Brain Indicators of Developmental Growth (BRIDGE)

Researchers in the Labs of Cognitive Neuroscience at Boston Children’s Hospital are recruiting young children between 2 and 5 years old to participate in a study investigating how differences in brain activity affect learning, language, and behavior in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

• Children between the ages of 2 and 5
• With or without Autism Spectrum Disorder

There will be two visits, each one year apart, at the Labs of Cognitive Neuroscience at Boston Children’s Hospital. Each visit includes: 1)Clinical and behavioral assessments evaluating your child’s thinking, motor skills, language skills, and social communication. 2) Measuring your child’s brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG). EEG is a safe and radiation-free way to measure brain activity in response to different sounds and pictures. 3) Completing questionnaires.

Our team hopes to identify how electroencephalography (EEG) measures taken at the first study visit relate to language acquisition and language ability one year later. Most studies involving these groups have focused on adolescents or adults, and only a handful have investigated brain activity in children. The information gathered will have the potential to help inform future treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders.