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Cheng KH, Hung YC, Ling P, Hsu KS. Oxytocin treatment rescues irritability-like behavior in Cc2d1a conditional knockout mice. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:1792-1802. [PMID: 39014123 PMCID: PMC11399130 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01920-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2024] [Accepted: 07/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024]
Abstract
Irritability, a state of excessive reactivity to negative emotional stimuli, is common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although it has a significant negative impact of patients' disease severity and quality of life, the neural mechanisms underlying irritability in ASD remain largely unclear. We have previously demonstrated that male mice lacking the Coiled-coil and C2 domain containing 1a (Cc2d1a) in forebrain excitatory neurons recapitulate numerous ASD-like behavioral phenotypes, including impaired social behaviors and pronounced repetitive behaviors. Here, using the bottle-brush test (BBT) to trigger and evaluate aggressive and defensive responses, we show that Cc2d1a deletion increases irritability-like behavior in male but not female mice, which is correlated with reduced number of oxytocin (OXT)-expressing neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus. Intranasal OXT administration or chemogenetic activation of OXT neurons in the PVN rescues irritability-like behavior in Cc2d1a conditional knockout (cKO) mice. Administration of a selective melanocortin receptor 4 agonist, RO27-3225, which potentiates endogenous OXT release, also alleviates irritability-like behavior in Cc2d1a cKO mice, an effect blocked by a specific OXT receptor antagonist, L-368,899. We additionally identify a projection connecting the posterior ventral segment of the medial amygdala (MeApv) and ventromedial nucleus of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMHvl) for governing irritability-like behavior during the BBT. Chemogenetic suppression of the MeApv-VMHvl pathway alleviates irritability-like behavior in Cc2d1a cKO mice. Together, our study uncovers dysregulation of OXT system in irritability-like behavior in Cc2d1a cKO mice during the BBT and provide translatable insights into the development of OXT-based therapeutics for clinical interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kuan-Hsiang Cheng
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chieh Hung
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Pin Ling
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Kuei-Sen Hsu
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
- Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
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Budagzad-Jacobson RS, Musicaro RM, Marin CE, Silverman WK, Lebowitz ER. Family Accommodation in Anxious Irritable and Anxious Nonirritable Youth. Behav Ther 2024; 55:913-921. [PMID: 39174269 PMCID: PMC11341947 DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2024.03.003] [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: 05/28/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 08/24/2024]
Abstract
Family accommodation is a significant contributor to the maintenance and course of youth anxiety. There is also high co-occurrence of anxiety and irritability in youth. Research is lacking, however, on the influence of irritability in the association between anxiety and family accommodation, including among youth with clinically diagnosed anxiety disorders. We therefore examined this issue in a sample of clinic-referred anxious irritable and anxious nonirritable youth. Youth (N = 645, Mage = 9.86 years, SD = 2.92) and their parents completed diagnostic interviews and questionnaires assessing youth anxiety, irritability, and family accommodation. Based on both youth and parent ratings, family accommodation was significantly and positively associated with youth anxiety and irritability. Anxious irritable youth rated family accommodation significantly higher than anxious nonirritable youth. In addition, youth self-rated irritability levels significantly moderated the association between their anxiety and family accommodation. No moderation effect was found for the parent ratings. Based on the youth ratings, our overall findings show that parents of anxious irritable youth are more accommodating of their children's anxiety, compared with parents of anxious nonirritable youth. Anxiety levels also predict family accommodation more strongly in youth with lower levels of irritability. Our findings provide novel insights about accommodation behaviors in families of anxious irritable youth and suggest its potential utility as a treatment target when working with anxious irritable youth.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Carla E Marin
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine
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3
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Parker AJ, Walker JC, Jordan LS, Takarae Y, Wiggins JL, Dougherty LR. Neural mechanisms of inhibitory control in preadolescent irritability: Insights from the ABCD study. Biol Psychol 2024; 192:108856. [PMID: 39154835 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2024.108856] [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: 05/08/2024] [Revised: 07/19/2024] [Accepted: 08/13/2024] [Indexed: 08/20/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Elevated pediatric irritability is a transdiagnostic symptom that predicts multiple mental health problems in adolescence and adulthood. Altered top-down regulatory networks, such as inhibitory control networks that suppress an impulse in favor of goal-directed behavior, are thought to contribute to high levels of youth irritability. Nevertheless, little work has examined links between youth irritability and neural processes supporting inhibitory control in large diverse samples, nor have they focused on the key period ramping up to adolescence (i.e., preadolescence). METHOD Functional MRI data from 5380 preadolescents (age M=9.97 years, SD=0.62) in the baseline Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study were analyzed. Parents reported on their preadolescent's irritability. The stop signal task (SST) was leveraged to probe successful and failed inhibitory control. Activation and functional connectivity with amygdala, ventral striatum, and prefrontal seed regions were calculated during the SST and used in whole brain and region of interest (ROI) group-level analyses evaluating irritability effects. RESULTS Preadolescents with higher levels of irritability displayed decreases in functional connectivity among amygdala, ventral striatum, and prefrontal cortex regions during both successful and failed inhibitory control conditions. These results remained after adjusting for co-occurring anxiety, depression, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest neural aberrations in inhibitory control play a role in the pathophysiology of preadolescent irritability and associations are not merely due to co-occurring symptoms. Neural mechanisms of inhibitory control associated with irritability may provide novel intervention targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa J Parker
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States.
