Mónica López-VicenteInstituto de Salud Global de Barcelona | ISGLOBAL
Mónica López-Vicente
PhD
About
62
Publications
17,637
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2,435
Citations
Citations since 2017
Introduction
Additional affiliations
September 2011 - October 2017
Publications
Publications (62)
Background:
Functional connectivity has been associated with psychiatric problems, both in children and adults, but inconsistencies are present across studies. Prior research has mostly focused on small clinical samples with cross-sectional designs.
Methods:
We adopted a longitudinal design with repeated assessments to investigate associations b...
Background
Early-life environmental exposures are suspected to be involved in the development of chronic diseases later in life. Most studies conducted so far considered single or few exposures and single-health parameter. Our study aimed to identify a childhood general health score and assess its association with a wide range of pre- and post-nata...
There is existing evidence on how excessive screen exposure can be detrimental to cognitive health, and in recent years there has been an increase in the usage of mobile phones by adolescents. We aimed to examine the association between mobile phone screen exposure and cognitive function among a young healthy population. We carried out a cross-sect...
Omega-3 fatty acids are critical for brain function. Adolescence is increasingly believed to entail brain vulnerability to dietary intake. In contrast to the abundant research on the omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in cognition, research on DHA and attention in healthy adolescents is scarce. In addition, the role of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), t...
Background:
Peer connections in school classrooms play an important role in social-emotional development and mental health. However, research on the association between children's peer relationships and white matter connections in the brain is scarce. We studied associations between peer relationships in the classroom and white matter structural c...
Background
Road traffic noise is a prevalent and known health hazard. However, little is known yet about its effect on children’s cognition. We aimed to study the association between exposure to road traffic noise and the development of working memory and attention in primary school children, considering school-outdoor and school-indoor annual aver...
Background
The amount of people affected by traffic-related air pollution and noise is continuously increasing, but limited research has been conducted on the association of these environmental exposures and functional brain connectivity in children.
Objective
This exploratory study aimed to analyze the associations between the exposure to traffic...
The longitudinal study of typical neurodevelopment is key for understanding deviations due to specific factors, such as psychopathology. However, research utilizing repeated measurements remains scarce. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have traditionally examined connectivity as ‘static’ during the measurement perio...
Background: The EU LifeCycle Project was launched in 2017 to combine, harmonise, and analyse data from more than 250,000 participants across Europe and Australia, involving cohorts participating in the EU-funded LifeCycle Project. The purpose of this cohort description is to provide a detailed overview over the major measures within mental health d...
Background
The recent evidence of the short-term impact of air pollution on youth cognitive functions is based primarily on observational studies.
Objectives
We conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess whether purifying the air of the classrooms produced short-term changes in attention processes of adolescents.
Methods
We recruited a tot...
Studies on factors that can influence attention in healthy adolescents are recent and focus on recurrent topics. Students' contribution to public health research often revolves around collecting data but rarely around creating data collection instruments. The ATENC!Ó project reunited secondary students and scientists to create a questionnaire inclu...
Background
Environmental exposures in early life influence the development of behavioral outcomes in children, but research has not considered multiple exposures. We therefore aimed to investigate the impact of a broad spectrum of pre- and postnatal environmental exposures on child behavior.
Methods and findings
We used data from the HELIX (Human...
Background: Adolescence, when the most complex behaviors are refined to adult sophistication, represents a major window of opportunity and vulnerability for neuropsychological development. To support and protect this complex and active brain growth, different nutritional components considered essential need to be acquired from the diet. For instanc...
The potential etiological role of early acetaminophen exposure on Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is inconclusive. We aimed to study this association in a collaborative study of six European population-based birth/child cohorts. A total of 73,881 mother–child pairs were included in the study. Pre...
Physical symptoms are defined as symptoms for which adequate examination does not reveal a sufficient underlying root cause, e.g., pain and fatigue. The extant literature of the neurobiological underpinnings of physical symptoms has been largely inconsistent and primarily consists of (clinical) case-control studies with relatively small samples siz...
Epidemiological studies mostly focus on single environmental exposures. This study aims to systematically assess associations between a wide range of prenatal and childhood environmental exposures and cognition. The study sample included data of 1,298 mother-child pairs, children were 6-11 years-old, from six European birth cohorts. We measured 87...
