Brain
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Neuroanatomical Variability and Early Substance Use Initiation: Insights from the ABCD Study
Adolescence is a period of rapid brain development, making it a sensitive window for experiences that may shape long-term outcomes. A new study from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) project examined whether neuroanatomical variability is linked to early initiation of alcohol, nicotine, or cannabis. Drawing on baseline brain images taken before substance use began, the researchers found regionally specific differences in cortical thickness and surface area among early initiators. The findings highlight the complexity of adolescent neurodevelopment and point to the value of large-scale, longitudinal studies in clarifying how brain structure and behaviour unfold together.
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Substance use and the adolescent brain
Depending on the substance, they impact health in various ways, both in the short and long term, with some of the most profound effects occurring during adolescence.
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- Introductory and Update Session
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- LIVE STREAM
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The Early Path to Social Anxiety: How Temperament, Attention, and Emotion Interact to Inform Intervention Strategies
In this insightful session, Dr. Koraly Pérez-Edgar, McCourtney Professor of Child Studies at Penn State University, will explore how early-emerging temperament, particularly behavioral inhibition, can influence children’s long-term social and emotional development.
- Event type
- Introductory and Update Session
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- LIVE STREAM
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Neurodiversity: Cutting-Edge Research, Evolving Perspectives, and Effective Innovations – 2025 Jack Tizard Memorial International Conference
BOOKINGS CLOSED
- Event type
- Jack Tizard Memorial International Conference
- Location
- LIVE STREAM
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Eating Disorders: A Concern for All
Did you know that approximately 22% of children and adolescents worldwide show disordered eating? Eating Disorders Awareness Week (24 February – 2 March 2025) is an opportunity to improve awareness that anyone can have an eating disorder and explore the impact that eating disorders can have on children and young people.
This Eating Disorder Awareness Week, we encourage you to explore the FREE learning opportunities available on our website and ACAMH Learn, and to share with your networks.
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Brain differences in children who show symptoms of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of children showing symptoms of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) show differences in certain brain regions relative to children without ARFID symptoms. Findings from this work serve to improve our general understanding of ARFID and may help inform on ARFID-related services or our understanding of ARFID.
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Annual Research Review: Neuroimmune network model of depression: a developmental perspective
Open Access paper from the JCPP – ‘We have three goals for the present paper. First, we extend neuroimmune network models of mental and physical health to generate a developmental framework of risk for the onset of depression during adolescence. Second, we examine how a neuroimmune network perspective can help explain the high rates of comorbidity between depression and other psychiatric disorders across development, and multimorbidity between depression and stress-related medical illnesses. Finally, we consider how identifying neuroimmune pathways to depression can facilitate a ‘next generation’ of behavioral and biological interventions that target neuroimmune signaling to treat, and ideally prevent, depression in youth and adolescents.’ Robin Nusslock (pic) et al.
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A network approach to the investigation of childhood irritability: probing frustration using social stimuli
Paper from the JCPP – ‘Currently, there is inconsistency in the identification of neural circuits that underlie irritability in children, especially in social contexts. This study aimed to address this gap by utilizing a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm to investigate pediatric anger/frustration using social stimuli.’ Khalil I. Thompson et al.
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DNA Methylation, Lateral Ventricular Volume, and Psychiatric Risk for Schizophrenia
In this Papers Podcast, Dr. Charlotte Cecil and Dr. Mannan Luo discusses their co-authored JCPP paper ‘DNA methylation at birth and lateral ventricular volume in childhood: a neuroimaging epigenetics study’.
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Interplay of early negative life events, development of orbitofrontal cortical thickness and depression in young adulthood
Open Access paper from JCPP Advances – ‘Using a complete longitudinal design with four time points, we examined whether NLE during childhood and early adolescence predict depressive symptoms in young adulthood through accelerated OFC thinning across adolescence.’ Lea L. Backhausen (pic) and Jonas Granzow et al.
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