Autism and developmental disorders
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center
Description:
The UC Davis MIND Institute Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) has an administrative core and five scientific cores that support the efforts of more than 80 already-funded projects. The IDDRC supports ground-breaking studies of the early behavioral indicators of autism spectrum disorder (ASD); the role of immune dysfunction in ASD risk; interactions between genetic susceptibilities and exposure to teratogens in risk for ASD and intellectual and developmental disability (IDD); structural and functional brain abnormalities underlying ASD, fragile X syndrome, and other IDD conditions.
The IDDRC provides resources to member scientists that are designed to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and accelerate the pace of translational research thereby moving the field closer to treatments and strategies for prevention of intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Funding:
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Sally Ozonoff, Ph.D.
Core Director
sozonoff@ucdavis.edu
Leonard Abbeduto, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
ljabbeduto@ucdavis.edu
Christine Nordahl, Ph.D.
Administrative Core
cnordahl@ucdavis.edu
Center for the Development of Phenotype-Based Treatments of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Description:
The UC Davis MIND Institute Center for the Development of Phenotype-Based Treatments of Autism Spectrum Disorder aims to discover effective treatments for subgroups of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Center starts from the premise that one treatment will not fit all children with ASD.
If clinically meaningful subgroups can be identified on the basis of behavioral, biological or genetic features, treatments targeted to the characteristics of the subgroup will undoubtedly be more effective. The Center’s relevance to public health is evident as the behavioral and biological diagnostic information gathered will inform the most effective treatment decisions and greatest reduction of disability for individuals with ASD.
Funding:
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
David G. Amaral, Ph.D.
Director
dgamaral@ucdavis.edu
Leonard Abbeduto, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
ljabbeduto@ucdavis.edu
David Hessl, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
drhessl@ucdavis.edu
Aubyn C. Stahmer, Ph.D.
Community Outreach Core Lead, Co-Investigator
astahmer@ucdavis.edu
Christine Nordahl, Ph.D.
Recruitment and Retention Core Lead
cnordahl@ucdavis.edu
Language development and fragile X syndrome
Description:
This is a longitudinal investigation of language development in adolescent and young adult males with fragile X syndrome. The aims are to (1) characterize the course of development in the major components of language (e.g., syntax, pragmatics) from adolescence and into young adulthood in fragile X syndrome; (2) identify the psychological, environmental, and biological factors that lead to more or less favorable trajectories of language in individuals with fragile X syndrome; (3) examine the impact of language impairments on adaptive functioning in young adulthood of individuals with fragile X syndrome; and (4) identify patterns of language development specific to fragile X syndrome.
Funding:
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Leonard Abbeduto, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
ljabbeduto@ucdavis.edu
Memory measures for clinical trials in Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome
Description:
We plan to further develop and validate a theoretically-informed, comprehensive Android touch-screen memory assessment system for use in young children with intellectual disability (ID). We will evaluate floor and ceiling effects, internal consistency, validity, and sensitivity to developmental change and ID group effects.
Funding:
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Leonard Abbeduto, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
ljabbeduto@ucdavis.edu
Effects of AFQ056 on language learning in young children with fragile X syndrome
Description:
This NeuroNEXT trial seeks to use an innovative exploratory design to change the paradigm for translation of targeted treatments in fragile X syndrome (FXS) and determine whether AFQ056 can improve language learning in 100 very young (3-6 years of age) children with FXS during participation in an intensive language learning intervention (LLI), as a surrogate for enhanced neural plasticity.
Funding:
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Leonard Abbeduto, Ph.D.
Multi-Principal Investigator
ljabbeduto@ucdavis.edu
Automated measurement of language outcomes for neurodevelopmental disorders
Description:
This project is focused on evaluating whether computational Natural Language Processing methods can be translated into meaningful outcome measures for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders including, Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Funding:
National Institutes of Health / National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Leonard Abbeduto, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
ljabbeduto@ucdavis.edu
KidsFirst project
Description:
The KidsFirst project is designed to recruit families affected by autism into a national registry in which they complete questionnaires regarding symptom profiles, for the purpose of characterizing autism spectrum disorders (ASD) subtypes.
Funding:
Hartwell Foundation
Leonard Abbeduto, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
ljabbeduto@ucdavis.edu
Cognitive outcome measures for young children with Down syndrome
Description:
The goal of the proposed project is to validate a battery of early cognition measures for use in treatment studies that target areas of cognitive vulnerability (e.g., executive function, spatial processing, and memory) in young children with Down syndrome.
