Shared Reading Practices and Early Literacy Promotion in the First Year of Life.

Limited research exists on family reading practices, the impact of counseling, and book distribution in the first 6 months of life, despite recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and Reach Out and Read promoting shared reading from birth. OBJECTIVE: To describe infant home reading trajectories and environments in the first year and to assess whether receiving books starting in the newborn period, compared with starting at 6 months, alters these trajectories. METHODS: Two study groups were enrolled in a quasi-experimental sequential cohort study; both groups received shared reading counseling starting in the newborn period and completed surveys throughout the first year. The Standard group received books starting at 6 months, whereas the Early Books group received books starting at 2 weeks. Reading trajectories were assessed both overall and between the study groups. RESULTS: At the 2-week visit, less than half of families in each group had started shared reading with their infant, which rose to >97% by 12 months. Approximately two-thirds of families owned >10 children's books at 2 weeks, which increased to >80% at 12 months. Incorporating shared reading into bedtime routines also increased during the first year. Early versus standard book distribution did not alter these trajectories. CONCLUSION: Over the first year of life, families almost universally initiated shared reading and increased the number of books in the home. Reading habits established during this time were maintained in both groups. Literacy promotion beginning at the earliest well-child visits may help establish routines that will persist throughout childhood.

Home Literacy Environment and Shared Reading in the Newborn Period.

: In 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics and Reach Out and Read formally emphasized counseling families on shared reading starting at birth. However, little data exist on the home reading practices and environments of newborn infants. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the home reading practices and environments of 2-week-old infants. METHODS: We distributed writtens self-administered surveys to 223 families seen for 2-week well-child visits. The survey assessed the frequency of shared reading, "favorite activities" with infants (including shared reading), number of books in the home, and sources of reading information. Descriptive and multivariate statistics were computed to assess the frequency of primary outcomes and sociodemographic associations. RESULTS: At the 2-week well-child visit, 57.7% of families had not yet started reading with their infants. A minority of families (29.1%) reported shared reading as a favorite activity. Thirty-five percent of families reported having ≤10 books in the home. Non-white race and having lived outside the United States were significantly associated with having ≤10 books in the home. Parents who reported not always enjoying reading were less likely to have started reading to their infant. CONCLUSION: Differences in both book ownership and having initiated shared reading are present from the newborn period. Findings suggest an opportunity for the provision of children's books in early infancy through primary care, particularly for immigrant and minority families. Engaging parents to incorporate language-rich activities, including shared reading, with their infants may be especially important for those who have a history of not being read to or who do not report enjoying reading.

Taeniasis among Refugees Living on Thailand-Myanmar Border, 2012.

We tested refugee camp residents on the Thailand-Myanmar border for Taenia solium infection. Taeniasis prevalence was consistent with that for other disease-endemic regions, but seropositivity indicating T. solium taeniasis was rare. Seropositivity indicating cysticercosis was 5.5% in humans, and 3.2% in pigs. Corralling pigs and providing latrines may control transmission of these tapeworms within this camp.

The histone deacetylase inhibitor sodium butyrate modulates acquisition and extinction of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference.

Despite decades of research on treatments for cocaine dependence, relapse rates following many behavioral and drug-based therapies remain high. This may be in part because cocaine-associated cues and contexts can invoke powerful drug cravings years after quitting. Recent studies suggest that drugs that promote cognitive function can enhance the formation of memories involving cocaine and other substances. One target of these drugs is facilitating histone acetylation to promote learning by increasing gene transcription that supports memory formation. Here, we investigate the effects of the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor sodium butyrate (NaBut) on cocaine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) in C57BL/6 mice. After establishing a graded dose-response curve (2, 5, & 20 mg/kg) for cocaine-induced CPP, we examined the effects of different doses of NaBut (0, 0.3, 0.6, & 1.2 g/kg) on conditioning, extinction, and post-extinction reconditioning of CPP. A high dose of NaBut (1.2 g/kg) enhanced initial acquisition of cocaine CPP, but there were no effects of NaBut on reconditioning of extinguished CPP. Effects of NaBut on extinction were more complex, with a low-dose (0.3 g/kg) facilitating extinction and a high dose (1.2 g/kg) weakening extinction evident by preference at a retention test. These findings suggest that HDAC inhibition may have dose dependent effects on different components of cocaine CPP, with implications for (1) involvement of histone acetylation in context-drug learning, (2) interpretation of acute and chronic drug effects, and (3) the targeting of different types of learning in therapeutic application of HDAC inhibitors.

Evidence that angiogenesis lags behind neuron and astrocyte growth in experience-dependent plasticity.

Bill Greenough's work on the cell biology of information storage suggests that we cannot understand the mechanism of long-term memory without understanding the series of cellular transactions that drive coordinated structural changes in neurons, glia, and blood vessels. Here, we show that after 4 days of differential housing, neuropil of EC cortex has expanded significantly, but the vasculature has not, resulting in a dilution of the blood supply. Significant growth of neurons and astrocytes has been reported within this time period, suggesting expression of synaptic plasticity might involve temporally coordinated genomic responses by both neurons and glia. Given that astrocytes appear to couple neuronal and vascular growth during development, we hypothesize that they may also mediate the onset of angiogenesis in response to neural demand in the EC brain. Further, these results may imply that a neuron's capacity for plasticity could be constrained by the rate of vascular expansion.