Understanding the development of white matter microstructure in the general population is an imperative precursor to identifying its involvement in psychopathology. Previous studies have reported changes in white matter microstructure associated with age and different developmental patterns between boys and girls. Handedness has also been related t...
Background
Studies looking at associations between environmental chemicals and child behaviour usually consider only one exposure or family of exposures.
Objective
This study explores associations between prenatal exposure to a wide range of environmental chemicals and child behaviour.
Methods
We studied 708 mother-child pairs from five European...
Background:
Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are child-onset neurodevelopmental disorders frequently accompanied by cognitive difficulties. In the current study, we aim to examine the genetic overlap between ADHD and ASD and cognitive measures of working memory (WM) and attention performance am...
Background:
The neurodevelopmental effects of high doses of ionizing radiation (IR) in children are well established. To what extent such effects exist at low-to-moderate doses is unclear. Considering the increasing exposure of the general population to low-to-moderate levels of IR, predominantly from diagnostic procedures, the study of these effe...
Vitamin D deficiency during critical periods of development could lead to persistent brain alterations. We aimed to assess the association between maternal vitamin D3, the major circulatory form of vitamin D, at pregnancy and neurodevelopmental outcomes during childhood, namely: behavioural problems, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (AD...
Background:
There is a need to test the fetal programming theoretical framework in nutritional epidemiology. We evaluated whether maternal seafood intake during pregnancy was associated with 8-year-old attention outcomes after adjusting for previous child seafood intake and cognitive function. We also explored effect modification by several single...
This is the protocol of an ongoing systematic review on neurodevelopmental effect of low to moderate dose Ionizing radiation exposure
There is scientific evidence on the protective effects of nut intake against cognitive decline in the elderly; however, this effect has been less explored in child neurodevelopment and no studies have explored the potential longitudinal association with nut intake during pregnancy. We aimed to analyze the association of maternal nut intake during p...
Background:
Although previous studies have reported negative associations between exposure to air pollution and cognition, studies of the effects of prenatal and postnatal exposures in early childhood have been limited.
Objectives:
We sought to assess the role exposure to fine particulate matter ([Formula: see text]) during different prenatal an...
Objective:
To evaluate whether higher omega-6:omega-3 (n-6:n-3) long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid ratio in cord plasma is associated with more symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at 4 and 7 years of age.
Study design:
This study was based on a population-based birth cohort in Spain. N-6 arachidonic acid and n-3 ei...
METHODS: We performed a series of analyses using data from a subcohort of 253 Barcelona schoolchildren from the Brain Development and Air Pollution Ultrafine Particles in School Children (BREATHE) project. We averaged satellite-based normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) across 100-m buffers around all residential addresses since birth to e...
Objective:
To analyze associations between time spent sleeping, watching TV, engaging in cognitively stimulating activities, and engaging in physical activity, all at 4 years, and (1) attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and (2) behavior problems, both assessed at 7 years, in ADHD-free children at baseline.
Method:
In total,...
Background:
Natural environments, including green spaces, may have beneficial impacts on brain development. However, longitudinal evidence of an association between long-term exposure to green spaces and cognitive development (including attention) in children is limited.
Objectives:
We evaluated the association between lifelong residential expos...
A few studies have found associations between the exposure to traffic-related air pollution at school and/or home and cognitive development. The impact on cognitive development of the exposure to air pollutants during commuting has not been explored. We aimed to assess the role of the exposure to traffic-related air pollutants during walking commut...
Introduction:
Recently, we showed that exposure to traffic-related air pollutants (TRAPs) at school was negatively associated with cognitive development, specifically working memory and inattentiveness, in primary schoolchildren during a course of 12 months. The persistence of such associations over longer periods remains as an open question.
Obj...
Objective:
To evaluate the role of extracurricular physical activity and sedentary behavior at preschool and primary school age on working memory at primary school age and adolescence, respectively.
Study design:
This prospective study was based on a birth cohort across 4 Spanish regions. In the 3 younger subcohorts (n = 1093), parents reported...
Background: Prospective longitudinal studies are essential in characterizing cognitive trajectories, yet few of them have been reported on the development of attention processes in children. We aimed to explore attention development in normal children and children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in a repeated measu...
We studied cortical morphology in relation to sports participation and type of sport using a large sample of healthy children (n = 911). Sports participation data was collected through a parent-reported questionnaire. Magnetic resonance scans were acquired, and different morphological brain features were quantified. Global volumetric measures were...
