February 8, 2024
Rogier Kievit of Radboud University Medical Center and Donders Institute, together with researchers from Cardiff University and Cambridge University, will receive a Wellcome Discovery Award for a new study that characterizes brain development during childhood and adolescence in detail. This funding will enable researchers to discover new information about the changes that occur in brain development during late childhood and adolescence.
A Wellcome Discovery Award has been awarded to Cardiff University to lead a new research project, together with Cambridge University, Radboud university medical center and the Donders Institute. The award of more than 7 million euros enables research into the development of the brains of children between the ages of 8 and 18 at a microscopic level. This microscopic brain development is related to cognitive and social-emotional development during this period of life.
The researchers also look at brain development in children and young adults with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome. Professor Derek Jones from Cardiff University is leading the research and says: ‘The grant allows us to use advanced imaging techniques to study the developing brain at the level of the cell and the connections between them.’ Professor Marianne van den Bree (Cardiff University), further explains the importance of the study: ‘Late childhood and adolescence are crucial periods in life when vulnerability to mental health problems manifests itself.’ Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, University of Cambridge, said: ‘This study will allow us to link brain development to how children and adolescents develop in terms of their cognitive skills, social and emotional processes and mental health.’
Mapping changes
Rogier Kievit is professor of Developmental Neuroscience at the Radboudumc and Donders Institute. He adds: ‘We are increasingly realizing that to truly understand brain development and the challenges that can arise, we need to study how people’s brains and behaviors change over time. This research offers us the opportunity to map the development of the brain very precisely. We can link this to the development of cognitive skills, social emotional processes and mental health in children and young adults. This way we can see how brain changes arise and unfold.’
In the photo from left to right: Jones, Blakemore, van den Bree, Kievit.
This text appeared in an adapted version on the Donders Institute website.
2024-02-08 08:34:26
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