Nurturing the Brain: Associations Between Family Environment and Child Brain Development

  • 3,739

    Total downloads

  • 18k

    Total views and downloads

Submit your idea

Select the journal/section where you want your idea to be submitted:

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

As the primary source of protection, food, and comfort, parental care is of utmost importance to child development. Even as the child matures and develops independence, parental care and the larger familial context continue to exert a large influence on development. Investigating the impact of family factors on brain development facilitates an understanding of the mechanisms by which these factors influence broader aspects of children’s development, health and wellbeing.



Although large variation exists in children’s family environments, most research on the association between family factors and neurodevelopment focuses on extreme adversities such as child abuse or neglect. These studies are of great importance, but results may not generalize to the larger population of children growing up in more normative situations. Variation in these normative environments may meaningfully affect child neurodevelopment for better or worse. Further, understanding the impact of different family factors (from parenting behaviors to more distal aspects of the community that impact family functioning) is of importance. However, as these family factors are often related, a conceptual framework is required that helps categorize the different factors and their influence.

Although widely applied in research on child development, Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model, which categorizes aspects of the child’s environment according to the proximity to the child, has been applied to a lesser extent in developmental neurobiology. In Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model, the microsystem—which is the system the child has direct experience in— and the child’s interactions with actors on these microsystems (called proximal processes), are influenced by the more distal systems, such as relations and interactions between actors on the microsystem, neighborhood or policy. Factors on these different systems are thought to have different yet related effects. In order to understand how different factors of the family environment are related to child neurodevelopment, we propose to apply Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model to the research on the effects of the family environment on child brain development.



With this Research Topic, we seek to answer the following questions: 1) How do different levels of the family environment, ranging from proximal/micro factors such as parenting behavior or the parent-child relationship, to more distal/macro factors such as the family socio-economic status, affect child neurodevelopment and consequently behavioral development? Examples of factors on intermediate levels are parental conflict, neighborhood safety or family support networks. 2) Do these factors have different effects depending on the developmental period they occur in or depending on the period their effects are measured in?

In order to achieve these goals, we seek to include studies addressing the relationship between one or more factors related to the family environment and child brain structure, function or connectivity. We particularly welcome studies addressing multiple levels of the family environment, as well as studies examining normative variation in family functioning or positive/protective familial factors. However, we will also accept studies addressing more severe examples of negative family functioning, such as child abuse or neglect. While we will prioritize studies on children and adolescents, we will also consider papers addressing associations between family factors and the brain in adults.



We also welcome studies examining associations between neural measurements and behavioral outcomes, and papers addressing moderating or mediating factors in the association between the family environment and child brain development, such as hormonal levels or pubertal development. Additionally, we are happy to receive contributions utilizing animal models to bring a deeper understanding of the molecular, cellular and circuit mechanisms underlying the dynamic gene/environment interaction in brain development.



Finally, we welcome a broad range of neural measurements, including but not restricted to (f)MRI, EEG, MEG etc..

Keywords: family environment, socio-economic status, parenting, parent-child relationship, family relationships, child brain development, adolescent brain development, brain structure, brain function, EEG

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Participating Journals

Impact

  • 18kTopic views
  • 12kArticle views
  • 3,739Article downloads
View impact