| | - Johanna C Walker
- Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, United States
| | - Leslie S Jordan
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States; Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States; Institute for Clinical & Translational Research (ICTR), University of Maryland Baltimore, United States
| | - Yukari Takarae
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, United States
| | - Jillian Lee Wiggins
- Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, United States; Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, United States
| | - Lea R Dougherty
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
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4
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Benda MS, DeSerisy M, Levitch C, Roy AK. An investigation of the neural basis of anger attributions in irritable youth. Emotion 2024; 24:1068-1077. [PMID: 38127534 PMCID: PMC11116073 DOI: 10.1037/emo0001337] [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: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Neurocognitive models of pediatric irritability suggest a prominent role of anger; however, few studies have investigated anger-related biases and their neural correlates. Resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the amygdala was examined in relation to anger attribution bias (AAB) in a sample of young children (5-9 years old; N = 60; 55% White, 26.7% Hispanic) with clinically significant irritability characterized by impairing emotional outbursts (IEOs). Children completed a resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan as well as the assessment of children's emotional skills (ACES), which yields three measures of AAB in the context of social situations, social behaviors, and facial expressions. ACES scores were entered into a general linear model to examine associations with rsFC of the bilateral amygdalae. Children with IEOs exhibited significant biases in attributing anger to others across all three ACES domains. Greater biases toward attributing anger in social situations were associated with reduced rsFC of the bilateral amygdalae with the fusiform/lingual gyri and lateral occipital cortex. Alternatively, greater biases toward attributing anger to facial expressions positively predicted right amygdala-precuneus rsFC. Greater bias toward attributing anger to others based on their behaviors was associated with heightened rsFC of the right amygdala with the left middle frontal gyrus. Findings extend previous work implicating functional connections among regions of default mode and frontoparietal networks in pediatric irritability. Longitudinal studies are needed to further investigate the putative role of AAB in the etiology and long-term outcomes of pediatric irritability. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mariah DeSerisy
- Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
| | - Cara Levitch
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
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Elvin OM, Modecki KL, Waters AM. An Expanded Conceptual Framework for Understanding Irritability in Childhood: The Role of Cognitive Control Processes. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2024; 27:381-406. [PMID: 38856946 PMCID: PMC11222227 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-024-00489-0] [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] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Children prone to irritability experience significant functional impairments and internalising and externalising problems. Contemporary models have sought to elucidate the underlying mechanisms in irritability, such as aberrant threat and reward biases to improve interventions. However, the cognitive control processes that underlie threat (e.g., attention towards threats) and reward (e.g., attention towards reward-related cues) biases and the factors which influence the differential activation of positive and negative valence systems and thus leading to maladaptive activation of cognitive control processes (i.e., proactive and reactive control) are unclear. Thus, we aim to integrate extant theoretical and empirical research to elucidate the cognitive control processes underlying threat and reward processing that contribute to irritability in middle childhood and provide a guiding framework for future research and treatment. We propose an expanded conceptual framework of irritability that includes broad intraindividual and environmental vulnerability factors and propose proximal 'setting' factors that activate the negative valence and positive valence systems and proactive and reactive cognitive control processes which underpin the expression and progression of irritability. We consider the implications of this expanded conceptualisation of irritability and provide suggestions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia M Elvin
- School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Mount Gravatt Campus, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
| | - Kathryn L Modecki
- Centre for Mental Health and School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Mount Gravatt Campus, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia & Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Australia
| | - Allison M Waters
- Centre for Mental Health and School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Mount Gravatt Campus, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
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Derella OJ, Butler EJ, Seymour KE, Burke JD. Frustration Response and Regulation Among Irritable Children: Contributions of Chronic Irritability, Internalizing, and Externalizing Symptoms. