NIH awards $5 million grant to research effects of adolescent substance use

The NIH has awarded a $5 million grant to the University of Pittsburgh for a multisite study on the impact of marijuana, alcohol and other drug use on the developing adolescent brain.

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study will assess substance use among approximately 10,000 children aged 9 to 10 years over the next several years, beginning prior to drug use and throughout the period of highest risk for substance abuse and mental health disorders.

Duncan B. Clark, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, will lead the research team.

“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,” Clark said in a press release. “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.”

The researchers plan to explore significant issues including the effect of occasional vs. regular substance use on brain development, links between substance use and mental illness, physical health and development, academic achievement and factors that influence substance use and its effects.

The study findings will be used to develop prevention and treatment research, public health strategies and policy decisions.

“This will be the first research project to study such a large group of individuals from early in development, when most would not have used drugs, to possibly peak use in adolescence, and to explore different pathways that contribute to decreases in substance use with maturation,” study researcher Beatriz Luna, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, said in the release. “This will enable us to understand predictors of use and the nature of effects of substance use during brain development through childhood and adolescence.”

For more information:

Visit http://grants.nih.gov/grants to learn more about the ABCD study.