1995 |
Aylward, Elizabeth H |
R03Activity Code Description: To provide research support specifically limited in time and amount for studies in categorical program areas. Small grants provide flexibility for initiating studies which are generally for preliminary short-term projects and are non-renewable. |
Mri and Neuropathology Correlations in Hiv Dementia @ Johns Hopkins University
The proposed project is designed to address two important issues in neuroimaging and HIV research. The first involves the validation of volumetric neuroimaging measures through the comparison of (a) measures obtained on MRI scans of fixed brains, (b) known water-displacement volumes of these brains, (c) measures obtained on digitized images of the fixed brain slices, and (d) measures obtained through stereological analysis of the fixed brain slices. The second involves examination of the relationship between measures of cerebral atrophy (from both MRI and neuropathological examination) and neuronal counts in specific regions. Brains will be obtained from 10 HIV+ individuals with clinical diagnoses ranging from normal neurological/neuropsychological functioning to severe dementia. The brains will be formalin fixed, and water displacement volumes will be obtained. Using a technique already developed by our group, the brains will then be embedded in gelatin, scanned according to a standard MR protocol, and sliced at the same angle and thickness as the MRI scan. Volumetric measures of whole brain, total gray matter, total white matter, neocortex within each lobe, and basal ganglia will be obtained from the scans, using procedures already established in our lab. The cut surfaces of the fixed brain slices will be digitized, and volumes will be obtained from the digitized images of the slices, using procedures similar to those used for the MRI scans. The embedded slices will then be subjected to stereological analysis in order to obtain volumetric measures of whole brain, total gray matter, total white matter, neocortex within each lobe, and basal ganglia. The slices will then be fractionated for further stereological analysis, which will yield estimation of neuronal numbers in each of these brain regions. Neuronal counts will be correlated with atrophy measures in each region.
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0.939 |
1996 — 2005 |
Aylward, Elizabeth H |
P01Activity Code Description: For the support of a broadly based, multidisciplinary, often long-term research program which has a specific major objective or a basic theme. A program project generally involves the organized efforts of relatively large groups, members of which are conducting research projects designed to elucidate the various aspects or components of this objective. Each research project is usually under the leadership of an established investigator. The grant can provide support for certain basic resources used by these groups in the program, including clinical components, the sharing of which facilitates the total research effort. A program project is directed toward a range of problems having a central research focus, in contrast to the usually narrower thrust of the traditional research project. Each project supported through this mechanism should contribute or be directly related to the common theme of the total research effort. These scientifically meritorious projects should demonstrate an essential element of unity and interdependence, i.e., a system of research activities and projects directed toward a well-defined research program goal. |
Neuroimaging in Huntingtons Disease @ Johns Hopkins University
neurophysiology; Huntington's disease; neuroanatomy; brain imaging /visualization /scanning; histopathology; cerebral degeneration; neuropsychological tests; longitudinal human study; nucleic acid repetitive sequence; bioimaging /biomedical imaging; human subject; magnetic resonance imaging;
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0.939 |
2001 |
Aylward, Elizabeth H |
P01Activity Code Description: For the support of a broadly based, multidisciplinary, often long-term research program which has a specific major objective or a basic theme. A program project generally involves the organized efforts of relatively large groups, members of which are conducting research projects designed to elucidate the various aspects or components of this objective. Each research project is usually under the leadership of an established investigator. The grant can provide support for certain basic resources used by these groups in the program, including clinical components, the sharing of which facilitates the total research effort. A program project is directed toward a range of problems having a central research focus, in contrast to the usually narrower thrust of the traditional research project. Each project supported through this mechanism should contribute or be directly related to the common theme of the total research effort. These scientifically meritorious projects should demonstrate an essential element of unity and interdependence, i.e., a system of research activities and projects directed toward a well-defined research program goal. |
Neuroimaging in Huntington's Disease @ Johns Hopkins University
DESCRIPTION (from the applicant's abstract): The purpose of this project is to continue our use of quantitative measures from MRI to chart the longitudinal course of atrophy in specific brain structures at all stages of HD, as well as to develop new functional MRI techniques for studying activity of basal ganglia during tasks that elicit performance deficits in HD subjects. A major focus of this work is the development and validation of methodologies that can be used as outcome measures in future treatment trials, for both symptomatic and presymptomatic individuals who carry the HD gene mutation. We expect to demonstrate that volumetric MRI measures of basal ganglia are as good or better than the clinical measures currently used as outcome measures in clinical trials with symptomatic HD patients, and that MRI measures will be better than clinical measures for trials that involve presymptomatic carriers of the HD gene mutation. Furthermore, we hypothesize that functional MRI measures may be even more sensitive than volumetric measures to the earliest changes in basal ganglia in the presymptomatic stages of HD. The data collected in the proposed project should allow us to determine when basal ganglia abnormalities begin, which may be a good indicator of when treatment should begin. We will also compare rates of longitudinal change for the structural and functional MRI measures with rates of change for clinical and neuropsychological measures, to determine the relative strength of each of these variables as outcome measures in clinical trials at different stages of disease progression. By determining associations between decline in clinical, behavioral, and neuropsychological functions with changes in structural and functional measures that may deteriorate at different rates and at different points during the course of the illness, we will be able to provide a more complete picture of brain-behavior relationships in HD, which, in turn, will help us understand more fully brain-behavior relationships in general.
