# Sleep Cortical Dynamics and Neurobehavioral Risk in Children and Adolescents:  A Longitudinal Study

> **NIH NIH R01** · PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV HERSHEY MED CTR · 2020 · $383,626

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Adolescence is a developmental stage of physical and psychological maturation that is preceded by and
includes changes in sleep. It is also a critical period associated with the onset of psychiatric disorders.
However, how a child's sleeping brain predicts the development of psychopathology, including neurocognitive
and emotional disorders, later on during adolescence remains poorly understood. In order to bridge this gap,
we have collected preliminary data that suggests that changes in brain activity during specific sleep periods
and stages of sleep are significantly associated with sleep disorders and executive deficits and internalizing
symptoms in children, adolescents and young adults. Importantly, this project will expand on our previous work
in this area by giving us the opportunity to conduct longitudinal analyses of the Penn State Child Cohort, a
population-based sample of 700 young children, who participated in a comprehensive sleep study, and
neurocognitive, behavioral and medical assessment. This study will provide us with novel findings on the
association of changes in brain activity during sleep, typically neglected in routine clinical practice, with
cognitive and emotional processes that are present across multiple psychiatric disorders. It will also enable us
to test the novel hypothesis that changes in brain activity during sleep are associated with increased risk for
the development of neurocognitive disorders and psychopathology during this important transitional period.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9917824
- **Project number:** 5R01MH118308-02
- **Recipient organization:** PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV HERSHEY MED CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Julio Fernandez-Mendoza
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $383,626
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-17 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9917824

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9917824, Sleep Cortical Dynamics and Neurobehavioral Risk in Children and Adolescents:  A Longitudinal Study (5R01MH118308-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9917824. Licensed CC0.

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