Developing Social Minds Lab

Adolescence is a period of substantial development in biology, cognition and social-affective functioning. While some aspects of this development have been well-studied, there is little research on adolescent brain development at the microstructural level, nor about how such microstructural changes relate to cognitive and social-affective development.

Our research ‘Brain Exploration in Adolescent Minds (BEAM)’, focuses on this question. It will combine the advanced MRI methods available at CUBRIC, including the 7 Tesla, ultra-high gradient scanner, and the 3 Tesla Connectom system- one of only four such systems in the world! Using these advanced scanners and longitudinal methods, we can image brain microstructure in much finer detail than has previously been accomplished and gain deeper insights into the interplay between microstructure and cognitive, social and emotional development in typically developing and atypically developing (22q11.2 deletion syndrome) adolescents.

This research aims to support early detection of mental health risk and provide evidence for interventions, including identifying potential neural therapeutic targets. It will also form a unique database for sharing through managed access, the most comprehensive dataset on adolescent microstructure to date!

This international research endeavour combines expertise from Cardiff University (PIs: Prof Derek Jones, Prof Marianne van den Bree), Cambridge University (PI: Prof Sarah-Jayne Blakemore) and the Donders Institute in The Netherlands (PI: Prof Rogier Kievit), who have partnered on this multi-million-pound grant awarded by the Wellcome Trust.

For more information, please visit our study website: beam-study.com (coming soon!), or contact BEAM@cardiff.ac.uk

For additional information on CUBRIC’s scanners, please visit: Magnetic resonance imaging labs – Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre – Cardiff University