# 4:4 Investigation of opioid exposure and neurodevelopment (iOPEN)

> **NIH NIH R34** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2021 · $228,933

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic represents the most significant environmental event in living history.
Sixty-eight million people worldwide have fallen ill to this disease, and 1.5 million people have died. Amongst
those at greatest risk are society’s most vulnerable populations, including pregnant women and their children.
It is unclear whether and how COVID-19 illness during pregnancy impacts the development of the child, as well
as whether the timing of illness has any influence over this effect. It is also unknown whether environmental
factors may mitigate observed outcomes. The present study will examine neurobehavioral trajectories in 100
children, half of whom will be born to women with COVID-19 infection diagnoses during pregnancy. Infants will
undergo prospective longitudinal assessments at 1-, 6-, 9- and 12-months, including MRI 1 month (N = 50) and
12 months (N = 100). Our central hypotheses are that (1) perinatal COVID-19 leads to differences in infant
attention, affect, myelination, and systems-level neural functional connectivity and that (2) earlier timing of
prenatal infection and illness severity increase risk for developmental delay. We will explore specific
environmental factors with potential influence over the association between maternal prenatal COVID-19
infection and child outcomes, particularly pre- and postnatal psychological health and partner support. We will
thus be able to meaningfully evaluate whether, and how, prenatal COVID-19 illness modifies neurobehavioral
development of infants and will address how variation in maternal psychobiological health influences observed
associations.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10321798
- **Project number:** 3R34DA050287-01S3
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Veerle Bergink
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $228,933
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2021-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10321798

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10321798, 4:4 Investigation of opioid exposure and neurodevelopment (iOPEN) (3R34DA050287-01S3). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10321798. Licensed CC0.

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