Twin Brain DevelopmentNCT01409746
Early Brain Development in Twins
An observational study of Twin Brain Development, run by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The purpose of this study is to study the role of genes and environment in early brain development using a twin approach. The investigators will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study brain structure and it's relationship to cognitive development. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages Up to 6 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Twin Brain Development
- How many people
- 550 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Apr 2004to Mar 2020
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages Up to 6 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child
Study population: medical center and community sample
Who may be able to join
- twins
Who cannot join
- major medical, obstetrical or neurological complications
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
UNC Department of Psychiatry
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599
About this study
The purpose of this study is to study the role of genes and environment in early brain development using a twin approach. The investigators will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study brain structure and it's relationship to cognitive development. Specifically, the investigators will study cortical gray and white matter volumes, volumes of subcortical structures and cerebellum, as well as diffusion properties in major white matter tracts using DTI tractography.
Read the detailed description
Twin studies have been critical in determining the contributions of genetic and environmental factors to normal brain structure and for understanding abnormalities of brain development that underlie neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. In adults and older children, twin studies indicate that genes play a significant role in the variability of global brain volumes, including total brain, total gray and total white matter volumes. Other than this current study, there have been no studies of twin brain development in early childhood, the period of brain development implicated in the pathogenesis of many psychiatric disorders. In the first funding cycle of this grant, the investigators used prenatal ultrasound and neonatal MRI to study discordance of early brain development, and to determine genetic and environmental contributions to neonatal brain structure. The investigators have and have developed a unique and valuable cohort of twins, having recruited and scanned over 100 twin pairs. The investigators found that discordance of prenatal brain size in MZ twins is similar to that in DZ twins, but that by 1 month after birth, discordance of overall brain volume in MZ twins is already less than in DZ twins. Contrary to our original hypothesis, statistical modeling of neonatal MRI brain volumes in our twin cohort indicates that global tissue volumes are highly heritable, similar to that observed in older children and adults. Therefore, it appears that genetic programs act very early in postnatal brain development to determine global tissue volumes. Interestingly, preliminary longitudinal mapping of correlations in gray matter density indicate correlations decrease in the first year of life, perhaps as the result of rapid brain growth in the first years of life. The investigators also found that while global white matter volumes are highly heritable, diffusion tensor properties of specific white matter tracts are not. In the next funding cycle, the investigators propose to continue enlarging this unique cohort and to follow them through age 6 years with structural MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and developmental assessments to determine how genetic and environmental factors contribute to brain development in the first years of life.
- Conditions
- Twin Brain Development
- Keywords
- twin, brain development, MRI
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| twins | twin pairs |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Brain Gray Matter Volume
Will assess gray matter volume with MRI and use structural equation modeling to determine relative contributions of genes and environment to variation of gray matter volumes.
Measured: Change in heritability from birth to age 6 years
Brain white matter tract integrity
Will assess white matter tract development and integrity using diffusion tensor imaging and will determine relative contributions of genes and environment ot this using twin methodology.
Measured: Change in heritability from birth to age 6 years
Secondary outcomes (1)
Mullen composite Score
Will assess genetic and environmental contributions to early cognitive development using a twin methodology
Measured: 1,2,4,6 years
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted4 Aug 2011 (estimated)
- Study startApr 2004
- Primary completionMar 2020
- Study completionMar 2020
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (10)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Twin Brain DevelopmentStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Enrolment
- 550 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- John H Gilmore, MD, Principal investigator, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT01409746
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 03-0989
- Other IDs
- R01MH070890-05
- Status last verified
- Mar 2020
- First submitted
- 6 Apr 2009
- Last updated
- 11 May 2020
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
Publications
Mukherjee N, Kang C, Wolfe HM, Hertzberg BS, Smith JK, Lin W, Gerig G, Hamer RM, Gilmore JH. Discordance of prenatal and neonatal brain development in twins. Early Hum Dev. 2009 Mar;85(3):171-5. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2008.07.008. Epub 2008 Sep 19.
PubMed 18804925Gilmore JH, Schmitt JE, Knickmeyer RC, Smith JK, Lin W, Styner M, Gerig G, Neale MC. Genetic and environmental contributions to neonatal brain structure: A twin study. Hum Brain Mapp. 2010 Aug;31(8):1174-82. doi: 10.1002/hbm.20926.
PubMed 20063301Knickmeyer RC, Kang C, Woolson S, Smith JK, Hamer RM, Lin W, Gerig G, Styner M, Gilmore JH. Twin-singleton differences in neonatal brain structure. Twin Res Hum Genet. 2011 Jun;14(3):268-76. doi: 10.1375/twin.14.3.268.
