Protocol Overview

Data being collected

Data will be collected at the two sites, University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill and University of Minnesota (UMN).  Both sites are using a Siemens Prisma 3T scanner.

• Standard HCP demographics
• Imaging:  The BCP will adhere to the LifeSpan protocol as much as possible, but since the age range of the study cohort differs substantially from the other HCP projects, modifications have been made to reduce total data acquisition time.  Data will be collected at two sites, UNC and UMN, using a Siemens 3T Prisma (32-channel coil) at both sites.  The imaging modalities are structural, diffusion, and functional (resting state). 
• Behavioral Assessments: Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VAS-II), Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), Children’s Social Understanding Scale (CSUS), MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MCDI), Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R), Early Childhood Behavioral Questionnaire (ECBQ), Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (ITSEA), Preschool Child Behavioral Checklist (P-CBCL), Preschool-Aged Strengths and Differences (SDQ), Family interview for Genetic Studies (FIGS), Major Life Events Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI), Repetitive Behavior Scales
• Neuropsychological Battery: Minnesota Executive Functional Scale (MEFS), Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL), and Dimensional Joint Attention Assessment (DJAA)
• Clinical:  Genetics/EpiGenetics, saliva samples.

Study Aims

• Aim 1 will be to acquire regulatory approval, establish training/validation of behavioral assessments, modify the standard Siemens 32-channel head coil, recruit subjects, and establish the imaging/behavioral assessments.
• Aim 2 will be to optimize the imaging protocol implementation and validation, complete the imaging human traveling phantom, and establish quality assurance and quality control procedures.
• Aim 3 will be to complete the integration of the image analysis tools into HCP pipelines and conduct user evaluation of image analysis tool integration and refinement.
• Aim 4 will be to deposit images and behavioral data into the CCF and host the Baby Connectome Website.

Cohort Description

The study includes of 500 participants ranging in age from birth to 5 years of age.  Each participant will complete 4-6 visits.

Data Release Plans

Data releases will occur on an ongoing basis starting in the second year of the project.

Keywords

Lifespan, babies, pediatric, connectome, epigenetics, early brain development, developing children, early child

For More Information

Visit www.babyconnectomeproject.org