Science of ECD: Biological Embeddings of Early Child Development

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Science of ECD Biological Embeddings of Early
Child Development
Symposium on Early Child Development A Priority
for Sustained Economic Growth Equity
Washington, DC
By J. Fraser Mustard Founding President, CIAR
September 28, 2005
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03-072
CIAR
The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
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03-073
CIAR Programs
Population Health Human Development Economic
Growth
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Presentation History of Human Evolution and
Development Experience and Brain
Development ECD and Health ECD and
Behaviour ECD and Literacy and Learning ECD
Initiatives Outcome Measures The gap between
what we know and what we do
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03-049
The Evolutionary History of
Homo Sapiens
200, 000 Years
10, 000 Years Agricultural Revolution --
Civilization Experiments
3000 to 4000 Years Written Language
Alphabet
600 Years Books
50 Years Electronic Media
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01-002
The Growth of the World Population and
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Some Major Events in the History of Technology
?

Exponential
Knowledge
and
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Technology
Growth
Population (x 109)

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Beginning of
Industrial
Revolution
Printing
1st Agricultural
Press

Revolution
9BC


2AD
0
3BC
1BC
5BC
1AD
Year (x 103)
Robert W. Fogel. Economic Growth, Population
Theory, and Physiology, April 1994
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05-144
21st Century
Population growth and migration Exponential
growth in knowledge and technology Local,
national, and international governance Building
sustainable, pluralistic, tolerant, prosperous,
democratic societies
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00-068
Integrated - ECD
Social
Equality
Education
Health
Capital
Economic
Growth
Human Development
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03-080
Experience-Based Brain Development in the early
years of life sets neurological and biological
pathways that affect
Health
Learning
Behaviour
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03-131
NEUROSCIENCE
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03-013
The Hostage Brain
, Bruce S. McEwen and Harold M. Schmeck, Jr.,
1994.
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05-182
All the neurons (billions) have the same genetic
potential. Animals with brains have to activate
components of the genetic potential to produce
the diversity of cells. The differentiation of
neurons is dependent on stimuli from the sensory
pathways.
Rosenzweig, Bennett, 1996.
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Two Neurons
RECIPIENT NEURON
Axon
Synapse
SIGNAL-SENDING NEURON
Dendrite
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How do social
experiences
get under the skin?
Ron Barr
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Sound Vision Smell
Touch Proprioception Taste
Neal Halfon
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Experience and Brain Development
Stimuli in early life switch on genetic pathways
that differentiate neuron function critical and
sensitive periods.
Stimuli affect the formation of the connections
(synapses) among the billions of neurons
(sensitive periods).
The brain pathways that affect literacy,
behaviour, and health form early.
From studies in humans, monkeys and rats
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04-042
SENSING PATHWAYS
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Vision - Hubel Wiesel
Eye cataracts at birth prevent
development of vision neurons
in the occipital cortex
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Hearing
Early intervention with cochlear implants
improves hearing in young children
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Wiring of Neurons Synapses
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Synaptic Density
At Birth
6 Years Old
14 Years Old
Rethinking the Brain, Families and Work
Institute, Rima Shore, 1997.
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Pavlov - Conditioning
Dog salivation bell and food Fear and defense
conditioning Synaptic connections
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Kandel and Synaptic Connection
The detailed wiring of the brain is dependent
upon specific interactions with the
environment. The influence of environment on the
brain changes with age Profound effects during
early stages of postnatal development.
Kandel and Jessell, 1991
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How Genes Know When to Strengthen a Synapse
Sci. Am. Feb. 2005.
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Human Brain Development Synapse Formation
Language
Sensing
Pathways
Higher
(vision, hearing)
Cognitive Function
9
0
1
4
8
12
16
3
6
-3
-6
Months
Years
Conception
AGE
C. Nelson, in From Neurons to Neighborhoods, 2000.
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Limbic HPA Pathway - Stress
Cortisol Over Production Behaviour,
depression, diabetes, malnutrition,
cardiovascular disease, memory, immune system,
drug and alcohol addiction Cortisol Under
Production Chronic fatigue syndrome,
fibromyalgia, immune system (autoimmune
disorders) rheumatoid arthritis, allergies,
asthma
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Emotional Stimulus
Amygdala
Hippocampus
-

