Sleep plays an important role in memory, attention, emotional well-being, and overall physical health. In 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advised middle and high schools to change their start times to 8:30 a.m. or later to enable students to get the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep on school nights.
News
NICHD issues News Releases and Media Advisories to the news media. Spotlight and Research Feature articles explain NICHD research findings and public health issues to the general public. An Item of Interest is a short announcement of relevant information, such as a notable staff change.
NIH supports new studies to find Alzheimer’s biomarkers in Down syndrome
The National Institutes of Health has launched a new initiative to identify biomarkers and track the progression of Alzheimer’s in people with Down syndrome.
It’s All About Potential: Down Syndrome Athlete and Advocate Highlights Ability Where Others See Disability
As a person with Down syndrome, David Egan has made it his mission to fulfill his own potential and to help other people with Down syndrome fulfill theirs. Here he discusses his work, his belief in the power of research, and his hopes for the future.
Down Syndrome Research Across the Lifespan: A Q&A with NICHD Experts
October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, an opportunity to spread awareness and enhance understanding of Down syndrome, a congenital disorder in people who have an extra 21st chromosome.
Scan after newborn cooling treatment predicts outcome at age 6 or 7, NIH study shows
Brain scans taken of newborns who received cooling treatment after blood or oxygen deprivation to the brain can predict the extent of a child’s recovery by 6 or 7 years of age, according to a study by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research network.
Program for parents helps sustain learning gains in kids from Head Start to kindergarten
An instructional program for parents helps young children retain the literacy skills and positive learning behaviors acquired in Head Start through to the end of the kindergarten year, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Scan may identify best candidates for fetal spina bifida surgery
Fetuses with enlarged ventricles—the fluid-filled cavities inside the brain—may be less likely than their counterparts to benefit from surgery in the womb to treat spina bifida, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Teaching Fathers to Keep Babies Safe
Wale Olukanmi has spent more than two decades as an oncology nurse and physician's assistant at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. As a medical practitioner and father of four, he thought he was well-informed about the health risks and pitfalls of parenting. Then, he completed an all-day training on safe infant sleep practices, where he learned about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), the leading cause of death in babies one month to one year of age, and about other sleep-related infant deaths, such as suffocation.
Rehabilitation Research at NICHD
Rehabilitation medicine includes efforts to improve function and minimize impairment due to illnesses or injuries. Learn more about NICHD’s rehabilitation research.
Insects recognize thousands of different tastes, not just basic categories like salty and sweet
Ever wonder why regular and diet soda taste so different? Both are sweet, but new research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) may explain how you can tell one from another. The study, published in the September 1 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, shows for the first time that the moth brain can detect and interpret thousands of individual tastes, not just broad categories of taste as was previously thought.
Helping Your Child Improve Reading Skills
In his recent article in The Huffington Post, Dr. Guttmacher highlights the importance of reading every day with children.
How Does Reading Work?
Children learn to read by building a number of skills. Learn more about how reading works in this slideshow.
Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes
NIH seeks input on a proposed new research program to assess biological, chemical, psychosocial, and other environmental influences on child health outcomes. Join one of NIH’s webinars to learn more.
NIH researchers find key regulator of interactions between brain networks
Stimulating a type of brain cell receptor launches a series of events that ultimately lead to the receptor’s deactivation in a subset of cells important for coordinating the activity of brain networks, report a team of scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Studying the Growing Brain: A Q&A on the C-MIND Study
The Cincinnati MR Imaging of Neurodevelopment (C-MIND) study was launched in 2009 to establish a new resource for the research community: a database of scans showing the structure and activity of the growing brain. C-MIND has taken an unprecedented look at what’s going on inside the heads of hundreds of kids from ages 0 to 18.
Neuroscience Research Resources
NICHD supports a variety of research projects and networks that are useful to neuroscientists. Find a detailed list here.
Animals’ presence may ease social anxiety in kids with autism
When animals are present, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have lower readings on a device that detects anxiety and other forms of social arousal when interacting with their peers.
2014 Annual Report of the Division of Intramural Research
NICHD’s Division of Intramural Research releases its 2014 annual report with progress updates from each program and laboratory.
Income levels affect the structure of a child’s brain, NIH-funded study shows
Growing up poor affects the brain. That’s the conclusion of researchers from nine universities across the country who’ve completed the largest study of its kind to date.
Vitamin E deficiency could lead to brain damage, zebrafish study suggests
Lack of vitamin E may contribute to cognitive disorders by robbing brain cells of a substance important for their structure, according to a study of zebrafish funded by the National Institutes of Health.