DCAN Lab Studies and Groups
ABCD Study
The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study is the largest longitudinal study of brain development and childhood health outcomes from participants recruited from the around the U.S. The ambitious study aims to answer questions about sleep, attention, substance use, physical activity, and education. To probe the biological/environmental determinants of health, researchers collected a rich data set that includes brain imaging (T1, T2, DTI, and fMRI), health screening (BMI, vision, surveys), biospecimens (Oral fluids, DNA, hair, baby teeth), Mental health (KSAD), Cognition (NIH toolbox and other tasks), Substance use surveys, cultural surveys, and environmental surveys). You can read more about the study here: https://abcdstudy.org/. In the DCAN lab, we use the large ABCD data set to build new neuroimaging processing, and analysis tools to answer questions about brain-behavior associations and their reliability, neural networks, and genetic influences.
Subpopulations in ASD & ADHD Study (UMN)
Subpopulations in ASD & ADHD is a new study in collaboration with Washington University in St. Louis. Currently in the data collection phase, we are enrolling typically-developing children, children with ASD, and children with ADHD. This study used multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and novel, advanced imaging techniques (i.e. individual-specific Precision Functional Mapping of resting state functional connectivity MRI), along with new computational tools in machine learning method to identify atypical brain physiologies related to negative valence symptoms in trans-diagnostic fashion across ADHD, Autism, and typical development. This work will utilize new methods to identify brain biomarkers related to important outcomes of interest (i.e. negative valence symptoms) independent of diagnostic category.
ASD/ADHD Studies (OHSU)
The Oregon ADHD study is a longitudinal study of typically-developing children and children with ADHD. It is one of the largest fMRI studies of childhood ADHD and has a high proportion of cases (i.e. enriched for ADHD). The Autism study is smaller, but also contains fMRI data for a large cohort of children (~80, I think -R.H.). In both cohorts, the DCAN lab investigates heterogeneity in these populations to see if there are useful biomarkers that predict outcomes (whatever they may be) in potential sub-populations.
Infant Team
The infant team has a number of projects investigating neonatal brain brain development. In particular, the team looks at the association between maternal stress and how this might affect the offspring brain development.
Computing Team
The computing team has a number of ongoing projects to develop and implement novel methods for application to the other projects. Among these, our current projects examine the use of derived MR data to develop polyneuro models of behavioral and clinical outcomes, and the use of hybrid learning approaches to identify neuro- or clinical-subtypes (Functional Random Forest). Such software is planned for integration with web-based platforms like the Data exploration and analysis portal (DEAP). We also develop new approaches to tackle data processing problems, such as the implementation of deep learning algorithms to improve image segmentation and derived metrics. Through collaborations with the MSI and other institutions (e.g. OHSU), we implement and refine data processing pipelines for the other listed studies.
Non-Human Primate (NHP) Team
The Non-human Primate team (NHP) is able to answer many of the same questions that are asked in humans, but in a much more controlled manner. Currently the team investigates the effects of a high fat diet and social behavior in a social hierarchy on brain development.
Rodent Team
The DCAN rodent team's work focuses on resting-state functional connectivity MRI and the integration of optogenetic methods in functional imaging ("opto-fMRI"), leveraging the precise manipulation of neuronal circuits afforded by optogenetics to facilitate the analysis of functional connectivity and its relation to behavioral phenotypes in rats and mice. Some projects utilize MRI in conjunction with other imaging modalities (in vivo calcium imaging, microPET/CT); other projects seek to identify changes in brain connectivity induced by exogenous drugs (methamphetamine, cannabis, interleukin-6). To support these aims, the rodent team strives to integrate tools and best practices for data organization, preprocessing and analysis from both human and rodent neuroimaging fields into its work.
Movement Disorders Team
This is an active collaboration with the Balance Disorders Laboratory at OHSU. The focus of the group is to understand the association between changes in brain function and structure with motor and cognitive impairments in aging.