Measurement of emerging neurocognitive and language skills in the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study

Julie A Kable; Alexandra S Potter; Natacha Akshoomoff; Patricia M Blasco; Stefanie Bodson; Lucia Ciciolla; Sherry DeGray; Zoe Hulce; Emily S Kuschner; Britley Learnard; Monica Luciana; Alexandra Perez; Miriam A Novack; Tracy Riggins; So Yeon Shin; Sidney Smith; Jennifer Vannest; Eric H Zimak; HBCD Neurocognitive and Language (NCL) Workgroup

doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101461

Measurement of emerging neurocognitive and language skills in the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study

Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2024 Sep 28:70:101461. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101461. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Julie A Kable¹, Alexandra S Potter², Natacha Akshoomoff³, Patricia M Blasco⁴, Stefanie Bodson⁵, Lucia Ciciolla⁶, Sherry DeGray⁷, Zoe Hulce⁸, Emily S Kuschner⁹, Britley Learnard¹⁰, Monica Luciana¹¹, Alexandra Perez¹², Miriam A Novack¹³, Tracy Riggins¹⁴, So Yeon Shin¹⁵, Sidney Smith¹⁶, Jennifer Vannest¹⁷, Eric H Zimak¹⁸; HBCD Neurocognitive and Language (NCL) Workgroup

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, 1 South Prospect Street Arnold 6, Burlington, VT 05401, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Department of Pediatrics, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Institute on Development & Disability, Oregon Health & Science University, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 116 Psychology Building, Stillwater, OK 74074, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁹ Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Scientist and Licensed Psychologist, Departments of Radiology and Psychiatry, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA 19146, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹⁰ Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹¹ Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States.
¹² Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹³ Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹⁴ Department of Psychology, 4094 Campus Drive, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹⁵ Department of Human Development and Quantitative Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹⁷ Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Cincinnati, Speech-Language Pathologist, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹⁸ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87131, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

The HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study, a multi-site prospective longitudinal cohort study, will examine human brain, cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional development beginning prenatally and planned through early childhood. The study plans enrolling over 7000 families across 27 sites. This manuscript presents the measures from the Neurocognition and Language Workgroup. Constructs were selected for their importance in normative development, evidence for altered trajectories associated with environmental influences, and predictive validity for child outcomes. Evaluation of measures considered psychometric properties, brevity, and developmental and cultural appropriateness. Both performance measures and caregiver report were used wherever possible. A balance of norm-referenced global measures of development (e.g., Bayley Scales of Infant Development-4) and more specific laboratory measures (e.g., deferred imitation) are included in the HBCD study battery. Domains of assessment include sensory processing, visual-spatial reasoning, expressive and receptive language, executive function, memory, numeracy, adaptive behavior, and neuromotor. Strategies for staff training and quality control procedures, as well as anticipated measures to be added as the cohort ages, are reviewed. The HBCD study presents a unique opportunity to examine early brain and neurodevelopment in young children through a lens that accounts for prenatal exposures, health and socio-economic disparities.

Keywords: Cognitive development; Executive function; HBCD; Language; Protocol.