# Brain structure and function in infants

> **NIH NIH R01** · CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA · 2020 · $685,555

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Although hypotheses have been advanced concerning the role of structural brain maturation as
determinants of changes in neural function, specific morphophysiologic correlations and their
developmental trajectories have not been experimentally validated. Our previous multimodal
brain imaging studies examining young children and adolescents provide evidence that brain
development involves straightforward brain structure-function mechanistic relations. Given that
whole-head infant MEG and high-resolution multi-band diffusion and structural MRI are now
available, we are at an important time in the history of developmental neurobiology and imaging,
ideally positioned to begin developing, testing, and refining models of brain structure-function
relations. In addition to understanding brain structure-function associations, a primary goal is the
identification of infant brain measures that best predict future brain function (and behavior) and
thus the identification of prognostic brain biomarkers for future studies.
The above is accomplished via a dense longitudinal design (5 points over 12months) and the
use of passive MEG tasks that allow assessment of brain activity in infants. Primary sensory
areas are targeted as it is through the maturation of primary sensory regions (not frontal lobes)
that infants first experience the world. The neural signal correlates assessed are selected as
these measures indicate how rapidly and efficiently infants encode sensory information, and
with our child and adolescent studies demonstrating that (1) these neural measures change as
a function of age, (2) underlying neural processes mature more slowly in individuals with
neurodevelopmental disorders, and (3) in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
these neural measures predict functional outcome. Examining brain structure and function in
primary auditory, somatosensory, and visual cortical areas (115 infants recruited), we will show
that development of fundamental sensory encoding processes is structurally constrained by
mechanistic features: (1) age-related increases in white-matter maturation allowing faster neural
signal propagation, and (2) age-related increases in gray-matter cortical thickness providing
more active neural networks. Behavioral measures will also be obtained to allow exploration of
associations between the most sensitive brain measures and behavior. It is our hope that via a
longitudinal study we can identify brain biomarkers that predict future brain function, with use of
these biomarkers in future studies to identify children at risk for neurodevelopmental disorders
as well as to identify lines of therapeutic intervention and then finally to use the biomarkers to
measure response to therapy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9999346
- **Project number:** 5R01HD093776-03
- **Recipient organization:** CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA
- **Principal Investigator:** James Christopher EDGAR
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $685,555
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9999346

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9999346, Brain structure and function in infants (5R01HD093776-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9999346. Licensed CC0.

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