Experiencing environmental adversity is associated with a greater likelihood of developing a mental health disorder. There is a need to identify biomarkers that predict the emergence of poor mental health outcomes following environmental adversity, as the targeted removal of these risk factors could reduce the rates of mental illness by up to a third. Understanding which environmental risk factors impact brain structure and function, and the identification of protective factors, could be the key to preventive medicine approaches. This current proposal would acquire magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children Generation 2 study (ALSPAC-G2). We are applying for funding from the Wellcome and MRC Career Development Awards.

As ALSPAC-G1 participants are now entering child-bearing age, this presents a unique opportunity to study their offspring (currently n=1875 and growing) to examine inter-generational determinants of mental health. The proposed project uses an accelerated longitudinal design, and would obtain MRI scans in 200 children aged between 5 and 15, who would be followed up and rescanned after 2 years. This project would examine trajectories of brain structure and function during critical periods of neurodevelopment, at a time when most mental disorders first occur.