Brain Imaging of Childhood Onset Psychiatric Disorders, Endocrine Disorders and Healthy Volunteers

June 17, 2026 updated by: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) unlike X-rays and CT-scans does not use radiation to create a picture. MRI use as the name implies, magnetism to create pictures with excellent anatomical resolution. Functional MRIs are diagnostic tests that allow doctors to not only view anatomy, but physiology and function. It is for these reasons that MRIs are excellent methods for studying the brain.

In this study, researchers will use MRI to assess brain anatomy and function in X and Y chromosome variation, healthy volunteers, and patients with a variety of childhood onset psychiatric disorders. The disorders include attention deficit disorder, autism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, childhood-onset schizophrenia, dyslexia, obsessive compulsive disorder, Sydenham's chorea, and Tourette's syndrome.

Results of the MRIs showing the anatomy of the brain and brain function will be compared across age, sex (gender), and diagnostic groups. Correlations between brain and behavioral measures will be examined for normal and clinical populations.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

Study Description:

This natural history protocol will have participants come to the NIH for brain imaging, psychological/psychiatric testing, and genetic characterization. Our core hypotheses are that many of the most severe neuropsychiatric disorders of childhood onset are associated with deviations from the path of normal brain development, the neuroanatomical substrates of which can be detected by magnetic resonance imaging.

Objectives:

Primary Objectives:

The long-term objectives of the protocol are to (1) map the neuroanatomic and neurophysiological trajectories of brain development; and (2) discern the influences, for good or ill, on those trajectories from demographic clinical, genetic, and environmental factors. Approximately half of the participants in our sample are typically developing. Clinical populations in our sample include participants with a variety of brain-based disorders, such as Autism, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Childhood Onset Schizophrenia, Dyslexia, Sydenham s Chorea, and Tourette s Syndrome.

Secondary Objectives:

To characterize the relationships among measures of behavior and cognition as well as amongst multimodal measures of brain organization.

Endpoints:

Primary Endpoint:

T1-weighted structural neuroimaging data which enable us to characterize how a range of anatomical brain phenotypes vary as a function of age, sex, behavioral/cognitive traits, diagnostic status and genotype.

Secondary Endpoints:

Data analyses also consider how these factors relate to other outcomes of interest including; gene expression levels, functional metrics from in vivo neuroimaging, and questionnaire/interview-based assessment of clinical features.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

4274

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

3 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Our studies include data from typically developing youth, and individuals with a range of psychiatric presentations from behaviorally-defined (e.g. Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia, Autism Spectrum Disorder) as well as genetically-defined (e.g. Sex Chromosome Aneuploidy) groups. Participants span a wide age range (from 3 years of age upwards).

Description

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:

In order to be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria:

Inclusion criteria for healthy controls

Participants consenting to participation in the study

-Over 3 years of age with no upper limit for age at time of enrollment.

Inclusion criteria for MRI scanner calibration project:

Participants will meet protocol criteria for adult healthy volunteers.

Inclusion criteria for affected participant populations:

-Male and female participants over 3 years of age with no upper limit for age (with the exception of the Down syndrome group - see below). Currently meet criteria for at least one of the following:

  • DSM-IV (or other approved) criteria for one of the following clinical diagnoses: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Childhood Onset Schizophrenia, Turner Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Asperger Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, Pervasive Development Disorder
  • ICD-10 criteria for Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, Cushings Syndrome, Kallmann Syndrome, Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome.
  • ADHD
  • Chromosomal aneuploidies including Down s Syndrome and Sex chromosome aneuploidy as determined by karyotype (including XXX, XXXX, XXXXX, XXY, XXYY, XXXY, XXXXY, XYY, and XO).

