C4

THE TEEN BRAIN: INSIGHTS FROM NEUROIMAGING

Presenters: Jay Giedd

Abstract Category: Medical

Instruction Level: Intermediate

Presentation: Not Provided

Description: 

An update from a large longitudinal imaging study of the developing child and adolescent brain.

Abstract:

Few parents of a teenager are surprised to hear that the brain of a 16 year old is different than the brain of an 8 year old. Yet to pin down these differences in a rigorous scientific way has been elusive. Magnetic resonance imaging, with the capacity to provide exquisitely accurate quantifications of brain anatomy and physiology without the use of ionizing radiation, has launched a new era of adolescent neuroscience.

Longitudinal studies of subjects from ages 3 to 30 years demonstrate a general pattern of childhood peaks of gray matter followed by adolescent declines, functional and structural increases in connectivity and integrative processing, and a changing balance between limbic/subcortical and frontal lobe functions which extends well into young adulthood.

Although over interpretation and premature application of neuroimaging findings for diagnostic purposes remains a risk, converging data from multiple imaging modalities is beginning to elucidate the implications of these brain changes on cognition, emotion, and behavior.

In this presentation I will summarize the most recent findings from an ongoing longitudinal brain imaging / neuropsychological / genetic study being conducted at the Child Psychiatry Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health which encompasses over 1000 MRI scans.