Down Syndrome Infant Brain Imaging Study

Drs. Rebecca Gradzinski and Heather Hazlett recently sat down with the LowDOWN podcast to talk about the intersection of autism and Down syndrome. The Down Syndrome Resource Foundation has a lot of great information and resources for families.

It's Complicated: When Down Syndrome Meets Autism (The LowDOWN Podcast 8-8, Nov 1, 2023) On season 8, episode 8 of The LowDOWN: A Down Syndrome Podcast, Dr. Rebecca Gradzinski and Dr. Heather Hazlett give us the lowdown on autism and Down syndrom...

Today, March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day, and the IBIS Network would like to thank all of the wonderful families who have participated in our DS research.

Babies are needed for a research study on Down syndrome. Babies must be 0-6 months of age and have a diagnosis of Down syndrome, or be a typically developing infant to be included in our control group.

We hope to better understand brain development in Down syndrome through our research. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) brain scans will allow us to study the structure, function, and connections between different areas in your infant’s brain. Having an MRI is safe for your baby and done without sedation during natural sleep. To learn more about our study design, visit our website: www.dsstudies.com

We are actively recruiting infants under 12 months old with Down syndrome to participate in a research study about brain development. Infants will complete behavioral assessments and a non-sedated MRI at 6-, 12-, and 24-months old. Travel expenses are reimbursed and compensation is at least $125 per visit. To learn more, visit our website: www.dsstudies.com

There are a lot of different types of thermometers your child might be seeing in different places! You could try showing pictures of eternal, ear, and oral thermometers to your child so they know what to expect. You could also try talking to your child about how long each thermometer takes to use, if and where it will touch them, and that it won’t hurt. If you’re going somewhere together, you could try having the thermometer modeled on you first so that you can show your child what using that specific thermometer is like.

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We hope your family has a safe and happy Halloween!

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What do you do to take a break from working or learning from home?

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The Infant Brain Imaging Study was featured in National Geographic for our work researching the early signs of autism. We are actively recruiting infants under 6-months old with an older, full sibling diagnosed with autism to participate in our research study about brain development. Infants participate in behavioral assessments and an MRI at 6-, 12-, and 24-months old. Families are compensated for their time and receive reimbursement for travel expenses. To learn more about our research about autism, visit our website: www.ibis-network.org

Photo By Lynn Johnson () for National Geographic ()

The Infant Brain Imaging Study was featured in the April 2020 edition of National Geographic for our work researching the early signs of autism. We are actively recruiting infants under 6-months old with an older, full sibling diagnosed with autism to participate in our research study about brain development. Infants participate in behavioral assessments and an MRI at 6-, 12-, and 24-months old. Families are compensated for their time and receive reimbursement for travel expenses. To learn more about our project about autism, visit our website: www.ibis-network.org

Photo By Lynn Johnson () for National Geographic ()

The Infant Brain Imaging Study was featured in National Geographic for our work researching the early signs of autism. We are actively recruiting infants under 6-months old with an older, full sibling diagnosed with autism to participate in our research study about brain development. Infants participate in behavioral assessments and an MRI during natural sleep at 6-, 12-, and 24-months old. Families are compensated for their time and receive reimbursement for travel expenses. To learn more about our research on autism, visit our website: www.ibis-network.org

Photo By Lynn Johnson () for National Geographic ()

What kind of schedules and visual supports work best for your child? First-Then schedules are visual supports that can be used to show your child that their mask needs to be on when they are inside places like the grocery store, but that they can take their mask off in places like the car, when being inside is finished.

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The Infant Brain Imaging Network had the pleasure of showing National Geographic photographer Lynn Johnson what a study visit looks like for families participating in our research study about brain development in infants with an older sibling with autism. Similar to our research study about brain development in infants with down syndrome, infants in our study about autism complete behavioral and developmental assessments at 6-, 12-, and 24-months old and parents receive a summary of assessments at each visit.

Photo By Lynn Johnson () for National Geographic ()

Infants participating in our research study will complete behavioral assessments at 6-, 12-, and 24-months old. Travel expenses are reimbursed and compensation is at least $125 per visit. Parents receive summary To learn more, visit our website: www.dsstudies.com

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At 6-, 12-, and 24-months old we perform developmental assessments with your child. Developmental assessments measure things like your infant’s learning skills, language, motor skills, communication, visual reception, and behavior. Your family receives a summary of the assessments for each visit. We are also recruiting infants with older siblings with typical development to be controls in our study! To learn more about our study design, visit our website: www.dsstudies.com

We would pick your family to participate in our research study about early brain development in infants with an older sibling with Down syndrome! We are actively recruiting infants under 12 months old with Down syndrome to participate in a research study about brain development. Infants will complete behavioral assessments and a non-sedated MRI at 6-, 12-, and 24-months old. Travel expenses are reimbursed and compensation is at least $125 per visit. To learn more, visit our website: www.dsstudies.com

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We are actively recruiting infants under 12 months old with Down syndrome to participate in a research study about brain development. Infants will complete behavioral assessments and a non-sedated MRI at 6-, 12-, and 24-months old. Travel expenses are reimbursed and compensation is at least $125 per visit. To learn more, visit our website: www.dsstudies.com

Calling all Superheroes! We are actively recruiting infants to participate in our research study about brain and behavior development in infants with Down syndrome to participate from home! All participation can be done over the phone and online. Families are compensated $50 for each visit. Visits can take place at 6-, 12-, and 24-months old. To learn more, visit our website: www.dsstudies.com

We are actively recruiting infants to participate in our research study about brain and behavior development in infants with Down syndrome to participate from home! All participation can be done over the phone and online. Families are compensated $50 for each visit. Visits can take place at 6-, 12-, and 24-months old. To learn more, visit our website: www.dsstudies.com



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The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill is one of 5 sites in the IBIS Network with a team of multidisciplinary researchers dedicated to understanding brain and behavior development in infants and children.

We are actively recruiting infants to participate in our research study about brain and behavior development in infants with Down syndrome to participate from home! All participation can be done over the phone and online. Families are compensated $50 for each visit. Visits can take place at 6-, 12-, and 24-months old. To learn more, visit our website: www.dsstudies.com

Dr. Hazlett is a pediatric neuropsychologist with research interests in understanding how brain structure and development relate to behavior and cognition in infants and children with different neurodevelopmental disorders. She has led research projects investigating brain development in infants with Down syndrome, and is currently the principal investigator for the IBIS Network’s project about brain and behavior development in school age children with Down syndrome. She leads the multi-disciplinary Down syndrome interest group at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities. In addition to her research activities, Dr. Hazlett participates in the interdisciplinary Neurogenetics Clinic at the CIDD where children with Down syndrome can be evaluated and followed clinically.

We do too! We are screening expectant mothers and mothers with new babies with Down syndrome. We want to know more about early brian development in infants with Down syndrome. Infants participate from temporarily participating from home at 6-, 12-, and 24-months of age. To learn more or to enroll, visit our website: www.dsstudies.com

Help end disparities in health care. Minorities needed to participate in research.

https://pediatricsnationwide.org/2016/05/19/uncovering-racial-disparities-in-down-syndrome/

We are actively recruiting infants to participate in our research study about brain and behavior development in infants with Down syndrome to participate from home! All participation can be done over the phone and online. Families are compensated $50 for each visit. Visits can take place at 6-, 12-, and 24-months old. To learn more, visit our website: www.dsstudies.com