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Miller AB, Jenness JL, Elton AL, Pelletier-Baldelli A, Patel K, Bonar A, Martin S, Dichter G, Giletta M, Slavich GM, Rudolph KD, Hastings P, Nock M, Prinstein MJ, Sheridan MA. Neural Markers of Emotion Reactivity and Regulation Before and After a Targeted Social Rejection: Differences Among Girls With and Without Suicidal Ideation and Behavior Histories. Biol Psychiatry 2024; 95:1100-1109. [PMID: 37918460 PMCID: PMC11063123 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) are common among adolescent girls and increase risk for suicide death. Emotion regulation difficulties are linked with STBs, particularly in response to targeted social rejection. However, neural correlates of this link have not been investigated and may identify novel targets for interventions. Here, we examined neural correlates of emotion regulation before and after an experimentally delivered targeted social rejection in adolescent girls with STBs and girls without STBs (i.e., control participants). METHODS Girls (N = 138; age range, 9-15 years; mean [SD] age = 11.6 [1.79] years) completed a functional neuroimaging emotion regulation task. In the middle of the task, participants were socially rejected by an unfamiliar confederate whom the participants had elected to meet. Participants also completed a multimethod STB assessment. RESULTS Before rejection, girls with a history of STBs, compared with control participants, showed greater activation in the right superior frontal gyrus when passively viewing negative stimuli, and girls with suicidal behavior (SB) versus those without SB showed less activation in the right frontal pole during emotion regulation attempts. Following the rejection, girls with STBs, compared with control participants, showed greater activation in the right inferior frontal gyrus during emotion regulation. CONCLUSIONS Before social rejection, girls with SB versus without SB may not activate brain regions implicated in emotion regulation, suggesting a vulnerability to poor regulation at their baseline emotional state. After social rejection, girls with any history of STBs showed altered activation in a brain region strongly associated with inhibition and emotion regulation success, possibly reflecting increased effort at inhibiting emotional responses during regulation following stress exposure.
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Meyer KN, Hopfinger JB, Vidrascu EM, Boettiger CA, Robinson DL, Sheridan MA. From learned value to sustained bias: how reward conditioning changes attentional priority. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 18:1354142. [PMID: 38689827 PMCID: PMC11059963 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1354142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Attentional bias to reward-associated stimuli can occur even when it interferes with goal-driven behavior. One theory posits that dopaminergic signaling in the striatum during reward conditioning leads to changes in visual cortical and parietal representations of the stimulus used, and this, in turn, sustains attentional bias even when reward is discontinued. However, only a few studies have examined neural activity during both rewarded and unrewarded task phases. Methods In the current study, participants first completed a reward-conditioning phase, during which responses to certain stimuli were associated with monetary reward. These stimuli were then included as non-predictive cues in a spatial cueing task. Participants underwent functional brain imaging during both task phases. Results The results show that striatal activity during the learning phase predicted increased visual cortical and parietal activity and decreased ventro-medial prefrontal cortex activity in response to conditioned stimuli during the test. Striatal activity was also associated with anterior cingulate cortex activation when the reward-conditioned stimulus directed attention away from the target. Discussion Our findings suggest that striatal activity during reward conditioning predicts the degree to which reward history biases attention through learning-induced changes in visual and parietal activities.
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Pelletier-Baldelli A, Sheridan MA, Rudolph MD, Eisenlohr-Moul T, Martin S, Srabani EM, Giletta M, Hastings PD, Nock MK, Slavich GM, Rudolph KD, Prinstein MJ, Miller AB. Brain network connectivity during peer evaluation in adolescent females: Associations with age, pubertal hormones, timing, and status. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 66:101357. [PMID: 38359577 PMCID: PMC10878848 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite copious data linking brain function with changes to social behavior and mental health, little is known about how puberty relates to brain functioning. We investigated the specificity of brain network connectivity associations with pubertal indices and age to inform neurodevelopmental models of adolescence. We examined how brain network connectivity during a peer evaluation fMRI task related to pubertal hormones (dehydroepiandrosterone and testosterone), pubertal timing and status, and age. Participants were 99 adolescents assigned female at birth aged 9-15 (M = 12.38, SD = 1.81) enriched for the presence of internalizing symptoms. Multivariate analysis revealed that within Salience, between Frontoparietal - Reward and Cinguloopercular - Reward network connectivity were associated with all measures of pubertal development and age. Specifically, Salience connectivity linked with age, pubertal hormones, and status, but not timing. In contrast, Frontoparietal - Reward connectivity was only associated with hormones. Finally, Cinguloopercular - Reward connectivity related to age and pubertal status, but not hormones or timing. These results provide evidence that the salience processing underlying peer evaluation is jointly influenced by various indices of puberty and age, while coordination between cognitive control and reward circuitry is related to pubertal hormones, pubertal status, and age in unique ways.