Additional Inclusion criteria for Down Syndrome participants:

  • Confirmed chromosomal diagnosis of Down syndrome.
  • Age at entry into the study is 30 years or under. This upper age limit at study entry is being implemented for the Down syndrome group for several reasons. First, much of the research using magnetic resonance imaging with this population is focused on (older) adult populations and in particular the transition to early onset Alzheimer s disease. Because most (if not all) individuals with Down syndrome demonstrate some brain pathology consistent with Alzheimer s disease by age 30 (e.g., plaques and tangles; Mann & Esiri, 1989), we would like to enroll participants who are 30 years of age and under. Second, studying children and young adults with Down syndrome fills a significant gap in the literature, as there are very few structural magnetic resonance imaging studies of children and young adults with Down syndrome reported in the literature to date, and the majority of these studies are characterized by small samples of convenience (i.e., clinic populations). Thus, there is still a need to describe the developmental course of this disorder from early childhood to young adulthood. Such developmental research may help shed light on the causes of intellectual disability in Down syndrome and also identify individuals with the syndrome who are most at risk for experiencing the cognitive decline that is reported in the literature for some individuals after the age of 30 (Oliver et al., 1998).

Inclusion criteria for parents and siblings of affected participant populations:

Participants consenting to participation in the study

  • Over 3 years of age with no upper limit for age at time of enrollment.
  • Parents must have the ability to understand and provide informed consent to the study.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

NIMH staff and their immediate family are excluded from participation.

Exclusion criteria for healthy controls:

  • Presence of severe psychiatric disorder (as diagnosed prior to participant study enrollment) in the participant. For these purposes, exclusionary severe psychiatric disorder includes schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder.
  • Presence or history of medical conditions known to affect cerebral anatomy.
  • Dental braces.
  • Contraindications for MRI scanning according to the NMR Center MRI Safety Screening Questionnaire and guidelines.
  • For females who have reached menarche: Pregnancy or inability or unwillingness to undergo pregnancy testing.

Exclusion criteria for all affected participant populations, including parents and siblings of the affected participants:

  • Dental braces.
  • Contraindications for MRI scanning according to the NMR Center MRI Safety Screening Questionnaire and guidelines.
  • For females who have reached menarche: Pregnancy or inability or unwillingness to undergo pregnancy testing.
  • Evidence of another medical condition or traumatic event known to affect cerebral anatomy.
  • A known genetic disorder (other than the condition under investigation) that would be expected to significantly impact findings from cognitive testing and/or neuroimaging.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
1
Our studies include data from typically developing youth, and individuals with a range of psychiatric presentations from behaviorally-defined (e.g. Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia, Autism Spectrum Disorder) as well as genetically-defined (e.g. Sex Chromosome Aneuploidy) groups. Participants span a wide age range (from 3 years of age upwards).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Volumetric MRI Data
Time Frame: Ongoing
Volumetric MRI Data
Ongoing

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Cognitive data
Time Frame: Ongoing
Ongoing

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Armin Raznahan, M.D., National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

June 19, 1990

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 3, 1999

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 3, 1999

First Posted (Estimated)

November 4, 1999

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 17, 2026

Last Verified

June 3, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 890006
  • 89-M-0006

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

We will share human data generated in this research for future research as follows@@@-Coded, linked data in an NIH-funded or approved public repository.@@@-Coded, linked data with approved outside collaborators under appropriate agreements.@@@@@@How and where will the data be shared?@@@@@@Data will be shared through:@@@-An NIH-funded or approved public repository: clinicaltrials.gov and dbGaP.@@@@@@-Approved outside collaborators under appropriate individual agreements.@@@@@@-Publication and/or public presentations.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

When will the data be shared?@@@@@@-Within 1 year of completion of the primary endpoint.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

B. Data (including genomic data) and sample sharing plan@@@@@@Human Data Sharing Plan: This study will comply with the NIH Data Sharing Policy and Policy on the Dissemination of NIH-Funded Clinical Trial Information and the Clinical Trials Registration and Results Information Submission rule. As such, this trial will be registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, and results information from this trial will be submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov. In addition, every attempt will be made to publish results in peer-reviewed journals. Data from this study may be requested from other researchers 5 years after the completion of the primary endpoint by contacting Dr. Raznahan. Samples and data (including genomic data) will be shared with The University of Colorado.@@@@@@Data and samples may also be shared with approved collaborating laboratories at NIH or outside of NIH and/or submitted to NIH-designated repositories and databases if consent for sharing was obtained in the original consent form.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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