Abstract
The vast individual differences in the developmental origins of risk and resilience pathways combined with sophisticated capabilities of big data science increasingly point to the imperative of large, neurodevelopmental consortia to capture population heterogeneity and key variations in developmental trajectories. At the same time, such large-scale population-based designs involving multiple independent sites also must weigh competing demands. For example, the need for efficient, scalable assessment strategies must be balanced with the need for nuanced, developmentally sensitive phenotyping optimized for linkage to neural mechanisms and specification of common and distinct exposure pathways. Standardized epidemiologic batteries designed for this purpose such as PhenX (consensus measures for Phenotypes and eXposures) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox provide excellent “off the shelf” assessment tools that are well-validated and enable cross-study comparability. However, these standardized toolkits can also constrain ability to leverage advances in neurodevelopmental measurement over time, at times disproportionately advantaging established measures. In addition, individual consortia often expend exhaustive effort “reinventing the wheel,” which is inefficient and fails to fully maximize potential synergies with other like initiatives. To address these issues, this paper lays forth an early childhood neurodevelopmental assessment strategy, guided by a set of principles synthesizing developmental and pragmatic considerations generated by the Neurodevelopmental Workgroup of the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Planning Consortium. These principles emphasize characterization of both risk- and resilience-promoting processes. Specific measurement recommendations to HBCD are provided to illustrate application. However, principles are intended as a guiding framework to transcend any particular initiative as a broad neurodevelopmentally informed, early childhood assessment strategy for large-scale consortia science.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 247-267 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Adversity and Resilience Science |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2020 |
Funding
Support for the work described in this manuscript came from a series of NIH R34s awarded to the University’s where each author resides. https://heal.nih.gov/research/infants-and-children/healthy-brain . In addition, support for Beth Planalp was provided by her K01, MH113710. Support for Lauren Shuffrey was supported by a T32, T32MH016434. The HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study will be a longitudinal, nation-wide study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It will characterize normative infant brain and behavioral development, and early life factors that influence growth and development and deviations from birth to middle childhood. The study will include a representative cohort to examine normative brain development, oversampling for exposure to opioids and other substances, and other chronic stressors with intent to elucidate developmental origins of health disparities. This multi-site study will recruit and assess mothers prenatally, and regular assessments are planned throughout childhood. Importantly, the HBCD study will be the first and largest longitudinal consortium explicitly designed to prospectively examine the effects of early life stress and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), as well as protective factors and resilience processes beginning during pregnancy, that impact structural and functional brain development and outcomes in a diverse sample of children. Moreover, data from the HBCD study will be de-identified and available to the broader research community.
Keywords
- Early childhood
- HBCD
- Infancy
- Neurodevelopmental assessment
- Pragmatic assessment
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Psychology (miscellaneous)
