# Altered Brain Structure and Function in Adolescents with Behaviorally Acquired HIV

> **NIH NIH K23** · CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA · 2020 · $180,868

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Behaviorally acquired HIV infection during adolescence occurs in the midst of key brain developmental
processes such as frontal lobe neuronal pruning and network selection. While incident HIV cases declined by
19% in the U.S. over the last decade, there was an 87% increase in new infections among subsets of 13-24
year-old youth, who now account for 26% of all new HIV infections. Despite this profound shift in the domestic
epidemic, we know little about the effects of acquired HIV at these ages on brain development.
This application proposes a mentored patient-oriented career development award (K23) for Jennifer McGuire,
MD, MSCE, a Child Neurologist and Epidemiologist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the
University of Pennsylvania. Her long-term goal is to use computational neuroimaging metrics to identify
biomarkers and evaluate therapeutic targets in HIV and other virally-mediated neuroinflammatory disorders.
These markers will be used to test hypotheses regarding specific pathologic mechanisms and potential
interventions to limit brain damage. The objective of this proposal is to train Dr. McGuire in the planning, use,
and analysis of structural and functional neuroimaging measurements correlated with cognitive assessments
as a cross-sectional window into the effects of HIV on the developing brain. The central hypothesis, supported
by related pilot data, is that HIV infection during adolescence has a particularly deleterious effect on vulnerable
actively maturing neural networks. As such, this study hypothesizes that fronto-striatal pathways subserving
executive function will be profoundly negatively impacted functionally and as evidenced by reduced striatal
volumes. Specific aims are therefore to:
1. Define the overall prevalence and subdomain patterns of cognitive impairment in youth with behaviorally
 acquired HIV compared to controls using validated cognitive tests.
2. Determine the difference in striatal volumes in HIV+ youth (with and without cognitive impairment) and
 controls using MRI structural morphometry.
3. Quantify fronto-striatal activation signal as a measure of functional circuitry in HIV+ youth (with and without
 cognitive impairment) and controls using functional MRI (fMRI) activation signal during an executive
 function task (N-back).
The proposed research will be performed in a cross-sectional study of 16-20 year old male and female
Philadelphia youth of all racial and ethnic backgrounds with behaviorally acquired HIV (n=40) compared to
age/sex/demographic/risk factor-matched uninfected controls (n=30). Cognitive testing, structural MRI, and
fMRI will be performed during a single study visit that will include complete medical and medication histories,
neurologic examinations, and immune function assessment on all youth.
The NINDS mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that
knowledge to reduce the burden of neurologic disease. By developi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9975918
- **Project number:** 5K23NS094069-05
- **Recipient organization:** CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer L McGuire
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $180,868
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-08-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9975918

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9975918, Altered Brain Structure and Function in Adolescents with Behaviorally Acquired HIV (5K23NS094069-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9975918. Licensed CC0.

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