From Neighborhoods to Neurons and Beyond

这项分三个阶段进行的研究的目的是进行基于多学科的调查，以了解 青少年问题个体差异的个体、家庭、同伴和邻里特征 行为。第一阶段包括对大约7,000名6-8年级10年级学生的在校评估 芝加哥公立学校系统中的社会经济和种族及民族多元化学校。这个 第一阶段的目的是获得关于环境和心理社会因素的数据，这些因素可能是 问题行为的社会经济、种族和民族差异。第二阶段包括一个目标样本 从最初的阶段I中抽取400对完全、半和不相关的兄弟姐妹对，研究谁和他们的主要兄弟姐妹 照顾者将被带到芝加哥大学进行详细的神经科学和行为评估。 第二阶段的主要目的是确定环境、生物和心理社会变量 考虑到问题行为的个体差异，并进一步确定这些影响是否 基因或环境因素造成的。第三阶段包括使用目标样本的功能磁共振成像调查 60对和谐的兄弟姐妹和40对极不和谐的兄弟姐妹来自第二阶段的研究。的主要目的是 第三阶段是确定导致配对内行为差异的神经生物学底物，并 确定非共享环境因素在多大程度上解释了 神经生物学功能。一项对来自第三阶段的20对极度不和谐的兄弟姐妹进行的小型先导性研究将 研究环境是否通过改变DNA甲基化来改变基因表达。因为这个嵌套了 设计使用生物生态框架在多个分析层面衡量风险和保护因素- “从社区到神经元和更远的地方”--由此产生的数据可以用来研究 环境、心理社会、生物和遗传因素之间的中介和调节作用 问题行为的个体差异。

The purpose of this three-phase study is to conduct a multidisciplinary-based investigation of the effects of individual, family, peer, and neighborhood characteristics on individual differences in adolescent problem behavior. Phase I consists of an in-school assessment of approximately 7,000 6th – 8th graders in 10 socioeconomically and racially and ethnically diverse schools in the Chicago Public School system. The purpose of Phase I is to obtain data on environmental and psychosocial factors that may account for socioeconomic and racial and ethnic differences in problem behavior. Phase II consists of a target sample of 400 full-, half- and unrelated sibling pairs drawn from the original Phase I study who, along with their primary caregivers, will be brought to the University of Chicago for detailed neuroscience and behavioral assessments. The primary purpose of Phase II is to identify the environmental, biological, and psychosocial variables that account for individual differences in problem behavior, and to further determine whether these effects are genetically or environmentally mediated. Phase III consists of an fMRI investigation using a target sample of 60 concordant and 40 extreme discordant sibling pairs drawn from the Phase II study. The primary purpose of Phase III is to identify the neurobiological substrates that account for within-pair differences in behavior, and to determine the extent to which nonshared environmental factors account for individual differences in neurobiological functioning. A small pilot study of 20 extremely discordant sibling pairs from Phase III will investigate whether environments alter gene expression via changes in DNA methylation. Because this nested design uses a bioecological framework to measure risk and protective factors at multiple levels of analysis- “from neighborhoods to neurons and beyond”- the resulting data uniquely allows for the investigation of mediating and moderating effects among environmental, psychosocial, biological, and genetic factors on individual differences in problem behavior.