From the maternal womb to childhood: in the first thousand days of life the neurological future of each of us is decided, while the environment, nature and relationship with parents shape the minds of the little ones.
The brain is a miracle from its earliest stages of development, during pregnancy. Understanding in detail what happens, what are the phases with which the brain of a fetus, a newborn, a child and then an adult is “built” is the aim of Spoke 1, the sub-project coordinated by Luca Bonini, professor of psychobiology and physiological psychology at the University of Parma: researchers are working to discover biomarkers to monitor complex diseases that generally appear in the youngest, such as epilepsy and autism, but also to understand what influences the most mental health from the early stages of life, how the neurodevelopment of those who are healthy changes compared to those who have an illness or, again, what effects the environment has on the development of neurons and the brain.
the green that protects
It is on this last theme that Generation Echo, ARIEL and 2-BRAINED have focused, three projects led by Livio Provenzi, professor of Developmental Psychobiology and director of the Developmental Psychobiology Lab (dpb lab) of the Department of Nervous System and Behavioral Sciences of the University of Pavia – IRCCS Fondazione Mondino. The objective is to understand how interactions with the outside contribute to shaping the neurobiological connections underlying the child’s development and therefore can influence their growth and well-being, especially in the most crucial period for building future well-being, i.e. the first thousand days after conception. «We deal with the so-called “parentome”, a complex system of biology and relationships in which parents are the interface between the outside and the child, a “filter” that shapes its development», explains Livio Provenzi. «With Generation Echo we wanted to study how exposure to pollution or nature impacts future mothers and their children, following 500 women and children from pregnancy to the two years of life of the little ones. Pollution increases maternal stress and alters stress response genes in children, “turning them off”; however, if future mothers have access to greenery, even just seeing it from the windows or better yet frequenting parks or gardens, the effect of pollution is reduced to the point of not being significant. This means that, although we cannot completely eliminate urban pollution, we can promote conditions that protect the well-being of pregnant women, thus supporting the health of future children.”
the cell phone cries
The effort to create a positive environment for children is fundamental especially in the first thousand days because what happens in this phase leaves imprints for life.
Judging by the data from the ARIEL project – coordinated by Sarah Nazzari, researcher at the dpb lab – it is a period in which it would be a good idea to lock cell phones in a drawer to reduce “technoference”, the intrusive use of digital devices that interferes in relationships between parents and children. «When a child is with his parents and sees them distracted, he feels stress and tries to recover the connection in various ways, with self-regulation mechanisms such as putting a finger in his mouth or looking away or trying to attract attention by crying», says Provenzi. «We analyzed the children’s response by measuring the temperature of their faces (which changes in case of stress, ed) when the parent gets distracted by filling out a questionnaire or looking at the cell phone: in the second case the stress is greater, probably because the device completely absorbs the attention, “immobilizing” it, and this creates greater alarm in the child. The main messages to take away? Carve out moments without technology together with your children and not blame yourself, but be aware of the “power” of technoference and exploit it positively. In fact, children also build meanings starting from the disorder constituted by the disconnection of the relationship with adults, which is a normal fact: we think that development should proceed without shocks, but this is not the case, self-regulation is learned even from moments of discomfort. Knowing that their children notice the distraction could help parents to “repair” it, to make the little ones understand that they may have other things to do but then they mend the bond and live it fully in the moments without screens in between.”
The relationship with mum and dad is in fact a powerful driver of neurodevelopment, as demonstrated by the results of the 2BRAINED project: when a child interacts with his parent, the brain activity of both, measured with the electroencephalogram, synchronises “in a sort of two-person dance”, specifies Provenzi. «We are studying these interactions in premature babies, who experience an early separation from their parents because they have to remain in the incubator, to understand if the “rhythm” changes and if allowing as much contact as possible between parents and baby can improve the “dance of the brains”, protecting from the long-term negative effects of prematurity».