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0.939 |
2003 — 2007 |
Aylward, Elizabeth H |
U54Activity Code Description: To support any part of the full range of research and development from very basic to clinical; may involve ancillary supportive activities such as protracted patient care necessary to the primary research or R&D effort. The spectrum of activities comprises a multidisciplinary attack on a specific disease entity or biomedical problem area. These differ from program project in that they are usually developed in response to an announcement of the programmatic needs of an Institute or Division and subsequently receive continuous attention from its staff. Centers may also serve as regional or national resources for special research purposes, with funding component staff helping to identify appropriate priority needs. |
Electrophysiological and Fmri Studies of Social Cognition in Autism @ University of Washington
We propose to study the brain bases of one of the most basic aspects of social cognition, face processing. Parallel studies utilizing event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will provide information about abnormalities in the timing and regional distribution of brain response to faces in autism. Twenty-five adults with idiopathic autism and 25 IQ- and age-matched typical individuals will participate in each study. These studies will examine ERP and flVIRI in response to face vs. nonface visual stimuli, to specific face parts (eyes vs. mouths), to moving vs. static face parts, and to familiar vs. unfamiliar faces. Separate eye-tracking studies on the same individuals will examine eye movements during viewing of different types of face stimuli. We will test a novel hypothesis that abnormalities in face processing in autism are related to atypical attentional strategies when viewing faces. Results of the ERP, fMRI, and eye-tracking studies will also be correlated with performance on neuropsychological tests of face perception and memory, and behavioral measures of social impairment. These studies will shed light on the nature and neural bases of face processing impairments in autism. Such information is clinically important for early identification, development of targeted interventions, and investigation of the genetic basis of autism. There is strong evidence of a genetic component in autism, and we expect that this research will lead to more refined measures of quantitative traits that can be used in genetic studies.
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1 |
2007 |
Aylward, Elizabeth H |
U54Activity Code Description: To support any part of the full range of research and development from very basic to clinical; may involve ancillary supportive activities such as protracted patient care necessary to the primary research or R&D effort. The spectrum of activities comprises a multidisciplinary attack on a specific disease entity or biomedical problem area. These differ from program project in that they are usually developed in response to an announcement of the programmatic needs of an Institute or Division and subsequently receive continuous attention from its staff. Centers may also serve as regional or national resources for special research purposes, with funding component staff helping to identify appropriate priority needs. |
Uw Autism Research Center of Excellence @ University of Washington
The UW STAART Center will address the following overall objectives: (1) To determine social, linguistic, neuropsychological, and electrophysiological characteristics that distinguish very young children with autism from children with developmental delay and those with typical development. Such research will enhance our ability to recognize autism early in life so that children with autism can be helped as early as possible, and their long-term outcome can be improved (Projects I and II). (2) To assess the efficacy of early intensive behavioral intervention for improving outcomes for children with autism, and to determine whether child neurocognitive factors moderate the effects of early intervention. Such knowledge will inform decisions regarding individualized interventions, elucidate brain mechanisms, and shed light on questions related to brain plasticity (Project I). (3) To increase our understanding of the neurobiological bases of autism by studying abnormalities in brain structure (via magnetic resonance imaging) and brain chemistry (via magnetic resonance spectroscopy) in very young children with autism, as compared to children with developmental delay and those with typical development (Project III). (4) To enhance our understanding of the cognitive neuroscience of autism by studying core social cognition impairments in high-functioning individuals with autism using event related brain potentials and functional magnetic resonance imaging. This information is relevant for early identification, development of more refined interventions, and measurement of quantitative genetic traits (Project IV). (5) To conduct molecular biology studies aimed at gene discovery in autism. Identification of susceptibility genes in autism is important for early identification, prevention, and medical treatment (Project V).
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