# Attention-based neural response to threat moderates the expression of BI

> **NIH NIH F32** · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · 2021 · $67,194

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Research Project: Behavioral Inhibition (BI) is a behavioral trait marked by enhanced
discomfort during novel situations, such as going to a new place or meeting a new person.
Though BI has been recognized as one of the strongest early indicators of social anxiety
disorders later in childhood, many toddlers with BI do not go onto develop an internalizing
disorder. To better understand the multiple outcomes of this risk marker the present study
leverages a large (N = 326) pre-established longitudinal study to examine the underlying
cognitive and neural processes of BI, specifically aberrant threat responding. To this end, I will
assess the relation between BI (assessed at infancy and toddlerhood) and anxiety symptoms
(assessed at 3 and 5 years of age; aim 1). Next, I will determine the link between attention-
based neural response to threat and anxiety symptoms using a simultaneous functional Near-
Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) and eye tracking paradigm (aim 2). Finally, I will examine if and
how individual differences in attention based neural responding moderates the expression of BI
to predict childhood anxiety symptomology (aim 3). This investigation is of great relevance to
public health because approximately one in three Americans will develop an anxiety disorder
during their lifetime. Therefore, understanding core processes prior to and during the time when
symptoms of anxiety disorders first emerge provides a tractable approach to disrupting anxiety
trajectories across the lifespan.
Training: The unparalleled training and mentorship provided by Sponsor Nelson (expert in
developmental cognitive neuroscience) and Co-Sponsor Bosquet Enlow (expert in childhood
anxiety disorders) at Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical school will bolster my
methodological and theoretical knowledge in order to best prepare me to secure and
successfully carryout a tenure track position at a research university.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10312941
- **Project number:** 1F32HD105312-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Caroline M. Kelsey
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $67,194
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10312941

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10312941, Attention-based neural response to threat moderates the expression of BI (1F32HD105312-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10312941. Licensed CC0.

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