The Brain Imaging for Global Health (BRIGHT) Project: Longitudinal cohort study protocol

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Global Health

Background:

• Longitudinal research on early postnatal brain development, especially concerning early adversity, is scarce.
• Portable neuroimaging (fNIRS, EEG) enables diverse sampling in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
• The critical developmental gap between infancy and early childhood studies needs addressing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish brain function reference curves for mother-infant dyads in the UK and rural Gambia.
• To investigate moderators of developmental trajectories in the first two years of life in The Gambia.
• To understand how factors like undernutrition and family support impact development in diverse contexts.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study of 265 families from pregnancy to 24 months postpartum, with ongoing follow-up to 3-5 years.
• Utilized functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG) for neuroimaging.
• Collected data in both the UK and rural Gambia, including diverse ethnic-racial and geographical groups.

Main Results:

• The Brain Imaging for Global Health (BRIGHT) project established longitudinal mother-infant brain function data.
• Identified associations between context-associated moderators and developmental trajectories in The Gambia.
• Highlighted the protective role of rich family and caregiving contexts, including multigenerational support, despite poverty.

Conclusions:

• Findings improve the representativeness of cognitive developmental pathway models from birth.
• Identified causal pathways of altered development linked to early adversity.
• Revealed context-associated moderators, like social support, that protect development amidst challenges, informing targeted interventions.