# MINDS Imaging Ancillary Study

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2020 · $526,873

## Abstract

Dramatic advances in management of congenital heart disease (CHD) have improved survival to
adulthood from <10% in the 1960's to nearly 90% in the current era. With this shifting demographic, adult CHD
(ACHD) patients now outnumber pediatric CHD patients.1 ACHD patients demonstrate domain-specific
neurocognitive deficits such as impairment in executive function, associated with reduced quality of life that
includes deficits in educational attainment and social interaction.2-7 These deficits are related to risk factors
that can occur across the lifespan, including genetic abnormalities, cumulative hypoxic/ischemic injury, and,
adult-onset atherosclerotic cerebrovascular disease. Our overarching hypothesis is that ACHD patients
exhibit vascular brain injury and structural/physiological brain alterations that are predictive of specific
neurocognitive deficits, including executive dysfunction, which are modified by behavioral and environmental
enrichment proxies of CR (e.g., level of education and lifestyle/social habits). We propose an ancillary study to
the NHLBI-funded Pediatric Heart Network (PHN) “Multi-Institutional Neurocognitive Discovery Study (MINDS)
in Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD).” We will leverage the MINDS-ACHD parent study data (i.e., NIH
Toolbox neuropsychological battery/clinical data/biological samples) and our established neuroimaging
harmonization, which we currently use for the PHN Single Ventricle Reconstruction (SVRIII) multi-center brain
connectome study (R01-HL128818; PI-Panigrahy), to measure neuroimaging biomarkers in ACHD patients at
the same PHN sites. Our specific aims are: Specific Aim #1 (brain injury): To determine if vascular-related
brain injury (cortical infarcts, hemosiderin lesions, and white matter hyperintensity) is associated with specific
neurocognitive deficits (e.g. NIH Toolbox total composite score) in ACHD patients. Specific Aim #2 (brain
structure): To determine if reduced fronto-temporal cortical thickness and white matter connectivity are
associated with specific neurocognitive deficits (e.g. NIH Toolbox frontal executive sub-score) in ACHD
patients. Specific Aim #3 (brain physiology): To determine if reduced cerebrovascular reserve (regional
cerebral blood flow/ resting BOLD imaging) is associated with specific neurocognitive deficits (e.g. NIH Toolbox
crystallized composite score) in ACHD patients. Specific Aim #4 (cognitive reserve): To determine if the
associations between neuroimaging biomarkers and neurocognitive outcomes in ACHD patients are modified
by behavioral and environmental enrichment proxies of CR, using traditional statistical models and machine
learning techniques. Given the paucity of multi-modal neuroimaging studies in ACHD, our proposed study
addresses a major knowledge gap in the ACHD population by providing insight into the mechanism underlying
impaired neurocognitive outcomes. Our study will provide structural-physiological correlates of neurocognitive
outcomes, represe...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10001823
- **Project number:** 1R01HL152740-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Michelle Gurvitz
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $526,873
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-06-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10001823

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10001823, MINDS Imaging Ancillary Study (1R01HL152740-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10001823. Licensed CC0.

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