Neurodevelopmental disorders and brain imaging

The research group: Neurodevelopmental disorders and brain imaging is highly interdisciplinary, comprising experts in pediatrics and neonatology, child neurology and habilitation, gynecology and obstetrics, child psychiatry, ophthalmology, radiology, neuropsychology, physiotherapy, epidemiology, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and comparative medicine. The research group has a leader group that consists of the three Professors Ann-Mari Brubakk, Torstein Vik, and Jon Skranes and Assoc. Prof. Ragnhild Støen. Research is organized in four main programs:

-         the Cerebral Palsy (CP) research program

-         the Basal science program (neonatal rat model)

-         the Long-term clinical-MRI follow-up program

-         the Early diagnosis and neonatal intervention program

The mission behind the research profile is to improve the lives of infants who suffered early brain injury by reducing the consequences of the injury and ensuring optimal neurodevelopment and growth in a life-long perspective. Important research questions are: How do genetic, perinatal and environmental factors interact in the etiology of early brain injuries, how do these factors affect development of the brain’s white and gray matter, and how do they influence the severity of impairments? Can brain injuries be repaired, or can their extent be reduced by therapeutic measures? Can early or later intervention ameliorate impairments in children and young adults? The main objective is to seek the answers to these questions, and thereby providing major new understanding of early brain injuries as well as directly improve diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders.  

The activities in the group are performed in close collaboration with hte Department of Pediatrics and the MR Center at the St Olav University Hospital in Trondheim.