# A Longitudinal Brain and Behavior Study of Autism From Infancy Through Adolescence

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2024 · $2,296,164

## Abstract

Project Summary
This application is a competing continuation of an Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) Network entitled, “A
Longitudinal Brain and Behavior Study of Autism from Infancy through Adolescence”. Prior funding supported a
prospective, longitudinal study that has collected high quality brain imaging and behavior assessments in
children at high- and low- familial risk (HR, LR) for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), starting in infancy, and at
various points at 3-6-9-12-15-24-36 months to 7-11 years of age. Key findings from this network have revealed
that: (1) early brain features of ASD are detectable by 6 months of age, well before diagnosis is possible; (2)
ASD-specific brain and behavior features change substantially throughout early childhood, as ASD emerges;
and (3) brain features in the first year of life are associated with later ASD behaviors and accurately predict ASD
diagnosis in individuals at 24 months of age. The overarching goal of this ACE Network proposal is to extend
into adolescence the follow-up of a prospective cohort of 400 subjects (300 HR; 100 LR) with detailed brain and
behavior assessment between 13-16 years of age. Adolescence is a time of substantial challenges to autistic
individuals. It is the time of peak onset of psychiatric disorders, rates of which are considerably higher in ASD
than in the general population, with particular vulnerabilities in ASD females. Adolescence sets the stage for
transition to early adulthood, a time when decline in daily living skills and worsening outcomes in ASD are
commonly reported. In this application we therefore propose to: (Aim 1) characterize brain and brain-behavior
trajectories in those with ASD, from infancy through adolescence, to gain insights into developmental
mechanisms that inform the timing and targets of intervention; (Aim 2) identify infant-to-school-age brain and
behavior features in those at elevated ASD familial risk, that predict clinically-relevant outcomes in adolescence
and, (3) define the expression of familial ASD risk in adolescent females, identify early childhood markers of
adolescent clinical impairment and, characterize patterns of infant-to-adolescent brain development, in
adolescent females at high familial risk for ASD. This study would be the first prospective examination of brain
and behavior features associated with ASD risk, in the same individuals, from infancy through adolescence. It
has the potential to: (1) inform about the nature and timing of underlying mechanisms and targets of intervention;
(2) elucidate childhood brain and behavior features that predict individual-level, adolescent dysfunction, related
to familial ASD risk; and (3) to provide new insights regarding the expression of ASD risk in adolescent females,
their identification earlier in childhood and associated patterns of brain development. This proposal addresses
“areas of interest” specified in the ACE RFA, including: (1) a focus on under-studied subgroups e.g., individu...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10919227
- **Project number:** 5R01HD055741-18
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Joseph Piven
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $2,296,164
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2007-07-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10919227

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10919227, A Longitudinal Brain and Behavior Study of Autism From Infancy Through Adolescence (5R01HD055741-18). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10919227. Licensed CC0.

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