Child Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities Study Section – CPDD
The Child Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities Study Section focuses on human subject studies of developmental disabilities and mental health disorders with origins in early development; studies can include individuals across the lifespan. Behavioral, cognitive, socioemotional, neurobiological, genetics, and neuroimaging approaches are examined. Emphasis is on human studies of etiology, diagnosis, phenotypic description, and intervention in developmental disabilities and mental health disorders. Animal models are not reviewed in CPDD. Population-based research is not reviewed in CPDD.
The List of Reviewers lists all present, whether standing members or temporary, to provide the full scope of expertise present on that date. Lists are posted 30 days before the meeting and are tentative, pending any last minute changes.
Review Dates
Topics
- Diagnosis, etiology, comorbidity, and developmental course of developmental disorders including autism, intellectual disabilities, ADHD, motor problems, and learning disabilities.
- Diagnosis, etiology, comorbidity, clinical course and outcomes in child and adolescent psychopathology including mood disorders, behavior disorders, eating disorders, autoimmune disorders, stress disorders, personality disorders, and substance use disorders.
- Short- and long-term behavioral, biobehavioral, and clinical outcome of infants and children with identified risk factors including early brain injury, prematurity, low birth weight, genetic risk, environmental risk and teratogen exposure, including maternal substance use.
- Biological, genetic and neural factors underlying developmental disorders and child psychopathology. Included are genetic studies, neuropathological studies, neurochemical and neuroimaging studies, and studies of teratogenic exposures, with emphasis on the relationship between these factors and clinical or functional outcomes over time.
- Disorders affecting behavioral outcome including studies of genetic disorders (e.g., Williams Syndrome, Prader-Willi Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, Down Syndrome) and acquired disorders due to traumatic brain injury, early CNS impairment, prenatal exposure to alcohol, tobacco, or drugs, and prenatal or postnatal exposure to lead, mercury and other toxins.
- Research addressing early identification, treatment and/or rehabilitation methods for children with developmental or mental health disorders.
Shared Interests and Overlaps
Developmental Behavioral Disorders (DBD): Applications that focus predominantly on understanding brain development in atypical clinical populations are reviewed in DBD; those more focused on understanding the behavioral disorder are reviewed in CPDD. Applications including animal models of developmental disorders will be reviewed in DBD even if there is a human subjects component.
Psychosocial Development, Risk, and Prevention (PDRP): Applications that focus on nonclinical samples, children at risk, or children not yet diagnosed, and those that focus on preventative interventions, are reviewed in PDRP, especially if the emphasis is on family/contextual processes or factors that confer risk.
Adult Psychopathology and Disorders of Aging (APDA): Applications that focus on psychopathology with origins in adulthood are assigned to APDA. Studies of adults affected by developmental disorders (e.g., autism, ADHD) are more appropriately reviewed in CPDD.
There are shared interests in behavioral and psychiatric conditions with Neurological, Mental and Behavioral Health (NMBH). Applications that emphasize the neurological foundations underlying these conditions in humans are reviewed in CPDD. Applications that emphasize epidemiological study designs to examine determinants, predictors, and biomarkers associated with behavioral, psychiatric and substance use disorders exclusively in human subpopulations are reviewed in NMBH.
Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Emotion, Stress, and Health (MESH): Applications that focus on prenatal-origin or childhood stress in the context of child psychopathology are reviewed in MESH if stress-responsive biological systems are invoked as mechanisms or outcome measures.
Neurotoxicology and Alcohol (NAL): Applications that focus on general effects of environmental toxicants (such as pesticides or metals) or alcohol on the central nervous system are reviewed in NAL. Applications focused specifically on infant and child developmental outcomes following early teratogen exposure are more appropriately reviewed in CPDD (related large population studies are reviewed in IRAP or NAME).
The Neural Basis of Psychopathology, Addictions and Sleep Disorders (NPAS): Applications that address the neurobiological bases and treatment of psychotic, behavioral, cognitive, emotional, addictive, sleep and eating disorders in adults are reviewed in NPAS. Applications focused on neurobiological mechanisms underlying child and adolescent psychopathology are more appropriately reviewed in CPDD.
Language and Communication (LCOM): Applications that focus on typical and atypical language and communication development across the lifespan can be assigned to LCOM. If the application requires expertise in intellectual disabilities or a childhood disorder (e.g., autism), review in CPDD may be more appropriate.
