January 2, 2015 –
January 9, 2015
Neuro Clips:
All in a good night's
sleep: How quality of sleep impacts academic performance in children
Summary: In a recent study of healthy children
ages 7-11 years old, researchers found “sleep efficiency” to be linked to
higher academic performance. “Sleep efficiency” refers to an evaluation of the
quality and quantity of sleep.
Does 'dyslexia'
disable teachers?
Summary: Researchers explored the contextual
impact of labels for reading difficulties in a study of teacher perceptions.
Teacher survey responses revealed variation in the extent to which teachers
felt they could assist students based on the usage of the terms “dyslexia” vs. “reading
difficulties”. The results suggest that placing students in categories such as “dyslexic”
may negatively influence the quality of the instruction that they receive.
Misfit or Miss Goody
Two Shoes? Adolescent misperceptions abound
Summary: In a recent study of teen
perceptions, researchers examined 235 10th grade students. The study
findings suggest that students typically engaged in higher levels of risk behaviors
based on their misperceptions of what the popular students were doing.
Major study sends
clear safety message to prevent brain injury in children
Summary: A recent study conducted secondary
analysis of the incidence of brain trauma in children. Researchers found that
the most common cause of trauma in children under the age of 12 was falls (such
as from a bicycle). These findings suggest that large prevention efforts should
be exerted toward promoting the use of helmets. Major causes for teens and
adolescents include car accidents, assault, and sports-related injuries.
Do infants judge
others' language proficiency? It depends on their own, research shows
Summary: Researchers explored expectations for
language proficiency in a group of 20-month-old monolingual infants compared to
a group of 20-month-old bilingual infants. Expectations were examined using a
measure of looking time during interactions with adults. The results of the
study suggested that the infants’ language proficiency was based on their own
proficiency. These findings have implications for communication in general.
Human speech's
surprising influence on young infants
Summary:
New research promotes the importance of speaking to infants. The research
findings suggest that listening to speech helps not only to reduce the “word
gap” in infants, but also promotes the development of other cognitive and
social capabilities important for learning.
