Our research examines how early experiences shape brain, behavioral, and socio-emotional development, with a particular focus on risk, resilience, and opportunities for early intervention.
2026
Bandrey, D. S., Vieux, C. S., Laughlin, H. M., Price, C., Landry, S., Bick, J. R., & DeMaster, D. M. (2026). Protocol and Preliminary Findings from the BrainPALS Study in Very Preterm Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Digital Parenting Program. Children, 13(6), 774.
View ArticleLaughlin, H., Galvan, A., Ortiz-Jimenez, A., et al. (2026). Individual variability in neural correlates of visual engagement in premature toddlers. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 79, 101731.
View ArticleLipschutz, R., King, S., Sharp, C., et al. (2026). Impact of Prenatal Stress on Autonomic Nervous System Functioning and Psychopathology Risk in Early Childhood: The Harvey Mom Study. Infant and Child Development, 35(3), e70106.
View ArticleBick, J., Li, X., Laughlin, H., et al. (2026). Atypical neural responses to dynamically changing facial expressions correlate with behavioral risk in toddlers born preterm: Evidence from an ERP study. NeuroImage: Reports, 6(2), 100333.
View ArticleHalverson, K. K., McKinney, L., Bick, J., Medina, L. D., & Cirino, P. T. (2026). Math Achievement and Acculturation in Community College. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 50(2), 173–189.
View Article2025
Salentine, C. M., Bick, J., Woods, S. P., & Cirino, P. T. (2025). Timed and untimed writing and math: shared and differential cognitive predictors in primary school. Child Neuropsychology, 31(8), 1232–1256.
View ArticleMerrill, L., Robinson, M., Ortiz-Jimenez, A., Francis, D., DeMaster, D., Barry, K., & Bick, J. (2025). Maternal Childhood Maltreatment Is Associated With Young Children's White Matter Microstructure; Evidence for Intergenerational Neurobiological Embedding of Early Life Adversity? Developmental Psychobiology.
View ArticleLaughlin, M. H., Khan, K., Rashid, F., Scarbrough, A., & Bick, J. R. (2025). Social and Economic Correlates of Prenatal Depression in Rural Bangladeshi Women. Maternal and Child Health Journal.
View Article2024
Borjon, J. I., Sahoo, M. K., Rhodes, K. D., Lipschutz, R., & Bick, J. R. (2024). Recognizability and timing of infant vocalizations relate to fluctuations in heart rate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(52), e2419650121.
View ArticleBick, J., Rutter, T. M., Holland, C. M., Mueller, I., Mahmoodi, V., Gigliotti-Manessis, A., Merrill, L., Camacho, M. C., Inala, S., Ortiz-Jimenez, A., DeMaster, D., & Spann, M. N. (2024). Prenatal Risk and Later Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. In M. G. Valdovinos (Ed.), Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Dynamic Systems Approach (pp. 139–174). Springer Nature.
View ChapterGigliotti-Manessis, A., Rutter, T. M., Cook, K., Merrill, L., Korom, M., Selvanathan, T., Camacho, M. C., Fetal, Infant, and Toddler Neuroimaging Group (FIT’NG), & Bick, J. (2024). Perinatal Risk and Later Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. In M. G. Valdovinos (Ed.), Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Dynamic Systems Approach (pp. 175–208). Springer Nature.
View ChapterCifre, A. B., Budnick, C. J., Bick, J., McGlinchey, E. L., Ripple, C. H., Wolfson, A. R., & Alfano, C. A. (2024). Sleep Health among Children Adopted from Foster Care: The Moderating Effect of Parent–Child Sleep Interactions. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 1–15.
View ArticleMerrill, L., Lipschutz, R., Li, X., Shen, S., Ortiz-Jimenez, A., & Bick, J. (2024). Age-dependent associations between RSA reactivity, affective and cognitive regulation, and psychopathology risk in young children exposed to varying levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. Developmental Psychobiology, 66(4), e22487.
View ArticleLipschutz, R., Kulesz, P. A., Elgbeili, G., Biekman, B., Laplante, D. P., Olson, D. M., King, S., & Bick, J. (2024). Maternal Mental Health Mediates the Effect of Prenatal Stress on Infant Temperament: The Harvey Mom Study. Development and Psychopathology, 36(2), 893–907.
View ArticleMuñoz, J. S., Giles, M. E., Vaughn, K. A., Wang, Y., Landry, S. H., Bick, J. R., & DeMaster, D. M. (2024). Parenting Influences on Frontal Lobe Gray Matter and Preterm Toddlers’ Problem-Solving Skills. Children, 11(2), 206.