PubMed 21623657Geng X, Prom-Wormley EC, Perez J, Kubarych T, Styner M, Lin W, Neale MC, Gilmore JH. White matter heritability using diffusion tensor imaging in neonatal brains. Twin Res Hum Genet. 2012 Jun;15(3):336-50. doi: 10.1017/thg.2012.14.
PubMed 22856369Li Y, Gilmore JH, Wang J, Styner M, Lin W, Zhu H. TwinMARM: two-stage multiscale adaptive regression methods for twin neuroimaging data. IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2012 May;31(5):1100-12. doi: 10.1109/TMI.2012.2185830. Epub 2012 Jan 24.
PubMed 22287236Lee SJ, Steiner RJ, Luo S, Neale MC, Styner M, Zhu H, Gilmore JH. Quantitative tract-based white matter heritability in twin neonates. Neuroimage. 2015 May 1;111:123-35. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.02.021. Epub 2015 Feb 17.
PubMed 25700954Gao W, Elton A, Zhu H, Alcauter S, Smith JK, Gilmore JH, Lin W. Intersubject variability of and genetic effects on the brain's functional connectivity during infancy. J Neurosci. 2014 Aug 20;34(34):11288-96. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5072-13.2014.
PubMed 25143609Jha SC, Xia K, Ahn M, Girault JB, Li G, Wang L, Shen D, Zou F, Zhu H, Styner M, Gilmore JH, Knickmeyer RC. Environmental Influences on Infant Cortical Thickness and Surface Area. Cereb Cortex. 2019 Mar 1;29(3):1139-1149. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhy020.
PubMed 29420697Lee SJ, Zhang J, Neale MC, Styner M, Zhu H, Gilmore JH. Quantitative tract-based white matter heritability in 1- and 2-year-old twins. Hum Brain Mapp. 2019 Mar;40(4):1164-1173. doi: 10.1002/hbm.24436. Epub 2018 Oct 27.
PubMed 30368980Jha SC, Xia K, Schmitt JE, Ahn M, Girault JB, Murphy VA, Li G, Wang L, Shen D, Zou F, Zhu H, Styner M, Knickmeyer RC, Gilmore JH. Genetic influences on neonatal cortical thickness and surface area. Hum Brain Mapp. 2018 Dec;39(12):4998-5013. doi: 10.1002/hbm.24340. Epub 2018 Aug 24.
PubMed 30144223
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 11 May 2020. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Early Brain Development in Twins
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT01409746
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 03-0989
- Conditions
- Twin Brain Development
- Keywords
- twin, brain development, MRI
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 550 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of North Carolina, Chapel HillUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- Study start
- Apr 2004
- Primary completion
- Mar 2020 (actual)
- Study completion
- Mar 2020 (actual)
- First posted
- 4 Aug 2011 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The purpose of this study is to study the role of genes and environment in early brain development using a twin approach. The investigators will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study brain structure and it's relationship to cognitive development. Specifically, the investigators will study cortical gray and white matter volumes, volumes of subcortical structures and cerebellum, as well as diffusion properties in major white matter tracts using DTI tractography.
Detailed description
Twin studies have been critical in determining the contributions of genetic and environmental factors to normal brain structure and for understanding abnormalities of brain development that underlie neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. In adults and older children, twin studies indicate that genes play a significant role in the variability of global brain volumes, including total brain, total gray and total white matter volumes. Other than this current study, there have been no studies of twin brain development in early childhood, the period of brain development implicated in the pathogenesis of many psychiatric disorders. In the first funding cycle of this grant, the investigators used prenatal ultrasound and neonatal MRI to study discordance of early brain development, and to determine genetic and environmental contributions to neonatal brain structure. The investigators have and have developed a unique and valuable cohort of twins, having recruited and scanned over 100 twin pairs. The investigators found that discordance of prenatal brain size in MZ twins is similar to that in DZ twins, but that by 1 month after birth, discordance of overall brain volume in MZ twins is already less than in DZ twins. Contrary to our original hypothesis, statistical modeling of neonatal MRI brain volumes in our twin cohort indicates that global tissue volumes are highly heritable, similar to that observed in older children and adults. Therefore, it appears that genetic programs act very early in postnatal brain development to determine global tissue volumes. Interestingly, preliminary longitudinal mapping of correlations in gray matter density indicate correlations decrease in the first year of life, perhaps as the result of rapid brain growth in the first years of life. The investigators also found that while global white matter volumes are highly heritable, diffusion tensor properties of specific white matter tracts are not. In the next funding cycle, the investigators propose to continue enlarging this unique cohort and to follow them through age 6 years with structural MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and developmental assessments to determine how genetic and environmental factors contribute to brain development in the first years of life.
