A longitudinal study of child development from pregnancy through first 10 years of life

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Human brain development is an intricate, protracted process that begins in the weeks following conception and extends until the third decade of life. In most cases, neurodevelopment proceeds along a typical trajectory; however, maladaptive experiences early in life can alter developmental trajectories, leading to harmful and enduring developmental sequelae. Prenatal hazards might include maternal substance exposure; postnatal hazards might include exposure to parental psychopathology, maltreatment, or excessive stress. These experiences can act singly and synergistically to shape neurodevelopment. Moreover, there are a multitude of factors that determine the extent to which these factors impact development, including their timing, duration, and severity.
To elucidate how various environmental hazards impact development, the NIH-supported Healthy brain and child development (hBCD) study will deploy a harmonized and innovative battery of neuroimaging (MRI, EEG) measures complemented by an armamentarium of behavioral, physiological, and psychological tools (while also collecting a range of biospecimens, including DNA) to understand neurodevelopmental trajectories in a sample of 7,500 mothers and infants recruited in pregnancy and followed for the first decade of life. A quarter of the sample will be comprised of prenatally substance exposed infants; another quarter will be demographically matched to these families but with no substance exposure; and the remaining 50% will be drawn from a representative sample across the US.
In this symposium we will hear from 3 speakers, each summarizing the key measures that will be deployed; a final talk will be devoted to a discussion of the ethics involved in the project.

Sub Unit

• Health, Growth, Injury

Chair

• Charles A. Nelson, Harvard Medical School

Individual Presentations

• Approaches to explore early brain development in the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study: MRI and EEG - Nathan A Fox, University of Maryland - College Park; Presenting Author: Tracy Riggins, University of Maryland - College Park

• Advancing Pragmatic Equitable Assessment Approaches in the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study - Presenting Author: Amanda Sheffield Morris, Oklahoma State University - Tulsa

• The HBCD Study’s Examination of Early Adversity and Strategies to Recruit/Retain Participants Exposed to Adversity - Presenting Author: Brenda Jones Harden, Columbia University

• Ethics of HBCD - Presenting Author: Pilar N Ossorio, University of Wisconsin - Madison