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Schlensog-Schuster F, Keil J, Von Klitzing K, Gniewosz G, Schulz CC, Schlesier-Michel A, Mayer S, Stadelmann S, Döhnert M, Klein AM, Sierau S, Manly JT, Sheridan MA, White LO. From Maltreatment to Psychiatric Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence: The Relevance of Emotional Maltreatment. CHILD MALTREATMENT 2024; 29:142-154. [PMID: 36426806 PMCID: PMC10895962 DOI: 10.1177/10775595221134248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Different forms of maltreatment are thought to incur a cumulative and non-specific toll on mental health. However, few large-scale studies draw on psychiatric diagnoses manifesting in early childhood and adolescence to identify sequelae of differential maltreatment exposures, and emotional maltreatment, in particular. Fine-grained multi-source dimensional maltreatment assessments and validated age-appropriate clinical interviews were conducted in a sample of N = 778 3 to 16-year-olds. We aimed to (a) substantiate known patterns of clinical outcomes following maltreatment and (b) analyse relative effects of emotional maltreatment, abuse (physical and sexual), and neglect (physical, supervisory, and moral-legal/educational) using structural equation modeling. Besides confirming known relationships between maltreatment exposures and psychiatric disorders, emotional maltreatment exerted particularly strong effects on internalizing disorders in older youth and externalizing disorders in younger children, accounting for variance over and above abuse and neglect exposures. Our data highlight the toxicity of pathogenic relational experiences from early childhood onwards, urging researchers and practitioners alike to prioritize future work on emotional maltreatment.
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Lurie LA, Rosen ML, Weissman DG, Machlin L, Lengua L, Sheridan MA, McLaughlin KA. Cognitive stimulation as a mechanism linking socioeconomic status and neural function supporting working memory: a longitudinal fMRI study. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhad545. [PMID: 38236725 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Childhood experiences of low socioeconomic status are associated with alterations in neural function in the frontoparietal network and ventral visual stream, which may drive differences in working memory. However, the specific features of low socioeconomic status environments that contribute to these disparities remain poorly understood. Here, we examined experiences of cognitive deprivation (i.e. decreased variety and complexity of experience), as opposed to experiences of threat (i.e. violence exposure), as a potential mechanism through which family income contributes to alterations in neural activation during working memory. As part of a longitudinal study, 148 youth between aged 10 and 13 years completed a visuospatial working memory fMRI task. Early childhood low income, chronicity of low income in early childhood, and current income-to-needs were associated with task-related activation in the ventral visual stream and frontoparietal network. The association of family income with decreased activation in the lateral occipital cortex and intraparietal sulcus during working memory was mediated by experiences of cognitive deprivation. Surprisingly, however, family income and deprivation were not significantly related to working memory performance, and only deprivation was associated with academic achievement in this sample. Taken together, these findings suggest that early life low income and associated cognitive deprivation are important factors in neural function supporting working memory.
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Gruhn M, Miller AB, Eisenlohr-Moul TA, Martin S, Clayton MG, Giletta M, Hastings PD, Nock MK, Rudolph KD, Slavich GM, Prinstein MJ, Sheridan MA. Threat exposure moderates associations between neural and physiological indices of emotion reactivity in adolescent females. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 159:106405. [PMID: 37812939 PMCID: PMC11034839 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 08/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023]
Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA) characterized by threat (e.g., abuse, witnessing violence) impacts neural and physiologic systems involved in emotion reactivity; however, research on how threat exposure impacts the interplay between these systems is limited. This study investigates ELA characterized by threat as a potential moderator of the association between (a) neural activity during a negative image processing fMRI task and (b) cortisol production following a modified Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). The sample is comprised of 117 young adolescent females (Mage = 11.90 years, SD = 1.69) at elevated risk for internalizing problems. Whole-brain analyses revealed a positive association between cortisol production and increased right lateral orbitofrontal cortex activity during the emotion reactivity task. In moderation models, threat exposure interacted with bilateral amygdala activation (b = -3.34, p = 0.021) and bilateral hippocampal activation (b = -4.14, p = 0.047) to predict cortisol response to the TSST. Specifically, participants with low, but not high, levels of threat exposure demonstrated a positive association between cortisol production and neural activity in these regions, while no significant association emerged for participants with high threat exposure. Findings contribute to the growing field of research connecting physiological and neural emotion processing and response systems, suggesting that dimensions of ELA may uniquely disrupt associations between neural activation and cortisol production.
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Rodriguez-Thompson AM, Miller AB, Wade M, Meyer KN, Machlin L, Bonar AS, Patel KK, Giletta M, Hastings PD, Nock MK, Rudolph KD, Slavich GM, Prinstein MJ, Sheridan MA. Neural Correlates of the p Factor in Adolescence: Cognitive Control With and Without Enhanced Positive Affective Demands. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024; 9:30-40. [PMID: 37062361 PMCID: PMC10576014 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent research has aimed to characterize processes underlying general liability toward psychopathology, termed the p factor. Given previous research linking the p factor with difficulties in both executive functioning and affective regulation, the present study investigated nonaffective and positive affective inhibition in the context of a sustained attention/inhibition paradigm in adolescents exhibiting mild to severe psychopathology. METHODS Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected during an integrated reward conditioning and go/no-go task in 138 adolescents assigned female at birth. We modeled the p factor using hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis. Positive affective inhibition was measured by examining responses to no-go stimuli with a history of reward conditioning. We examined associations between p factor scores and neural function and behavioral performance. RESULTS Consistent with nonaffective executive function as a primary risk factor, p factor scores were associated with worse behavioral performance and hypoactivation in the left superior frontal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus during response initiation (go trials). The p factor scores were additionally associated with increased error-related signaling in the temporal cortex during incorrect no-go trials. CONCLUSIONS During adolescence, a period characterized by heightened risk for emergent psychopathology, we observed unique associations between p factor scores and neural and behavioral indices of response initiation, which relies primarily on sustained attention. These findings suggest that shared variation in mental disorder categories is characterized in part by sustained attention deficits. While we did not find evidence that the p factor was associated with inhibition in this study, this observation is consistent with our hypothesis that the p factor would be related to nonaffective control processes.
