Environmental Mixtures, Cognitive Control and Reward Processes, and Risk for Psychiatric Problems in Adolescence

This study aims to examine the cognitive and neural pathways underlying the joint impact of chemical and social exposures on two aspects of cognitive function: cognitive control and reward processing. The investigators will use high resolution, multi-band resting state and task functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as well as neuromelanin stain MRI to identify pathways through which exposure to a mixture of prenatal chemical and early life social exposures alters brain function and behavior. Specifically, the investigators will leverage extant prenatal exposure data (N=550) from the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) Mothers and Newborns (MN) birth cohort and study symptoms and brain function in adolescence.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Psychiatric Problem

Detailed Description

Adolescence is a period of high risk for the emergence of psychiatric issues, particularly attention problems, substance abuse, and psychotic experiences. Risk for these problems likely originates in the prenatal period when the brain undergoes significant rapid change, making this a particularly vulnerable time for alterations in brain development. Few studies have examined risk from prenatal exposure to neurotoxicants that emerge in adolescence and the biological pathways that underlie these associations. Emerging findings suggest that prenatal exposure to environmental chemicals (e.g. environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), air pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)) is associated with behavioral symptoms of attentiondeficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), substance use disorders (SUD), and psychotic disorders (PD). These symptoms often emerge across adolescence, and frequently co-occur, suggesting shared underlying causes in the brain. Prenatal chemical exposures often co-occur with each other and with social exposures, such as early life stress (ELS) that are also associated with elevated behavioral symptoms. The joint contributions of these chemical and social exposures to these behavioral symptoms are understudied, as are the cognitive and neural pathways linking exposure to behavior.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 250

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10032
      • Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 13 years to 20 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The current proposed study is funded to conduct resting state and task fMRI and assessment of psychiatric symptoms in 250 adolescents in the Mothers and Newborns birth cohort. Prenatal exposure data will be leveraged from the CCCEH database.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adolescents between 13-20 years
• Available prenatal exposure data
• Adolescents and parents are English- or Spanish-speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of metallic device or dental braces
• Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (IQ) < 70 at prior assessment
• Pregnant women or lactating women

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Adolescents from the Mothers and Newborns Cohort

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Youth Self Report (YSR) from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)	This is a 112-question scale for adolescents about their own behavioral functioning. It has a Likert-like scoring format and multiple syndrome and DSM-oriented scales, with higher scores indicating more symptoms. Raw scores are converted to T scores with a mean of 50 and standard deviation of 10. The range is 0 to 90.	15 minutes during study visit

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ohio State University
• Collaborators: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Amy Margolis, PhD, Ohio State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 20, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 21, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 21, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): April 3, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 25, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 23, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Cognitive function; Cognitive Control; Reward Processing; Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
• Other Study ID Numbers: AAAU9473; 8191 (Other Identifier: New York State Psychiatric Institute Institutional Review Board); 5R01ES032296-03 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No