-

Hypothalamus PVN
Cortisol
Cortisol
CRF
PIT
ACTH
Adrenal Cortex
LeDoux, Synaptic Self
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Stress Pathway and Sensory Stimuli
Touch in the Early Period is Critical Rats
Mothers licking pups Monkeys Peer vs mother
rearing Humans - Attachment
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Interaction of the Brain and Immune System
CRF
Hypothalamus
Cortisol
Locus Ceruleus
CRF
Adrenal Gland
ACTH
Pituitary Gland
Vagus
Cortisol
Cytokines
Sympathetic Nervous system
Immune Cells
Nerve
Immune Organs
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04-007
The Brain and Health
From the time of the ancient Greeks to the 20th
century, it was accepted that the mind can affect
illness. The new thrust of the biosciences and
the new treatments for disease have recently
caused us to have less interest in the mind-body
interaction and disease.
Esther Sternberg (NIH)
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Gene Function Epigenetics EPIGENETICS
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Serotonin Gene, Experience, and Depression Age 26
Depression Risk
.70
SS
S Short Allele L Long Allele
.50
SL
LL
.30
No Abuse
Moderate Abuse
Severe Abuse
Early Childhood
A. Caspi, Science, 18 July 2003, Vol 301.
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03-063
HEALTH
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04-006
Swedish Longitudinal Study ECD and Adult Health
Number of Adverse ECD Circumstances
1
2
4
0
3
Adult Health
Odds - Ratios
General Physical
1
1.39
1.54
2.08
2.66
1
1.56
1.53
2.91
7.76
Circulatory
Mental
1
1.78
2.05
3.76
10.27
Economic, family size, broken family and family
dissention
Lundberg, Soc. Sci. Med, Vol. 36, No. 8, 1993
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01-010
"Follow up through life of successive
samples of birth has pointed to the
crucial influence of early life on
subsequent mental and physical health
and development."
Acheson, Donald -
Independent Inquiry into
,1998
Inequalities in Health
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BEHAVIOUR
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"Longitudinal studies show most seriously
antisocial adolescents and adults who had
behavior problems during childhood showed as
antisocial behavior when they enter the school
systems."
Tremblay, R
. - Developmental Health and the
Wealth of Nations, 1999
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02-008
Maltreatment at an early age can
have enduring negative effects on
a child's brain development and
function.
Martin Teicher
Scientific American, 2002
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"The aftermath can appear as
depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts or
post-traumatic stress - or as aggression,
impulsiveness, delinquency, hyperactivity
or substance abuse."
Martin Teicher
Scientific American, 2002
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Substance Abuse and Childhood Abuse
Odds Ratios for Drug
and Alcohol Use
Exposure to
Drugs
Alcohol
Child Abuse

0 1.0 1.0
1 2.7 2.0
2 2.9 4.0
3 3.6 4.9

4 4.7 7.4
Scale 0 none

4 intense
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LITERACY
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Early Child Development and Language
Starts early first 12 months Sets capability
for mastering multiple languages Sets literacy
and language trajectory
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02-001
Literacy Early Vocabulary Growth
1200
High SES
Middle SES
Cumulative Vocabulary
600
Low SES
0
12
16
20
24
28
32
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Age - Months
B. Hart T. Risley, Meaningful Differences in
Everyday Experiences of Young American Children,
1995
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Levels of Literacy A Reflection of ECD
Level 1
indicates persons with very poor skills.
Level 2
people can deal with material that is simple
Level 3
is considered a suitable minimum for coping with
the demands of everyday life
Level 4 and 5
describe people who demonstrate command of
higher-order processing skills
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Document Literacy
1994 1998, Ages 16 to 65
Level 1 and 2 Level 4 and 5

Sweden
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34.0
Canada
42
23.0
Australia
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17.0
United States
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18.0
Chile
85
3.0
Mexico
84
1.7
OECD
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two American public hospitals found that a
third of patients could not read and understand
basic health-related materials, 42 could not
understand directions for taking medication on an
empty stomach, and 60 could not understand a
standard consent form.
The Lancet, 366, p. 95
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Literacy Levels for the Total Population USA
Prose
Document
Quantitative
Percent
Level
NALS, p. 17, 2002
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Literacy Levels by Physical, Mental or Other
Health Conditions USA (Quantitative)
Health Problems
Mental or Emotional Problems
Long-term Illness
Percent
Level
NALS, p. 44, 2002
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Percentages of Adults in Poverty, by Literacy
Level USA (Prose)
Level
Percent
NALS, p. 61, 2002
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Human Data
Observational studies Cross-sectional
studies Longitudinal studies Interventions