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Carolus AE, McLaughlin KA, Lengua LJ, Rowe ML, Sheridan MA, Zalewski M, Moran L, Romeo RR. Conversation disruptions in early childhood predict executive functioning development: A longitudinal study. Dev Sci 2024; 27:e13414. [PMID: 37226555 PMCID: PMC10667565 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Conversational turn-taking is a complex communicative skill that requires both linguistic and executive functioning (EF) skills, including processing input while simultaneously forming and inhibiting responses until one's turn. Adult-child turn-taking predicts children's linguistic, cognitive, and socioemotional development. However, little is understood about how disruptions to temporal contingency in turn-taking, such as interruptions and overlapping speech, relate to cognitive outcomes, and how these relationships may vary across developmental contexts. In a longitudinal sample of 275 socioeconomically diverse mother-child dyads (children 50% male, 65% White), we conducted pre-registered examinations of whether the frequency of dyads' conversational disruption during free play when children were 3 years old related to children's executive functioning (EF; 9 months later), self-regulation skills (18 months later), and externalizing psychopathology in early adolescence (age 10-12 years). Contrary to hypotheses, more conversational disruptions significantly predicted higher inhibition skills, controlling for sex, age, income-to-needs (ITN), and language ability. Results were driven by maternal disruptions of the child's speech, and could not be explained by measures of overall talkativeness or interactiveness. Exploratory analyses revealed that ITN moderated these relationships, such that the positive effect of disruptions on inhibition was strongest for children from lower ITN backgrounds. We discuss how adult-driven "cooperative overlap" may serve as a form of engaged participation that supports cognition and behavior in certain cultural contexts.
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Patel KK, Sheridan MA, Bonar AS, Giletta M, Hastings PD, Nock MK, Rudolph KD, Slavich GM, Prinstein MJ, Miller AB. A preliminary investigation into cortical structural alterations in adolescents with nonsuicidal self-injury. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2023; 336:111725. [PMID: 38456014 PMCID: PMC10917139 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2023.111725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
The structural neural correlates underlying youth nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) warrant further exploration. Few studies have explored the association between NSSI and brain structure in adolescence, and no studies have investigated differences in the relation between age and brain structure in youth with NSSI. This preliminary investigation examined associations between NSSI history, age, and cortical structure using magnetic resonance imaging in adolescent girls (N=100, Mage=13.4 years) at increased risk for psychopathology. We conducted whole-brain analyses to investigate the associations between age and cortical structure, NSSI history and cortical structure, and NSSI history as a moderator of the association between age and cortical structure. Results suggested that age was associated with less cortical thickness and surface area in the left and right prefrontal, temporal, and parietal cortex. NSSI history was associated with less left insula and left inferior parietal cortex cortical surface area. Among adolescents with NSSI history, older age predicted greater left inferior parietal cortex surface area and was not associated with left precentral cortex surface area. Among adolescents without NSSI history, older age predicted smaller surface areas as expected with the typical trajectory of neurodevelopment. Overall, our results suggest differences in cortical surface area development in adolescents with NSSI history.
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Kasparek SW, Gastón-Panthaki A, Hanford LC, Lengua LJ, Sheridan MA, McLaughlin KA. Does reward processing moderate or mediate the link between childhood adversity and psychopathology: A longitudinal study. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:2338-2351. [PMID: 37554120 PMCID: PMC10853484 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579423000962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
Childhood adversity is common and associated with elevated risk for transdiagnostic psychopathology. Reward processing has been implicated in the link between adversity and psychopathology, but whether it serves as a mediator or moderator is unclear. This study examined whether alterations in behavioral and neural reward processing function as a mechanism or moderator of psychopathology outcomes following adversity experiences, including threat (i.e., trauma) and deprivation. A longitudinal community sample of 10-15-year-old youths was assessed across two waves (Wave 1: n = 228; Wave 2: n = 206). Wave 1 assessed adverse experiences, psychopathology symptoms, reward processing on a monetary incentive delay task, and resting-state fMRI. At Wave 2, psychopathology symptoms were reassessed. Greater threat experiences were associated with blunted behavioral reward sensitivity, which, in turn, predicted increases in depression symptoms over time and mediated the prospective association between threat and depression symptoms. In contrast, reward sensitivity moderated the association between deprivation experiences and prospective externalizing symptoms such that the positive association of deprivation with increasing externalizing symptoms was absent for children with high levels of reward sensitivity.
