A new study will uncover the subtle developmental changes that occur in the brain during adolescence.
Led by Cardiff University, the BEAM Study (Brain Exploration in Adolescent Minds) aims to transform the understanding of how the brain develops across late childhood and adolescence - a period of profound cognitive, emotional and social change.
Combining MRI technology with innovative biophysical modelling, the BEAM Study will create the most detailed characterisation of the developing human brain ever achieved, revealing how the brain's microstructure – the cellular-level architecture that underpins thinking, emotions, behaviour and mental health – evolves throughout adolescence.
Professor Derek Jones, Director of Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), who is leading the study, said: "Adolescence is a period of remarkable change. During these years, young people develop important skills such as decision-making, emotional regulation, social understanding and problem-solving. It is also a time when many mental health difficulties first emerge.
"While scientists have learned a great deal about how the brain changes in size and shape during adolescence, much less is known about what is happening at the microscopic level inside the brain."
Our new study will use advanced brain imaging and innovative biophysical modelling techniques to investigate how key features of brain tissue, including cell size and cell density, change throughout development.
The researchers aim to generate new insights that will reveal how subtle changes in brain microstructure influence cognitive development, social and emotional functioning, and mental health.
The first participant will be scanned in July, starting six years of data collection.
The study will be carried out at CUBRIC using its 3T Connectom MRI scanner, which provides detailed images of the brain, helping researchers to explore biological processes at a precise level.
The project will also incorporate advanced ultra-high field 7T MRI imaging, enabling researchers to build the most comprehensive picture yet of adolescent brain microstructural development.
The research team is currently recruiting children and young people aged 8 to 14 years and will follow participants over several years.
The study aims to recruit typically developing children and young people, and young people with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11.2DS), a rare genetic condition associated with differences in learning, cognition and mental health.
As well as answering fundamental scientific questions, the BEAM Study will create a globally unique dataset that will be shared with researchers around the world.
Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, from Cambridge University, said: "This study will allow us to map brain development at a microstructural level, and link this to how children and adolescents develop in terms of their cognitive abilities, social and emotional processes and mental health."
Ultimately, the study will help to lay the foundations for earlier identification of risk factors, improved understanding of neurodevelopmental conditions, and future approaches to supporting young people's mental health and wellbeing.
The BEAM Study is funded by an 8-year Wellcome Discovery Award and is led by Cardiff University in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and Radboud University's Donders Institute.
