Moriah Elizabeth Thomason - US grants

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this proposal is to examine the neural correlates of the development of working memory (WM) in children ages 7-12. We will use fMRI to identify brain regions involved in the maintenance of verbal and spatial information in VVM, and parametrically manipulate the amount (load) of information. We will then compare activations found in the children and in young adults (ages 18-30), and use the load manipulation to address issues of age-associated differences in performance. Our initial hypothesis is that children will have less lateralized activations for maintenance of both verbal and spatial information in WM than will adults. Further, we will examine the relation of age-related differences in the hemodynamic basis of the fMRI signal (BOLD signal), and use that information to individually tailor vascular response measures. Finally, functional development will be considered in relation to the integrity of white matter microstructure measured by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We will examine regionally specific DTI correlates of WM capacities in children. The fMRI, DTI, and BOLD measures ought to be informative about how the maintenance of information in WM differs between children and adults. [unreadable] [unreadable]

Abstract Not Provided.

0-11 years old; 12 year old; 21+ years old; Adult; Brain; CRISP; Cell Communication and Signaling; Cell Signaling; Child; Child Youth; Children (0-21); Cognitive; Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects Database; Condition; Encephalon; Encephalons; Funding; Grant; Human, Adult; Human, Child; Individual; Institution; Intracellular Communication and Signaling; Investigators; NIH; National Institutes of Health; National Institutes of Health (U.S.); Nature; Nervous; Nervous System, Brain; Paper; Purpose; Research; Research Personnel; Research Resources; Researchers; Resources; Rest; Signal Transduction; Signal Transduction Systems; Signaling; Source; Structure; Testing; United States National Institutes of Health; adult human (21+); biological signal transduction; blood oxygen level dependent; children; independent component analysis; insight; neural; relating to nervous system; response; twelve year old; youngster

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Serotonin (5-HT) is a key modulatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Early perturbations in the 5-HT system can have widespread and long-lasting behavioral effects. Disrupted 5-HT homeostasis has been implicated in the development of psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders, drug addiction, and autism. Despite the successful characterization of the brain phenotype associated with the allele structure of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene (SLC6A4) in adults, little is known about the developmental emergence of these phenotypes or about how these features interact with HPA function. The primary goal of the proposed study, therefore, is to explore characteristics of brain structure and function that are associated with genetic polymorphisms in a promoter region (5-HTTLPR) of the 5-HTT gene in children and adolescents. Given the relation between these polymorphisms and subsequent disorder, a secondary goal is to examine the possible relations among biological stress reactivity (indexed by cortisol response to stress) genotype, and measures of brain structure and function. The proposed research will combine self-report measures, neuroimaging assessments, indicators of HPA-axis functioning and reactivity, and genotyping to examine children's and adolescents'emotion regulation and reactivity to negative and/or threatening stimuli. Three specific aims are proposed: 1) to examine whether genetic variation in the serotonin transporter gene is associated with developmental changes in brain structure;2) to examine whether genotype moderates patterns of neural activation within brain regions that are involved in the processing of emotional material in children and adolescents;and 3) to examine stress reactivity in children and adolescents with different variants of the serotonin transporter gene. Participants in the proposed project will be 30 normally developing children between 9 and 11 years of age and 30 adolescents between 14 and 16 years of age. This project has significant relevance to public health. Genetic polymorphisms in the 5-HTT gene have been linked to morphological and functional changes in the adult brain that are similar to those that have been found to be associated with various forms of psychopathology (e.g., depression, anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder). By increasing our knowledge of the development of these anomalies, and by also integrating neural and cortisol measures with behavioral data, the proposed studies will provide a stronger scientific basis for understanding and integrating psychological, biological, and genetic aspects of the development of psychopathology.