The HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study (HBCD): NIH collaboration to understand the impacts of prenatal and early life experiences on brain development

Nora D Volkow; Joshua A Gordon; Diana W Bianchi; Michael F Chiang; Janine A Clayton; William M Klein; George F Koob; Walter J Koroshetz; Eliseo J Pérez-Stable; Jane M Simoni; Bruce J Tromberg; Richard P Woychik; Rebecca Hommer; Erica L Spotts; Benjamin Xu; Julia L Zehr; Katherine M Cole; Gayathri J Dowling; Michelle P Freund; Katia D Howlett; Chloe J Jordan; Traci M Murray; Vani Pariyadath; Janani Prabhakar; Michele L Rankin; Christopher S Sarampote; Susan R B Weiss

doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101423

The HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study (HBCD): NIH collaboration to understand the impacts of prenatal and early life experiences on brain development

Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2024 Oct:69:101423. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101423. Epub 2024 Jul 27.

Authors

Nora D Volkow¹, Joshua A Gordon², Diana W Bianchi³, Michael F Chiang⁴, Janine A Clayton⁵, William M Klein⁶, George F Koob⁷, Walter J Koroshetz⁸, Eliseo J Pérez-Stable⁹, Jane M Simoni¹⁰, Bruce J Tromberg¹¹, Richard P Woychik¹², Rebecca Hommer⁸, Erica L Spotts¹⁰, Benjamin Xu⁷, Julia L Zehr², Katherine M Cole¹³, Gayathri J Dowling¹, Michelle P Freund¹, Katia D Howlett¹, Chloe J Jordan¹, Traci M Murray¹, Vani Pariyadath¹, Janani Prabhakar¹, Michele L Rankin¹, Christopher S Sarampote¹, Susan R B Weiss¹

Affiliations

¹ National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
² National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
³ Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁴ National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁵ Office of Research on Women's Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁶ National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁷ National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁸ National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁹ National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
¹⁰ Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
¹¹ National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
¹² National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
¹³ National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. Electronic address: katherine.cole@nih.gov.

Abstract

The human brain undergoes rapid development during the first years of life. Beginning in utero, a wide array of biological, social, and environmental factors can have lasting impacts on brain structure and function. To understand how prenatal and early life experiences alter neurodevelopmental trajectories and shape health outcomes, several NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices collaborated to support and launch the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study. The HBCD Study is a multi-site prospective longitudinal cohort study, that will examine human brain, cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional development beginning prenatally and planned through early childhood. Influenced by the success of the ongoing Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development^SM Study (ABCD Study®) and in partnership with the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative®, the HBCD Study aims to establish a diverse cohort of over 7000 pregnant participants to understand how early life experiences, including prenatal exposure to addictive substances and adverse social environments as well as their interactions with an individual's genes, can affect neurodevelopmental trajectories and outcomes. Knowledge gained from the HBCD Study will help identify targets for early interventions and inform policies that promote resilience and mitigate the neurodevelopmental effects of adverse childhood experiences and environments.

Keywords: Brain development; HBCD; Longitudinal; Neuroimaging; Prenatal substance use; Social determinants of health.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Brain* / growth & development
Child
Child Development* / physiology
Child, Preschool
Female
Humans
Infant
Longitudinal Studies
National Institutes of Health (U.S.)*
Pregnancy
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects*
Prospective Studies
United States