The Brain Development and Social Cognition Lab
Our team studies how the brain matures across development. We are particularly interested in understanding how brain changes that happen during adolescence affect social behavior, emotional responses, and cognitive function. Our research focuses on the developmental process in both healthy children and children who have encountered health concerns or emotional difficulties in their lives.
We assess brain activity and behavior in children and adolescents using techniques like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and eyetracking—as well as computer games and questionnaires. We perform both functional imaging (task-based and resting state) and structural imaging (analysis of gray and white matter content).
The Brain Development and Social Cognition Lab works closely with the Neuroimaging Group based in the Center for Biobehavioral Health to develop analytic techniques and maintain the computational infrastructure needed to conduct behavioral and neuroimaging-based science.
Families who are interested in participating in research can learn more about the process before getting started. Explore our What to Expect and Participation FAQs pages to understand what a study visit may look like and how your child’s participation can help researchers better understand brain development.
Featured Research Projects
Clinical researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital are committed to improving our understanding of the basic mechanisms that support brain health and brain development. Below is a list of ongoing research studies that The Brain Development and Social Cognition Lab are involved with. If you are interested in learning more about any of these studies, contact Dr. Eric Nelson at Eric.Nelson@NationwideChildrens.org.
The goal of the Transgender Development Study is to get a better understanding of the complex effects hormone treatments have on mental health, brain development and overall wellbeing of transgender adolescents.
The State of Ohio Adversity and Resilience Study is a multi-site project designed to understand the factors that confer risk and resilience to mental health and substance use difficulties for individuals and their families across Ohio. In the deep phenotyping arm of the SOAR study, Nationwide Children’s is working in conjunction with The Ohio State University, Cincinnati Children’s, Case Western University and The University of Toledo to identify factors of social, brain, biological and psychological functioning that may relate to substance use and mental health problems.
Children of mothers with depression are more likely to develop depression themselves. However, not all children of depressed mothers become depressed. In this study, we are working with Dr. Katie Burkhouse (Penn State University) to examine how individual differences in emotion regulation styles are implicated in the development and course of depression in children and adolescents ages 9-14 years. This study involves completion of self-reports of mood and emotion, and completion of both an EEG and an MRI task while performing emotion-eliciting tasks. We will also perform several remote follow-up visits and a second complete in-person visits at 1 and 2 years after initiation. If you are interested in this study please contact Caley Lane or Christine Roberts.
For people with psychotic disorders, the symptoms often begin in adolescence or young adulthood. The present study is designed to assess brain structure and function and other biological measures from blood samples in adolescents undergoing early psychotic episodes. Participants will undergo brain and blood assessments during initial episode at the start of treatment and again 6 months after treatment has begun. The goal is to identify specific biological factors that may lead to initiation of psychosis as well as markers that relate to treatment response.
Anhedonia or the inability to experience positive emotions is a symptom of depression and associated with suicidal behavior. This study is designed to assess anhedonia and the underlying brain systems that support positive emotions in youth with suicidal behavior before and after undergoing treatment. The aim is to better understand how this specific symptom relates to suicide and responds to depression treatment.
Rumination is the act of perseverative thinking about negative emotional experiences and is a core symptom of depression. In this study brain scans will be combined with a smart phone-based probes to capture rumination patterns in adolescents who are at risk for depression but have not yet developed full depression symptoms. The goal is to detect the cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms of perseverative thoughts which may precede onset of depression.
