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.
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