MAPPING NEURODEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORIES FOR ADULT PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER
Research type
Research Study
Full title
MAPPING NEURODEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORIES FOR ADULT PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER: ‘ALSPAC-MRI-II’
IRAS ID
183567
Contact name
Anthony David
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) has accumulated a wealth of data on mental and physical health and development, and has collected DNA, on a cohort of around 14,500 young people born in the early 1990’s. MRI scanning of the structure and activity of the brain (neuroimaging data) on subgroups is now being added opening up a neurodevelopmental dimension to understanding human disorders. We have recently shown that at age 20, individuals with psychotic experiences (eg hearing voices talking to you when there is no one there) have subtle changes in volume and connections within the brain. We have also used MRI to study genetic influences on brain development and risk for psychiatric disorder using a sub-sample selected for a group of genes that may affect the risk for psychosis.
We propose to re-scan the same individuals (n=452) at age 25 to obtain detailed MRI images. We will test the hypothesis that: (i) the range of psychotic experiences is underpinned by distinct brain pathways which change during development in a way that is different when compared to healthy young people and (ii) these pathways are under the control of genes for psychosis.
This project will enable us to map neurodevelopmental pathways while adjusting for other factors such mood and intelligence and adding value to existing longitudinal assessments. It has the potential to deliver important advances in our understanding of the biological basis of psychiatric disorders.REC name
South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SW/0020
Date of REC Opinion
10 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion