The role of social cognition for mental health

Mental health problems affect approximately 12% of children and have dramatic consequences at the individual and societal level. This mental health crisis is rapidly worsening as a consequence of the pandemic.

Understanding mechanisms contributing to mental health outcomes is critical to identify children at risk of unfavorable mental health outcomes and to devise targeted and effective interventions.

Since precursors of mental health problems manifest in childhood as altered social behavior, my research project aims to uncover developmental pathways to altered socio-emotional behavior in preschool children.

First, I aim to identify cognitive processes underlying socio-emotional behavior that can be directly targeted in interventions.

To this end, I propose to study the relationship between social cognition and socioemotional behavior in preschool children.

Even though the relationship has been established in older children and adolescents, we lack research focusing on infancy and early childhood. Evidence of this relationship earlier in life promises to have important implications for clinical interventions.

Second, I aim to help identify a neural marker of altered behavior that can be leveraged for early detection of at-risk individuals.

To this end, I propose to use neuroimaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI) to measure the brain network underlying social cognition and examine its association with socioemotional behavior.

A critical novel aspect of my work is that I will validate the use of a portable neuroimaging technique (functional near infrared spectroscopy or fNIRS), which can be more easily deployed in clinical practice for early detection strategies.