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Romanian Adoption Project B.C. Scores at 10.5
Years
CB EA
LA IQ 108 99 85 Language
Score 106 99 88 Behaviour 13 9 43 CB
- Canadian Born EA - Early Adopted (within 4
months) LA - Late Adopted (8 months or
later)
L. Le Mare
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Evening Cortisol Levels Increase with
Months of Orphanage Rearing
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
Log10 Salivary Cortisol
-0.8
linear trendline
-1
-1.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
Months of Orphanage Rearing
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1970 - British Birth Cohort
Osborn and Milbank (1987)
Does preschool education
benefit cognition, learning
behaviour?
The simple answer is indubitably, yes
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93-040
Mental Development of Undersized Children
(Low Height for Age) The Jamaican Study
110
children of
normal height
stimulation
supplement
105
develop-
stimulation
ment
100
quotient
supplement
95
control
90
baseline
6 mo
24 mo
12 mo
18 mo
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02-068
Growth Retardation and Development
Jamaica
Stimulation and supplements normalized
development by 2 years
Age 11 - Benefits of stimulation still
present but not supplementation
Grantham-McGregor
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Nepal
Linked Parenting and ECD Centres Age 3 to 5 935
children School Performance
Promotion Repeat
Dropout

Grade 1 National 41.7
36.7 21.6 ECD
83.5 5.5 11.0 Grade 2 National
73.9 17.6 8.5
ECD 95.1 2.2 2.7
UNICEF
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00-042
360
Sociocultural
Gradients for
Cuba
Language
320
Scores
By Country
Argentina
Chile
280
Brazil
Language Score
Colombia
Mexico
240
200
1
4
8
12
16
Parents' Education (Years)
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05-066
Grade 3 Language Scores
Argentina _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Brazil _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Chile _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Cuba _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Mexico _ _ _ _ _ _ _
100
250
300
350
400
150
200
UNESCO, 1998
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Life Expectancy (years)
Argentina 74.1 Brazil 68.0 Chile 76.0 C
uba 76.7 Mexico 73.3
UN Human Development Report, 2004
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Abecedarian Study Reading
Effect Size
Primary Grades
Preschool
Preschool Primary Grades
1.2
0.8
0.4
0
Age 8
Age 12
Age 15
Age 21
Age at Testing
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05-002
EARLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
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Early Child Development and Parenting Centres
Offer from conception to school entry Provide
support for parents Learn parenting by
doing Provide non-parental care Link to
Childrens Services as needed
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Percent of Children in Preschool Programs


1998 N. America/W.
Europe 82 Latin
America
54 S. and W. Asia
18 Sub-Saharan Africa
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World Education Forum, 2000
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EXPERIMENTS IN CIVILIZATION ECONOMIC
GROWTH SOCIAL STABILITY AND ECD
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Human Evolution and the Continuing Evolution of
Civilizations
Improve health and well-being of
populations. Improve ability and competence of
populations. Establishing sustainable, tolerant,
pluralistic, societies. The kitten and puppy
story. Equity in literacy and income.
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01-050
The principle of free education for
school-age children is already entrenched
throughout the rich world there would be
nothing incongruous about extending it
further down the age range.
The Economist, pg 16, July 18, 1998
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02-056
Policies to Foster Human Capital
"We cannot afford to postpone investing in
children until they become adults nor can we
wait until they reach school - a time when it
may be too late to intervene."
Heckman, J., 2001
(Nobel Prize Economics, 2000)
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Rates of Return to Human Development Investment
Across all Ages
8
6
Pre-school Programs
Return Per Invested
School
4
R
Job Training
2
Pre- School
School
Post School
0
6
18
Age
Carneiro, Heckman, Human Capital Policy, 2003
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00-068
Integrated - ECD
Social
Equality
Education
Health
Capital
Economic
Growth
Human Development
Van der Gaag, World Bank
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01-039
www.founders.net
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References
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