The purpose of this study is to advance the scientific understanding of how a prenatalCOVID-19 infection and associated psychological distress influences infantneurodevelopment. This project will aim to shed light on how families and childdevelopment are impacted by the current COVID-19 pandemic and will work to better supportthese families and children as they grow.
Prenatal exposure to maternal illness and stress has been widely associated with adverse
neurodevelopmental outcomes, including deficits in cognition and socioemotional
development. The principal goal of this project utilizes Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(MRI), Electroencephalography (EEG), and a variety of behavioral measures to assess brain
maturation and neurodevelopment among infants exposed prenatally to COVID-19 and
associated high levels of stress. The planned experiments are effective in identifying
brain markers that may contribute to resiliency in young infants, determining measures of
stress response in relation to a maternal COVID-19 diagnosis, and characterizing the
neurodevelopment of those infants born to mothers with a COVID-19 infection.
Specific goals include:
1. To determine the prevalence of psychological distress in pregnant women with a
confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and to examine the extent to which existing high risk
environments play a role in the susceptibility of heightened psychological distress.
2. To examine the effects of prenatal distress and maternal illness/inflammation
related to a maternal COVID-19 diagnosis on early structural and functional brain
development.
3. To characterize neural networks that may have been impacted by a maternal COVID-19
infection and related stress during pregnancy.
4. To assess the early neurodevelopment outcomes of infants exposed to elevated
prenatal stress related to a maternal COVID-19 diagnosis during pregnancy.
Other: No Intervention
No Intervention
Inclusion Criteria:
- English or Spanish- speaking of any ethnicity
- Women, aged 18 or older
- Women who received COVID-19 diagnoses during pregnancy OR Women without any
SARS-CoV-2 positive test during pregnancy, any suspected COVID illness (even if not
tested) or who received a negative COVID-19 test result during pregnancy
Exclusion Criteria:
Participants will be excluded if the child:
- is born at less than 34 weeks or if birth weight is not appropriate for dates
- has an identified genetic, metabolic, syndromic or progressive neurological disorder
(e.g., Down Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, Tuberous Sclerosis, Neurofibromatosis, Fragile
X Syndrome) at birth or within the first year
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Boston Children's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Charles A Nelson, PhD, Principal Investigator
Boston Children's Hospital