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Umbach R, Raine A, Leonard NR. Cognitive Decline as a Result of Incarceration and the Effects of a CBT/MT Intervention: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial. CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR 2018; 45:31-55. [PMID: 29795707 PMCID: PMC5961486 DOI: 10.1177/0093854817736345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
This study primarily tests whether incarceration negatively affects cognitive functioning; namely emotion regulation, cognitive control, and emotion recognition. As a secondary interest, we test protective effects of a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/Mindfulness Training (CBT/MT) intervention. Dormitories containing 197 incarcerated males aged 16-18 were randomly assigned to either a CBT/MT program or an active control condition. A cognitive task was administered pre-treatment and again four months later, upon treatment completion. Performance on all outcome variables was significantly worse at follow-up compared to baseline. There were marginally significant group by time interactions. While the control group performance significantly declined in both cognitive control and emotion regulation, the CBT/MT group showed no significant decline in either outcome. This is the first study to probe the effects of incarceration on these three processes. Findings suggest that incarceration worsens a known risk factor for crime (cognitive functioning), and that a CBT/MT intervention may help buffer against declines.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Adrian Raine
- Departments of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
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52
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Tottenham N, Gabard-Durnam LJ. The developing amygdala: a student of the world and a teacher of the cortex. Curr Opin Psychol 2017; 17:55-60. [PMID: 28950973 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Accepted: 06/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Amygdala and prefrontal cortex (PFC) function subserving emotional behavior has largely been examined from the perspective of their adult roles, with a tremendous focus on the regulatory influence of the PFC over amygdala activity. Here we consider the circuit's function in its developmental context, when maximal learning about emotion and incentives from the environment is necessary. We argue that during development the amygdala exhibits an overwhelming influence over the developmental destiny of circuitry function, and the amygdala's learning and experiential history are conveyed to the cortex to modulate subsequent PFC development. We present recent findings on the different developmental trajectories of the amygdala and PFC, their functional connectivity, and the timing of environmental influences as evidence supporting our position.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nim Tottenham
- Columbia University, Department of Psychology, 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027, USA.
| | - Laurel J Gabard-Durnam
- Harvard University/Boston Children's Hospital, Division of Developmental Medicine, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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53
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Ko J. Neuroanatomical Substrates of Rodent Social Behavior: The Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Its Projection Patterns. Front Neural Circuits 2017; 11:41. [PMID: 28659766 PMCID: PMC5468389 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2017.00041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2017] [Accepted: 05/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Social behavior encompasses a number of distinctive and complex constructs that form the core elements of human imitative culture, mainly represented as either affiliative or antagonistic interactions with conspecifics. Traditionally considered in the realm of psychology, social behavior research has benefited from recent advancements in neuroscience that have accelerated identification of the neural systems, circuits, causative genes and molecular mechanisms that underlie distinct social cognitive traits. In this review article, I summarize recent findings regarding the neuroanatomical substrates of key social behaviors, focusing on results from experiments conducted in rodent models. In particular, I will review the role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and downstream subcortical structures in controlling social behavior, and discuss pertinent future research perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaewon Ko
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST)Daegu, South Korea
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54
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Abstract
Adverse childhood experiences can deleteriously affect future physical and mental health, increasing risk for many illnesses, including psychiatric problems, sleep disorders, and, according to the present hypothesis, idiopathic nightmares. Much like post-traumatic nightmares, which are triggered by trauma and lead to recurrent emotional dreaming about the trauma, idiopathic nightmares are hypothesized to originate in early adverse experiences that lead in later life to the expression of early memories and emotions in dream content. Accordingly, the objectives of this paper are to (1) review existing literature on sleep, dreaming and nightmares in relation to early adverse experiences, drawing upon both empirical studies of dreaming and nightmares and books and chapters by recognized nightmare experts and (2) propose a new approach to explaining nightmares that is based upon the Stress Acceleration Hypothesis of mental illness. The latter stipulates that susceptibility to mental illness is increased by adversity occurring during a developmentally sensitive window for emotional maturation—the infantile amnesia period—that ends around age 3½. Early adversity accelerates the neural and behavioral maturation of emotional systems governing the expression, learning, and extinction of fear memories and may afford short-term adaptive value. But it also engenders long-term dysfunctional consequences including an increased risk for nightmares. Two mechanisms are proposed: (1) disruption of infantile amnesia allows normally forgotten early childhood memories to influence later emotions, cognitions and behavior, including the common expression of threats in nightmares; (2) alterations of normal emotion regulation processes of both waking and sleep lead to increased fear sensitivity and less effective fear extinction. These changes influence an affect network previously hypothesized to regulate fear extinction during REM sleep, disruption of which leads to nightmares. This network consists of a fear circuit that includes amygdala, hippocampus, and medial prefrontal cortex and whose substantial overlap with the stress acceleration findings allows the latter to be incorporated into a wider, more developmentally coherent framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tore Nielsen
- Dream and Nightmare Laboratory, Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, CIUSSS-NÎM - Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
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55
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Perry RE, Blair C, Sullivan RM. Neurobiology of infant attachment: attachment despite adversity and parental programming of emotionality. Curr Opin Psychol 2017; 17:1-6. [PMID: 28950954 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.04.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2017] [Revised: 04/10/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
We review recent findings related to the neurobiology of infant attachment, emphasizing the role of parenting quality in attachment formation and emotional development. Current findings suggest that the development of brain structures important for emotional expression and regulation (amygdala, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus) is deeply associated with the quality of care received in infancy, with sensitive caregiving providing regulation vital for programming these structures, ultimately shaping the development of emotion into adulthood. Evidence indicates that without sensitive caregiving, infants fail to develop mechanisms needed for later-life emotion and emotion regulation. Research suggests that a sensitive period exists in early life for parental shaping of emotional development, although further cross-species research is needed to discern its age limits, and thus inform interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosemarie E Perry
- Department of Applied Psychology, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Clancy Blair
- Department of Applied Psychology, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Regina M Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute & Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
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56
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Insensitive parenting may accelerate the development of the amygdala–medial prefrontal cortex circuit. Dev Psychopathol 2017; 29:505-518. [DOI: 10.1017/s0954579417000141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThis study examined whether the association between age and amygdala–medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) connectivity in typically developing 6- to 10-year-old children is correlated with parental care. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired from 124 children of the Generation R Study who at 4 years old had been observed interacting with their parents to assess maternal and paternal sensitivity. Amygdala functional connectivity was assessed using a general linear model with the amygdalae time series as explanatory variables. Higher level analyses assessing Sensitivity × Age as well as exploratory Sensitivity × Age × Gender interaction effects were performed restricted to voxels in the mPFC. We found significant Sensitivity × Age interaction effects on amygdala–mPFC connectivity. Age was related to stronger amygdala–mPFC connectivity in children with a lower combined parental sensitivity score (b = 0.11, p = .004, b = 0.06, p = .06, right and left amygdala, respectively), but not in children with a higher parental sensitivity score, (b = –0.07, p = .12, b = –0.06, p = .12, right and left amygdala, respectively). A similar effect was found for maternal sensitivity, with stronger amygdala–mPFC connectivity in children with less sensitive mothers. Exploratory (parental, maternal, paternal) Sensitivity × Age × Gender interaction analyses suggested that this effect was especially pronounced in girls. Amygdala-mPFC resting-state functional connectivity has been shown to increase from age 10.5 years onward, implying that the positive association between age and amygdala–mPFC connectivity in 6- to 10-year-old children of less sensitive parents represents accelerated development of the amygdala–mPFC circuit.
