Exploring how caregiver sensitivity affects brain development in young children
Official title: Development in the Moment: Does Caregiver Sensitivity Drive Prefrontal Cortex Synchrony?
Funded at Univ of Maryland, College Park · NIH-11071646 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at how being attentive and responsive as a caregiver can help young children from low-income families develop better language and emotional skills, by exploring how their brains connect during interactions.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Fellowship grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of Maryland, College Park NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (College Park, United States) |
| Project start | September 17, 2024 |
| Project end | September 16, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2024 |
| Award (this year) | $43,008 |
| NIH project number | 1F31HD117670-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11071646 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are children aged 0-11 years from low socioeconomic backgrounds and their primary caregivers.
✕Less likely to help
Children from high socioeconomic backgrounds or those not living with primary caregivers may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research investigates the role of caregiver sensitivity in protecting young children from the negative impacts of low socioeconomic status on their language and emotional development. It focuses on understanding how the moment-to-moment responsiveness of caregivers can influence brain activity, specifically the synchrony of the prefrontal cortex between caregivers and children. By examining these interactions, the study aims to uncover the neural mechanisms that support healthy development in children facing socioeconomic challenges. The research will involve behavioral assessments and brain activity measurements to explore these dynamics.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to improved strategies for enhancing child development in at-risk populations.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has shown promising results in understanding caregiver-child interactions, but this specific investigation into neural synchrony is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of Maryland, College Park
College Park, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Roche, Ellen — Univ of Maryland, College Park
- Study coordinator: Roche, Ellen
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Caregiver-led mobile tool to support healthy habits for kids treated for ALL
A caregiver-directed mobile program helps children who were treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia build healthier daily routines.
-
Biomechanical check of a caregiver transfer technique tool
This grant tests a quick, objective way to measure how well informal caregivers transfer a person, with the goal of reducing caregiver and care recipient injuries.
-
Negotiation training to help Alzheimer’s caregivers communicate with care teams
A program called NegotiAge helps families caring for people with Alzheimer’s disease learn better negotiation skills to talk with doctors, insurers, and other caregivers.
-
Improving prosthetic fitting in rural areas with remote limb scanning
A study tests whether a helper can remotely capture limb shape with affordable digital tools to create a well-fitting prosthetic socket, reducing travel for rural Veterans.
-
Autism Caregiver Coaching in Africa for Young Children
A Duke University-led project in South Africa aims to help young children with autism by training caregivers to deliver proven coaching strategies through non-specialist providers.
-
Harnessing caregiver coaching in early intervention to help young children with developmental delays
This grant tests whether coaching caregivers can help children under 3 with developmental delays get high-quality, frequent early intervention in their home environment.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.