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Precise Functional Characterization of the Developing Infant Brain using a Clinical 7T MRI Scanner

Award Number: R01MH138850
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2031

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Precise Functional Characterization of the Developing Infant Brain using a Clinical 7T MRI Scanner - PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT It has been hypothesized that some neurodevelopmental disabilities may have roots in early development. This early period is one in which our knowledge regarding brain functional organization is limited, while at the same time is also believed to be critical for identifying deviations from normal developmental trajectories. Therefore, a reliable and precise functional characterization of the human brain during the first year of life could be indispensable in the effort to identify individuals who are likely to show atypical developmental trajectories and would be candidates for early intervention, which is thought to be most effective during this early period where brain plasticity is high. To date, the quantitative neuroimaging data that has been generated during this early developmental period has been limited due to the many technical challenges in obtaining high quality data in this cohort. This has resulted in sub-optimal acquisition and post-processing strategies, which are not catered towards the infant brain, but rather simply adopted from adult studies. The FDA has recently approved 7T MRI for clinical use, however, thus far it has not been used in the U.S. for studying the infant brain due to the lack of vendor support and safety guidelines specific to infants. Our preliminary data demonstrate the potential for 7T MRI to advance developmental neuroimaging to levels that could allow researchers to uncover individual specific developmental trajectories, including atypical trajectories that manifest during these early months. With the proposed techniques we will achieve SNR levels that allow us to push the spatial resolution, while not sacrificing sensitivity, of functional images in the infant to voxel sizes that are 2-4 times smaller compared to conventional 3T approaches, which use spatial resolutions that are not proportional to the smaller infant brain. We will use these technological advances to follow developmental trajectories of infants within their first year of life, including infants with agenesis of the corpus callosum, a group at high risk for atypical developmental outcomes. Our unique team of inter-disciplinary investigators that have expertise in MRI safety, MRI protocol development and optimization, and in developmental research, are uniquely positioned to carry out the aims. Further, we will share our insights, including infant appropriate safety limits, with the growing community of 7T sites, to provide a template for safe and optimal scanning of infants at this high field.


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: 2026 ( Subtotal = $615,444 )
2026	2026	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA	2221 UNIVERSITY AVE SE STE 100	MINNEAPOLIS	MN	55414	HENNEPIN	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	7/6/2026	NEW	$615,444
														Subtotal = $615,444

Grand Total All Awards = $615,444

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Precise Functional Characterization of the Developing Infant Brain using a Clinical 7T MRI Scanner

Award Number: R01MH138850

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

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

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2031

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