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Zhou J, Sheridan MA, Tian Y, Dahlgren KJ, Messler M, Peng T, Ezashi T, Schulz LC, Ulery BD, Roberts RM, Schust DJ. Development of properly-polarized trophoblast stem cell-derived organoids to model early human pregnancy. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.30.560327. [PMID: 37873440 PMCID: PMC10592868 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.30.560327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
The development of human trophoblast stem cells (hTSC) and stem cell-derived trophoblast organoids has enabled investigation of placental physiology and disease and early maternal-fetal interactions during a stage of human pregnancy that previously had been severely restricted. A key shortcoming in existing trophoblast organoid methodologies is the non-physiologic position of the syncytiotrophoblast (STB) within the inner portion of the organoid, which neither recapitulates placental villous morphology in vivo nor allows for facile modeling of STB exposure to the endometrium or the contents of the intervillous space. Here we have successfully established properly-polarized human trophoblast stem cell (hTSC)-sourced organoids with STB forming on the surface of the organoid. These organoids can also be induced to give rise to the extravillous trophoblast (EVT) lineage with HLA-G + migratory cells that invade into an extracellular matrix-based hydrogel. Compared to previous hTSC organoid methods, organoids created by this method more closely mimic the architecture of the developing human placenta and provide a novel platform to study normal and abnormal human placental development and to model exposures to pharmaceuticals, pathogens and environmental insults. Motivation Human placental organoids have been generated to mimic physiological cell-cell interactions. However, those published models derived from human trophoblast stem cells (hTSCs) or placental villi display a non-physiologic "inside-out" morphology. In vivo , the placental villi have an outer layer of syncytialized cells that are in direct contact with maternal blood, acting as a conduit for gas and nutrient exchange, and an inner layer of progenitor, single cytotrophoblast cells that fuse to create the syncytiotrophoblast layer. Existing "inside-out" models put the cytotrophoblast cells in contact with culture media and substrate, making physiologic interactions between syncytiotrophoblast and other cells/tissues and normal and pathogenic exposures coming from maternal blood difficult to model. The goal of this study was to develop an hTSC-derived 3-D human trophoblast organoid model that positions the syncytiotrophoblast layer on the outside of the multicellular organoid. Graphical abstract
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Davis MM, Navarro E, Carpenter KLH, Copeland WE, Small B, Egger HL, Sheridan MA. Early life adversity and psychopathology in preschoolers: mechanisms and moderators. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2023:10.1007/s00787-023-02295-5. [PMID: 37725168 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-023-02295-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Developmental theories suggest that exposure to early life adversity (ELA) alters developing emotional response systems, predicting risk for psychopathology across the life span. The present study examines whether negative emotionality (NE), a trait-like measure of emotionality that develops during early childhood, mediates the association between ELA and psychopathology in a representative sample of 917 preschoolers (Mage = 3.84). Additionally, we explored whether cognitive control, which supports attentional focusing and inhibition and has been identified as a transdiagnostic protective factor, moderates the impact of heightened emotionality following adversity on psychopathology risk. We utilized parent report of adversity, psychopathology, and NE and parent report and task-based measures of cognitive control. Structural equation modeling of cross-sectional data revealed that NE partially mediated the link between ELA and psychopathology symptoms. Moreover, parent-reported cognitive control buffered this link such that the effect of ELA on psychopathology through NE was stronger in children with low versus high cognitive control. These results identify elevated NE as one mechanism linking ELA and psychopathology, specifically among children with poorer top-down control, informing our understanding of key risk and protective factors among adversity-exposed children.
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Rakesh D, Whittle S, Sheridan MA, McLaughlin KA. Childhood socioeconomic status and the pace of structural neurodevelopment: accelerated, delayed, or simply different? Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:833-851. [PMID: 37179140 PMCID: PMC10524122 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with children's brain and behavioral development. Several theories propose that early experiences of adversity or low SES can alter the pace of neurodevelopment during childhood and adolescence. These theories make contrasting predictions about whether adverse experiences and low SES are associated with accelerated or delayed neurodevelopment. We contextualize these predictions within the context of normative development of cortical and subcortical structure and review existing evidence on SES and structural brain development to adjudicate between competing hypotheses. Although none of these theories are fully consistent with observed SES-related differences in brain development, existing evidence suggests that low SES is associated with brain structure trajectories more consistent with a delayed or simply different developmental pattern than an acceleration in neurodevelopment.
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Milojevich HM, Stickel D, Swingler MM, Zhang X, Terrell J, Sheridan MA, Tan X. Building an ecological momentary assessment smartphone app for 4- to 10-year-old children: A pilot study. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0290148. [PMID: 37647264 PMCID: PMC10468030 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) minimizes recall burden and maximizes ecological validity and has emerged as a valuable tool to characterize individual differences, assess contextual associations, and document temporal associations. However, EMA has yet to be reliably utilized in young children, in part due to concerns about responder reliability and limited compliance. The present study addressed these concerns by building a developmentally appropriate EMA smartphone app and testing the app for feasibility and usability with young children ages 4-10 (N = 20; m age = 7.7, SD = 2.0). METHODS To pilot test the app, children completed an 11-item survey about their mood and behavior twice a day for 14 days. Parents also completed brief surveys twice a day to allow for parent-child comparisons of responses. Finally, at the end of the two weeks, parents provided user feedback on the smartphone app. RESULTS Results indicated a high response rate (nearly 90%) across child surveys and high agreement between parents and children ranging from 0.89-0.97. CONCLUSIONS Overall, findings suggest that this developmentally appropriate EMA smartphone app is a reliable and valid tool for collecting in-the-moment data from young children outside of a laboratory setting.
