Scientists have outlined the five factors that are key to an infant's brain development during their first year of life.
Good nutrition, a stimulating environment, a safe neighborhood, positive caregiving and regular circadian rhythms and sleep are all essential for a child to thrive, according to the study from Washington University in St. Louis.
While previous studies have provided evidence for the benefits of these individual thrive factors, the new research focuses on the importance of them together and how they influence brain development in utero and in early childhood.
The researchers hope that providing empirical evidence for these 'Thrive 5' conditions, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, will help make them a public health priority.
"When [infants] have access to these basic supports, even in the face of adverse environments, it enhances their brain development, cognition (measures of IQ) and social-emotional development," said child psychiatry professor Joan Luby in a statement.
In their study, Luby and colleagues examined 232 infants and their mothers, focusing on the positive factors in their environment during both pregnancy and in the first year of the babies' lives.
Participants were also evaluated on factors that could put them at a social disadvantage—such as living in an unsafe area.
The infants were re-evaluated on their social, emotional and cognitive development as they approached the age of three. They were also given MRI scans to look at brain structure.
The team found that children who had all five thrive factors—also dubbed 'T-factors'—developed healthily.
Crucially, though, the study also revealed that even children growing up in adverse conditions can have a healthy development if they still have the five factors.
"The novelty here is putting them all together and thinking of them as a constellation of things that are necessary and important for a child to be able to thrive," said psychiatry professor Deanna Barch in a statement.
The study is part of Washington University's ongoing research into how psychological and social factors can impact brain development in a child's early years.
Although genetics play a role in an infant's cognitive development, research shows that our health is largely influenced by our psychosocial environment.
In other words, environmental factors—like feeling safe and being well-fed—also shape how we develop, perhaps even more so than our biological make-up.
In fact, research has shown that early experiences can determine how genes are activated, and even whether some are expressed at all.
The researchers highlight that policymakers and pediatric healthcare providers should be informed about the importance of focusing on T-Factors, and how such can benefit both children and society.
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Correction 03/19/24, 9.40 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a correction to the spelling of Deanna Barch.
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