Descripción del proyecto
Los problemas de salud mental en la infancia
En un mundo que afronta una creciente crisis de salud mental, aproximadamente el 12 % de los niños se ven afectados por problemas de salud mental. Con el apoyo de las Acciones Marie Skłodowska-Curie, el equipo del proyecto DevSocMH pretende descifrar la intrincada relación entre la cognición social y el comportamiento socioemocional en los años formativos de la infancia. Aunque esta conexión se ha establecido en niños mayores y adolescentes, existe una laguna en la comprensión de su manifestación durante la lactancia y la primera infancia. El método consiste en validar una técnica portátil de neuroimagen, la espectroscopia funcional del infrarrojo cercano, para rastrear patrones neuronales. Esto tiene el potencial de revolucionar las estrategias de detección precoz al mapear los fundamentos neuronales de la cognición social y su interacción con el comportamiento socioemocional.
Objetivo
Mental health problems affect approximately 12% of children and have dramatic consequences at the individual and societal level. This mental health crisis is rapidly worsening as a consequence of the pandemic. Understanding mechanisms contributing to mental health outcomes is critical to identify children at risk of unfavorable mental health outcomes and to devise targeted and effective interventions. Since precursors of mental health problems manifest in childhood as altered social behavior, my research project aims to uncover developmental pathways to altered socio-emotional behavior in preschool children. First, I aim to identify cognitive processes underlying socio-emotional behavior that can be directly targeted in interventions. To this end, I propose to study the relationship between social cognition and socioemotional behavior in preschool children. Even though the relationship has been established in older children and adolescents, we lack research focusing on infancy and early childhood. Evidence of this relationship earlier in life promises to have important implications for clinical interventions. Second, I aim to help identify a neural marker of altered behavior that can be leveraged for early detection of at-risk individuals. To this end, I propose to use neuroimaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI) to measure the brain network underlying social cognition and examine its association with socioemotional behavior. A critical novel aspect of my work is that I will validate the use of a portable neuroimaging technique (functional near infrared spectroscopy or fNIRS), which can be more easily deployed in clinical practice for early detection strategies.
Ámbito científico
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Régimen de financiación
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinador
10117 Berlin
Alemania