How Socioeconomic Status and Perinatal Maternal Diet Impact Infant Social Development: a longitudinal study utilizing the NBAS and fNIRS

众所周知，从怀孕到生命的第二年之间的窗口期对婴儿的发育至关重要，早期经历和环境在塑造早期发育轨迹方面发挥着关键作用。社会经济地位（SES）和围产期母亲饮食都被证明对婴儿发育有深远的影响，然而，尽管有很多证据表明对后来的结果有重大影响，但它们对新出现的发育途径的影响仍然知之甚少。我的研究项目围绕通过Brazelton中心和与家庭合作的围产期成像（PIPKIN）项目之间的知识交流伙伴关系，进一步了解影响早期婴儿发育的因素。Brazelton中心是一家英国慈善机构，旨在利用新生儿行为评估量表（NBAS）提高父母和临床对新生儿行为和沟通的了解，以支持婴儿早期发育。剑桥大学的PIPKIN项目旨在通过使用功能近红外光谱（fNIRS），脑电图（EEG），超声波，NBAS和各种认知行为和背景测量来检查婴儿发育，从而进一步了解从怀孕中期，出生到出生后9个月发生的重大发育变化。通过收集这些措施，我们将更好地了解围产期婴儿发育及其影响因素。我将以PIPKIN项目作为我博士学位的主干，旨在通过讨论的各种措施来了解围产期母亲饮食和SES对婴儿发育的作用。我还将研究新生儿的社会参与能力（使用Brazelton NBAS）与亲子互动中互惠性的观察编码（使用自然的家庭录像）以及早期社会发展的神经标记（使用近红外光谱和脑电图）之间的关系。通过在Brazelton中心的年度实习，我还将与慈善机构和社区焦点小组合作，进一步了解婴儿早期发育和那些最容易受到不良影响的人。目的是利用PIPKIN的数据以及Brazelton中心和当地团体的进一步见解，指导基于应用程序的干预措施的开发，以便在早期跟踪和支持婴儿及其家庭。

It is well known that the window between conception and the second year of life is critical for infant development, with early experiences and environments playing a key role in shaping early developmental trajectories. Both socioeconomic status (SES) and perinatal maternal diet have been demonstrated to have a profound impact on infant development, however, despite much evidence of significant impacts upon later outcomes, little is still known about their influences on emerging developmental pathways. My research project centres around furthering our understanding of the factors that impact early infant development through a knowledge exchange partnership between The Brazelton Centre and the Perinatal Imaging in Partnership with Families (PIPKIN) project. The Brazelton Centre is a UK charity which aims to enhance parental and clinical knowledge of newborn behaviour and communication using the neonatal behavioural assessment scale (NBAS) in order to support early infant development. The PIPKIN project at the University of Cambridge aims to further our understanding of the significant developmental changes that occur from the second trimester of pregnancy, across birth, and up to 9-months post-birth by examining infant development using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), electroencephalography (EEG), ultrasound, NBAS and a variety of cognitive-behavioural and background measures. Through the collection of these measures, we will gain a better understanding of perinatal infant development and the factors that shape this. I shall use the PIPKIN project as the backbone for my PhD, aiming to understand the role of perinatal maternal diet and SES on infant development using the variety of measures discussed. I shall also examine how newborns capacity for social engagement (using the Brazelton NBAS) correlates with observational coding of reciprocity in parent-child interactions (using naturalistic home video recordings) and with neural markers of early social development (using fNIRS and EEG).Through annual internships with The Brazelton Centre I shall also be working collaboratively with the charity and with community focus groups to derive further insights into early infant development and those most vulnerable to poor outcomes. The aim is to then use data from both PIPKIN and further insights from The Brazelton Centre and local groups to guide the development of an app-based intervention to both track and support the infant and their families early on.