Funding:
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Leonard Abbeduto, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
ljabbeduto@ucdavis.edu
Evaluating assessment and medication treatment of ADHD in children with Down syndrome
Description:
We propose a pilot study to define the clinical features of Down syndrome (DS) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) thereby enabling more accurate diagnosis and a pilot clinical trial to inform sample size estimates for a larger clinical trial.
Funding:
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Leonard Abbeduto, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
ljabbeduto@ucdavis.edu
Neurophenotypic trajectories and behavioral outcomes in autism spectrum disorder
Description:
The goal of the proposed research is to determine whether identified neural phenotypes persist into middle childhood and are associated with the quality and severity of core and co-morbid behavioral impairments related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Funding:
National Institutes of Health
David G. Amaral, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
dgamaral@ucdavis.edu
Interdisciplinary training for autism researchers
Description:
This program is designed to provide postdoctoral training in the behavioral and biological aspects of clinical developmental neuroscience, with a focus on autism.
Funding:
National Institute of Mental Health
David G. Amaral, Ph.D.
Co-Director
dgamaral@ucdavis.edu
Marjorie Solomon, Ph.D.
Co-Director
marsolomon@ucdavis.edu
Neural and cognitive development and internalizing problems in adolescence with autism spectrum disorder
Description:
This grant attempts to characterize and predict aspects of cognitive development in adolescence, to examine changes in social awareness, motivation, and functioning; and to use this information to investigate the emergence of depression between middle childhood and adolescence using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Funding:
National Institutes of Health
David G. Amaral, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
dgamaral@ucdavis.edu
Marjorie Solomon, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
marsolomon@ucdavis.edu
Autism BrainNet
Description:
Autism BrainNet is a collaborative network of brain tissue collection sites that will enable the highest quality and most rigorous research into the causes of autism spectrum disorder. Our postmortem brain resource will generate data that will contribute to the development of preventions, treatments, and cures to improve the quality of life for individuals with autism spectrum disorder.
Funding:
Simons Foundation
David G. Amaral, Ph.D.
Director
dgamaral@ucdavis.edu
Cynthia M. Schumann, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
cschumann@ucdavis.edu
An investigation of transdiagnostic mechanisms underlying ASD and ADHD traits among infants at risk
Description:
This study seeks to identify early markers of self-regulation and social communication symptoms across early development with a focus on attention regulation, emotion regulation, and psychophysiological indicators as they relate to autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits.
Funding:
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Mental Health
Meghan R. Miller, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
mrhmiller@ucdavis.edu
Shared and distinct developmental pathways to ASD and ADHD
Description:
The independent phase of this career transition award seeks to understand early similarities and differences among infants at risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
Funding:
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Mental Health
Meghan R. Miller, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
mrhmiller@ucdavis.edu
Behavioral and neurobiological phenotyping of ASD with megalencephaly
Description:
The goal of this Center for the Development of Phenotype-Based Treatments of Autism Spectrum Disorder study is to evaluate cognitive processes and neural circuitry alterations in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and megalencephaly.
Funding:
National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Christine Nordahl, Ph.D.
Project Lead
cnordahl@ucdavis.edu
David G. Amaral, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
dgamaral@ucdavis.edu
Predictors of cognitive development in autism spectrum disorder
Description:
The major goal of this project is to evaluate trajectories of cognitive development from early to middle childhood and to determine whether there are any early brain predictors of middle childhood outcome.
Funding:
National Institute of Mental Health
Christine Nordahl, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
cnordahl@ucdavis.edu
Marjorie Solomon, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
marsolomon@ucdavis.edu
Novel video-based approaches for detection of autism risk in the first year of life
Description:
This project uses new technologies to detect autism spectrum disorder (ASD) risk in infancy, testing psychometric properties of a video-based screening instrument and developing machine-learning models for automated detection.
Funding:
National Institutes of Health
Sally Ozonoff, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
sozonoff@ucdavis.edu
Immune regulation and autism
Description:
This study tests the hypothesis that a lack of cellular immune regulation is an early predictive risk factor for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We will examine immune regulatory mechanisms in two prospective population-based cohorts, testing cord blood samples from children who are determined to have ASD versus those who are developing typically.
Funding:
National Institutes of Health
Sally Ozonoff, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
sozonoff@ucdavis.edu