The POND Network
There are many children and youth in Ontario with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD), and intellectual disability (ID). Although the field has made significant gains in the treatment of some of these disorders, our ability to change long-term outcomes remains limited.
The POND Network brings together a multidisciplinary team of scientists, clinicians, engineers and community stakeholders who share the goal of improving the long-term outcomes for children with ASD, ADHD, OCD and ID. This network will perform biomedical research studies aimed at understanding these disorders, and will create, for the first time in Canada, a clinical trials network that specializes in childhood neurodevelopmental disorders, in order to speed up the development of new and more effective medications and psycho-social interventions.
Moving Knowledge
into Practice
The POND Network will create a system for transferring knowledge related to neurodevelopmental disorders to the right people, at the right time and in the right format. This will be achieved by developing and supporting collaborations between researchers, clinicians, policy-makers and parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders in Ontario. Emphasis will be placed on analyzing and communicating new research advances —through presentations, meetings, websites, newsletters and scientific reports — in a way that helps new knowledge transition into improved policies and practices for children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders and their families. By doing this we hope to:
increase awareness and knowledge around neurodevelopmental disorders;
support Ontario’s health researchers, clinicians and policy-makers in their efforts to better understand and implement evidence-based treatments for these conditions; and
improve health outcomes and quality of life for children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders in Ontario, Canada and around the world.
Learn more about the POND Network.
We are looking for participants!
Criteria:
Children between ages 6 to 17 years old
A confirmed diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) made by a family physician, paediatrician, psychologist, psychiatrist, etc.
If your child is eligible (determined by a screening interview), we will schedule you and your child for a visit.
Please note: No clinical service will be provided as part of your research participation.
For more information, please contact:
Candice Dixon,
Clinical Research Project Coordinator
Email: pond.mail@sickkids.ca
POND Publications
Click on the Article Title to Learn More!
Choi EJ, Vandewouw MM, Taylor MJ, Stevenson RA, Arnold PD, Brian J, Crosbie J, Kelley E, Liu X, Jones J, Lai MC, Schachar RJ, Lerch JP, Anagnostou E. (2023). Dorsal striatal functional connectivity and repetitive behaviour dimensions in children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders. Biological Psychiatry. Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. Nov 22: S2451-9022.
Vandewouw MM, Brian J, Crosbie J, Schachar RJ, Iaboni A, Georgiades S, Nicolson R, Kelley E, Ayub M, Jones J, Taylor MJ, Lerch JP, Anagnostou E, Kushki A.(2023). Identifying Replicable Subgroups in Neurodevelopmental Conditions Using Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data. JAMA Network Open. Mar 1;6(3):e232066.
Pang, E. W., Hammill, C., Taylor, M. J., Near, J., Schachar, R., Crosbie, J., Arnold, P. D., Anagnostou, E., & Lerch, J. P. (2023). Cerebellar gamma-aminobutyric acid: Investigation of group effects in neurodevelopmental disorders. Autism Research. 16(3): 535-542.
Schachar, R.J., Dupuis, A., Arnold, P.D., Anagnostou, E., Kelley, E., Georgiades, S., Nicholson, R. Burton, C.L., & Crosbie, J. (2023). Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Shared or unique neurocognitive impairments? Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. Jan;51(1):17-31.
Schachar, R.J., Dupuis, A., Anagnostou, E., Georgiades, S., Soreni, N., Arnold, P.D., Burton, C.L., Crosbie, J. (2022). Obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and youth: neurocognitive function in clinic and community samples. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 63(8): 881-889.
Scheerer, N.E., Pourtousi, A., Yang, C., Ding, Z., Stojanoski, B., Anagnostou, E., Nicolson, R., Kelley, E., Georgiades, S., Crosbie, J., Schachar, R., Ayub, M., Stevenson, R.A. (2022). Transdiagnostic Patterns of Sensory Processing in Autism and ADHD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Oct 28 Online ahead of print.
Levy T, Dupuis A, Andrade BF, Crosbie J, Kelley E, Nicolson R, Schachar RJ. (2022). Facial emotion recognition in children and youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and irritability. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.32(11): 2271-2280.
Seguin D, Pac S, Wang J, Nicolson R, Martinez-Trujillo J, Anagnostou E, Lerch JP, Hammill C, Schachar R, Crosbie J, Kelley E, Ayub M, Brian J, Liu X, Arnold PD, Georgiades S, Duerden EG. (2022). Amygdala subnuclei volumes and anxiety behaviors in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Human Brain Mapping. 43(16): 4805-4816.
Penner, M., Dupuis, A., Arnold, P., Ayub, M., Crosbie, J., Georgiades, S., Kelley, E., Nicolson, R., Schachar, R., & Anagnostou, E. (2022). Pubertal stage, sex and behaviour in neurodevelopmental disorders versus typical development: A cross-sectional study. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 6(1), e001469.
Nakua, H., Hawco, C., Forde, NJ., Jacobs, GR., Joseph, MJ., Voineskos, A., Wheeler, AL., Lai, M-C., Szatmari, P., Kelley, E., Liu, X., Georgiades, S., Nicolson, R., Schachar, RJ., Crosbie, J., Anagnostou, E., Lerch, JP., Arnold, PD., Ameis, S. (2022). Cortico-amygdalar connectivity and externalizing/internalizing behavior in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Brain Structure & Function. 227(6): 1963-1979.
Charalampopoulou, M., Choi, E.J., Korczak, D., Cost, K., Crosbie, J., Birken, C., Charach, A., Monga, S., Kelley, E., Nicolson, R., Georgiades, S., Ayub, M., Schachar, R., Iaboni, A., Anagnostou, E. (2022). Mental health profiles of autistic children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Paediatr Child Health. May 5;27(Suppl 1):S59-S65.
