MRI study examines young brains to measure impact of mental illness, drug misuse
Teams at 21 locations across the country are using MRI to study 10,000 children from the time they are 9 or 10 years old into young adulthood. Now, according to Science magazine, the researchers will release data for 4,500 participants in an openly accessible, anonymized database.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study will complete its two-year enrollment period later this year. More than 6,800 children are currently enrolled, though researchers hope that number will reach five digits.
"At age 9 and 10 you can get a nice clean baseline assessment on these kids," says Hugh Garavan, a neurobiologist who is the PI at the ABCD Study site at the University of Vermont (UVM) in Burlington. "Then, when someone develops psychosis at 16, we can go back and look at their brains and psychological assessments at 9, 10, 11, and 12. Were there markers of risk there?"
Read the full story at Science:
Nicholas joined TriMed in 2016 as the managing editor of the Chicago office. After receiving his master’s from Roosevelt University, he worked in various writing/editing roles for magazines ranging in topic from billiards to metallurgy. Currently on Chicago’s north side, Nicholas keeps busy by running, reading and talking to his two cats.