Parents Track Children's Development: Future Research May Reveal Brain Growth Insights

Typically, during pediatric visits, parents and healthcare providers assess a child's growth by plotting height and weight on standardized charts that compare individual measurements to national averages. This process helps monitor physical development and ensures health milestones are being met. However, recent advancements in neuroscience and data sharing are paving the way for a new future where understanding a child's brain development could become as routine as tracking physical growth.

A team of researchers from the University of Maryland, collaborating with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is working on developing tools that will allow medical professionals and scientists to measure and share information about brain development in children. Led by Professor Tracy Riggins of the Department of Psychology, along with Professors Brenda Jones Harden and Nathan Fox, the project involves the NIH Brain Development Cohorts (NBDC) Data Hub, an extensive database now accessible to researchers globally.

This groundbreaking resource includes longitudinal data on brain, behavioral, and genomic information collected from large-scale studies like the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study and the Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study. These datasets provide invaluable insights into the brain development of children from birth through adolescence.

By examining these data, researchers can analyze a wide range of topics, including autism spectrum disorder, mental health issues, memory, and language skills. The goal is to better understand typical and atypical brain growth, leading to improved early detection of developmental disorders and more tailored interventions.

Professor Riggins emphasized that this dataset is unprecedented in scope and scope, offering an extensive view into how the brain develops over crucial childhood years. The HBCD study, which begins during pregnancy and follows children until age eight, combined with the ABCD study that tracks individuals from age eight through adolescence, creates a comprehensive picture of brain and behavioral changes.

With approximately 7,000 parent-child pairs anticipated for the final HBCD sample, the research captures the entire spectrum of brain development, including influences from prenatal exposure to various environmental factors such as substances, pollutants, and parental stress. These factors, along with demographic variables like race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, are being studied to understand their impact on brain growth and behavioral outcomes.

The data collected are openly shared, making them a resource not just for individual researchers but for the entire scientific community. As Professor Jones Harden noted, this open-access approach can inform policies and programs that support children's developmental needs, especially in underserved populations.

To sustain and expand the project, the research team is actively recruiting more participants, including families who speak different languages and come from diverse backgrounds. Support services such as resource provision and assistance with study logistics are part of the effort to encourage wide participation.

Ultimately, this initiative aims to unlock a deeper understanding of the human brain and human behavior, with limitless potential for informing better healthcare, education, and social policies. More information about participation in the study can be found at the HBCD website.

Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-parents-typically-track-children-growth.html