Developmental psychobiology
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The objective of this study was to determine the consequences for HPA axis functioning among healthy full-term newborns of prenatal treatment with the synthetic glucocorticoid (GC), betamethasone, which is the routine treatment for threatened preterm delivery. Ninety full-term infants were recruited into two study groups (30 betamethasone treated; 60 comparison group matched for GA at birth and sex). ⋯ Further, within the recommended window of betamethasone administration (24-34 gestational weeks), infants exposed to betamethasone earlier in gestation displayed the largest cortisol response to the heel-stick. These data add to accumulating evidence that prenatal exposure to elevated GCs programs the development of the HPA axis.
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Cortisol levels were compared in children born preterm at extremely low gestational age (ELGA; 24-28 weeks), very low gestational age (VGLA; 29-32 weeks), and full-term in response to cognitive assessment at 18 months corrected age (CA). Further, we investigated the relationship between maternal interactive behaviors and child internalizing behaviors (rated by the mother) in relation to child cortisol levels. ⋯ Moreover, the pattern of cortisol change was related to internalizing behaviors among ELGA, and to a lesser degree VLGA children. In conclusion, our findings suggest altered programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in preterm children, as well as their greater sensitivity to environmental context such as maternal interactive behavior.
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The purpose of this study was to identify whether cortisol reactivity to a stressful laboratory event was related to children's memory of that event and to determine whether this relation was comparable to that observed in adults. Nine- to 12-year-olds and young adults completed an impromptu speech and math task during which repeated cortisol samples and self-reported stress ratings were collected. Two weeks later, participants' memory for the tasks was examined. ⋯ Self-reported stress was unrelated to memory. Findings reveal that an important mechanism underlying the association between emotion and memory in adults, namely activation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis, appears to operate similarly in late childhood. Findings also demonstrate that positive associations between cortisol reactivity and memory are evident when the event that actually elicited that reactivity serves as the to-be-remembered event.