Science Updates
Advancing the Science of the Developing Brain
Quarterly updates focusing on sharing information about the incredible research being conducted at the Child Mind Institute.
November 11, 2024
This quarter, as we approach the end of the year, I want to take a moment to reflect on the core mission of the Child Mind Institute: transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders by giving them the help they need to thrive. When we say that, we mean all children worldwide. There are significant barriers to doing this, particularly in low and middle income countries (LMICs). To democratize mental health care we must have equitable, reliable, and culturally sensitive tools to conduct the research we need to better understand the needs of children with mental health and learning disorders across populations. This way, we’ll be able to provide evidence-based care and programs for all children with mental health and learning disorders.
Our science programs have expanded rapidly in recent years to better implement our organization’s overarching mission. While we have always been collaborative, we’re bringing more scientists into the fold than ever before, and reaching out to experts in other fields of study. We’re challenging our global community to help find solutions to the world mental health crisis, facilitating participation through access to relevant tools and training in how to use them. We know — because science tells us so — that when we provide this kind of support to people, including youth, we empower them to find better solutions for their communities. I hope that as you read about some of our recent accomplishments in this newsletter, you will think about how each one helps us fulfill our mission.
Tech & Youth Mental Health Webinar Series Extended Due to High Levels of Interest
After an incredibly successful first round of webinars, the Child Mind Institute Science team has extended our very popular Tech & Youth Mental Health Webinar series, starting with our next event about funder perspectives on November 13th!
In late August, more than 900 people tuned in to hear experts discuss social media and youth mental health. The bottom line? As Dr. Prinstein put it, “Just because two things happen at the same time doesn’t mean that one causes the other.” Read about and watch the expert webinar recording on our blog to get specifics.
Research shows that when youth are empowered to be part of decision-making on issues that affect them, it greatly increases their sense of agency, resulting in better long-term outcomes for them. So we decided to talk to adolescents to find out what they think about all the attention youth mental health and technology has been getting. They told us that the issue is a lot more nuanced than we think. You can learn more about the youth perspective on digital policies on our blog.
Science Team Organizing Public Competitions Around Youth Tech Use and Addiction
Data sharing and community (or “citizen”) science are two related approaches that accelerate the pace of discovery and democratize science. In this spirit, the Science team has run community competitions with our own openly shared data sets.
This fall and winter, two more competitions — both with financial support from the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) — are in the works. Currently, with sponsorship from Dell Technologies and NVIDIA, we’re hosting a Kaggle competition on Problematic Internet Use (PIU). Contestants are given deidentified data from our openly shared Healthy Brain Network dataset, and challenged to predict the level of problematic internet usage in children and teens based on their physical activity. The goal is to identify patterns that could lead to interventions encouraging healthier digital habits. You can get info and join the PIU competition on Kaggle.
The team is also gearing up to host a second competition in early 2025 called, “10-Minute Challenge: Healthier Technology Use for Kids & Teens.” Funded by the state of California, the competition challenges California-based students in high school, college, and graduate school to use our MindLogger™ app to create digital Single Session Interventions (SSIs) aimed at fostering healthier technology use. Winners will receive cash prizes. Stay tuned to the monthly CMI Update newsletter for more info.
Child Mind Institute Science Programs Feature a Strong Emphasis on Training and Mentorship
This past summer, 125 students from our Youth Mental Health Academy’s pilot cohort completed the 14-month program with field internships at community organizations and research institutions. More than 900 students began the first leg of the 2024-2025 program.
The YMHA is an innovative program in collaboration with the state of California. It aims to empower marginalized and disadvantaged communities through youth training, mentorship, and internship. Learn about the program’s incredibly successful first year on our blog.
On October 30, 2024, almost 2,300 individuals from around the globe attended our annual “On The Shoulders of Giants Scientific Symposium.” This year’s event honored Rachel Klein, PhD, whose mentorship has produced a number of key leaders in today’s mental health landscape. Dr. Klein and two of her protégés spoke about their groundbreaking research on anxiety, and then sat down with a panel of other experts to discuss the next generation of anxiety treatments. You can read about the event and watch the videos on our website.
SNF Global Center at the Child Mind Institute Tackles Worldwide Child and Adolescent Mental Health Crisis
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Child Mind Institute named Syed Usman Hamdani, PhD, and Christine Musyimi, PhD, as the inaugural 2024 SNF Global Center Research Fellows.
Their projects will lead research advancement and capacity building to address child and adolescent mental health gaps and needs in their home countries of Pakistan and Kenya. The Fellowships target exceptionally creative, early-career scientists with records of conducting innovative projects with high impact in local communities in their region. These are projects that demonstrate potential to revolutionize the field of child and adolescent mental health care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
The center also named journalist Avit Ndayiziga (Burundi) as the inaugural 2024 Communicator Fellow in partnership with the Carter Center. As an SNF Global Communicator Fellow, Mr. Ndayiziga travelled to the Child Mind Institute’s New York City location to receive training and mentoring in reporting on child and adolescent mental health.
The SNF Global Center Fellowships are one of the six core initiatives of the SNF Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Child Mind Institute, which harnesses the Child Mind Institute’s commitment to transforming the lives of children struggling with mental health and learning disorders.
Additional Items of Interest
Recognizing Outstanding Student Projects on Mental Health
The Child Mind Institute Youth Mental Health Academy is all about hands on learning, including a capstone project. During the 5-week summer academy portion, students work with a mentored group of peers on a topic of their choice, then present their projects at an end-of-summer event attended by teachers, families, and leaders of California State agencies. Participants and staff select which ones will receive special recognition.
Brain Charts for the Rhesus Macaque: Human Applications
Director of the Center for Integrative Developmental Neuroscience (IDN), Ting Xu, PhD, and 78 co-authors published a preprint paper establishing critical MRI-based brain growth charts for macaques. The result of 10+ years of open science work, it is a key resource for facilitating cross-species comparisons to advance understanding of the developing human brain and translational neuroscience research at large.
A Call to Standardize Data Processing Pipelines
A new paper in Nature Human Behaviour looks at how data processing pipelines can affect results when looking at neuroimaging data. It’s a big concern since neuroscientists aim to find clinical applications for neuroimaging. The paper, written by Michael Milham, MD, PhD, and Gregory Kiar, PhD, says that pipeline standardization will be key to reproducibility.
Looking for Training Resources for Your School?
The School and Community Programs professional training team works with school partners to help educators implement evidence-based mental health programs in their schools. 95 percent of trainees said they would recommend this training program to school staff.
Programs for Kids with Social Communication Delays
The Autism Center’s Project ImPACT and Early Language Enrichment Group are evidence-based programs for children ages 1-8 with social communication delays. The center is offering free informational webinars about the program to interested parents.
Imaginative Play Linked with Positive Skills
Most children begin to engage in pretend play around age two, and continue throughout childhood. As they grow, their imaginative play evolves in ways that seem to help them develop a range of social, emotional, and cognitive skills. But more rigorous research is needed to better understand the relationship between play and development.
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