Dr. Kristen Robinson's long-term career goal is to become an accomplished clinical scientist with a program of research aimed at the early identification of children most at risk for cognitive, social, and adaptive morbidities following childhood brain injury. This mentored research scientist development award (K01) proposal outlines career development and research plans that will ultimately lead to Dr. Robinson becoming a successful independent investigator in pediatric neuropsychology. Dr. Robinson will pursue a career development plan that focuses on the continued acquisition of skills necessary to obtain her career goals, through a set of mentored research experiences. Dr. Robinson will obtain intensive training in cutting-edge neuroimaging methods that assess brain pathways and functional networks, ecologically- valid real-world assessment of social functioning, and advanced multi-method statistical modeling, as well as instruction in aspects of behavioral neurology. She will complete her training under the mentorship of a skilled and established team of mentors and collaborators with extensive expertise and success in guiding trainees and junior faculty to successful careers as independent clinical scientists. She will benefit from state-of-the-art neuroimaging facilities and extensive support from research core services. The new research and analytical skills she acquires during the award period will enhance her existing abilities and build upon her strong foundation in clinical psychology, pediatric neuropsychology, and social neuroscience. The long-term objectives of the research project are to improve social outcomes for children following traumatic brain injury (TBI) by identifying the neural mechanisms that underlie executive function and social cognitive deficits and identifying how those mechanisms are associated with social behavior, peer relationships, and classroom social adjustment. The study will involve 8- to 15- year old children with moderate to severe TBI (n=30) and a comparison group of children with orthopedic injury (OI; n=30). Research methods will include diffusion tensor imaging, functional and connectivity imaging, as well as ecologically-valid school based assessment, and will address two main research aims: a) to identify differences and similarities in the neural substrates underlying executive and social- cognitive functioning in children with TBI relative to children with OI; and b) to explore associations among brain structure, functional activation, social functioning, and adaptive outcome. Statistical analyses will assess the similarities and differences in patterns of brain activation and white matter integrity across groups, and will assess the associations among these indicators of brain structural and functional integrity with social behavior, peer relationships, and social adjustment in the classroom. Assessment of these relationships is necessary to inform the development of interventions to remediate the social difficulties children face after TBI.
Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with significant cognitive, social, and adaptive morbidities that lessen quality of life. The brain systems that underlie these consequences of injury are not well understood. Research on these neural mechanisms could provide a foundation for the development of interventions to improve outcomes for children after TBI. In this study, we combine multiple neuroimaging methods to determine how brain structure and function after moderate to severe TBI are associated with children's peer relationships and classroom social adjustment. We also explore whether changes in cognitive function or social cognition better explain the day-to- day social difficultie some children experience following TBI.
