I have long been interested in brain development in children with developmental and acquired disabilities. Part of understanding how things go wrong involves knowing, as well, what normal development looks like.

One of the most exiting aspects of living in this time is that the tools with which we can observe brain functioning have evolved to include non-invasive methods such as MRI, fMRI and DTI.

Center for Neurodevelopmental Study

The MSU Center for Neurodevelopmental Study was founded
by Dr. Margaret Semrud-Clikeman and myself in 2007 with the mission to conduct research on typical and non-typical brain development in children. We usually have several projects ongoing. Current projects include:

Social Perception
What are the neural correlates of social perception in children with Asperger’s Disorder, High Functioning Autism, and Nonverbal Learning Disability. How do they differ, and how can we target interventions to improve the neural circuitry for these children? A preliminary study in healthy young adults suggested gender differences in social perception (Fine, Semrud-Clikeman & Zhu, 2009).

Math vs. Language
What makes a math-science brain different from a brain that favors language? What are the relative contributions of nature and nurture?

Cost Response in ADHD
Do children with ADHD have different brain activity in response to positive and negative feedback?

You can learn more about these projects by visiting the CNS site.

Dyslexia
Past research (Fine, Semrud-Clikeman, Keith, Stapleton & Hynd, 2007) has indicated that the neural pathways involved in dyslexia may be related to understimulation of the primary-to-secondary auditory sensory system. Future research is planned to use DTI to confirm this hypothesis and to establish early interventions.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging
MRI is a non-invasive procedure that provides high resolution pictures of the brain. We use these images to measure the volume of specific brain structures.

Functional MRI
Functional MRI tracks the deoxygenation of blood in the brain, which is presumed to be associated with brain activity. We use this type of image to learn about brain activation in response to specific stimuli.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging
DTI tracks the perfusion of water through the brain, yielding a measure of the integrity of the white matter structures.