Brain scans could flag children’s future mental health problems

It can take years to diagnose a child with a psychiatric or attention deficit disorder, forcing them to endure a lot of frustration and suffering. A study led by Northeastern University psychologist Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli, above, and UC Berkeley neuroscientist Silvia Bunge shows that brain scans in young children can predict future mental health and attention issues. (Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University) But a new study led by scientists at UC Berkeley and Northeastern University has found evidence that brain scans, if conducted early, can predict whether a youngster is susceptible to mental health or attention problems down the road. "We found a signature of brain function in childhood that helps to predict changes in mood symptoms over four years, and another one that helps to predict changes in attention," said study senior author Silvia Bunge, a professor of psychology and member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at UC Berkeley. The findings, recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association - Psychiatry , pave the way for early interventions - from cognitive behavior therapy to exercise or mindfulness regimens - that could mitigate or slow the advancement of certain neurodevelopmental disorders. "Psychiatric diagnoses are often done late in response to crisis and treated reactively instead of preventively," said the study's lead author Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli, a psychology professor now at Northeastern University.