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Machlin L, Egger HL, Stein CR, Navarro E, Carpenter KLH, Goel S, Patel KK, Copeland WE, Sheridan MA. Distinct Associations of Deprivation and Threat With Alterations in Brain Structure in Early Childhood. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2023; 62:885-894.e3. [PMID: 36775117 PMCID: PMC10412726 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2023.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The dimensional model of adversity and psychopathology hypothesizes deprivation and threat impact distinct neurobiological pathways, such as brain structure. This hypothesis has not been examined longitudinally or in young children. This study tested longitudinal associations between threat and deprivation measured in preschool and brain structure in childhood. It was hypothesized that threat would be associated with amygdala and hippocampal subcortical volume and deprivation would be associated with cortical thickness in association cortex. METHOD The study included T1-weighted scans from 72 children (5-10 years old, 54.2% female participants). Threat was measured by the presence of domestic violence, sexual abuse, physical abuse, or neighborhood violence. Deprivation was measured by the presence of neglect. Associations of deprivation or threat with brain structure were examined controlling for other dimension (deprivation or threat) and nuisance covariates using whole-brain vertex-wise analyses. Subcortical volume was extracted, and the same associations were examined using multiple regression. RESULTS Threat was associated with widespread decreases in cortical surface area across the prefrontal cortex and other regions. Threat was not associated with amygdala or hippocampal volume. Deprivation was associated with increased thickness in occipital cortex, insula, and cingulate. CONCLUSION Results suggest distinct associations of deprivation and threat on brain structure in early childhood. Threat is associated with widespread differences in surface area, and deprivation is associated with differences in cortical thickness. These observations are consistent with work in adolescence and adulthood and reflect how dimensions of adversity differentially impact neural structure.
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Sheridan MA. Measuring the impact of structural inequality on the structure of the brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2306076120. [PMID: 37285397 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2306076120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
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McNeish D, Bauer DJ, Dumas D, Clements DH, Cohen JR, Lin W, Sarama J, Sheridan MA. Modeling individual differences in the timing of change onset and offset. Psychol Methods 2023; 28:401-421. [PMID: 34570554 PMCID: PMC8957627 DOI: 10.1037/met0000407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Individual differences in the timing of developmental processes are often of interest in longitudinal studies, yet common statistical approaches to modeling change cannot directly estimate the timing of when change occurs. The time-to-criterion framework was recently developed to incorporate the timing of a prespecified criterion value; however, this framework has difficulty accommodating contexts where the criterion value differs across people or when the criterion value is not known a priori, such as when the interest is in individual differences in when change starts or stops. This article combines aspects of reparameterized quadratic models and multiphase models to provide information on the timing of change. We first consider the more common situation of modeling decelerating change to an offset point, defined as the point in time at which change ceases. For increasing trajectories, the offset occurs when the criterion attains its maximum ("inverted J-shaped" trajectories). For decreasing trajectories, offset instead occurs at the minimum. Our model allows for individual differences in both the timing of offset and ultimate level of the outcome. The same model, reparameterized slightly, captures accelerating change from a point of onset ("J-shaped" trajectories). We then extend the framework to accommodate "S-shaped" curves where both the onset and offset of change are within the observation window. We provide demonstrations that span neuroscience, educational psychology, developmental psychology, and cognitive science, illustrating the applicability of the modeling framework to a variety of research questions about individual differences in the timing of change. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
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Pelletier-Baldelli A, Sheridan MA, Glier S, Rodriguez-Thompson A, Gates KM, Martin S, Dichter GS, Patel KK, Bonar AS, Giletta M, Hastings PD, Nock MK, Slavich GM, Rudolph KD, Prinstein MJ, Miller AB. Social goals in girls transitioning to adolescence: associations with psychopathology and brain network connectivity. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:nsac058. [PMID: 36287067 PMCID: PMC9949572 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The motivation to socially connect with peers increases during adolescence in parallel with changes in neurodevelopment. These changes in social motivation create opportunities for experiences that can impact risk for psychopathology, but the specific motivational presentations that confer greater psychopathology risk are not fully understood. To address this issue, we used a latent profile analysis to identify the multidimensional presentations of self-reported social goals in a sample of 220 girls (9-15 years old, M = 11.81, SD = 1.81) that was enriched for internalizing symptoms, and tested the association between social goal profiles and psychopathology. Associations between social goals and brain network connectivity were also examined in a subsample of 138 youth. Preregistered analyses revealed four unique profiles of social goal presentations in these girls. Greater psychopathology was associated with heightened social goals such that higher clinical symptoms were related to a greater desire to attain social competence, avoid negative feedback and gain positive feedback from peers. The profiles endorsing these excessive social goals were characterized by denser connections among social-affective and cognitive control brain regions. These findings thus provide preliminary support for adolescent-onset changes in motivating factors supporting social engagement that may contribute to risk for psychopathology in vulnerable girls.
