Understanding Attention in Young Children, Including Those with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
Official title: Attending to all children: Examining the role of alpha oscillations in attention in young children with and without prenatal alcohol exposure (AsCENd)
Funded at Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute · NIH-11141794 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to understand how attention works in young children, especially those who may have been exposed to alcohol before birth, to help identify attention challenges earlier.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Albuquerque, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $713,764 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AA029605-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11141794 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are young children, including those with and without prenatal alcohol exposure, who may be experiencing or are at risk for attention difficulties.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who are not young children or do not have concerns about attention development would likely not directly benefit from this specific research.
What this research studies
Attention challenges can make school and social life difficult, often starting when children are very young. We want to find ways to spot these challenges before children even begin school. This project looks at brain activity, specifically 'alpha oscillations,' which are brain waves linked to attention in adults, to see how they relate to attention in young children. By studying children with and without prenatal alcohol exposure, who are at higher risk for attention problems, we hope to learn more about how attention develops.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to earlier identification of attention problems in young children, allowing for timely support and interventions.
How similar studies have gone: While research in adults suggests alpha oscillations are important for attention, this project is novel in exploring their role in attention development in young children.
Where this research is happening
-
Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute
Albuquerque, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Stephen, Julia Marie — Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute
- Study coordinator: Stephen, Julia Marie
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.