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57
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Gee DG. Sensitive Periods of Emotion Regulation: Influences of Parental Care on Frontoamygdala Circuitry and Plasticity. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev 2017; 2016:87-110. [PMID: 27589500 DOI: 10.1002/cad.20166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Early caregiving experiences play a central role in shaping emotional development, stress physiology, and refinement of limbic circuitry. Converging evidence across species delineates a sensitive period of heightened neuroplasticity when frontoamygdala circuitry is especially amenable to caregiver inputs early in life. During this period, parental buffering regulates emotional behaviors and stress physiology as emotion regulation circuitry continues to mature. By contrast, disorganized or poor quality caregiving has profound and lasting consequences on the maturation of frontoamygdala circuitry essential for emotion regulation, even following termination of this early life stressor (e.g., adoption from orphanage). This article highlights how interactions between caregiving experiences and the biological state of the developing brain have broad implications for long-term health.
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58
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Howell BR, McMurray MS, Guzman DB, Nair G, Shi Y, McCormack KM, Hu X, Styner MA, Sanchez MM. Maternal buffering beyond glucocorticoids: impact of early life stress on corticolimbic circuits that control infant responses to novelty. Soc Neurosci 2017; 12:50-64. [PMID: 27295326 PMCID: PMC5585074 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2016.1200481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Maternal presence has a potent buffering effect on infant fear and stress responses in primates. We previously reported that maternal presence is not effective in buffering the endocrine stress response in infant rhesus monkeys reared by maltreating mothers. We have also reported that maltreating mothers show low maternal responsiveness and permissiveness/secure-base behavior. Although still not understood, it is possible that this maternal buffering effect is mediated, at least partially, through deactivation of amygdala response circuits when mothers are present. Here, we studied rhesus monkey infants that differed in the quality of early maternal care to investigate how this early experience modulated maternal buffering effects on behavioral responses to novelty during the weaning period. We also examined the relationship between these behavioral responses and structural connectivity in one of the underlying regulatory neural circuits: amygdala-prefrontal pathways. Our findings suggest that infant exploration in a novel situation is predicted by maternal responsiveness and structural integrity of amygdala-prefrontal white matter depending on maternal presence (positive relationships when mother is absent). These results provide evidence that maternal buffering of infant behavioral inhibition is dependent on the quality of maternal care and structural connectivity of neural pathways that are sensitive to early life stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany R Howell
- a Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences , Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA
- b Yerkes National Primate Research Center , Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA
- c Institute of Child Development , University of Minnesota , Minneapolis , MN , USA
| | - Matthew S McMurray
- a Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences , Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA
- b Yerkes National Primate Research Center , Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA
| | - Dora B Guzman
- a Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences , Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA
- b Yerkes National Primate Research Center , Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA
| | - Govind Nair
- d Biomedical Imaging Technology Center , Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta , GA , USA
| | - Yundi Shi
- e Department of Psychiatry and Computer Science , University of North Carolina , Chapel Hill , NC , USA
| | - Kai M McCormack
- b Yerkes National Primate Research Center , Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA
- f Department of Psychology , Spelman College , Atlanta , GA , USA
| | - Xiaoping Hu
- d Biomedical Imaging Technology Center , Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta , GA , USA
| | - Martin A Styner
- e Department of Psychiatry and Computer Science , University of North Carolina , Chapel Hill , NC , USA
| | - Mar M Sanchez
- a Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences , Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA
- b Yerkes National Primate Research Center , Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA
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59
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Yan CG, Rincón-Cortés M, Raineki C, Sarro E, Colcombe S, Guilfoyle DN, Yang Z, Gerum S, Biswal BB, Milham MP, Sullivan RM, Castellanos FX. Aberrant development of intrinsic brain activity in a rat model of caregiver maltreatment of offspring. Transl Psychiatry 2017; 7:e1005. [PMID: 28094810 PMCID: PMC5545736 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2016.276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2016] [Revised: 10/31/2016] [Accepted: 11/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Caregiver maltreatment induces vulnerability to later-life psychopathology. Clinical and preclinical evidence suggest changes in prefrontal and limbic circuitry underlie this susceptibility. We examined this question using a rat model of maternal maltreatment and methods translated from humans, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI). Rat pups were reared by mothers provided with insufficient or abundant bedding for nest building from postnatal (PN) days 8 to 12 and underwent behavioral assessments of affect-related behaviors (forced swim, sucrose preference and social interaction) in adolescence (PN45) and early adulthood (PN60). R-fMRI sessions were conducted under light anesthesia at both ages. Offspring reared with insufficient bedding (that is, maltreated) displayed enduring negative affective behaviors. Amygdala-prefrontal cortex (PFC) functional connectivity increased significantly from adolescence to adulthood in controls, but not in maltreated animals. We computed the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), an index of intrinsic brain activity, and found that fALFF in medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex (MPFC/ACC) increased significantly with age in controls but remained unchanged in maltreated animals during adolescence and adulthood. We used a seed-based analysis to explore changes in functional connectivity between this region and the whole brain. Compared with controls, maltreated animals demonstrated reduced functional connectivity between MPFC/ACC and left caudate/putamen across both ages. Functional connectivity between MPFC/ACC and right caudate/putamen showed a group by age interaction: decreased in controls but increased in maltreated animals. These data suggest that maltreatment induces vulnerability to psychopathology and is associated with differential developmental trajectories of prefrontal and subcortical circuits underlying affect regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- C-G Yan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China,Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Medical Center School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA,Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - M Rincón-Cortés
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Medical Center School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA,The Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - C Raineki
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Medical Center School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA,The Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - E Sarro
- The Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - S Colcombe
- Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - D N Guilfoyle
- Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Z Yang
- Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA,Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - S Gerum
- Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - B B Biswal
- Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA,Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - M P Milham
- Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA,Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - R M Sullivan
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Medical Center School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA,The Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Medical Center School of Medicine, 1 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10016, USA. E-mail: or
| | - F X Castellanos
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Medical Center School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA,Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Medical Center School of Medicine, 1 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10016, USA. E-mail: or
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60
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Abstract
Altricial infants (i.e., requiring parental care for survival), such as humans and rats, form an attachment to their caregiver and receive the nurturing and protections needed for survival. Learning has a strong role in attachment, as is illustrated by strong attachment formed to non-biological caregivers of either sex. Here we summarize and integrate results from animal and human infant attachment research that highlights the important role of social buffering (social presence) of the stress response by the attachment figure and its effect on infant processing of threat and fear through modulation of the amygdala. Indeed, this work suggests the caregiver switches off amygdala function in rodents, although recent human research suggests a similar process in humans and nonhuman primates. This cross-species analysis helps provide insight and unique understanding of attachment and its role in the neurobiology of infant behavior within attachment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Regina M Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, The Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Child Study Center, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center
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61
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Piccolo LR, Merz EC, He X, Sowell ER, Noble KG. Age-Related Differences in Cortical Thickness Vary by Socioeconomic Status. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0162511. [PMID: 27644039 PMCID: PMC5028041 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2016] [Accepted: 08/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent findings indicate robust associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and brain structure in children, raising questions about the ways in which SES may modify structural brain development. In general, cortical thickness and surface area develop in nonlinear patterns across childhood and adolescence, with developmental patterns varying to some degree by cortical region. Here, we examined whether age-related nonlinear changes in cortical thickness and surface area varied by SES, as indexed by family income and parental education. We hypothesized that SES disparities in age-related change may be particularly evident for language- and literacy-supporting cortical regions. Participants were 1148 typically-developing individuals between 3 and 20 years of age. Results indicated that SES factors moderate patterns of age-associated change in cortical thickness but not surface area. Specifically, at lower levels of SES, associations between age and cortical thickness were curvilinear, with relatively steep age-related decreases in cortical thickness earlier in childhood, and subsequent leveling off during adolescence. In contrast, at high levels of SES, associations between age and cortical thickness were linear, with consistent reductions across the age range studied. Notably, this interaction was prominent in the left fusiform gyrus, a region that is critical for reading development. In a similar pattern, SES factors significantly moderated linear age-related change in left superior temporal gyrus, such that higher SES was linked with steeper age-related decreases in cortical thickness in this region. These findings suggest that SES may moderate patterns of age-related cortical thinning, especially in language- and literacy-supporting cortical regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luciane R. Piccolo
- Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Emily C. Merz
- Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Xiaofu He
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth R. Sowell
- Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Kimberly G. Noble
- Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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