A multimodal neuroimaging investigation of changes in neural circuitry during early interventions for neurodevelopmental disorders

• Grant number: 18/22396-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2019
• End date: April 30, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Psychiatry
• Principal Investigator: Guilherme Vanoni Polanczyk
• Grantee: Elizabeth Shephard
• Host Institution: Instituto de Psiquiatria Doutor Antonio Carlos Pacheco e Silva (IPq). Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of the proposed fellowship project is to design and implement longitudinal multimodal neuroimaging methods for investigating changes in neural circuitry in infants and young children that are associated with early interventions for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs). Brain activity will be assessed using two neuroimaging techniques, electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near infra-red spectroscopy (fNIRS), to measure brain circuits on complementary spatiotemporal scales. Neuroimaging data will be collected in a prospective longitudinal design with assessments conducted pre- and post- early interventions. These methods will be employed across three randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of early interventions for different neurodevelopmental problems (autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and infants of adolescent mothers living in poverty). Across all three interventions, graph-theoretical and longitudinal statistical analysis methods will be used to compute and analyse pre- vs. post-intervention changes in neural circuitry of the participating infants and young children and assess how those changes relate to improvements in children's cognition, behaviour and symptoms of NDs. The results of this project will yield novel information about the neurobiological effects of currently available early interventions for a range of neurodevelopmental problems, which could be used to promote the use of specific interventions and in supporting public policies for early intervention use in vulnerable populations.

Scientific publications

(10)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ELIZABETH SHEPHARD; MARCELO C. BATISTUZZO; MARCELO Q. HOEXTER; EMILY R. STERN; PEDRO F. ZUCCOLO; CAROLINA Y. OGAWA; RENATA M. SILVA; ANDRE R. BRUNONI; DANIEL L. COSTA; VICTORIA DORETTO; et al. Neurocircuit models of obsessive-compulsive disorder: limitations and future directions for research. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, 2021-06-11. (14/50917-0, 18/22396-7)

SHEPHARD, ELIZABETH; MCEWEN, FIONA S.; EARNEST, THOMAS; FRIEDRICH, NINA; MORTL, ISABELLE; LIANG, HOLAN; WOODHOUSE, EMMA; TYE, CHARLOTTE; BOLTON, PATRICK F.; TEAM, TS2000 STUDY. Oscillatory neural network alterations in young people with tuberous sclerosis complex and associations with co-occurring symptoms of autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. CORTEX, v. 146, p. 50-65, JAN 2022. (18/22396-7)

SHEPHARD, ELIZABETH; ZUCCOLO, PEDRO F.; IDREES, IMAN; GODOY, PRISCILLA B. G.; SALOMONE, ERICA; FERRANTE, CAMILLA; SORGATO, PAOLA; CATAO, LUIS F. C. C.; GOODWIN, AMY; BOLTON, PATRICK F.; et al. Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: The Science of Early-Life Precursors and Interventions for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY, v. 61, n. 2, p. 187-226, FEB 2022. (16/22455-8, 18/22396-7, 19/24819-5)

FARHAT, LUIS C.; BRENTANI, HELENA; DE TOLEDO, VICTOR HUGO CALEGARI; SHEPHARD, ELIZABETH; MATTOS, PAULO; BARON-COHEN, SIMON; THAPAR, ANITA; CASELLA, ERASMO; POLANCZYK, GUILHERME V.. DHD and autism symptoms in youth: a network analysi. JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY, v. 63, n. 2, p. 143-151, FEB 2022. (16/22455-8, 18/22396-7, 19/27680-8)

SHEPHARD, ELIZABETH; STERN, EMILY R.; VAN DEN HEUVEL, ODILE A.; COSTA, DANIEL L. C.; BATISTUZZO, MARCELO C.; GODOY, PRISCILLA B. G.; LOPES, ANTONIO C.; BRUNONI, ANDRE R.; HOEXTER, MARCELO Q.; SHAVITT, ROSELI G.; et al. Toward a neurocircuit-based taxonomy to guide treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY, v. 26, n. 9, p. 4583-4604, SEP 2021. (18/22396-7, 14/50917-0)

SHEPHARD, ELIZABETH; STERN, EMILY R.; VAN DEN HEUVEL, ODILE A.; COSTA, DANIEL L. C.; BATISTUZZO, MARCELO C.; GODOY, PRISCILLA B. G.; LOPES, ANTONIO C.; BRUNONI, ANDRE R.; HOEXTER, MARCELO Q.; SHAVITT, ROSELI G.; et al. Toward a neurocircuit-based taxonomy to guide treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY, JAN 2021. (18/22396-7, 14/50917-0)

PEREIRA ALARCAO, FERNANDA SPEGGIORIN; SHEPHARD, ELIZABETH; FATORI, DANIEL; AMAVEL, RENATA; CHIESA, ANNA; FRACOLLI, LISLAINE; MATIJASEVICH, ALICIA; BRENTANI, HELENA; NELSON, CHARLES A.; LECKMAN, JAMES; et al. Promoting mother-infant relationships and underlying neural correlates: Results from a randomized controlled trial of a home-visiting program for adolescent mothers in Brazil. DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, APR 2021. (16/22455-8, 18/22396-7, 14/50917-0)

FATORI, DANIEL; ZUCCOLO, PEDRO FONSECA; SHEPHARD, ELIZABETH; BRENTANI, HELENA; MATIJASEVICH, ALICIA; ARCHANJO FERRARO, ALEXANDRE; APARECIDA FRACOLLI, LISLAINE; CHIESA, ANNA MARIA; LECKMAN, JAMES; CONSTANTINO MIGUEL, EURIPEDES; et al. A randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of a Nurse Home Visiting Program for Pregnant Adolescents. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 11, n. 1, JUL 13 2021. (16/13451-9, 16/22455-8, 18/22396-7)

ELIZABETH SHEPHARD; MARCELO C. BATISTUZZO; MARCELO Q. HOEXTER; EMILY R. STERN; PEDRO F. ZUCCOLO; CAROLINA Y. OGAWA; RENATA M. SILVA; ANDRE R. BRUNONI; DANIEL L. COSTA; VICTORIA DORETTO; et al. Neurocircuit models of obsessive-compulsive disorder: limitations and future directions for research. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, v. 44, n. 2, p. 187-200, 2021-06-11. (18/22396-7, 14/50917-0)

PEREIRA ALARCAO, FERNANDA SPEGGIORIN; SHEPHARD, ELIZABETH; FATORI, DANIEL; AMAVEL, RENATA; CHIESA, ANNA; FRACOLLI, LISLAINE; MATIJASEVICH, ALICIA; BRENTANI, HELENA; NELSON, CHARLES A.; LECKMAN, JAMES; et al. Promoting mother-infant relationships and underlying neural correlates: Results from a randomized controlled trial of a home-visiting program for adolescent mothers in Brazil. DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, v. 24, n. 6, NOV 2021. (14/50917-0, 18/22396-7, 16/22455-8)