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19
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Gruhn M, Miller AB, Machlin L, Motton S, Thinzar CE, Sheridan MA. Child Anxiety and Depression Symptom Trajectories and Predictors over 15 Months of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2023; 51:233-246. [PMID: 36048373 PMCID: PMC9435416 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-022-00963-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Repeated measures are required to monitor and map trajectories of mental health symptoms that are sensitive to the changing distal and proximal stressors throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Understanding symptoms in young children is particularly important given the short- and long-term implications of early-onset internalizing symptoms. This study utilized an intensive longitudinal approach to assess the course and environmental correlates of anxiety and depression symptoms in 133 children, ages 4-11 (Mage = 7.35, SD = 1.03), in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Caregivers completed 48 repeated assessments from April 7, 2020, to June 15, 2021, on child and caregiver mental health symptoms, family functioning, and COVID-19-related environmental changes. Results from a series of multilevel growth models demonstrate that child depression symptoms were highest following initial stay-at-home orders (April 2020) and linearly decreased over time, while child anxiety symptoms were variable over the 15-month period. Caregiver depression symptoms and family conflict significantly predicted levels of child depression symptoms. In contrast, caregiver depression symptoms, caregiver anxiety symptoms, and time spent home quarantining significantly predicted levels of child anxiety symptoms. Results suggest that depression and anxiety symptoms in young children may have unique trajectories over the course of the coronavirus pandemic and highlight symptom-specific risk factors for each symptom.
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20
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Peverill M, Rosen ML, Lurie LA, Sambrook KA, Sheridan MA, McLaughlin KA. Childhood trauma and brain structure in children and adolescents. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 59:101180. [PMID: 36563460 PMCID: PMC9800267 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The dimensional model of adversity proposes that experiences of threat and deprivation have distinct neurodevelopmental consequences. We examined these dimensions, separately and jointly, with brain structure in a sample of 149 youth aged 8-17-half recruited based on exposure to threat-related experiences. We predicted that greater threat would be uniquely associated with reduced cortical thickness and surface area in brain regions associated with salience processing including ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and insula, and that deprivation experiences would be uniquely associated with reductions in cortical thickness and surface area in frontoparietal areas associated with cognitive control. As predicted, greater threat was associated with thinner cortex in a network including areas involved in salience processing (anterior insula, vmPFC), and smaller amygdala volume (particularly in younger participants), after controlling for deprivation. Contrary to our hypotheses, threat was also associated with thinning in the frontoparietal control network. However, these associations were reduced following control for deprivation. No associations were found between deprivation and brain structure. This examination of deprivation and threat concurrently in the same sample provided further evidence that threat-related experiences influence the structure of the developing brain independent of deprivation.
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21
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Colich NL, Hanford LC, Weissman DG, Allen NB, Shirtcliff EA, Lengua LJ, Sheridan MA, McLaughlin KA. Childhood trauma, earlier pubertal timing, and psychopathology in adolescence: The role of corticolimbic development. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 59:101187. [PMID: 36640624 PMCID: PMC9842860 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Earlier pubertal development appears to be one pathway through which childhood trauma contributes to psychopathology in adolescence. Puberty-related changes in neural networks involved in emotion processing, namely the amygdala-medial prefrontal (mPFC) circuit, may be a potential mechanism linking trauma and adolescent psychopathology. Our participants were 227 youth between 10 and 13 years of age who completed assessments of threat and deprivation-related experiences of adversity, pubertal stage, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. A subset (n = 149) also underwent a functional MRI scan while passively viewing fearful and calm faces. Potential mechanisms linking childhood trauma with psychopathology, encompassing earlier pubertal timing and neural response to aversive stimuli were explored. Earlier pubertal development was associated with childhood trauma as well as increased externalizing symptoms in boys only. Earlier pubertal timing in males and females was negatively associated with activation in bilateral amygdala, hippocampal, and fusiform regions when comparing fearful and calm faces. However, amygdala-mPFC connectivity showed no association with pubertal timing or psychopathology symptoms. These findings do not support accelerated amygdala-mPFC development as a mechanism linking childhood trauma and psychopathology, but instead provide support for the role of pubertal development in normative decreases in limbic activation across development.