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| twins | – | –twin pairs |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- Up to 6 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child
- Study population
- medical center and community sample
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- twins
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- major medical, obstetrical or neurological complications
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Primary outcome
Brain Gray Matter Volume
Time frame: Change in heritability from birth to age 6 years
Will assess gray matter volume with MRI and use structural equation modeling to determine relative contributions of genes and environment to variation of gray matter volumes.
Brain white matter tract integrity
Time frame: Change in heritability from birth to age 6 years
Will assess white matter tract development and integrity using diffusion tensor imaging and will determine relative contributions of genes and environment ot this using twin methodology.
1 secondary outcome
Mullen composite Score
Time frame: 1,2,4,6 years
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 11 May 2020.
- Results publication: PubMed 18804925Mukherjee N, Kang C, Wolfe HM, Hertzberg BS, Smith JK, Lin W, Gerig G, Hamer RM, Gilmore JH. Discordance of prenatal and neonatal brain development in twins. Early Hum Dev. 2009 Mar;85(3):171-5. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2008.07.008. Epub 2008 Sep 19.
- Results publication: PubMed 20063301Gilmore JH, Schmitt JE, Knickmeyer RC, Smith JK, Lin W, Styner M, Gerig G, Neale MC. Genetic and environmental contributions to neonatal brain structure: A twin study. Hum Brain Mapp. 2010 Aug;31(8):1174-82. doi: 10.1002/hbm.20926.
- Results publication: PubMed 21623657Knickmeyer RC, Kang C, Woolson S, Smith JK, Hamer RM, Lin W, Gerig G, Styner M, Gilmore JH. Twin-singleton differences in neonatal brain structure. Twin Res Hum Genet. 2011 Jun;14(3):268-76. doi: 10.1375/twin.14.3.268.
- Results publication: PubMed 22856369Geng X, Prom-Wormley EC, Perez J, Kubarych T, Styner M, Lin W, Neale MC, Gilmore JH. White matter heritability using diffusion tensor imaging in neonatal brains. Twin Res Hum Genet. 2012 Jun;15(3):336-50. doi: 10.1017/thg.2012.14.
- Results publication: PubMed 22287236Li Y, Gilmore JH, Wang J, Styner M, Lin W, Zhu H. TwinMARM: two-stage multiscale adaptive regression methods for twin neuroimaging data. IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2012 May;31(5):1100-12. doi: 10.1109/TMI.2012.2185830. Epub 2012 Jan 24.
- Results publication: PubMed 25700954Lee SJ, Steiner RJ, Luo S, Neale MC, Styner M, Zhu H, Gilmore JH. Quantitative tract-based white matter heritability in twin neonates. Neuroimage. 2015 May 1;111:123-35. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.02.021. Epub 2015 Feb 17.
- Results publication: PubMed 25143609Gao W, Elton A, Zhu H, Alcauter S, Smith JK, Gilmore JH, Lin W. Intersubject variability of and genetic effects on the brain's functional connectivity during infancy. J Neurosci. 2014 Aug 20;34(34):11288-96. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5072-13.2014.
- Results publication: PubMed 29420697Jha SC, Xia K, Ahn M, Girault JB, Li G, Wang L, Shen D, Zou F, Zhu H, Styner M, Gilmore JH, Knickmeyer RC. Environmental Influences on Infant Cortical Thickness and Surface Area. Cereb Cortex. 2019 Mar 1;29(3):1139-1149. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhy020.
- Results publication: PubMed 30368980Lee SJ, Zhang J, Neale MC, Styner M, Zhu H, Gilmore JH. Quantitative tract-based white matter heritability in 1- and 2-year-old twins. Hum Brain Mapp. 2019 Mar;40(4):1164-1173. doi: 10.1002/hbm.24436. Epub 2018 Oct 27.
- Results publication: PubMed 30144223Jha SC, Xia K, Schmitt JE, Ahn M, Girault JB, Murphy VA, Li G, Wang L, Shen D, Zou F, Zhu H, Styner M, Knickmeyer RC, Gilmore JH. Genetic influences on neonatal cortical thickness and surface area. Hum Brain Mapp. 2018 Dec;39(12):4998-5013. doi: 10.1002/hbm.24340. Epub 2018 Aug 24.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
John H Gilmore, MD principal investigator
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Twin Brain Development, run by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 11 May 2020. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Brain Gray Matter Volume (time frame: Change in heritability from birth to age 6 years). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT01409746, which also lists 10 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 11 May 2020.