(Pre)adolescence is a period of rapid brain maturation. Although peers become more influential in adolescence, (pre)adolescents still spend much time within their family context. As such, family functioning has a considerable effect on child development. However, relatively little is known about the effects of family functioning on brain maturation. The proposed research assesses the association between family environment and neural correlates of reward processing in children aged 9-10. I hypothesize that more adverse family functioning accelerates the development of brain regions involved in reward processing, and I will assess the mediating role of pubertal status in the association between family environment and reward processing. I will use data from the U.S. NIH-funded Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. ABCD is the largest longitudinal study of brain development in world-wide, with 19 research sites that together are including 11,500 children and their parents. Primary analyses will be performed using a random half of the sample, and replicability of findings will be examined in the other half. This application has great societal and scientific relevance, as it describes antecedents of adolescent problem behavior and effects of adverse caregiving, and its attempt at replication may set the stage for other MRI studies.

In everyday life, we are immersed in a multitude of sounds. Sound waves convey language, emotion, and other vital information on events in the environment. To recognize sounds, we effortlessly analyze and combine their elementary features. For example, we recognize a high and fast fluctuating sound as birdsong. Alternatively, a low and more slowly fluctuating sound is recognized as the voice of a colleague. Previous research in animals suggested several neuronal mechanisms for the analysis and combination of sound features. However, insufficient spatial resolution of non-invasive methods precluded investigating if these mechanisms are present and relevant for human listening in natural environments. In this project, I will use 7 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a novel analysis method to study the neural mechanisms underlying feature processing of natural sounds in the human brain. My results will provide a detailed view on the neural basis of human audition, bridging the gap with findings from animal research. Furthermore, they may provide the methodological basis for similar investigations throughout the brain. I will perform this research at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR) in Minneapolis (USA), which provides unique facilities and immense technical expertise in MRI at ultra-high magnetic fields.

Manganese (Mn) is an essential nutrient that is neurotoxic at high levels of exposure. Prenatal and childhood Mn exposure is associated with impaired self-control in adolescents, including poor working memory. Little is known about the effects of early-life exposure on substance use, a prevalent impulsive behavior in adolescents, and its underlying neural mechanisms. The aim of the proposed study is to examine whether early-life Mn exposure is associated with substance use, functional activity and connectivity of self-control brain areas (e.g., prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex) in adolescents. We will invite 120 adolescents (15-22 years) to participate in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study that includes a working memory task and a resting state scan (to assess intrinsic functional connectivity of the brain). Participants will further report their recent smoking and alcohol use. Participants are living in three different areas in Northern Italy, with either high, moderate or no Mn contamination. Mn exposure during pregnancy and childhood will be determined using an innovative biomarker of exposure, baby teeth, allowing us to identify windows of vulnerability. The proposed host institute is the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

Our daily environment is filled with sounds. Sound processing in our brain ensures that we can hear, recognize, and understand incoming sounds. Sound processing is extremely flexible: brain processes change depending on which sounds - and what context - is currently relevant. This project uses strong MRI scanners to study how flexibility in the part of the brain that processes sounds ensures that relevant sounds - such as the ringtone of your own phone - are recognized and comprehended.

This study is one of the first to test causal pathways to child maltreatment. Specifically, the project focuses on the role of the home environment. I will test whether household chaos causes parenting problems and child maltreatment and whether the effect of household chaos is particularly strong for individuals with high levels of sensory sensitivity. In addition, self-regulation, negative emotions, and physiological stress will be tested as mediators of the effect of household chaos on maltreatment. To test the causal association, two studies are proposed. In the first study, participants will be asked to take care of a very realistic infant simulator (that cries, makes breathing, burping, giggling, and suckling sounds) in a simulated home environment, while chaos is manipulated and infant behavior is kept constant. I will test whether increased chaos leads to more parenting problems and maltreatment of the infant simulator and whether decreased chaos diminishes parenting problems and maltreatment. The second study tests whether decreased chaos results in increased parenting quality and decreased child maltreatment in actual parents. Again, the moderating role of sensory sensitivity will be investigated. A group of high-risk parents will receive an intervention aimed at decreasing chaos. The intervention consists of four weekly coaching sessions for the mother, aimed at increasing order in the household (noise, material, organizational). In addition, participants will receive text messages and cards with reminders and tips. The results of this study will contribute to improved (preventive) interventions aimed at reducing child maltreatment. Finally, by incorporating an experimental research design in the field of child maltreatment, I aim to initiate a new research tradition to unravel causal processes of child maltreatment and increase our understanding of this poorly understood problem.