Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Disadvantage: Neurodevelopment Among Puerto Rican Children

劣势会让家庭世世代代陷入困境。现有的研究已经确定了儿童- 胡德的逆境对神经发育的影响是认知和社会结果的减退。然而，这一时间框架， 可能过于狭隘，刻意关注代内影响，而忽视了代际退化 终结者。考虑到儿童自身的不良暴露，而没有注意到该儿童的逆境经历 父母，可能会掩盖代际影响。在一个既定的、特征良好的、代际的和 弱势群体，我们的目标是确定影响不利循环的关键因素，在这种循环中， 几代人的家庭都会被抓。我们关注的结果是由执行功能索引的神经发展- 超声心动图(EF)和相关神经基质的MRI测量。EF功能障碍是随后的关键决定因素 社会和职业挑战。我们还考察了可能有助于打破这一循环的保护性因素。 并产生有利的神经发育结果。 我们将为ECHO财团带来2491个波多黎各的多代、以人口为基础的样本 居住在纽约州南布朗克斯区和宾夕法尼亚州圣胡安市的里约人。对第一代队列(G1)进行评估 预期在儿童期/青春期早期(5-13岁)有3个时间点，在青春期后期/青春期早期有一次 成人期(正在进行)。当Echo推出时，G1将处于早期成年期，刚刚开始有他们的 自己的孩子(第二代或第二代先驱)。因此，我们的队列正处于最佳状态，以检查广告- 在儿童早期使用前瞻性的设计。我们将评估G2先证者，包括所有新生婴儿 在研究期间(产前/出生队列，n~440)和所有在#年开始之前出生的G2先证者子女 Echo(儿童队列，3-10岁，n~870)。我们将使用神经成像和行为评估来表征 许多形式的不良暴露(例如，身体虐待、忽视、父母精神疾病)的影响。我们 将考察上一代人的逆境经历如何影响下一代人的发展，以及如何 不同的接触来源，既有父母经历的，也有孩子脸上的 影响神经发育结果。 我们的多学科团队带来了弱势人群流行病学方面的专业知识(MPI du- Arte&Canino)、胎儿健康与疾病起源(MPI Monk)和发育神经科学(MPI Posner)。 除了我们的具体目标外，我们的研究还将通过提供生物样品来丰富ECHO联盟，包括 DNA、胎盘、脐带血和乳牙。这些标本将允许ECHO财团进行调查 遗传和表观遗传因素以及早期发育过程中化学物质暴露的影响 高危但未被充分研究的人群。总而言之，我们的调查团队，我们队列的独特性，以及 我们对代际影响的关注的新颖性为Echo项目提供了独特的贡献，无论是在 我们提案的具体目标和ECHO财团的更大目标。

Disadvantage can ensnare families for generations. Existing studies have identified the effects of child- hood adversity on neurodevelopment in decrements in cognitive and social outcomes. This timeframe, however, may be too constricted, assiduously focusing on intra-generational effects, while ignoring inter-generational de- terminants. Considering a child’s own adverse exposures, without noting experiences of adversity in that child’s parents, may obscure intergenerational effects. Within an established, well-characterized, inter-generational and disadvantaged cohort, we aim to determine key factors influencing the cycle of disadvantage in which so many families get caught for generations. Our outcome of focus is neurodevelopment as indexed by executive func- tions (EF) and MRI measures of related neural substrates. EF dysfunctions are key determinants of subsequent social and occupational challenges. We also examine protective factors that may contribute to breaking this cycle of disadvantage and yield favorable neurodevelopmental outcomes. We would bring to the ECHO consortium a multi-generation, population–based sample of 2,491 Puerto Ricans living in the South Bronx, NY and San Juan, PR. The first generation of the cohort (G1) was assessed prospectively at 3 times points in childhood/early adolescence (ages 5-13) and once in late adolescence/early adulthood (ongoing). When ECHO is launched, G1 will be in early adulthood, and just beginning to have their own children (Generation 2 or G2 Probands). Our cohort is thus optimally poised to examine the effects of ad- versity during early childhood using a prospective design. We will assess G2 Probands including all new births during the study period (Prenatal/Birth Cohort, n~440) and all G2 Proband children born prior to the start of ECHO (Child Cohort, ages 3-10, n~870). We will use neuroimaging and behavioral assessments to characterize the influence of many forms of adverse exposures (e.g., physical abuse, neglect, parental mental illness). We will examine how one generation’s experience of adversities may affect the development of the next, and how different sources of exposure, those experienced by one’s parents as well as those a child faces on his or her own, impact neurodevelopmental outcomes. Our multidisciplinary team brings expertise in the epidemiology of disadvantaged populations (MPIs Du- arte & Canino), fetal origins of health and disease (MPI Monk), and developmental neuroscience (MPI Posner). In addition to our specific aims, our study will enrich the ECHO consortium by providing biospecimens including DNA, placenta, cord blood, and deciduous teeth. These specimens will allow the ECHO consortium to investigate the influence of genetic and epigenetic factors as well as chemical exposures during early development within a high-risk, but understudied, population. In sum, our investigative team, the uniqueness of our cohort, and the novelty of our focus on intergenerational influences offer distinct contributions to the ECHO project both in terms of the specific aims of our proposal and to the larger goals of the ECHO consortium.