Neurobiological development of twin children: construction of the cognitive function assessment paradigm in response to stress.

Abstract

This research project is associated with the Thematic Project "USP Twin Panel: Research on Behavior, Health and Well-Being in Twins", FAPESP Process nº 2022/02107-6. According to the theoretical perspective of the Ecobiodevelopmental Model, children are impacted in their development by biological, psychological, and environmental factors to different degrees. Additionally, in line with the Differential Susceptibility Model, individuals more vulnerable to environmental stressors would also benefit more from the support they find in the environment. Children who, at an early age, exhibit a neurobiology shaped by a highly reactive stress response from an early age are more likely to have problems in the home and academic environment that can impact their school trajectory. One way to investigate children's performance is to apply an executive function task since it predicts academic development. The aim of this study is to investigate individual differences in twin's cognitive development and stress response. To achieve this goal, the undergraduate fellow will design a working memory task (an executive function) using the PsyToolKit platform, comparing the performance of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. Data collection will be performed at two different times within a nine-months interval. In addition, the undergraduate fellow will also collect data on the quality of life of these children, using the Peds QL 4.0 Scale validated for the Brazilian population. It is expected that MZ twins present a more similar working memory performance compared to DZ twins and that children with higher quality of life perform better in this task compared to those with lower quality of life.