Refinement of Brain Mechanisms Underlying the Development - Adolescent Arm

STUDY BASICS

Are you the parent of a healthy 10-17 year old? You and your child may be eligible for a research study to help us understand how the normal brain “grows-up.” Compensation is provided.

STUDY PURPOSE

We are interested in learning how teenagers’ brains change as they get older and become adults. We want to learn about how one’s memory and the ability to plan and control one’s actions changes. We want to look at these skills with computer-based tasks in adolescents and adults. We want to see how the brain works during these tasks using two different techniques. We will use magnetic resonance imaging [MRI, including functional MRI (“fMRI”)]. The fMRI pictures indicate which parts of the brain are active while your child performs different tasks.

COULD THIS STUDY BE RIGHT FOR YOUR CHILD?

Eligible participants are:

• Healthy children ages 10-17

WHAT PARTICIPANTS CAN EXPECT

On the first day of the study, your child will come to the Loeffler Building for a behavioral visit. This part of the study will take about 3-4 hours. We will ask your child to do the following tasks: a brief IQ screen (an intelligence test that takes about 15 minutes), fill out questionnaires and answer some questions about their health and behavior, and complete varied thinking tests on a computer. This study also involves questionnaires and brain scans. Brain imaging studies will be done at the MRRC system at Presbyterian Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland. This part of the study takes a total of about 2.5 hours, including talking to the nurse, practicing the tasks, and the scan. Time in the scanner is approximately 1.5 hours. 

Participants will come in for two visits at each time point – baseline, 18-months, and 36-months.