View Article2023
Severson, E., Olson, J. K., Hyde, A., Brémault-Phillips, S., Spiers, J., King, S., Bick, J., Lipschutz, R., Verstraeten, B. S. E., & Olson, D. M. (2023). Experiencing trauma during or before pregnancy: Qualitative secondary analysis after two disasters. Maternal and Child Health Journal.
View ArticleLipschutz, R., Kulesz, P., Elgbeili, G., Biekman, B., Laplante, D., King, S., & Bick, J. (2023). Maternal mental health mediates the effect of prenatal stress on infant temperament: The Harvey Mom Study. Development and Psychopathology.
View Article2022
Bick, J., Lipschutz, R., Tabachnick, A., Biekman, B., Katz, D., Simons, R., & Dozier, M. (2022). Timing of adoption is associated with electrophysiological brain activity and externalizing problems among children adopted internationally. Developmental Psychobiology, 64(4), e22249.
View ArticleWalker, J. H., Venta, A., Bechelli, J., Brewer, T. M., Boisvert, D., Bick, J., Lewis, R., Wells, J., & Armstrong, T. (2022). Testing the role of inflammation in the relation of childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation among young adults. Journal of Clinical Psychology.
View ArticleAtrooz, F., Chen, T. A., Biekman, B., Alrousan, G., Bick, J., & Salim, S. (2022). Displacement and isolation: Insights from a mental stress survey of Syrian refugees in Houston, Texas, USA. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(5), 2547.
View ArticleCohen, L. S., Rhodes, S. M., Claypoole, L. D., Góez-Mongollón, L., Sosinsky, A. Z., Moustafa, D., Noe, O. B., McElhenry, S. A., Cheng, L. J., Bick, J. R., Freeman, M. P., & Nelson, C. A. (2022). Neurobehavioral follow-up of children exposed to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in utero. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 34(3), 197–206.
View Article2021
Li, X., Lipschutz, R., Montero Hernandez, S., Biekman, B., Shen, S., Montgomery, D. A., Perlman, S. B., Pollonini, L., & Bick, J. (2021). Links between socioeconomic disadvantage, neural function, and working memory in early childhood. Developmental Psychobiology, 63(6), e22181.
View ArticleVenta, A., Bechelli, J., Bick, J., Brewer, T. M., Boisvert, D., Wells, J., Lewis, R. H., & Armstrong, T. (2021). Inflammatory and environmental contributions to social information processing. Attachment & Human Development, 24(4), 461–476.
View ArticleLipschutz, R., & Bick, J. (2021). Developmental Psychopathology. In A. Venta, C. Sharp, J. M. Fletcher, & P. Fonagy (Eds.), Developmental Psychopathology (pp. 18–34). John Wiley & Sons.
View ChapterChild, A. E., Warren, E. A., Grosshans, D. R., Paulino, A. C., Okcu, M. F., Ris, M. D., Mahajan, A., Orobio, J., Cirino, P. T., Minard, C. G., Viana, A. G., Bick, J., Woods, S. P., Chintagumpala, M., & Kahalley, L. S. (2021). Long-term cognitive and academic outcomes among pediatric brain tumor survivors treated with proton versus photon radiotherapy. Pediatric Blood & Cancer, 68(9), e29125.
View ArticleVenta, A., Bick, J., & Bechelli, J. (2021). COVID-19 threatens maternal mental health and infant development: possible paths from stress and isolation to adverse outcomes and a call for research and practice. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 52, 200–204.
View ArticlePaquin, V., Bick, J., Lipschutz, R., Elgbeili, G., Laplante, D. P., Biekman, B., Brunet, A., King, S., & Olson, D. (2021). Unexpected effects of expressive writing on post-disaster distress in the Hurricane Harvey Study: a randomized controlled trial in perinatal women. Psychological Medicine.
View ArticleVanwoerden, S., Penner, F., Pearson, C., Bick, J., Yoshida, H., & Sharp, C. (2021). Testing the link between mothers’ general reflective function capacity and adolescent borderline personality features: perceived parenting behaviors as a potential mechanism. Journal of Personality Disorders, 35(B, Suppl.), S56–S73.
View ArticleFischer, T., Cirino, P. T., DeMaster, D., Alfano, C., Bick, J., Fan, W., & Ewing-Cobbs, L. (2021). Frontostriatal white matter integrity relations with “cool” and “hot” self-regulation after pediatric traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma, 38(1), 122–132.