Gharehgazlou, A., Vandewouw, M., Ziolkowski, J., Wong, J., Crosbie, J., Schachar, R., Nicolson, R., Georgiades, S., Kelley, E., Ayub, M., Hammill, C., Ameis, S.H., Taylor, M.J., Lerch, J.P., Anagnostou, E. (2022). Cortical Gyrification Morphology in ASD and ADHD: Implication for Further Similarities or Disorder-Specific Features?. Cerebral Cortex, 2021 Sep 21:bhab326. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhab326. 32(11): 2332-2342.
Krakowski, A., Tombeau Cost, K., Szatmari, P., Anagnostou, E., Crosbie, J., Schachar, R. J., Duku, E., Georgiades, S., Barnett-Tapia, C. (2022). Characterizing the ASD-ADHD phenotype: Measurement Structure and Invariance in a Clinical Sample. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.63(12):1534-1543.
Bethlehem RAI, Seidlitz J, White SR, Vogel JW, … Crosbie, J…… , POND; PREVENT-AD Research Group; VETSA, Bullmore ET, Alexander-Bloch AF. (2022). Brain charts for the human lifespan. Nature (7906):525-533.
Safar K, Vandewouw MM, Pang EW, de Villa K, Crosbie J, Schachar R, Iaboni A, Georgiades S, Nicolson R, Kelley E, Ayub M, Lerch JP, Anagnostou E, Taylor MJ. (2022). Shared and Distinct Patterns of Functional Connectivity to Emotional Faces in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Children. Frontiers in Psychology. 9;13:826527.
Krakowski AD, Szatmari P, Crosbie J, Schachar R, Duku E, Georgiades S, Anagnostou E. (2021). Latent Structure of Combined Autistic and ADHD Symptoms in Clinical and General Population Samples: A Scoping Review. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 20;12:654120.
Kushki, A., Cardy, R.E., Panahandeh, S., Malihi, M., Hammill, C., Brian, J., Iaboni, A., Taylor, M.J., Schachar, R., Crosbie, J., Arnold, P., Kelley, E., Ayub, M., Nicolson, R., Georgiades, S., Lerch, J.P., Anagnostou, E. (2021). Cross-Diagnosis Structural Correlates of Autistic-Like Social Communication Differences. Cerebral Cortex, 31(11), 5067-5076.
Jacobs GR, Voineskos AN, Hawco C, … Schachar R, Crosbie J, Arnold PD, Goldenberg A, Erdman L, Ameis SH. (2021). Integration of brain and behavior measures for identification of data-driven groups cutting across children with ASD, ADHD, or OCD. Neuropsychopharmacology. 46(3):643-653.
Jangjoo, M., Goodman, S.J., Choufani, S., Trost, B., Scherer, S.W., Kelley, E., Ayub, M., Nicolson, R., Georgiades, S., Crosbie, J., Schachar, R., Anagnostou, E., Grunebaum, E., Weksberg, R. (2021). An Epigenetically Distinct Subset of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Resulting From Differences in Blood Cell Composition. Frontiers in Neurology, 12, 612817.
Brierley, N.J., McDonnell, C.G., Parks, K.M.A., Schulz, S.E., Dalal, T.C., Kelley, E., Anagnostou, E., Nicolson, R., Georgiades, S., Crosbie, J., Schachar, R., Liu, X., Stevenson, R.A. (2021). Factor Structure of Repetitive Behaviors Across Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Oct;51(10):3391-3400.
Choi, E.J., Vandewouw, M.M., Taylor, M.J., Arnold, P.D., Brian, J., Crosbie, J., Kelley, E., Lai, M-C., Liu, X., Schachar, R.J., Lerch, J.P., Anagnostou, E. (2020). Beyond diagnosis: Cross-diagnostic features in canonical resting-state networks in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. NeuroImage: Clinical. 28:102476.
Sanjeevan, T., Hammill, CF., Brian, J., Crosbie, J., Schachar, R., … Anagnostou, E. (2020). Exploring the Neural Structures Underlying the Procedural Memory Network as Predictors of Language Ability in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Frontiers of Human Neuroscience. Dec 10;14:587019.
Brierley, NJ., McDonnell, CG., Parks, KMA., …Crosbie, J, Schachar, R., Liu, X, Stevenson, RA. (2020). Factor Structure of Repetitive Behaviors Across Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 51(10):3391-3400.
Vandewouw MM, Choi E, Hammill C, Arnold P, Schachar R, Lerch JP, Anagnostou E, Taylor MJ. (2020). Emotional face processing across neurodevelopmental disorders: a dynamic faces study in children with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Translational Psychiatry. 10(1):375.
Goodman SJ, Burton CL, … Arnold PD, Crosbie J, Schachar R, Weksberg R. (2020). Obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: distinct associations with DNA methylation and genetic variation. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 12(1):23.
Krakowski AD, Cost KT, Anagnostou E, Lai MC, Crosbie J, Schachar R, Georgiades S, Duku E, Szatmari P. (2020). Inattention and hyperactive/impulsive component scores do not differentiate between autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in a clinical sample. Molecular Autism, 11(1):28.
Tremblay, L.K., Hammill. C,, Ameis, S.H., Bhaijiwala, M., Mabbott, D.J., Anagnostou, E., Lerch, J.P., Schachar R.J. (2020). Tracking Inhibitory Control in Youth With ADHD: A Multi-Modal Neuroimaging Approach. 11:00831.
Zarrei, M., Burton, C.L., … Crosbie, J., Schachar, R., Stavropoulos, D.J., Anagnostou, E., & Scherer, S.W. (2019). A large data resource of genomic copy number variation across neurodevelopmental disorders. NPJ Genomic Medicine, 4:26.
More Publications: https://pond-network.ca/research-publications/
The POND Network includes:
