Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026
In vivo Imaging Method to Distinguish Acute and Chronic Inflammation
Published on: August 16, 2013
Chronic inflammation is associated with neural responses to faces in bangladeshi children
Wanze Xie1, Swapna Kumar2, Shahria H Kakon3
1Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Insights
Childhood inflammation impacts brain development and cognitive function. Early inflammation exposure in toddlers affects neural responses to faces, mediating cognitive performance, particularly IQ scores.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Early childhood inflammation is a significant barrier to developmental potential globally.
- Systemic inflammation in early life is linked to adverse cognitive and neural outcomes.
- Children in urban slums face heightened risks of sustained inflammation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between systemic inflammation and neural responses to facial stimuli in children.
- To explore if neural activity mediates the relationship between inflammation and cognitive development.
- To compare these effects in infant and toddler cohorts.
Main Methods:
- Two cohorts of high-risk children in Dhaka, Bangladesh were studied.
- C-reactive protein (CRP) measured systemic inflammation; event-related potentials (ERPs) assessed neural responses to faces.
- Cognitive outcomes evaluated using Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) and Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI).
Main Results:
- In older toddlers, elevated CRP frequency correlated with reduced neural response differences (P400, Nc) to faces.
- Neural response differences (P400, Nc) mediated the link between inflammation and performance IQ.
- No association between ERPs and CRP was found in the younger infant cohort.
Conclusions:
- Chronic systemic inflammation negatively impacts children's brain function and cognitive development.
- Neural pathways for social attention and facial recognition may be affected by inflammation.
- Findings highlight inflammation as a critical factor in early childhood neurodevelopment.
Background:
Early exposure to inflammation in childhood is increasingly recognized as one of the major factors that hinder millions of children worldwide from meeting their full developmental potential. The current study examined the association between systemic inflammation and children's neural responses to facial stimuli and explored if this activity mediated the relation between inflammation and cognitive outcomes.
Method:
Two separate cohorts of children living in an urban slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh who are at high-risk for sustained inflammation were recruited in this study. The concentration of C-reactive protein (CRP) in blood samples served as our index of inflammation. Blood samples were collected once at 18 weeks for the younger (infant) cohort (N = 125) and at 6, 18, 40, 53, and 104 weeks for the older (toddler) cohort (N = 120). Event-related potentials (ERPs) were also recorded separately for the two cohorts: at 6 months for the younger cohort (N = 48) and at 36 months for the older cohort (N = 93), using a face-oddball paradigm in which standard and oddball faces were presented. Cognitive outcomes were evaluated with Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) at 27 months for the younger cohort (N = 98) and with Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) at 48 months for the older cohort (N = 124).
Results:
For the older toddler cohort, the P400 and Nc amplitude differences between the two types of stimuli were found to be associated with the frequency of elevated CRP such that more episodes of elevated CRP corresponded to smaller P400 and Nc differences between the two conditions. In addition, the P400 and Nc differences were both found to mediate the relation between inflammation and performance IQ scores. For the younger infant cohort, the participants showed differentiated N290 response to the two types of stimuli, but no association between the ERP response and CRP concentration was found.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that chronic systemic inflammation has a long-term impact on children's brain functioning and cognitive development. The neural circuitries associated with social attention and recognition memory of faces may be potential pathways by which inflammation exerts its effect on cognitive development.
Related Concept Videos
01:38Inflammation
01:37Neural Regulation
01:29Drug Dosing: Infants and Children
01:23Chronic Pharyngitis
Etiology
It often arises from persistent viral or bacterial infections affecting sinuses and tonsils.
Additional contributing factors include inadequate dental hygiene, mouth breathing, recurring tonsillitis, allergic rhinitis, laryngopharyngeal reflux, and exposure to smoke, chemicals, and other environmental pollutants. Allergic reactions to pollen, mold, and pet dander, chronic cough, excessive voice usage,...
01:25Neural Circuits
Neuronal pools are collections of nerve cells with similar functions and interact through chemical and electrical signals. These pools include both interneurons (the central neural circuit nodes that...
02:26Responses to Gravity and Touch