Pitt research team awarded NIH grant to study impact of substance abuse on adolescent brain development

A research team in the department of psychiatry, at the University of Pittsburgh, has been awarded a $5 Million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to participate in a multi-site study focusing on the impact of adolescent marijuana, alcohol and other drug use on the developing brain.

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study will follow nearly 10,000 9- and 10-year-old children over the next several years, beginning prior to drug use and continuing through the period of highest risk for substance abuse and other mental health disorders. Nearly 500 local children are expected to participate in the study.

Duncan B. Clark, M.D., Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, will lead the local research site. In total, the ABCD grants will fund 11 research sites, a coordinating center and a data analysis and informatics center.

"There is much to learn about the effects of marijuana, alcohol and other substances on the development of the adolescent brain. At this time, there are inconsistent findings in small studies," said Dr. Clark. "For that reason, the NIH has decided to fund this very large prospective study to follow children before they have engaged in any substance use or abuse, through their teen years and into young adulthood.