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Neonatal Cry Acoustics and Neurobehavioral Characteristics as Early Markers of Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Award Number: R01MH121345
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/26/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2025

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Neonatal Cry Acoustics and Neurobehavioral Characteristics as Early Markers of Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Autism Spectrum Disorders (autism) has significant and long term effects on the lives of children and their families. Reliable diagnosis of autism is not possible until 2 years of age or later, and there are no currently available methods to screen for autism in early infancy. Preliminary evidence suggests that children with autism may be characterized by atypical features of cry and neurobehavior during early infancy. Previous research has identified atypicalities in vocal production in older children with autism, and unusual acoustic features of infant cry would be consistent with such findings from early childhood. One barrier to the acoustic analysis of newborn cry has been the lack of a computerized cry analysis system based on modern technology. Our lab has developed a new cry analysis system based on state-of-the-art signal processing that can be used to study acoustic characteristics of cry that could relate to risk for autism. Our group has also developed the NNNS, a widely used and well validated neurobehavioral exam for infants in the newborn period. Preliminary findings point to a set of cry and neurobehavioral features from these measures that was able to differentiate a sample of infants later diagnosed with autism from non-autistic infants included in a longitudinal, heterogeneous, child development study. Other preliminary findings support the hypothesis that infant cry and neurobehavior are affected in infants with later autism diagnoses. In the proposed project, we will utilize cry and neurobehavioral assessments that are being collected as part of unique pregnancy and birth cohort at a large regional hospital. It is anticipated that up to up to 5,000 infants will be enrolled and followed longitudinally. A 2-stage screening and evaluation process will identify children with autism by 24 to 36 months of age. Ongoing analyses will be conducted to identify neonatal cry and neurobehavioral characteristics that are associated with risk for autism using signal detection methods and complex conditional statistical models. This project is of high significance and has the potential to have substantial impact on public health by identifying potential indicators of risk for autism. The long term impact of this research would be on the development of early screening and early interventions for infants at risk for autism.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $579,470 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM	121 UNIVERSITY HALL	COLUMBIA	MO	65211	BOONE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	6	7/11/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$579,470
														Subtotal = $579,470

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2023	2022	UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM	121 UNIVERSITY HALL	COLUMBIA	MO	65211	BOONE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	004	5	7/3/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2023	2022	UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM	121 UNIVERSITY HALL	COLUMBIA	MO	65211	BOONE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	002	5	11/17/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$442,956
2023	2021	WOMEN & INFANTS HOSPITAL OF RHODE ISLAND	101 DUDLEY ST	PROVIDENCE	RI	02905	PROVIDENCE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	3	11/17/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$1
2023	2021	UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM	121 UNIVERSITY HALL	COLUMBIA	MO	65211	BOONE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	003	4	11/17/2022	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$1
2023	2020	WOMEN & INFANTS HOSPITAL OF RHODE ISLAND	101 DUDLEY ST	PROVIDENCE	RI	02905	PROVIDENCE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	2	11/17/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$442,956
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $356,252 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM	316 UNIVERSITY HALL	COLUMBIA	MO	65211	BOONE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	002	5	7/26/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$356,252
2022	2021	UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM	316 UNIVERSITY HALL	COLUMBIA	MO	65211	BOONE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	4	4/28/2022	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$860,181
2022	2021	WOMEN & INFANTS HOSPITAL OF RHODE ISLAND	101 DUDLEY ST	PROVIDENCE	RI	02905	PROVIDENCE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	4/28/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$860,181
														Subtotal = $356,252

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $860,182 )
2021	2021	WOMEN & INFANTS HOSPITAL OF RHODE ISLAND	101 DUDLEY ST	PROVIDENCE	RI	02905	PROVIDENCE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	7/12/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$860,182
														Subtotal = $860,182

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $862,357 )
2020	2020	WOMEN & INFANTS HOSPITAL OF RHODE ISLAND	101 DUDLEY ST	PROVIDENCE	RI	02905	PROVIDENCE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	2	7/8/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$862,357
2020	2019	WOMEN & INFANTS HOSPITAL OF RHODE ISLAND	101 DUDLEY ST	PROVIDENCE	RI	02905	PROVIDENCE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	12/31/2019	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $862,357

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $753,899 )
2019	2019	WOMEN & INFANTS HOSPITAL OF RHODE ISLAND	101 DUDLEY ST	PROVIDENCE	RI	02905	PROVIDENCE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	9/6/2019	NEW	$753,899
														Subtotal = $753,899

Grand Total All Awards = $3,412,160

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Neonatal Cry Acoustics and Neurobehavioral Characteristics as Early Markers of Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Award Number: R01MH121345

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/26/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2025

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