October 15 - Psych Grand Rounds

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Grand Rounds 2021-2022

Originally recorded on October 15, 2021

Gayathri J. Dowling, Ph.D., Director, Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Project

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD): Opportunities for Scientific Discovery

Watch on-demand for APA and General CEU Credit

Join us as we host Dr. Gayathri Dowling, Director, Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Project as she presents information on The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Adolescence is a time of dramatic physical, intellectual, social, and emotional changes as well as a period of continued brain development. Yet, there is much we have yet to learn about the factors that influence brain development and other outcomes. The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, having enrolled nearly 12,000 diverse youth from across the country starting at ages 9-10 and assessing them repeatedly for a decade, was designed to answer these questions. Youth participants undergo magnetic resonance imaging to assess brain structure and function, provide biospecimens for pubertal hormone, substance use, and genetic analyses, and take part in neurocognitive assessments. Both youth and their caregivers provide information about physical and mental health, culture and environment, and other factors that influence their lives. In 2020, the ABCD assessment battery was expanded to include monthly questionnaires about participants’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, which when combined with pre-pandemic data and longitudinal follow-up data, holds promise for understanding risk and resilience factors that may influence adolescent trajectories potentially altered by these unusual circumstances. Data from the ABCD study is released to the scientific community annually through the National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive, allowing scientists worldwide to conduct analyses, pool resources, and enrich the value of this study, with the ultimate goal of providing actionable information to help educators, health professionals and policymakers improve the lives of all children, today and for generations to come.

At the completion of the presentation, attendees will be able to:

Appreciate the comprehensive nature of this longitudinal study, including the many different types of data being collected.
Understand emerging findings from the ABCD study and understand its potential value for understanding risk and resilience factors that influence adolescent development.
Understand the open science model and how it can facilitate the use of science to inform policy and practice

Questions? Email us

Supporting Psychiatry Grand Rounds

Psychiatry Grand Rounds are coordinated by the Department's Office of Continuing Education, Community and Alumni Relations and hosted free of charge to attendees. Grand Rounds are an opportunity to share knowledge and are part of the tradition of a medical school and a teaching hospital. Through philanthropic support of the Psych Grand Rounds Lecture Series, we are ensuring the future of medical education at MUSC and maintaining a valuable health care asset for our community. Join us and make a gift to Friends of Mental Health today.