This Mentored Scientist Award will develop the candidate, a cognitive-developmental research psychologist, into an independent investigator in the field of child psychology. The candidate's long-range goals are to apply the knowledge attained to understand brain-behavior relationships in the pathogenesis of autism, Attention Deficits Hyperactivity Disorder, and other child mental disorders, such as Anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Tourette's syndrome. The specific research project aims to understand: 1) a constellation of executive functions that differentiate children with autism and children with ADHD; and 2) brain mechanisms that underlie executive function impairment in these two disorders. Cognitive-neuropsychological research paradigms, morphometric, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be used to examine the hypothesis that autism and ADHD are each related to specific dysfunctions within an anterior frontal brain network. This project provides for the candidate's career development through formal study of childhood psychiatric disorders, course-work, workshops in fMRI, extensive mentorship in a clinical-research environment, and implementation of a research project that is the beginning of a larger investigation aimed at understanding the neurobiological bases of complex child psychiatric disorders. Innovative neuroimaging techniques can provide detailed information about patterns of brain activity associated with sensory, perceptual, and cognitive processes that may be used to test, define, and differentiate between psychological theories of autism and ADHD and may give rise to improved diagnoses and treatments. Dr. Godfrey Pearlson, an expert in neuroimaging of mental disorders, will provide primary mentorship. A number of consultants will supplement the mentor's areas of expertise.
| Goldberg, Melissa C; Spinelli, Simona; Joel, Suresh et al. (2011) Children with high functioning autism show increased prefrontal and temporal cortex activity during error monitoring. Dev Cogn Neurosci 1:47-56 |
| Mostofsky, Stewart H; Powell, Stephanie K; Simmonds, Daniel J et al. (2009) Decreased connectivity and cerebellar activity in autism during motor task performance. Brain 132:2413-25 |
| Goldberg, Melissa C; Mostow, Allison J; Vecera, Shaun P et al. (2008) Evidence for impairments in using static line drawings of eye gaze cues to orient visual-spatial attention in children with high functioning autism. J Autism Dev Disord 38:1405-13 |
| Roeder, Megan B; Mahone, E Mark; Gidley Larson, J et al. (2008) Left-right differences on timed motor examination in children. Child Neuropsychol 14:249-62 |
| Larson, Jennifer C Gidley; Mostofsky, Stewart H; Goldberg, Melissa C et al. (2007) Effects of gender and age on motor exam in typically developing children. Dev Neuropsychol 32:543-62 |
| Mostofsky, Stewart H; Dubey, Prachi; Jerath, Vandna K et al. (2006) Developmental dyspraxia is not limited to imitation in children with autism spectrum disorders. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 12:314-26 |
| Mahone, E Mark; Powell, Stephanie K; Loftis, Christopher W et al. (2006) Motor persistence and inhibition in autism and ADHD. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 12:622-31 |
| Mostofsky, Stewart H; Rimrodt, Sheryl L; Schafer, Joanna G B et al. (2006) Atypical motor and sensory cortex activation in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of simple sequential finger tapping. Biol Psychiatry 59:48-56 |
| Jansiewicz, Eva M; Goldberg, Melissa C; Newschaffer, Craig J et al. (2006) Motor signs distinguish children with high functioning autism and Asperger's syndrome from controls. J Autism Dev Disord 36:613-21 |
| Goldberg, M C; Mostofsky, S H; Cutting, L E et al. (2005) Subtle executive impairment in children with autism and children with ADHD. J Autism Dev Disord 35:279-93 |
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