Study objectives:
Low or excessive sleep duration has been associated with multiple outcomes, but the biology behind these associations remains elusive. Specifically, genetic studies in children are scarce. In this study, we aimed to: (1) estimate the proportion of genetic variance of sleep duration in children attributed to common single nucleoti...
Transparency document.
Supplementary material.
This study is aiming to evaluate the association between television viewing during childhood and long-term adolescent neuropsychological outcomes and the potential explanatory pathways. This is a longitudinal study based on 278 children participating in the INMA birth cohort (1998) in Menorca Island, Spain. The exposure is parent-reported duration...
Background:
Neuropsychological instruments to assess cognitive trajectories during childhood in epidemiological studies are needed. This would improve neurodevelopment characterization in order to identify its potential determinants. We aimed to study whether repeated measures of n-back, a working memory task, detect developmental trajectories in...
Purpose:
The evidence regarding the role of physical activity (PA) habits on cognitive development in children is still scarce. Our study aimed to assess the association between PA habits and cognitive growth patterns, including working memory (WM) and inattentiveness in a large sample of primary schoolchildren.
Method:
This study included 2,897...
Background:
A few studies have reported associations between traffic-related air pollution exposure at schools and cognitive development. The role of PM components or sources other than traffic on cognitive development has been little explored.
Objectives:
We aimed to explore the role of PM sources in school air on cognitive development.
Method...
The available evidence of the effects of air pollution and noise on behavioral development is limited and overlooks exposure at schools where children spend a considerable amount of time.
We aimed to investigate the associations of exposure to traffic-related air pollutants (TRAPs) and noise at school on behavioral development of schoolchildren.
We...
Significance
Green spaces have a range of health benefits, but little is known in relation to cognitive development in children. This study, based on comprehensive characterization of outdoor surrounding greenness (at home, school, and during commuting) and repeated computerized cognitive tests in schoolchildren, found an improvement in cognitive d...
Air pollution is a suspected developmental neurotoxicant. Many schools are located in close proximity to busy roads, and traffic air pollution peaks when children are at school. We aimed to assess whether exposure of children in primary school to traffic-related air pollutants is associated with impaired cognitive development.
We conducted a prospe...
Background:
Green spaces have been associated with improved mental health in children; however, available epidemiological evidence on their impact on child behavioral development is scarce.
Objectives:
We investigated the impact of contact with green spaces and blue spaces (beaches) on indicators of behavioral development and symptoms of attenti...
Computerized neuropsychological tests offered several advantages for large epidemiological studies to assess child neuropsychological development. We aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties and criterion validity of 2 computerized tests (n-back and attentional network task [ANT]) used to assess the working memory and attention function, respe...
Objective:
This study aimed to assess the association between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms at preschool age and attention functioning at 11 years old.
Method:
Four-year-old children (n = 422) were assessed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994)...
Projects
Projects (3)
INMA – INfancia y Medio Ambiente [Environment and Childhood] Project is a research network of several Spanish groups that created a project with the aim to study the paper of the more relevant environmental pollutants in the air, water and diet during the pregnancy and beginning of life, and their effects in the growth and development.
Air pollution hazards for childhood neurodevelopmental and behavioural disorders represent a new horizon for research of major worldwide impact. BREATHE addresses this issue using unconventional and innovative epidemiological methods interfaced with environmental chemistry and neuroimaging.
The overall objective of the BREATHE project is to detect the neurodevelopmental (cognitive, behavioural, and neurostructural) effects of urban air pollution. To this aim, BREATHE combines epidemiological, psychometric, genetic, neuroimaging and mathematical approaches.
About 2,900 school age children attending those schools participated in the study, whose cognitive development was assessed through long-term change in working memory and attention using computerized tests (n-back task and Attentional Network Test [ANT]). From the BREATHE participants, 1,778 children were selected for genome-wide genotyping and 263 children were included in the neuroimaging (MRI) study.
We performed comprehensive characterisation of indoor and outdoor air quality in 39 schools in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) focusing on PM2.5 and its chemical components, BC, UFP and NO2.
This project was funded by the European Commission (FP7-ERC-2010-AdG, ID 268479).
The Human Early-Life Exposome (HELIX) project is a new collaborative research project that aims to implement novel exposure assessment and biomarker methods to characterize early-life exposure to multiple environmental factors and associate these with omics biomarkers and child health outcomes, thus characterizing the “early-life exposome”.