Root Collaborates with UCONN to Study Children’s Neural Threat Reactivity

April 20th, 2026

The Root Center is collaborating with UCONN Health Center’s 
Dr. Margaret Briggs-Gowan and Dr. Damion Grasso to study family stressors and their relationship to child neural threat reactivity to better understand children’s clinical vulnerability to psychiatric impairment in their lifetime. In this study, there is a strong focus on negative threat reactivity related to family violence from birth up to the assessment date.


Participants are studied over the course of a year; with a baseline assessment and a 1 year follow up. Children participate in a range of evidence-based activities to measure their reactivity as well as any symptoms they may have due to exposure; some activities include a puppet interview, a computer task that involves an EEG screening, and a developmental stage assessment. Mothers participate in an interview where an inventory of stressors is collected, also known as the Family Stress Inventory (FSI). Items include aspects of home life, partner conflict, and parenting style in response to child’s misbehavior.

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