View Article2020
Barbot, B., et al. (2020). Manifesto for New Directions in Developmental Science. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2020(172), 135–149.
View ArticlePonguta, L. A., et al. (2020). Effects of the Mother-Child Education Program on Parenting Stress and Disciplinary Practices Among Refugee and Other Marginalized Communities in Lebanon: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(6), 727–738.
View ArticlePorto, J. A., Bick, J., et al. (2020). The influence of maternal anxiety and depression symptoms on fNIRS brain responses to emotional faces in 5- and 7-month-old infants. Infant Behavior and Development, 59, 101447.
View ArticleHein, S., et al. (2020). Maternal perceptions of father involvement among refugee and disadvantaged families in Beirut, Lebanon. PLOS ONE, 15(3), e0229670.
View ArticleBick, J., & Lipschutz, R. (2020). The neurobiological embedding of early social deprivation in children exposed to institutional rearing. In The Routledge Handbook of Adoption. Routledge.
2019
Bick, J., Lipschutz, R., Lind, T., Zajac, L., & Dozier, M. (2019). Associations between early home environment and trajectories of disruptive behavior among preschoolers reared in CPS-referred families. Developmental Child Welfare.
Kosten, T. A., & Bick, J. (2019). Introduction to the special issue on translational evidence of behavioral and biological consequences of early life experience. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 78.
Bick, J., Palmwood, E. N., Zajac, L., Simons, R., & Dozier, M. (2019). Early Parenting Intervention and Adverse Family Environments Affect Neural Function in Middle Childhood. Biological Psychiatry, 85, 326–335.
View ArticleGlasper, E., Rilling, J., Bick, J., & Kenkel, W. (2019). More than just mothers: The neurobiological and neuroendocrine underpinnings of allomaternal caregiving. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology.
View ArticleDeMaster, D., Bick, J., Johnson, U., Montroy, J. J., Landry, S., & Duncan, A. F. (2019). Nurturing the Preterm Infant Brain: Leveraging Neuroplasticity to Improve Neurobehavioral Outcomes. Pediatric Research, 85, 166–175.
View ArticleLuyster, R., Bick, J., Westerlund, A., & Nelson, C. A. (2019). Testing the effects of expression, intensity, and age on emotional face processing in ASD. Neuropsychologia, 126, 128–137.
View Article2018
Bick, J., Fox, N. A., Zeanah, C. H., & Nelson, C. A. (2018). Memory and Executive Functioning in 12-Year-Old Children With a History of Institutional Rearing. Child Development.
View ArticleLipschutz, R., Bick, J., Nguyen, V., Lee, M., Grigorenko, E., Bucala, R., Mayes, L., & Crowley, M. (2018). Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) gene is associated with adolescents’ cortisol reactivity and anxiety. Psychoneuroendocrinology.
View Article2017
Bick, J., Fox, N. A., Zeanah, C. H., & Nelson, C. A. (2017). Effects of early institutionalization on emotion processing in 12-year-old youth. Development and Psychopathology.
View ArticleBick, J., & Nelson, C. A. (2017). Early experience and brain development. WIREs Cognitive Science.
View Article2016
Bick, J., & Nelson, C. A. (2016). Early adverse experiences and the developing brain. Neuropsychopharmacology.
View ArticleGrigorenko, E., Bick, J., Campbell, D., Lewine, G., Abrams, J., Nguyen, V., & Chang, J. (2016). The trilogy of G × E: Genes, environment and their interactions: Conceptualization, operationalization, and application. In D. Cicchetti (Ed.), Developmental Psychopathology (3rd ed.). Wiley.
Barbot, B., Bick, J., Bentley, M. J., Balestracci, K., Woolston, J., Adnopoz, J., & Grigorenko, E. (2016). Changes in mental health outcomes with the Intensive In-Home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Service: A multi-informant, latent consensus approach. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research.
View Article2015
Bick, J., & Nelson, C. A. (2015). Early Adversity: What does the latest brain research tell us? Early Childhood Matters, 124, 10–13.
Bick, J., Zhu, T., Stamoulis, C., Fox, N. A., Zeanah, C. H., & Nelson, C. A. (2015). Effect of early institutionalization and foster care on long-term white matter development: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Pediatrics, 169, 211–219.
View ArticleBick, J., Nguyen, V., Leng, L., Piecychna, M., Crowley, M., Bucala, R., Mayes, L., & Grigorenko, E. (2015). Preliminary associations between childhood neglect, MIF, and cortisol: Potential pathways to long-term disease risk. Developmental Psychobiology, 57, 131–139.
