# Capacity Building for Neurodevelopmental Research on Maya Children’s Language Environment

> **NIH NIH R21** · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $178,581

## Abstract

Project Summary
 This Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant will provide support for `global brain and nervous
system disorders research across the lifespan' via two foci: (1) developing foundations for sustainable neuro-
health research capacity in Mexico's Yucatán state focused on the early years of brain development for
Yucatec Maya children, and (2) improving understanding of influences on Yucatec Maya children's early
language trajectories. Specific Aim 1 is to improve local research capacity at the Mexico-based Solyluna A.C.
to plan, conduct, and disseminate research on language-specific neurodevelopmental function and disorders
among Yucatec Maya children. Specific Aim 2 is to conduct a pilot longitudinal study of the home environment
and its influence on Yucatec Maya children's early language trajectories. For the latter, we use behavioral
measures of Spanish and Mayan language skill, which serve to approximate the cortical structure and function
of language-supporting brain regions.
 To address Aim 1, we engage in two-years of activities designed to develop the research capabilities of
the Solyluna-based team in eight areas: (1) research ethics and human-subject protections, (2) participant
recruitment, screening, enrollment, and maintenance; (3) implementation of child language assessments in
Mayan and Spanish with integrity, (4) development, piloting, and implementation of caregiver questionnaires,
(5) implementation of observational tools to measure the home environment, (6) data-entry, cleaning, and
database management, (7) data analyses and interpretation, and (8) dissemination. These competencies will
be explicitly addressed in six capacity-building workshops and aligned data-analysis working sessions. The
OSU-based team and expert consultants have expertise in all eight areas and also bring substantive
experience aligned to the longitudinal pilot study.
 To address Aim 2, we design, implement, and disseminate a longitudinal pilot study involving 100 3-
year-old Yucatec Maya children and their caregivers. Dyads will participate in study activities over an 18-month
period. Tentatively, we expect to collect a comprehensive caregiver questionnaire at baseline and child
language assessments and home observations at 4 time-points with roughly 4- to 5-month intervals. Home
observations include activities designed to measure caregiver well-being, household hardship, parent-child
interaction quality, and exposure to child-directed talk. Multilevel growth-curve models will be used to
investigate the language trajectories for children captured at four time-points and to examine the contribution of
the home-environment indices to these trajectories.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10538858
- **Project number:** 1R21DC020654-01
- **Recipient organization:** OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Laura M. Justice
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $178,581
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-23 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10538858

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10538858, Capacity Building for Neurodevelopmental Research on Maya Children’s Language Environment (1R21DC020654-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10538858. Licensed CC0.

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