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22
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van Velzen LS, Dauvermann MR, Colic L, Villa LM, Savage HS, Toenders YJ, Zhu AH, Bright JK, Campos AI, Salminen LE, Ambrogi S, Ayesa-Arriola R, Banaj N, Başgöze Z, Bauer J, Blair K, Blair RJ, Brosch K, Cheng Y, Colle R, Connolly CG, Corruble E, Couvy-Duchesne B, Crespo-Facorro B, Cullen KR, Dannlowski U, Davey CG, Dohm K, Fullerton JM, Gonul AS, Gotlib IH, Grotegerd D, Hahn T, Harrison BJ, He M, Hickie IB, Ho TC, Iorfino F, Jansen A, Jollant F, Kircher T, Klimes-Dougan B, Klug M, Leehr EJ, Lippard ETC, McLaughlin KA, Meinert S, Miller AB, Mitchell PB, Mwangi B, Nenadić I, Ojha A, Overs BJ, Pfarr JK, Piras F, Ringwald KG, Roberts G, Romer G, Sanches M, Sheridan MA, Soares JC, Spalletta G, Stein F, Teresi GI, Tordesillas-Gutiérrez D, Uyar-Demir A, van der Wee NJA, van der Werff SJ, Vermeiren RRJM, Winter A, Wu MJ, Yang TT, Thompson PM, Rentería ME, Jahanshad N, Blumberg HP, van Harmelen AL, Schmaal L. Structural brain alterations associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors in young people: results from 21 international studies from the ENIGMA Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviours consortium. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:4550-4560. [PMID: 36071108 PMCID: PMC9734039 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01734-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Identifying brain alterations associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) in young people is critical to understanding their development and improving early intervention and prevention. The ENIGMA Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviours (ENIGMA-STB) consortium analyzed neuroimaging data harmonized across sites to examine brain morphology associated with STBs in youth. We performed analyses in three separate stages, in samples ranging from most to least homogeneous in terms of suicide assessment instrument and mental disorder. First, in a sample of 577 young people with mood disorders, in which STBs were assessed with the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Second, in a sample of young people with mood disorders, in which STB were assessed using different instruments, MRI metrics were compared among healthy controls without STBs (HC; N = 519), clinical controls with a mood disorder but without STBs (CC; N = 246) and young people with current suicidal ideation (N = 223). In separate analyses, MRI metrics were compared among HCs (N = 253), CCs (N = 217), and suicide attempters (N = 64). Third, in a larger transdiagnostic sample with various assessment instruments (HC = 606; CC = 419; Ideation = 289; HC = 253; CC = 432; Attempt=91). In the homogeneous C-SSRS sample, surface area of the frontal pole was lower in young people with mood disorders and a history of actual suicide attempts (N = 163) than those without a lifetime suicide attempt (N = 323; FDR-p = 0.035, Cohen's d = 0.34). No associations with suicidal ideation were found. When examining more heterogeneous samples, we did not observe significant associations. Lower frontal pole surface area may represent a vulnerability for a (non-interrupted and non-aborted) suicide attempt; however, more research is needed to understand the nature of its relationship to suicide risk.
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Grants
- UG3 MH111929 NIMH NIH HHS
- R37 MH101495 NIMH NIH HHS
- R01 MH103291 NIMH NIH HHS
- P41 RR008079 NCRR NIH HHS
- UL1 TR001872 NCATS NIH HHS
- UL1 TR001863 NCATS NIH HHS
- R61 MH111929 NIMH NIH HHS
- RC1 MH088366 NIMH NIH HHS
- R01 MH117601 NIMH NIH HHS
- K23 MH090421 NIMH NIH HHS
- R21 AA027884 NIAAA NIH HHS
- K01 MH106805 NIMH NIH HHS
- R61 AT009864 NCCIH NIH HHS
- R01 MH069747 NIMH NIH HHS
- K01 AA027573 NIAAA NIH HHS
- R01 MH070902 NIMH NIH HHS
- K01 MH117442 NIMH NIH HHS
- R01 MH085734 NIMH NIH HHS
- R21 AT009173 NCCIH NIH HHS
- MQ Brighter Futures Award MQBFC/2 and the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health under Award Number R01MH117601. National Suicide Prevention Research Fund, managed by Suicide Prevention Australia
- MQ Brighter Futures Award MQBFC/2. Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Klinische Forschung, UKJ
- Italian Ministry of Health grant RC17-18-19-20-21/A
- Instituto de Salud Carlos III through the projects PI14/00639, PI14/00918 and PI17/01056 (Co-funded by European Regional Development Fund/European Social Fund "Investing in your future") and Fundación Instituto de Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla (NCT0235832 and NCT02534363)
- National Institute of Mental Health (K23MH090421), the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, the University of Minnesota Graduate School, the Minnesota Medical Foundation, and the Biotechnology Research Center (P41 RR008079 to the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research), University of Minnesota, and the Deborah E. Powell Center for Women’s Health Seed Grant, University of Minnesota
- Medical Leader Foundation of Yunnan Province (L2019011) and Famous Doctors Project of Yunnan Province Plan (YNWR-MY-2018-041)
- CJ Martin Fellowship (NHMRC app 1161356). “Investissements d’avenir” ANR-10-IAIHU-06
- German Research Foundation (DFG, grant FOR2107-DA1151/5-1 and DA1151/5-2 to UD, and DFG grants HA7070/2-2, HA7070/3, HA7070/4 to TH)
- Australian National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Project Grants 1024570 NHMRC Career Development Fellowships (1061757)
- Medical Faculty Münster, Innovative Medizinische Forschung (Grant IMF KO 1218 06)
- Australian National Medical and Health Research Council (Program Grant 1037196 and Investigator Grant 1177991 to PBM, Project Grant 1066177 to JMF), the Lansdowne Foundation, Good Talk and the Keith Pettigrew Family Bequest (PM) Janette Mary O’Neil Research Fellowship. IHG is supported in part by R37MH101495
- Australian National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Project Grants 1064643 (principal investigator, BJH) NHMRC Career Development Fellowships (1124472)
- National Institute of Mental Health (K01MH106805). Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health (K01MH117442), the Stanford Maternal Child Health Research Institute, and the Stanford Center for Cognitive and Neurobiological Imaging. TCH receives partial support from the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund
- German Research Foundation (DFG, grant FOR2107-JA 1890/7-1 and JA 1890/7-2 to AJ, and DFG, grant FOR2107-KI588/14-1 and FOR2107-KI588/14-2 to TK)
