Social development following preschool brain injury

描述（由申请人提供）：此K23应用程序将为候选人提供必要的学术培训，指导和支持，以开发一个独立的理论驱动的研究线，检查有助于社会发展的重要变量创伤性脑损伤（TBI）在幼儿。这一目标将通过一个为期五年的培训方案和相关的研究活动来实现。培训计划有五个目标。首先，候选人将扩大她对社会发展的神经基础的知识，以了解早期神经损伤如何影响随后的发展。其次，她将发展传统上由发展心理学家使用的研究范式和理论的专业知识，这些理论可用于设计临床人群的新颖和创新研究，如儿科TBI。第三，候选人将提高她在设计和分析的几个关键领域的技能的复杂性。第四，她将提高自己的科学写作能力。第五，她将在负责任地开展研究方面接受额外培训。她的共同主要赞助商是在儿童TBI后的神经行为结果和家庭调整领域建立的研究人员。其他导师将包括与培训目标和研究计划直接相关领域的专家。 拟议的研究计划旨在研究短期和长期的社会成果，并测试在学龄前儿童TBI后社会能力发展的模型。社会能力，社会信息处理（SIP）技能和核心神经心理能力的缺陷是学龄前TBI的预测结果。待测试的理论模型基于以下假设：TBI导致负责有效SIP和良好社会适应所需的神经心理学能力发展的大脑网络功能障碍。该模型提出，SIP赤字至少部分负责出现不良的社会能力。受伤前的儿童特征，损伤参数，以及受伤前和受伤后的养育方式的影响也将进行调查，以隔离TBI对社会能力的影响。这项研究利用了NIH（NICHD/NCMRR）资助的关于学龄前TBI后家庭适应和儿童恢复的项目的独特资源和丰富的开发数据库，该项目由该提案的共同主要赞助商领导。 该项目将启动候选人的研究生涯，调查幼儿TBI导致社会困难的机制，并为设计干预措施以提高社会能力提供基础。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This K23 application will provide the candidate with the scholarly training, mentorship, and support necessary to develop an independent line of theory-driven research examining important variables that contribute to social development following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in young children. This objective will be accomplished through a five-year training program and associated research activities. The training program has five objectives. First, the candidate will expand her knowledge of the neural basis of social development to understand how early neurological injury impacts subsequent development. Second, she will develop expertise in research paradigms and theories traditionally used by developmental psychologists that can be applied to design novel and innovative studies of clinical populations such as pediatric TBI. Third, the candidate will increase the sophistication of her skills in several key areas of design and analysis. Fourth, she will enhance her scientific writing skills. Fifth, she will receive additional training in the responsible conduct of research. Her co-primary sponsors are established researchers in the area of neurobehavioral outcomes and family adjustment following pediatric TBI. Additional mentors will include experts in areas directly relevant to the training objectives and research plan. The proposed research plan is designed to examine short- and long-term social outcomes and to test a model of the development of social competence following TBI during the preschool years. Deficits in social competence, social information processing (SIP) skills, and core neuropsychological abilities are predicted outcomes of preschool TBI. The theoretical model to be tested rests on the assumption that TBI causes dysfunction of the brain networks responsible for the development of neuropsychological abilities needed for effective SIP and good social adjustment. The model proposes that the SIP deficits are at least partially responsible for the emergence of poor social competence. The influences of pre-injury child characteristics, injury parameters, and pre- and post-injury parenting practices will also be investigated to isolate the effects of TBI on social competence. The research study capitalizes on the unique resources and the rich developing database of a NIH (NICHD/NCMRR) funded project on family adaptation and child recovery following preschool TBI led by the co-primary sponsors for this proposal. This project will launch the candidate's research career in investigating the mechanisms by which TBI in young children leads to social difficulties and provide a basis for designing interventions to improve social competence.