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Examining Prenatal Inflammation and Neurodevelopment in a Longitudinal Fetal-to-Age 9 Imaging Study

Award Number: R01MH122447
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 05/14/2020
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2026

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Examining Prenatal Inflammation and Neurodevelopment in a Longitudinal Fetal-to-Age 9 Imaging Study - PROJECT SUMMARY The association between early inflammation and altered child neurobehavioral development is indisputable, but understanding of neurological phenomena underlying this association is almost entirely lacking. Studies in animals suggest that, even before birth, inflammation acts on developing neural connections to alter the course of development. However, these critical associations remain to be tested in the human brain. Here, we will examine prenatal inflammation, fetal neural programming effects, and child neurodevelopment in a unified framework. We will leverage an existing longitudinal cohort to evaluate whether inflammation in the prenatal period exerts influence over the developing fetal neural connectome, and subsequently increases risk for childhood disorders. We will pair advances in fetal resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) MRI with innovations in tooth-biomarker assays to address prenatal neural-immune interactions, and using advanced modeling techniques will rigorously investigate protective and resilience factors in early life that mitigate maladaptive childhood outcomes. To achieve these objectives, we will attain deciduous tooth samples from children enrolled in a longitudinal neurodevelopmental protocol that included fetal brain RSFC MRI. A new wave of data collection, partially harmonized with the NIH’s Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study protocol, will be conducted at age 9 and will include MRI on the same scanner used prenatally. In these participants, associations between fetal systemic inflammation, fetal brain functional connectivity, and child neurobehavioral development will be examined. Our technique involves high temporal resolution sampling of five inflammatory markers, C reactive protein, Interleukin (IL) 1, 6, 10, TNF-a, across post conception week 15 through postnatal week 12, enabling isolation of sensitive periods and interactive effects. The primary aims of this project are to (i) identify fetal brain connectome abnormalities associated with heightened prenatal inflammation, (ii) characterize long-term brain and behavioral consequences of heightened prenatal inflammation, and (iii) isolate protective factors in the postnatal environment that predict advantageous long- term outcomes. We will thus be able to meaningfully evaluate whether and how prenatal inflammatory events affect functional neurocircuitry of the developing fetal brain, and the long-term neurobehavioral consequences of those associations. Such work would constitute a substantial advance in our understanding of not only the long-term effects of prenatal inflammation, but also the origins of child neurological disorders.


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: 2025 ( Subtotal = $572,309 )
2025	2025	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	5	3/18/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$572,309
														Subtotal = $572,309

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $828,762 )
2024	2024	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	4	2/22/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$745,885
2024	2024	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	4	8/6/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$82,877
														Subtotal = $828,762

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $126,817 )
2023	2023	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	002	3	8/10/2023	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$126,817
2023	2022	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	3/28/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2023	2022	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	3	3/31/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2023	2022	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	003	3	8/15/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $126,817

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $713,658 )
2022	2022	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	3	6/6/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$71,369
2022	2022	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	2/28/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$642,289
														Subtotal = $713,658

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $732,879 )
2021	2021	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	2	3/9/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$732,879
														Subtotal = $732,879

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $828,594 )
2020	2020	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	5/14/2020	NEW	$828,594
														Subtotal = $828,594

Grand Total All Awards = $3,803,019

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Examining Prenatal Inflammation and Neurodevelopment in a Longitudinal Fetal-to-Age 9 Imaging Study

Award Number: R01MH122447

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

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

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 05/14/2020

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2026

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