How childhood stress and puberty shape brain development and mental health
Biological embedding of dimensional adversity: Developmental pathways toward psychopathology
['FUNDING_OTHER'] · FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME · NIH-11333268
This project looks at how different kinds of early-life stress and the changes of puberty affect brain development and later mental health in children and teens.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_OTHER'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (BOYS TOWN, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11333268 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
Researchers aim to understand how different kinds of childhood stress shape the brain and raise the risk for mental health problems. They will follow children and adolescents through key developmental windows, collecting information about life experiences, hormone changes from biological samples, brain imaging, and behavioral measures. The team will group types of adversity (for example, threat, neglect, and unpredictability) and link each to specific biological and neural pathways. The goal is to identify when and how interventions might prevent or reduce later emotional and cognitive difficulties.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are children and adolescents who have experienced early-life stress or adversity and whose families can attend study visits, provide samples, and complete questionnaires over time.
Not a fit: People without a history of early-life adversity or adults who are well past pubertal development are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify biological signals and time windows when prevention or early interventions may best protect children from long-term mental-health problems.
How similar studies have performed: Prior studies have linked specific adversity types to brain and mental-health changes, but using pubertal biology as a central pathway is a newer approach that is still being tested.
Where this research is happening
BOYS TOWN, UNITED STATES
- FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME — BOYS TOWN, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: PICCI, GIORGIA — FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME
- Study coordinator: PICCI, GIORGIA
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 below.