Neurobehavioral Correlates of Craniosynostosis

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In this multi-site, 5-year longitudinal study, infants with one of four types of single-suture craniosynostosis will be recruited: sagittal, metopic, right unilateral coronal, and left unilateral coronal (n=258). A case-matched "control" group of healthy, normal infants (n=285) will also be followed. The long-term objectives are to chart the neurobehavioral course of single-suture fusions and to better understand how the developing cranium affects human brain growth and function. Specific aims are to: (1) Clarify the neurobehavioral development and parental adjustment of infants with and without single-suture fusions at three time points in infancy and early childhood (just prior to cranioplastic surgery and twice post-surgery, at 18 and 36 months of age); (2) Among children with craniosynostosis, clarify relations between neurobehavioral development and abnormality in bone and brain tissue as indicated by measures taken pre-surgery CT scans; (3) Among children with unicoronal synostosis, clarify relations between neurobehavioral development and presence of genetic mutations; (4) Develop predictive models of 36-month outcomes for infants with craniosynostosis; and (5) Determine the relation between age of cranioplastic surgery and pre- and post- surgery neurobehavioral development. This research will take place in medical centers located in Seattle, Chicago, St. Louis and Atlanta. Seattle's Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center is the lead agency.