| Terry Pivik, PhD
|
Research Professor in the Department of Pediatrics |
Phone: (501) 364-3346 |
Research Overview
Dr. Pivik is a Senior Investigator and Director of the Human Function Laboratory at the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center and Research Professor in the Department of Pediatrics. In his research, Dr. Pivik uses behavioral assessments and measures of physiologic activities (brain and autonomic measures) to evaluate the effects of specified nutrient intake patterns on brain function, cognitive development and physical health in infants, children and adolescents. Current areas of focus include longitudinal studies evaluating the effects of infant diet (breast-milk, milk-, soy -, and monosaccharide supplemented-formula) on developmental processes from early infancy through adolescence and a series of studies examining the effects of diet, meal patterns and meal frequency on brain function and behavioral dynamics in school children. These latter studies are aimed at identifying nutrition-related correlates of processes important for learning and school performance, such as arousal, attention, and motor behavior.
Key Publications
Pivik, R.T., Dykman, R.A. Endogenous eye blinks in preadolescents: Relationship to information processing and performance. Biological Psychology, 66: 191-219, 2004.
Pivik, R.T., Dykman, R.A. Cardiovascular effects of morning nutrition in preadolescents. Physiology and Behavior, 82: 295-302, 2004.
Pivik, R.T., Dykman, R.A. Skipping breakfast: gender effects on resting heart rate measures in preadolescents. Physiology and Behavior, 89: 270-280, 2006.
Pivik, R.T., Dykman, R.A. Event-related variations in alpha band activity during an attentional task in preadolescents: Effects of morning nutrition. Clinical Neurophysiology, 118: 615-632, 2007.
Pivik, R.T., Dykman, R.A., Jing, H., Gilchrist, J. M., Badger, T.M. The influence of infant diet on early developmental changes in processing human voice speech stimuli: ERP variations in breast and milk formula-fed infants at three and six months after birth. Developmental Neuropsychology, 31: 281-338, 2007.
Research Support
USDA/ARS: Effects of Diet and Nutrition on Psychological/Physiological Functioning in Children