Katie A. McLaughlin, Lab Director, receives an R01 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to study the impact of violence exposure on brain development in children

Katie A. McLaughlin, Lab Director, receives an R01 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to study the impact of violence exposure on brain development in children.  Specifically, we will be studying how exposure to violence influences the way that children learn about threat and safety in the environment.  We will also be studying how violence exposure influences children’s ability to regulate their emotional responses.  Our goal is to identify mechanisms linking violence exposure to the onset of anxiety and depression in children.  We hope this research will help us to develop more effective interventions to prevent the onset of mental health problems in children who have been victims of violence.