Long-term language outcomes in children with prenatal virus exposure

Active Project Grant Awarded Last action

Award ID
R01DC021698
Recipient
Awarding agency
Obligated
$3,697,912

Award facts

Completion date 51% complete
Place of performance
Nashville, TN 37203, USA

Award details come from USAspending.gov.

Description

As the agency reported it.

Abstract
Prenatal exposure to viruses and toxins places a developing fetus at risk for neurodevelopmental, motor, and sensory deficits that may directly or indirectly impact language ability. To date, most research on prenatal exposure effects have focused on clearly identifiable sequelae (e.g., microcephaly, hearing loss) that can be detected shortly after birth. This approach omits the much larger group of children with a history of prenatal exposure who appeared asymptomatic at birth or during infancy. We have demonstrated that children exposed to the zika virus (zikv) who were asymptomatic at birth exhibit a slower rate of communicative than cognitive development during infancy that cannot be explained by nonverbal cognitive delays or peripheral hearing loss. Our more recent data from exposed and not exposed children during the preschool age indicate group differences in language and communicative skills. The central hypothesis of the proposed study is that prenatal viral exposure can result in altered language development in the absence of peripheral hearing loss or nonverbal cognitive disabilities, that these characteristics become more apparent later in childhood, and can be predicted by well-selected, sensitive behavioral and physiological measures. Children born during the zikv pandemic in brazil in 2015-2017 present a unique cohort with objectively documented exposure status. We have begun study of this well-characterized cohort to evaluate language characteristics and identify auditory neural markers. This application proposes to characterize the impact of prenatal virus exposure on the development of language by addressing these specific aims: specific aim 1: to comprehensively characterize language development in school-age children with prenatal exposure to zikv. Studies typically have followed exposed children only through toddlerhood and utilized limited language measures. Emerging data suggest that language difficulties increase as these children get older despite normal peripheral hearing and typical cognitive skills. Specific aim 2: to characterize auditory neural function in children with prenatal zikv exposure. Studies of auditory function to date have focused on peripheral hearing sensitivity, which is rarely abnormal, and have not systematically examined auditory neural processing, particularly for speech stimuli. Specific aim 3: to construct a model that describes concurrent and predictive relationships between language ability, biological, cognitive, and environmental factors in children with prenatal zikv exposure. The proposed research facilitates collaboration among researchers in the USA and in brazil who follow some of the largest cohorts of zikv-exposed children in the world. The opportunity to study this well-defined cohort of children will improve understanding of the impact of prenatal virus exposure on language development and auditory neural function, inform future studies investigating the effects of prenatal and postnatal factors on language outcomes, and provide auditory markers for earlier identification of those at risk for language difficulties.

Transactions

Action Obligated Date
Amendment $79,570
Amendment $78,963
Amendment $439,604
Amendment $60,119
Amendment $541,069
Amendment $541,069
Amendment $652,506
Amendment $652,506
Original award $652,506

Subawards

Subrecipient Amount Awarded
Fund De Apoio AO Ensino Pesq E Assistencia Hcfmrpusp Long-term language outcomes in children with prenatal virus exposure $79,570
Fundacao De Apoio AO Ensino Extensao E Pesquisa De Alagoas $78,963
Emory University $22,330
Fund De Apoio AO Ensino Pesq E Assistencia Hcfmrpusp $82,691
Fundacao De Apoio AO Ensino Extensao E Pesquisa De Alagoas $84,100
Emory University $22,330
Fund De Apoio AO Ensino Pesq E Assistencia Hcfmrpusp $86,873
Emory University $29,372
Fundacao De Apoio AO Ensino Extensao E Pesquisa De Alagoas $84,159

Quick answers

Who received award R01DC021698?

R01DC021698 was awarded to Vanderbilt University Medical Center by National Institute on Deafness and Other Communincation Disorders (National Institutes of Health) on April 1, 2024.

How much is award R01DC021698 worth?

$3,697,912 has been obligated on R01DC021698.

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