SAN DIEGO—The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded $30 million over five years to researchers at the University of California–San Diego (UCSD) to expand and deepen longitudinal studies of the developing brain in children, it was announced on Oct. 14. Specifically, the funding will accelerate a larger effort to better understand how young brains and minds develop from infancy through early childhood and how some are affected by a variety of environmental factors. Announced by the NIH and the National Institute on Drug Abuse last year, the Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study focuses on pregnancy and early childhood and how various exposures, such as prenatal substance exposure, trauma, environmental pollutants, as well as positive environments affect the long-term health of children. Specific goals include optimizing brain-imaging technologies and protocols, identifying key brain developmental windows and learning how to better predict and prevent future mental disorders and behavioral problems …