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Principal Investigator: Natalie Hiromi Brito
Organization: NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $718,360
Funding agency: National Institute of Mental Health
PROJECT SUMMARY
The prenatal period is regarded as one of the most sensitive phases in human development. Events that occur
during gestation can alter the course of development with lasting impact. Presently, the COVID-19 pandemic is
exerting wide-spread impact on the lives of expectant mothers around the world. Particularly salient pandemic-
related stressors that are being experienced by pregnant women are social isolation and uncertainty stress.
There is ample physiological and behavioral literature showing that social isolation and uncertainty stress affect
typical human and animal psychobiological functioning, but there is an absence of knowledge about how these
conditions might impact the physical and psychological health of a pregnant woman, and what the
consequences of those changes might be for her developing child. The central objective of this proposal is to
build foundational knowledge about the effects of prenatal social isolation and uncertainty stress on maternal
psychobiology and infant neurobehavior. We will explore several candidate physiological systems in the
mother to elucidate mechanisms that underlie associations between maternal stressors and child outcomes.
To achieve these goals, we will recruit 200 women from a large New York City cohort established at the height
of the pandemic into a prospective, longitudinal study that will include pre- and postnatal biospecimen
collection and child neurobehavioral assessments at 6-, 12- and 24 months. Multi-modal neuroimaging
strategies, including infant EEG and quantitative MRI, and innovative remote biophysical data collection
strategies will be employed. The primary aims of this project are to (i) examine the impact of prenatal social
isolation and uncertainty stress on maternal biology and postnatal mental health; (ii) evaluate the influence of
maternal prenatal social isolation and uncertainty stress on infant neurobehavioral development; and (iii)
examine the role of prenatal social isolation and uncertainty stress on mother-infant bi-directional interactions.
We will thus be able to meaningfully evaluate whether, and how, prenatal social isolation and uncertainty
stress modify maternal biology and affect, and the neurobehavioral consequences of those impacts on infants.
Such work would constitute a substantial advance in our understanding of the longitudinal effects of prenatal
psychosocial stress exposures, the underlying mechanistic pathways, and the origins of child neurobehavioral
disorders.
Terms: <0-11 years old><Active Follow-up><Address><Aeroseb-HC><Affect><Age><Allopregnanolone><Animals><Architecture><Area><Attention><Award><Behavior><Behavior assessment><Behavioral><Bioenergetics><Biological><Biology><Biophysics><Brain><Brain Nervous System><COVID crisis><COVID epidemic><COVID pandemic><COVID-19><COVID-19 crisis><COVID-19 epidemic><COVID-19 era><COVID-19 global health crisis><COVID-19 global pandemic><COVID-19 health crisis><COVID-19 pandemic><COVID-19 period><COVID-19 public health crisis><COVID-19 years><CV-19><Causality><Cetacort><Child><Child Development><Child Youth><Children (0-21)><Collection><Communicable Diseases><Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019><Cort-Dome><Cortef><Cortenema><Cortisol><Cortispray><Cortril><D-Glucose><Data Collection><Dermacort><Development><Dextrose><Diffusion><Disasters><ECG><EEG><EKG><Economics><Eldecort><Electrocardiogram><Electrocardiography><Electroencephalogram><Electroencephalography><Emotional><Encephalon><Endocrine><Engineering / Architecture><Enrollment><Environment><Etiology><Event><Fatty Acids><Fiber><Foundations><Gestation><Glucose><Goals><Health><Height><Home environment><Hormonal><Hour><Human><Human Development><Hydrocortisone><Hydrocortone><Hytone><Infant><Infant and Child Development><Infectious Disease Pathway><Infectious Diseases><Infectious Disorder><Inflammation><Inflammatory><Investigation><Knowledge><Learning><Leptin><Life><Literature><Long-term prospective studies><Longterm prospective studies><MR Imaging><MR Tomography><MRI><MRIs><Magnetic Resonance Imaging><Maps><Measures><Medical><Medical Imaging, Magnetic Resonance / Nuclear Magnetic Resonance><Mental Health><Mental Hygiene><Modality><Modern Man><Morbidity><Morbidity - disease rate><Mothers><Movement><Myelin><NIH><NMR Imaging><NMR Tomography><National Institutes of Health><Neural Development><Neurocognitive><New York City><Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging><Nutracort><Ob Gene Product><Ob Protein><Obese Gene Product><Obese Protein><Outcome><Parents><Pathway interactions><Perinatal><Peripartum><Persons><Phase><Physiologic><Physiological><Play><Policy Maker><Post-Natal Depression><Post-Partum Depression><Postnatal Depression><Postpartum Depression><Postpartum Period><Pregnancy><Pregnant Women><Prevalence><Proctocort><Psychological Health><Psychopathology><Psychosocial Stress><Questionnaires><Relaxation><Research><Risk><Role><SARS-CoV-2 epidemic><SARS-CoV-2 global health crisis><SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic><SARS-CoV-2 pandemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 epidemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 pandemic><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 epidemic><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 pandemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 epidemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic><Sinus Arrhythmia><Social Environment><Social isolation><Societies><Stress><Structure><Sum><Survey Instrument><Surveys><System><Testing><Time><Uncertainty><United States National Institutes of Health><Variant><Variation><Woman><Work><Zeugmatography><abnormal psychology><active followup><ages><arm><awake><behavioral assessment><biologic><biological basis of behavior><biophysical foundation><biophysical principles><biophysical sciences><biopsychology><body movement><care providers><causation><class development><cohort><coronavirus disease 2019><coronavirus disease 2019 crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic><coronavirus disease 2019 global health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 global pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 public health crisis><coronavirus disease crisis><coronavirus disease epidemic><coronavirus disease pandemic><coronavirus disease-19><coronavirus disease-19 global pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 pandemic><coronavirus infectious disease-19><course development><course material development><current pandemic><developmental><diffused><diffuses><diffusing><diffusions><disease causation><doubt><economic><enroll><expectant mother><expecting mother><experience><family support><follow up><follow-up><followed up><followup><imaging approach><imaging based approach><innovate><innovation><innovative><kids><longitudinal imaging><longitudinal, prospective study><machine learned algorithm><machine learning algorithm><machine learning based algorithm><multi-modal neuro-imaging><multi-modal neuroimaging><multi-modality><multimodal neuro-imaging><multimodal neuroimaging><multimodality><neurobehavior><neurobehavioral><neurobehavioral disorder><neurodevelopment><new technology><novel technologies><offspring><pandemic><pandemic associated stressor><pandemic disease><pandemic related stressor><pandemic stressor><parent><participatory sensing><pathway><physical conditioning><physical health><post-partum><postnatal><pre-clinical study><preclinical study><pregnant><pregnant mothers><prenatal><present pandemic><psychobiologic><psychobiological><psychobiology><psychologic><psychological><public health relevance><recruit><remote sensing><respiratory><response><restraint><sensing technology><sensor technology><sensor-based technology><serial imaging><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global health crisis><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global pandemic><social climate><social context><social role><socioenvironment><socioenvironmental><sound><stressor><tool><unborn><youngster>