# Long-term language outcomes in children with prenatal virus exposure

> **NIH NIH R01** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $652,506

## Abstract

Abstract
Prenatal exposure to viruses and toxins places a developing fetus at risk for neurodevelopmental, motor, and
sensory deficits that may directly or indirectly impact language ability. To date, most research on prenatal
exposure effects have focused on clearly identifiable sequelae (e.g., microcephaly, hearing loss) that can be
detected shortly after birth. This approach omits the much larger group of children with a history of prenatal
exposure who appeared asymptomatic at birth or during infancy. We have demonstrated that children exposed
to the Zika virus (ZIKV) who were asymptomatic at birth exhibit a slower rate of communicative than cognitive
development during infancy that cannot be explained by nonverbal cognitive delays or peripheral hearing loss.
Our more recent data from exposed and not exposed children during the preschool age indicate group
differences in language and communicative skills. The central hypothesis of the proposed study is that prenatal
viral exposure can result in altered language development in the absence of peripheral hearing loss or
nonverbal cognitive disabilities, that these characteristics become more apparent later in childhood, and can be
predicted by well-selected, sensitive behavioral and physiological measures. Children born during the ZIKV
pandemic in Brazil in 2015-2017 present a unique cohort with objectively documented exposure status. We
have begun study of this well-characterized cohort to evaluate language characteristics and identify auditory
neural markers. This application proposes to characterize the impact of prenatal virus exposure on the
development of language by addressing these specific aims: Specific Aim 1: To comprehensively characterize
language development in school-age children with prenatal exposure to ZIKV. Studies typically have followed
exposed children only through toddlerhood and utilized limited language measures. Emerging data suggest
that language difficulties increase as these children get older despite normal peripheral hearing and typical
cognitive skills. Specific Aim 2: To characterize auditory neural function in children with prenatal ZIKV
exposure. Studies of auditory function to date have focused on peripheral hearing sensitivity, which is rarely
abnormal, and have not systematically examined auditory neural processing, particularly for speech stimuli.
Specific Aim 3: To construct a model that describes concurrent and predictive relationships between language
ability, biological, cognitive, and environmental factors in children with prenatal ZIKV exposure. The proposed
research facilitates collaboration among researchers in the USA and in Brazil who follow some of the largest
cohorts of ZIKV-exposed children in the world. The opportunity to study this well-defined cohort of children will
improve understanding of the impact of prenatal virus exposure on language development and auditory neural
function, inform future studies investigating the effects of prenatal ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10859944
- **Project number:** 1R01DC021698-01
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** LINDA J. HOOD
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $652,506
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-04-01 → 2029-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10859944

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10859944, Long-term language outcomes in children with prenatal virus exposure (1R01DC021698-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10859944. Licensed CC0.

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