Adam T. Eggebrecht, an assistant professor of radiology at Washington University School of Medicine, received a two-year $452,702 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Eggebrecht will lead a study that investigates brain function underlying motor imitation in children with and without autism spectrum disorder. Deficits in motor imitation — the ability to mimic physical movements and emotional behaviors of another person — can impact a child’s capacity to learn, socialize and communicate.
Using high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT), a method that can silently image brain function in a naturalistic setting using a wearable cap, Eggebrecht and colleagues aim to identify neural signatures that may provide targets for future interventions as well as lay the foundation for future work that will inform developmental models of typical and atypical social communication.
Read more on Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology’s website.
