Lifespan Baby Connectome Project

Study Overview

The LifeSpan Baby Connectome Project (BCP) will explore human brain development from birth through early childhood, focusing on factors that contribute to healthy brain development.  

A total of 500 typically developing children between birth and five years of age will be recruited across two data collection sites in a sequential cohort, accelerated longitudinal study design. The participants are divided into two main groups, longitudinal (n=285) and cross-sectional (n=215) groups, respectively. This hybrid longitudinal and cross-sectional design enables detailed characterization of early brain development from both brain structural/functional and behavioral aspects, balances between advantages offered by a longitudinal design and attribution rate, and accommodates the relatively short funding duration. Enrollment will include an equal proportion of males and females. The racial/ethnic diversity of the sample will reflect US Census data. Our team has also developed novel imaging analysis tools capable of providing quantitative measures of early brain development. We will integrate all of these novel pediatric imaging analysis tools onto HCP pipelines.

Principal Investigators

Jed Elison

Jed Elison, Ph.D. - UMinn Principal Investigator

Weili Lin

Weili Lin, Ph.D. - UNC Principal Investigator

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