Fragile X premutation effects on children's thinking and behavior
Official title: Association of the Fragile X Premutation with Cognitive and Behavioral Skills in Children
Funded at Queens College · NIH-11197581 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether children who inherit the fragile X premutation have more problems with learning, attention, autism traits, or anxiety.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Queens College NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Flushing, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2021 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $583,514 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD102429-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11197581 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are children (infants through teens) who are known premutation carriers or who were born to a mother known to carry the FMR1 premutation.
✕Less likely to help
People without the FMR1 premutation or those already diagnosed with full fragile X syndrome may not directly benefit from this specific work.
What this research studies
If my child might carry the fragile X premutation, researchers will compare children who have the premutation to those who do not using detailed tests of thinking, language, attention, social behavior, and anxiety. They will recruit children born to mothers who carry the premutation and use standardized cognitive tests, parent questionnaires, and clinical interviews to measure development. The team plans a larger, less biased sample than earlier reports so the results are more reliable. The goal is to find out whether the premutation can affect development early in life and whether children may need earlier monitoring or support.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could help identify children with the premutation who would benefit from earlier monitoring, supports, or tailored interventions.
How similar studies have gone: Smaller, biased studies have reported links to developmental delay, ADHD, autism traits, and anxiety, but results have been inconsistent and larger rigorous work like this is needed.
Where this research is happening
-
Queens College
Flushing, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hinton, Veronica J — Queens College
- Study coordinator: Hinton, Veronica J
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
TopoROP: Multi-View Analysis to Diagnose Retinopathy of Prematurity
A new AI-based tool analyzes retinal images to help doctors diagnose Retinopathy of Prematurity in premature babies and other patients at risk.
-
Brain blood vessel changes linked to chronic nerve pain
This project looks at how changes in tiny blood vessels in the brain after nerve injury might make pain and related mood or thinking problems worse.
-
PARP-1 Degradation for Alzheimer's-related Diseases
A new approach to lower PARP-1 protein in diseased human cells to help with Alzheimer’s-related dementia and other conditions.
-
Epigenetic signals and behavioral risk after in-utero stress in children and teens
This grant investigates how a mother’s stress during pregnancy may leave epigenetic marks that influence fear, emotion regulation, and addiction risk in children as they grow up.
-
Tubulin “toggle switch” in human breast cancer
A study exploring how specific tubulin protein changes control breast cancer cell behavior, with potential implications for new treatments.
-
Understanding how early stress and brain wiring relate to anxiety and aggression in teens
This project follows kids born around Superstorm Sandy to see how early and ongoing stress affects anxiety and disruptive behavior as they grow.
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.