- NIAAA (K01AA027573, R21AA027884) and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01-MH103291)
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) R21AT009173 and R61AT009864 National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (CTSI), National Institutes of Health, through UCSF-CTSI UL1TR001872 American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) SRG-1-141-18 UCSF Research Evaluation and Allocation Committee (REAC) and J. Jacobson Fund to TTY; by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) R01MH085734 and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (formerly NARSAD)
- MQ Brighter Futures Award MQBFC/2 R61MH111929RC1MH088366, R01MH070902, R01MH069747, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, International Bipolar Foundation, Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, For the Love of Travis Foundation and Women’s Health Research at Yale
- MQ Brighter Futures Award MQBFC/2 Social Safety and Resilience programme of Leiden University
- MQ Brighter Futures Award MQBFC/2 National Institute of Mental Health under Award Number R01MH117601 NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (1140764)
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23
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Sheridan MA, Mukerji CE, Wade M, Humphreys KL, Garrisi K, Goel S, Patel K, Fox NA, Zeanah CH, Nelson CA, McLaughlin KA. Early deprivation alters structural brain development from middle childhood to adolescence. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabn4316. [PMID: 36206331 PMCID: PMC9544316 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn4316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Hypotheses concerning the biologic embedding of early adversity via developmental neuroplasticity mechanisms have been proposed on the basis of experimental studies in animals. However, no studies have demonstrated a causal link between early adversity and neural development in humans. Here, we present evidence from a randomized controlled trial linking psychosocial deprivation in early childhood to changes in cortical development from childhood to adolescence using longitudinal data from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project. Changes in cortical structure due to randomization to foster care were most pronounced in the lateral and medial prefrontal cortex and in white matter tracts connecting the prefrontal and parietal cortex. Demonstrating the causal impact of exposure to deprivation on the development of neural structure highlights the importance of early placement into family-based care to mitigate lasting neurodevelopmental consequences associated with early-life deprivation.
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24
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Wade M, Parsons J, Humphreys KL, McLaughlin KA, Sheridan MA, Zeanah CH, Nelson CA, Fox NA. The Bucharest Early Intervention Project: Adolescent mental health and adaptation following early deprivation. CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES 2022; 16:157-164. [PMID: 36247832 PMCID: PMC9555391 DOI: 10.1111/cdep.12462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Over the last 20 years, we have learned much about the extent to which early-life deprivation affects the mental health of children and adolescents. This body of evidence comes predominantly from studies of children raised in institutional care. The Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) is the only randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate whether the transition to family-based foster care early in development can ameliorate the long-term impact of institutional deprivation on psychopathology during vulnerable developmental windows such as adolescence. In this review, we detail the extent to which early deprivation affects mental health during this period, the capacity of family-based care to facilitate recovery from early deprivation, and the mechanisms underpinning these effects spanning social-emotional, cognitive, stress, and neurobiological domains. We end by discussing the implications and directions for the BEIP and other studies of youth raised in institutions.
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25
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Machlin L, Gruhn MA, Miller AB, Milojevich HM, Motton S, Findley AM, Patel K, Mitchell A, Martinez DN, Sheridan MA. Predictors of family violence in North Carolina following initial COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2022; 130:105376. [PMID: 34728100 PMCID: PMC8556186 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although there is evidence that family violence increased in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, few studies have characterized longitudinal trends in family violence across the course of initial stay-at-home orders. OBJECTIVE The purpose of the present study is to investigate patterns and predictors of family violence, such as child maltreatment and harsh punishment, during the first eight weeks of the pandemic after initial stay-at-home orders in North Carolina. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING Participants included 120 families with children ages 4-11 (53% non-White, 49% female) and a primary caregiver (98% female) living in rural and suburban areas in North Carolina. Participants were recruited based on high risk of pre-pandemic family violence exposure. METHODS Caregivers completed weekly surveys during the pandemic assessing family violence, caregiver employment status, and caregiver emotion reactivity. In addition, all caregivers completed pre-pandemic surveys on family violence. RESULTS Mixed-effects models revealed that family violence was highest following initial stay-at-home orders and decreased linearly over time. Higher pre-pandemic child violence exposure and caregiver unemployment were associated with higher initial family violence. Higher caregiver emotion reactivity was associated with changes in family violence across time. CONCLUSIONS We observed high levels of family violence following stay-at-home orders, especially in families with higher baseline violence, higher caregiver emotion reactivity, and caregiver unemployment or underemployment. These associations suggest that vulnerable families may respond to the additional stressor of stay-at-home orders with increased violence and thus need additional support in moments of crisis.
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