want to spend time with them. Your mind is increasingly sensitive to and attracted to unfamiliar voices,” says lead author Daniel Abrams, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, who adds that the study gives the first detailed neurobiological explanation for how teens begin to separate from their parents.

Witnessing domestic violence increases depression risk in children

Witnessing domestic violence increases the risk of mental health problems including depression within children, says a national survey of 17,700 Canadian adults, published in the Journal of Family Violence (April). According to the survey, 22.5 percent of adults who witnessed chronic parental discord as children, suffered major depression at some point in their lives. Fifteen percent had an anxiety disorder and nearly 27 percent substance abuse problems.

“Our findings underline the risk of long-term negative outcomes of chronic domestic violence on children, even when the children themselves are not abused,” says study author Esme Fuller-Thomson, director of the Institute for Life Course and Ageing, at the University of Toronto.

Adds co-author Deirdre Ryan Morissette, a graduate of the university’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work: “Many children who are exposed to their parent’s domestic violence remain constantly vigilant and perpetually anxious, fearful that any conflict may escalate into assault.”

Sleep loss makes new moms cranky

Nearly 85 percent of new mothers suffer sleep deprivation and feel tired and cranky by the end of the day, says a recent survey conducted by Centuary Mattress, and Momspresso — a mother’s community — covering Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. On average new mothers get only four hours of sleep per night during the first year of their child’s life, much less than the recommended eight hours.

Bengaluru mothers were the most sleep deprived following birth of their first child. Ninety-one percent of moms agreed that having a separate mattress for their baby can help them sleep better.

According to the report, sleep deprivation has an emotional impact on mothers making them irritable, cranky and adversely impacts their daily functions. Thirty-one percent of mothers in Mumbai and Hyderabad reported being unable to complete their daily duties due to lack of sleep. “The survey highlights that new moms need help and are often overwhelmed, because they are sleep deprived. To this cause, each of us has something to contribute personally or professionally,” says Shruti Malani, co-founder of Beddy by Centuary Mattress.

Antibiotics weaken immune response in infants

Infants and toddlers administered antibiotics tend to have a less tolerant immune response to routine childhood vaccinations, reveals a study led by Dr. Michael Pichichero, director of the Rochester General Hospital Research Institute, New York. The study published in the journal Pediatrics (April) surveyed the blood samples of 560 infants aged between six months and two years.

Researchers found that the more antibiotic prescriptions a child received in the first year of life, lower the vaccine antibody levels at the ages of 12-15 months. Each antiobiotic prescription was linked to a 6-11 percent dip in antibody levels, depending on the vaccine. “Be aware that as children get exposed to antibiotics, there is a possibility that the immunity response to those vaccines might go down. So don’t ask for an antibiotic if you don’t need one, and doctors, don’t prescribe an antibiotic unless one is needed,” says Dr. Pichichero.