Current Research
The NCPP "children" are now in their late 30s and early 40s. We are conducting a series of adult follow-up studies, in which we locate, recruit, and assess the parents and offspring 30 years after the original assessments ended. In our follow-up efforts, we have successfully located approximately 85% of the selected sample; over 90% of these subjects have participated in interview and laboratory studies, including clinical symptomatology, neuropsychological assessment, magnetic resonance imaging, molecular genetics and others.
Over the past 20 years, work with the New England cohort has focused on the prenatal and early life antecedents of a range of neuropsychiatric, physical and behavioral conditions of late adolescence and adulthood. Publications over the past five years have included work on schizophrenia, substance abuse, heart disease, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, depression, and suicide.
Current studies include:
- Brain Function and Structure in Adults with Dyslexia and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Relationship to Obstetric Factors
- Hormones and Brain function: Affective Arousal Deficits in Women with Schizophrenia
- Family Study of Psychosis: Brain, Genes, and Prenatal Risk
- Neurodevelopmental Study of Schizophrenia
- Prenatal/Perinatal Complications and Schizophrenia
- Sex and Structural Brain Abnormalities in Schizophrenia
After the neonatal stage, the child was seen at five subsequent assessments during childhood: ages 4 months, 8 months, 12 months, 4 years and 7 years. Follow-up visits included pediatric, neurological and psychological assessment of the child and maternal interviews. Follow-up rates for the New England cohort surpassed the national project rates; over 80% of the New England cohort completed the final full assessment at age 7.