Using brain development patterns to spot early substance-use risk and COVID-19 effects in kids
Official title: Application of a Bayesian strategy to ABCD: Identification of substance use risk and COVID-19 effects on neurodevelopment
Funded at Yale University · NIH-11261143 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses brain and behavior patterns from children and teens to find who may be more likely to start using substances and how the COVID-19 pandemic changed their brain development.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Yale University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New Haven, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2022 |
| Project end | January 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $317,970 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA053301-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11261143 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are children and adolescents (roughly 9–20 years old) who are enrolled in the ABCD study or similar longitudinal brain-development cohorts and who experienced adolescence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
✕Less likely to help
Adults outside the adolescent age range or people not enrolled in ABCD-like longitudinal studies are unlikely to see direct benefits from this specific analysis.
What this research studies
If you or your child are part of a long-term brain development study, this work looks at your existing brain scans and behavioral data to find typical growth paths and when a child moves away from those patterns. The team applies Bayesian machine-learning and time-series methods to the ABCD study's repeated brain and behavioral measurements to map normal versus at-risk trajectories. They will also compare data from before and during the COVID-19 pandemic to see how pandemic-related changes relate to substance-use vulnerability. Results will be shared as models that researchers and clinicians can use to better spot early risk.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help spot children at higher risk earlier so families and clinicians can target prevention and support before problems start.
How similar studies have gone: Prior ABCD and other brain-imaging studies have linked development patterns to later substance use, but applying Bayesian hierarchical time-series to quantify pandemic-related deviations is a newer approach with limited prior precedent.
Where this research is happening
-
Yale University
New Haven, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yip, Sarah — Yale University
- Study coordinator: Yip, Sarah
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Understanding how adversity, genes, and COVID-19 relate to risky reward choices in teens and young adults
This project looks at how hardship, genetics, and COVID-19 experiences may influence teens and young adults to prefer immediate rewards, which can lead to later substance use.
-
How HIV and COVID medicines and substance use can harm the liver
Researchers are looking at how common HIV and COVID-19 antiviral drugs, especially when combined with alcohol or other substance use, can damage the liver in people with these viral infections.
-
Understanding how background, genes, and COVID-19 affect decision-making and substance use in teenagers
This project looks at how a teenager's background, genes, and experiences with COVID-19 might shape their decision-making and risk for substance use.
-
Understanding how COVID-19 affects brain development and substance use risk in children and adolescents
This study is looking at how starting to use substances at a young age affects brain development and how the COVID-19 pandemic might change that, so we can better understand what makes some young people more likely to use substances.
-
Investigating liver damage caused by anti-HIV and anti-COVID-19 drugs and substance use.
This study is looking at how certain antiviral medications for HIV and COVID-19 might harm the liver, especially in people who also struggle with substance use, like alcohol, to help find safer treatment options for those affected.
-
Exploring how socioeconomic factors, genetics, and COVID-19 affect substance use in adolescents
This study is looking at how things like financial struggles, genetics, and the effects of COVID-19 might lead teenagers to make risky choices and use substances, so we can find ways to help prevent these issues before they start.
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.