The MIND Institute's Distinguished Lecturer Series continues next week with psychiatrist Jay Giedd, chief of brain imaging in the child psychiatry branch of the National Institute of Mental Health, discussing his nearly 20-year-long study of children’s brain development using magnetic resonance imaging.

His talk is set for 4:30 p.m. auditorium at the institute, 2825 50th St., Sacramento.

In his longitudinal study, Giedd combines neuroimaging, genetics and psychological assessments to explore the neurobiology of brain development in health and illness. The study has provided novel insights about brain changes during adolescence, differences between males and females, and genetic and environmental influences on brain development.

For example, Giedd's research has found that female brains reach peak gray-matter size one to three years earlier than male brains. And adolescence is a distinct neurobiological developmental stage with highly dynamic changes in brain structure and function.

“The relationship between these neuroimaging findings and changes in cognition, behavior and emotion is far from elucidated and remains an area of active research,” Giedd said. “Likewise, studies of influences, for good or ill, on developmental brain trajectories are in their early stages.”

Giedd received his training in adult psychiatry at the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kan., and in child and adolescent psychiatry at Duke University in Durham, N.C.

All presentations in the Distinguished Lecturer Series presentations are free and open to the public, with no reservations required. The MIND Institute Resource Center is open one hour before and 30 minutes after each presentation. All lectures addresses are available for viewing on the MIND Institute website.

All Seminars and Colloquia