Training in Neuroimaging of Cognitive Development in Craniofacial Diagnoses

描述(由申请人提供)：这项以患者为导向的研究职业发展奖(K23)申请的目的是支持艾米·L·康拉德博士在认知神经生物学方面的进一步培训和研究活动，以及将这项研究应用于非综合征性口腔裂患者。康拉德博士是一名接受过发展性学习和注意力障碍评估培训的儿科心理学家。她参与了研究项目，调查患有非综合征性唇裂和/或腭裂以及其他儿科疾病的儿童和青少年的认知功能。最近的研究假设，大脑发育异常是这些儿童认知和行为技能的潜在主要因素。这为认知技能的研究开辟了一个新的场所。虽然她在心理学和学习障碍方面的培训很广泛，但她在神经生物学和成像方面的教育一直有限。为了适当地研究非综合征性唇裂受试者的神经发育，她的短期目标是：1)获得神经生物学/发育方面的深入培训，2)获得与认知有关的神经成像应用和解释的培训，3)扩大她在统计学方面的教育。这将通过课程作业、定向阅读、有重点的讲座/会议以及由在神经发育、成像和统计学方面具有强大背景的专业人员进行指导来实现。通过研究项目和短期学习目标，康拉德博士将朝着她的长期目标迈进，即通过评估和成像程序评估患有各种疾病的儿童的神经发育，并为有效的干预/护理/治疗计划做出贡献。口腔裂是最常见的先天性畸形之一，其中大多数是孤立发生的，没有已知的遗传原因。研究报告称，在这一群体中，特定的学习障碍(最明显的是语言或阅读障碍)的发生率很高。这些残疾虽然不在智力障碍的范围内，但确实会导致学习成绩问题，并可能与后来较低的大学入学率有关。最近的研究表明，这些结果可能是由于大脑结构和功能的异常，而不是环境影响。这项拟议的研究将评估患有非综合征性唇腭裂的受试者的阅读能力，并调查与先前假设的影响区域(即早期听力和言语)、认知技能(即音素意识、快速标记、拼写意识、视觉/言语记忆和注意力)以及涉及的神经回路(与以前关于阅读困难的研究有关)的联系。增加对这些技能及其影响因素的了解，将有助于早期识别和治疗计划，并将指导适当的适应。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) application is to support the further training and research activities of Dr. Amy L. Conrad in the neurobiology of cognition and the application of this research to patients with non-syndromic oral clefts. Dr. Conrad is a pediatric psychologist trained in the assessment of developmental learning and attention disorders. She has worked on research projects investigating cognitive functioning in children and adolescents with non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palate, as well as other pediatric conditions. Recent work has hypothesized abnormal brain development as a potential primary factor in cognitive and behavioral skills within these children. This opens a new venue of research in cognitive skills. While her training in psychology and learning disabilities is extensive, her education in neurobiology and imaging has been limited. In order to appropriately investigate neurodevelopment in subjects with non-syndromic cleft, she has the short term goals to: 1) obtain in-depth training in neurobiology/development, 2) obtain training in the application and interpretation of neuroimaging in connection with cognition, and 3) extend her education in statistics. This will be achieved through coursework, directed readings, focused lectures/conferences, and mentorship by professionals with strong backgrounds in neurodevelopment, imaging, and statistics. Through the research project and short-term learning goals, Dr. Conrad will progress toward her long-term goal of evaluating neurodevelopment in children with various disorders through assessment and imaging procedures and contributing to effective intervention/care/treatment plans. Oral clefts are among the most common congenital malformation and the majority of these occur in isolation, without a known genetic cause. Research has reported a high incidence of specific learning disabilities (most notably language or reading deficits) among this population. These disabilities, while not in the range of Intellectual Dysfunction, do result in academic achievement problems and may be related to later low college entry rates. Recent work has suggested that these outcomes may be due to abnormal brain structure and function, rather than environmentally influenced. The proposed study will evaluate reading proficiency in subjects with non-syndromic cleft of the lip and/or palate and investigate links to previous hypothesized areas of influence (i.e., early hearing and speech), cognitive skills (i.e., phonemic awareness, rapid labeling, orthographic awareness, visual/verbal memory, and attention), and neurocircuitry involved (as related to previous research on dyslexia). The increased understanding of these skills and the factors influencing them will improve early identification, treatment plans, and will guide appropriate accommodations.