Funded Projects

The Planning for the HEALthy Early Development Study will contribute to the design and recommended protocol for a future large-scale, multi-site research study to prospectively examine human brain, cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional development of children beginning prenatally through ages 9–10 and to determine the impact of maternal pre- and postnatal substance use on short- and long-term development of children. The planning study will link investigators across 6 research sites who have complementary experience and expertise in the areas that are essential to designing the study. Planning activities will be accomplished using a coordinated set of 10 working groups. By the end of the planning phase, the 6 consortium sites will have produced and tested a recommended protocol for the future multi-site study and will have established feasibility of carrying out the study protocol at each of the 6 linked sites.

The first ten years of life are accompanied by rapid changes to the developing brain and cognitive abilities. Complex interacting factors including genetics, early-life exposure to substances, family and social interactions, and home and community environments can affect brain and cognitive development. Three linked projects aim to develop effective research protocols to lay a foundation for a future HEALthy Brain and Cognitive Development (HBCD) birth cohort study. Project 1 will develop protocols for recruitment and retention of a diverse sample of pregnant and postpartum women with oversampling of mothers with prenatal opioid use. Project 2 will identify ethical, legal, and regulatory challenges for investigations in this vulnerable population and define effective solutions to enable recruitment and study of these participants. Project 3 will develop and evaluate protocols for acquiring high-quality, quantitative neuroimaging measures with magnetic resonance imaging and functional near infrared spectroscopy and assess effective strategies for measuring cognitive performance in young children, including those exposed to opioids.

The Planning for the HEALthy Early Development Study will contribute to the design and recommended protocol for a future large-scale, multi-site research study to prospectively examine human brain, cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional development of children beginning prenatally through ages 9–10 and to determine the impact of maternal pre- and postnatal substance use on short- and long-term development of children. The planning study will link investigators across 6 research sites who have complementary experience and expertise in the areas that are essential to designing the study. Planning activities will be accomplished using a coordinated set of 10 working groups. By the end of the planning phase, the 6 consortium sites will have produced and tested a recommended protocol for the future multi-site study and will have established feasibility of carrying out the study protocol at each of the 6 linked sites.

Rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome have reached a staggering 6.5 per 1,000 births nationwide, creating an urgent need to identify how in-utero exposure to opioids and associated risk factors influence the developing brain. A multidisciplinary team will address these challenges in Oregon, a state particularly hard hit by the opioid epidemic. Through linking sites, the impact of the Phase I project is enhanced and will provide critical information to support a national-level effort for Phase II of the HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study. Aim 1 will develop, implement, and evaluate innovative recruitment and retention strategies for high-risk populations. Aim 2 will address anticipated challenges of the planned Phase II study by implementing and evaluating a multi-site, standardized research protocol including multimodal MRI of placenta, fetus, neonate, and 24-month-old brain; biospecimen collection; and assessment of substance use and other key domains. Aim 3 will evaluate data acquisition, processing, and statistical considerations to maximize data quality, usability, and integration across sites.

Despite increased efforts to understand the neurodevelopmental sequelae of in utero opioid and other substance exposure on long-term behavioral, cognitive, and societal outcomes, important questions remain, specifically, 1) How is brain growth disrupted by fetal substance and related pre- and post-natal exposures? and 2) How are these disrupted growth patterns causally related to later cognitive and behavioral outcomes? This project seeks to formulate an approach to addressing these key questions and decipher the individual and cumulative effect of these intertwined pre- and post-natal exposures on child neurodevelopment. First, researchers will address the legal, ethical, and mother-child care and support concerns implicit in this study. Next, they will integrate across our areas of neuroimaging expertise to develop, implement, and harmonize a multi-modal MRI and EEG protocol to assess maturing brain structure, function, and connectivity. Finally, researchers will develop and test advanced statistical approaches to model and analyze this multidimensional and longitudinal data.

A more than 5-fold increase in the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome has been reported since 2000. Preliminary studies show that prenatal opioid exposure is associated with increased risk of impaired neurodevelopment. Five institutions (Duke University, Arkansas Children’s Research Institute, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) have formed a consortium to develop strategies for the Phase II HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study. Research teams will develop instruments and strategies (recruitment/retention protocols, assessment batteries, and novel tools); conduct pilot studies (fetal and postnatal imaging, advanced imaging harmonization and quality control, assessment administration, biosampling) to evaluate instruments; and analyze available data, including imaging, behavioral, cognitive, and maternal data from studies on early brain development, to guide the Phase II study design. Upon completion, the consortium aims to conduct the Phase II study.

Despite increased efforts to understand the neurodevelopmental sequelae of in utero opioid and other substance exposure on long-term behavioral, cognitive, and societal outcomes, important questions remain, specifically, 1) How is brain growth disrupted by fetal substance and related pre- and post-natal exposures? and 2) How are these disrupted growth patterns causally related to later cognitive and behavioral outcomes? This project seeks to formulate an approach to addressing these key questions and decipher the individual and cumulative effect of these intertwined pre- and post-natal exposures on child neurodevelopment. First, researchers will address the legal, ethical, and mother-child care and support concerns implicit in this study. Next, they will integrate across our areas of neuroimaging expertise to develop, implement, and harmonize a multi-modal MRI and EEG protocol to assess maturing brain structure, function, and connectivity. Finally, researchers will develop and test advanced statistical approaches to model and analyze this multidimensional and longitudinal data.

A more than 5-fold increase in the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome has been reported since 2000. Preliminary studies show that prenatal opioid exposure is associated with increased risk of impaired neurodevelopment. Five institutions (Duke University, Arkansas Children’s Research Institute, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) have formed a consortium to develop strategies for the Phase II HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study. Research teams will develop instruments and strategies (recruitment/retention protocols, assessment batteries, and novel tools); conduct pilot studies (fetal and postnatal imaging, advanced imaging harmonization and quality control, assessment administration, biosampling) to evaluate instruments; and analyze available data, including imaging, behavioral, cognitive, and maternal data from studies on early brain development, to guide the Phase II study design. Upon completion, the consortium aims to conduct the Phase II study.