ISP Spring Seminar Series: The Role of Prenatal Experience and Infant Sleep in the Development of Early Childhood Executive Function

In this seminar, Cathi Propper, PhD, will focus on early predictors of cognitive outcomes in preschool age children. Specifically, prenatal experience such as stress, inflammation, and nutrition play a critical role in shaping childhood developmental trajectories and they differ by sociodemographic status. Prenatal experience may also influence infant sleep across the first year of life, which may act as a mediator of the relationship between prenatal experience and cognitive outcomes.

Propper will present the results of a pilot study that examined these links in African American families and will provide details about an innovative naturalistic observation of infant sleep in the home that may help explain associations.

Presenter
Cathi Propper, PhD
Advanced Research Scientist
Director, Developmental Biobehavioral Core
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute
UNC-Chapel Hill

The Inclusive Science Program (ISP) at NC TraCS focuses on increasing the inclusion of populations that have been historically underrepresented in clinical and translational research. The ISP Spring Seminar Series highlights research with a focus on diverse representation.