View ArticleBick, J., Fox, N. A., Zeanah, C. H., & Nelson, C. A. (2015). Early deprivation, atypical brain development, and internalizing symptoms in late childhood. Neuroscience, 342, 140–153.
View Article2014
Bernard, K., Dozier, M., Bick, J., & Gordon, M. K. (2014). Intervening to enhance cortisol regulation among children at risk for neglect: Results of a randomized clinical trial. Development and Psychopathology, 27, 829–841.
View ArticleBick, J., Zajac, K., Ralston, M. E., & Smith, D. (2014). Convergence and divergence in reports of maternal support following childhood sexual abuse: Prevalence and associations with youth psychosocial adjustment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 38, 479–487.
View Article2013
Szyf, M., & Bick, J. (2013). DNA Methylation: A Mechanism for Embedding Early Life Experiences in the Genome. Child Development, 84, 49–57.
View ArticleBick, J., Dozier, M., Bernard, K., Grasso, D., & Simons, R. (2013). Foster Mother-Infant Bonding: Associations Between Foster Mothers’ Oxytocin Production, Electrophysiological Brain Activity, Feelings of Commitment, and Caregiving Quality. Child Development, 84, 826–840.
View ArticleBick, J., & Dozier, M. (2013). The Effectiveness of an Attachment-Based Intervention in Increasing Foster Mothers’ Sensitivity toward Foster Infants. Infant Mental Health Journal, 34, 95–103.
View ArticleCampbell, D., Bick, J., Yrigollen, C., Lee, M., Chang, J., & Grigorenko, E. (2013). Schooling and variation in the COMT gene: the devil is in the details. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54, 1056–1065.
View ArticleBick, J., Bernard, K., & Dozier, M. (2013). Attachment-based intervention for substance using mothers of infants. In N. E. Suchman, M. Pajulo, & L. C. Mayes (Eds.), Parenting and Substance Addiction: Developmental Approaches to Intervention. Oxford University Press.
2012
Bick, J., & Dozier, M. (2012). Convergence between attachment classifications and natural reunion behavior among children and parents in a child-care setting. Attachment & Human Development, 14, 1–10.
View ArticleBernard, K., Dozier, M., Bick, J., Lewis, E., Lindhiem, O., & Carlson, E. (2012). Enhancing attachment organization among maltreated children: Results of a randomized clinical trial. Child Development, 83, 623–636.
View ArticleBick, J., Dozier, M., & Moore, S. (2012). Predictors of treatment use among foster mothers in an attachment-based intervention program. Attachment & Human Development, 14, 439–452.
View ArticleBick, J., Naumova, O., Hunter, S., Barbot, B., Lee, M., Luthar, S., Raefski, A., & Grigorenko, E. (2012). Childhood Adversity and DNA Methylation of Genes involved in the HPA axis and Immune System: Whole Genome and Candidate Gene Associations. Development and Psychopathology, 24, 1417–1425.
View Article2011
Dozier, M., Bick, J., & Bernard, K. (2011). Intervening with Foster Parents to Enhance Biobehavioral Outcomes Among Infants and Toddlers. Zero to Three Journal, 31, 17–22.
View ArticleDozier, M., Bick, J., & Bernard, K. (2011). Attachment-based treatment for young, vulnerable children. In J. Osofsky (Ed.), Clinical Work with Traumatized Children. Guilford Press.
2010
Bick, J., & Dozier, M. (2010). Mothers’ oxytocin production following close physical interactions with biological and non-biological children. Developmental Psychobiology, 52, 100–107.
View Article2009
Dozier, M., Lindhiem, O., Lewis, E., Bick, J., Bernard, K., & Peloso, M. (2009). Effects of a foster parent training program on young children’s attachment behaviors: Preliminary evidence from a randomized clinical trial. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 26, 321–332.
View Article2008
Bick, J., & Dozier, M. (2008). The role of parent state of mind in an intervention for foster parents. In H. Steele & M. Steele (Eds.), The Adult Attachment Interview in Clinical Context. Guilford Press.
2007
Dozier, M., & Bick, J. (2007). Changing caregivers: Coping with early adversity. Psychiatric Annals, 37(6), 411–415.
View ArticleDozier, M., & Bick, J. (2007). Changing caregivers: Coping with early adversity. Pediatric Annals, 36(4), 205–208.
View Article