Past Research Studies
Let’s Talk About Hookah
Waterpipe tobacco (hookah) use is increasing among reproductive age women in the United States. Although Hookah use is often perceived to be less harmful than cigarette smoking, the tobacco and charcoal used to burn the tobacco in waterpipes emits toxicants, carcinogens, and carbon monoxide at higher levels than cigarettes. As a result, hookah use increases the chances for obstetrical complications such as low birth weight and respiratory problems. We aim to study the impact of flavors, design features, patterns of use, and biomarkers of maternal/fetal toxicant exposure in pregnant users in order to help the FDA to inform the development of product standards hookah devices with the goal of protecting the health of women and children. To learn more about this study, and our additional analyses of the perceptions of harm, addictiveness, and acceptability of hookah among pregnant women, click here.
3D Ultrasound Study (Cohort 1)
Maternal smoking during pregnancy effects on offspring outcomes represent a major public health challenge. Despite pervasive sanctions against smoking during pregnancy, 13-30% of infants are born exposed. This study offered a paradigm shift in identifying real-time, pre-birth neurobehavioral and neural markers of risk from maternal smoking using 2 and 3-dimensional fetal ultrasound. 3 fetal ultrasound assessments were completed to observe fetal behavior, response to stress, and neural and neuroendocrine structures. Neonatal neurobehavior and cortisol reactivity were also assessed twice postpartum. This study sought to understand the effects of maternal smoking on fetal neurobehavioral development, fetal stress response, volume decrements in fetal neural and neuroendocrine structures, and whether these factors predicted infant behavior and stress hormones measured over the first month in life. For more information about this study, click here.
Behavior and Mood in Babies and Mothers 2 (BamBam2)
Prenatal nicotine exposure via maternal smoking during pregnancy is considered “the most widespread prenatal drug insult in the world.” Our group has shown consistent neurobehavioral deficits in neonates following tobacco exposure. This study specifically provided the first rigorous test of the proposal that, similar to maternal stress, maternal smoking “programs” the offspring hypothalamic pituitary adrenocortical (HPA) axis leading to persistent neurobehavioral deficits. This study characterized the effects of maternal smoking on infant neurobehavior and cortisol reactivity at 1 and 6 months, tested the hypothesis that: (1) maternal smoking “programs” the HPA axis via regulation of maternal glucocorticoids and placental 112 HDS2 and that these changes influence infant neurobehavior/cortisol reactivity, (2) maternal-placental HPA regulation is mediated by epigenetic regulation of GT, and (3) explored sex differences in proposed pathways. For more information about this study, click here.
Behavior and Mood in Babies and Mothers (BamBam)
Maternal smoking during pregnancy has been linked to many adverse outcomes in older offspring, including attention deficits, impulsivity, and substance abuse. However, relatively little attention has focused on effects of MSDP during the newborn and fetal periods. This study was an initial step in an ongoing program of research designed to elucidate the acute and chronic effects of prenatal smoking exposure. We conducted an intensive, short-term, longitudinal study of neurbehavior including signs of abstinence during the newborn and fetal periods in continuously exposed and unexposed offspring. Signs of abstinence were assessed in the context of a comprehensive neurobehavioral examination and measures of newborn nicotine and cotinine levels. This study included one fetal neurobehavioral assessment during third trimester followed by seven infant neurobehavioral assessments and nicotine/cotinine measures over the first 30 days in exposed and unexposed offspring. Our aims were to characterize infant neurobehavioral deficits, signs of stress/abstinence dose response relations between prenatal smoking exposure and infant neurobehavior, physiological correlates of stress/abstinence, and fetal signs of stress/abstinence and neurobehavior. For more information about this study, click here.
Child and Adolescent Thoughts in Social Situations (CHATTS)
Depressive disorders are the primary cause of disability, premature death, and human suffering world-wide. Despite evidence for adolescence as a key period of risk for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) onset and for continuity between adolescent and adult MDD, few promising biomarkers of risk for adolescent MDD have been identified. This study aimed to provide insight for the public health problem at hand while investigating the nature of biological responses to social exclusion over the adolescent transition. The central methodology included assessments to determine regional brain activation during a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) peer rejection task, and neuroendocrine response to a laboratory peer rejection task, "real-world" daily diary measures of social experience, and assessment of family function pubertal maturation, followed by 6 and 12-month psychiatric assessments to determine growth of depressive symptoms and onset/remission of MDD. Through its findings, this study aimed to contribute to the improvements in identification, treatment approaches and assessments, prevention and intervention programs, and lifetime trajectories for at-risk adolescents. For more detailed information about this study, click here.