Recruitment for the BRITE Study is now closed, but follow-up visits with existing participants are ongoing.

Purpose of the study:

The purpose of this study is to help researchers better understand how mothers and their young children respond to one another while playing. Through this study, researchers hope to gain knowledge about the behavioral and neural aspects of mother-child interactions.

Qualifications:

1. Children ages 1-3 years old at time of entry
2. Mother is biological mother
3. Child is healthy and typically developing

What to expect:

Participation involves 4-5 in-person lab visits and 2 phone interviews over the course of 3 years. Each in-person visit takes about 1-2 hours, and each phone interview takes about 30 minutes.

During the first visit each year, mothers will complete interviews and questionnaires, either in-person or over the phone, regarding the health history of herself and her child. The second visit each year takes place in our lab in Oakland. During this visit, the mother and her child will each wear a NIRS cap (similar to a swim cap) that measures brain response via infrared light. The mother and her child will complete play tasks together, and each child has the opportunity to earn prizes throughout the visit. If the child is 5 years old in their third year of participation, he/she will also undergo fMRI scanning during a seperate third visit. Both NIRS and fMRI are painless and non-invasive tests. Financial compensation is provided to families for participation in the BRITE Study.