Sparking Potential — revealing early infant thinking and brain development

SPRINT: Sparking Potential, Revealing Infant Neurocognitive Traits

For infants aged 3–24 months with or without perinatal brain injury, this project sees if online games and parent questionnaires can reveal early cognitive and developmental differences.

Quick facts

• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 200 (estimated)
• Ages: 3 Months to 24 Months
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: University of Wisconsin, Madison (Academic / other)
• Locations: 1 site (Madison, Wisconsin)
• Trial ID: NCT07390136 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This observational study follows child–parent dyads with infants aged 3–24 months, including healthy infants and those with perinatal brain injuries such as hypoxic‑ischemic encephalopathy, very preterm birth (<32 weeks), or cerebral palsy. Children complete virtual games and structured online assessments while parents fill out questionnaires about behavior and home stress, with all visits conducted remotely over Zoom. Researchers collect these behavioral and caregiver‑reported measures over time to characterize early neurocognitive traits and differences between groups. The goal is to identify patterns that could help recognize early developmental concerns without requiring in‑person clinic visits.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal participants are parent–infant pairs with infants aged 3–24 months, either healthy newborns or those diagnosed in the neonatal period with hypoxic‑ischemic encephalopathy, born before 32 weeks, or living with cerebral palsy.

Not a fit: Infants older than 24 months, those without a parent able to participate remotely, or children with neurological conditions outside the listed inclusion criteria may not benefit from the study's findings.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the approach could help detect early signs of developmental differences so families can access support and therapies sooner.

How similar studies have performed: Other research using remote infant games and parent‑reported measures has shown feasibility and some ability to detect early developmental differences, though predictive accuracy and generalizability remain variable.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* Child-parent dyads will be recruited to the study.
* Children 3-24 months with and without a history of a perinatal brain injury (PBI) will be included in this study.
* Children with PBIs will include:

  * Children diagnosed during the neonatal period with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy,
  * Children born at a premature gestational age (born at less than 32 weeks gestational age).
  * Children diagnosed with cerebral palsy
* Healthy control participants meeting inclusion criteria will include:

  * healthy infants with no prior neurological (brain disorder) history
* For all parents: the only research inclusion criteria is to be the parent or legal guardian of a newborn with perinatal brain injury or healthy control participant.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Healthy infants to be included in the control group will not have:

  * a prior history of brain injury
  * a diagnosis of cerebral palsy
  * a history of a neurological disorder
  * prior admission to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
* Children with chromosomal abnormalities, genetic syndromes and major congenital malformations will be excluded from both the patient groups and the control group.
* Parents will have no exclusionary criteria.

Where this trial is running

Madison, Wisconsin

• University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health — Madison, Wisconsin, United States (Recruiting)

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Melisa Carrasco McCaul, MD, PhD — University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Study coordinator: Melisa Carrasco McCaul, MD, PhD

Conditions Perinatal Brain Injury; Healthy Participants