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL FOR THE SOCIETY OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY, AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, DIVISION 53 2024; 53:199-215. [PMID: 37698941 DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2023.2246557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/14/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The need to understand and treat childhood chronic irritability (CI; i.e. frequent temper loss and angry/irritable mood) is imperative. CI predicts impairment across development and complex comorbidities with both internalizing and externalizing disorders. Research has emphasized frustration reactivity as a key mechanism of CI. However, there are understudied components of frustrative non-reward, particularly regulation-oriented frustration recovery, frustration tolerance, and cognitive control, that may further explain impairments specific to CI beyond comorbid symptoms. METHOD Sixty-three community children (N = 25 CI/38 non-CI) and a parent completed surveys and the computerized Frustration Go/No-Go (FGNG) and Mirror Tracing Persistence Task (MTPT). Analyses compared task performance and self-rated affect across youth with or without CI, with further comparison based on negative/positive screen for ADHD (N = 45-/18+). RESULTS In mixed effects models assessing change across task, the CI group did not demonstrate more intense frustration on the MTPT or rigged FGNG block but exhibited persisting frustration and inhibitory control difficulties into the FGNG recovery period; the CI+ADHD subgroup drove recovery effects. In GEE and logistic regression models including dimensional symptom clusters, only internalizing symptoms predicted child frustration intolerance and reactivity across tasks. ADHD severity was also associated with higher MTPT frustration reactivity, while oppositional behavior predicted lower frustration. Better frustration recovery was associated with lower irritability, but higher internalizing symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Co-occurring symptoms may better explain some frustration-related difficulties among youth with CI. Difficulties with postfrustration affect and inhibitory control recovery suggest the importance of characterizing CI by self-regulation impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia J Derella
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut
| | - Emilie J Butler
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut
| | | | - Jeffrey D Burke
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut
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Díaz DE, Tseng WL, Michalska KJ. Pre-scan state anxiety is associated with greater right amygdala-hippocampal response to fearful versus happy faces among trait-anxious Latina girls. BMC Psychiatry 2024; 24:1. [PMID: 38167015 PMCID: PMC10759434 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-05403-6] [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: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Unfamiliarity with academic research may contribute to higher levels of anticipatory state anxiety about affective neuroimaging tasks. Children with high trait anxiety display differences in brain response to fearful facial affect compared to non-anxious youth, but little is known about the influence of state anxiety on this association. Because reduced engagement in scientific research and greater mistrust among minoritized groups may lead to systematic differences in pre-scan state anxiety, it is crucial to understand the neural correlates of state anxiety during emotion processing so as to disambiguate sources of individual differences. METHODS The present study probed the interactive effects of pre-scan state anxiety, trait anxiety, and emotional valence (fearful vs. happy faces) on neural activation during implicit emotion processing in a community sample of 46 preadolescent Latina girls (8-13 years). RESULTS Among girls with mean and high levels of trait anxiety, pre-scan state anxiety was associated with greater right amygdala-hippocampal and left inferior parietal lobe response to fearful faces relative to happy faces. CONCLUSIONS Anticipatory state anxiety in the scanning context may cause children with moderate and high trait anxiety to be hypervigilant to threats, further compounding the effects of trait anxiety. Neuroimaging researchers should control for state anxiety so that systematic differences in brain activation resulting from MRI apprehension are not misleadingly attributed to demographic or environmental characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana E Díaz
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Wan-Ling Tseng
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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Levy T, Dupuis A, Andrade BF, Crosbie J, Kelley E, Nicolson R, Schachar RJ. Facial emotion recognition in children and youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and irritability. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2023; 32:2271-2280. [PMID: 36050559 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-022-02033-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The ability to recognize emotions evident in people's faces contributes to social functioning and might be affected by ADHD and irritability. Given their high co-occurrence, we examined the relative contribution of ADHD and irritability to facial emotion recognition (FER). We hypothesized that irritability but not ADHD traits would predict increased likelihood of misrecognizing emotions as negative, and that FER performance would explain the association of ADHD and irritability traits with social skills. FER was measured using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) in children (6-14 years old) referred for ADHD assessment (n = 304) and healthy controls (n = 128). ADHD, irritability and social skills were measured using parent ratings. We used repeated measure logistics regression, comparing the effects across emotion valence of images (i.e., neutral/positive/negative). High irritability but not ADHD diagnosis predicted lower RMET accuracy. ADHD traits predicted lower RMET accuracy in younger but not older participants, whereas irritability predicted poorer accuracy at all ages. ADHD traits predicted lower RMET accuracy across all emotion valences, whereas irritability predicted increased probability of misrecognizing neutral and positive but not negative emotions. Irritability did not increase the probability for erroneously recognizing emotions as negative. ADHD and irritability traits fully explained the association between RMET and social skills. ADHD and irritability traits might impact the ability to identify emotions portrayed in faces. However, irritability traits appear to selectively impair recognition of neutral and positive but not negative emotions. ADHD and irritability are important when examining the link between FER and social difficulties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomer Levy
- Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
| | - Annie Dupuis
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Brendan F Andrade
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jennifer Crosbie
- Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Kelley
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Rob Nicolson
- Department of Psychiatry, Lawson Health Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Russell James Schachar
- Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Stoddard J, Haller SP, Costa V, Brotman MA, Jones M. A Computational Model Reveals Learning Dynamics During Interpretation Bias Training With Clinical Applications. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2023; 8:1033-1040. [PMID: 37062362 PMCID: PMC10576009 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.03.013] [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: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Some psychopathologies, including anxiety and irritability, are associated with biases when judging ambiguous social stimuli. Interventions targeting these biases, or interpretation bias training (IBT), are amenable to computational modeling to describe their associative learning mechanisms. Here, we translated ALCOVE (attention learning covering map), a model of category learning, to describe learning in youths with affective psychopathology when training on more positive judgments of ambiguous face emotions. METHODS A predominantly clinical sample comprised 71 youths (age range, 8-22 years) representing broad distributions of irritability and anxiety symptoms. Of these, 63 youths were included in the test sample by completing an IBT task with acceptable performance for computational modeling. We used a separate sample of 28 youths to translate ALCOVE for individual estimates of learning rate and generalization. In the test sample, we assessed associations between model learning estimates and irritability, anxiety, their shared variance (negative affectivity), and age. RESULTS Age and affective symptoms were associated with category learning during IBT. Lower learning rates were associated with higher negative affectivity common in anxiety and irritability. Lower generalization, or improved discrimination between face emotions, was associated with increasing age. CONCLUSIONS This work demonstrates a functional consequence of age- and symptom-related learning during interpretation bias. Learning measured by ALCOVE also revealed learning types not accounted for in the prior literature on IBT. This work more broadly demonstrates the utility of measurement models for understanding trial-by-trial processes and identifying individual learning styles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel Stoddard
- Pediatric Mental Health Institute, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado.
| | - Simone P Haller
- Neuroscience and Novel Therapeutics Unit, Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Vincent Costa
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, Oregon
| | - Melissa A Brotman
- Neuroscience and Novel Therapeutics Unit, Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Matt Jones
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
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Evans SC, Shaughnessy S, Karlovich AR. Future Directions in Youth Irritability Research. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL FOR THE SOCIETY OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY, AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, DIVISION 53 2023; 52:716-734. [PMID: 37487108 DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2023.2209180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
Research on irritability in children and adolescents has proliferated over the last 20 years. The evidence shows the clinical and developmental significance of irritable mood and behavior in youth, and it has led to significant changes in mental health classification, diagnosis, and services. At the same time, this research (including our own) has led to relatively little new in terms of practical, empirically based guidance to improve interventions and outcomes. In this article, we briefly summarize some of these developments and current evidence-based practices. We then put forth two key substantive challenges (the "whats") for future research to address: (a) the need for more effective treatments, especially evaluating and adapting evidence-based treatments that are already well-established for problems related to irritability (e.g., cognitive-behavioral therapies for internalizing and externalizing problems); and (b) the need for a better mechanistic understanding of irritability's phenomenology (e.g., phasic vs. tonic irritability, how frustration unfolds) and putative underlying mechanisms (e.g., cognitive control, threat and reward dysfunction). Lastly, we suggest three methodological approaches (the "hows") that may expedite progress in such areas: (a) ecological momentary assessment, (b) digital health applications, and (c) leveraging existing datasets. We hope this article will be useful for students and early-career researchers interested in tackling some of these important questions to better meet the needs of severely irritable youth.
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Olaya-Galindo MD, Vargas-Cifuentes OA, Vélez Van-Meerbeke A, Talero-Gutiérrez C. Establishing the Relationship Between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Emotional Facial Expression Recognition Deficit: A Systematic Review. J Atten Disord 2023; 27:1181-1195. [PMID: 36843351 PMCID: PMC10466982 DOI: 10.1177/10870547231154901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/28/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In this review, we examined if there is a deficit in facial recognition of emotion (FER) in children, adolescents, and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). BACKGROUND Emotional regulation is impaired in ADHD. Although a facial emotion recognition deficit has been described in this condition, the underlying causal mechanisms remain unclear. METHODS The search was performed in six databases in September 2022. Studies assessing children, adolescents, or adults with isolated or comorbid ADHD that evaluated participants using a FER task were included. RESULTS Twelve studies out of 385 were selected, with participants ranging in age from 6 to 37.1 years. A deficit in FER specific to ADHD, or secondary to comorbid autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, and oppositional symptoms, was found. CONCLUSIONS There is a FER deficit in patients with ADHD. Adults showed improved recognition accuracy, reflecting partial compensation. ADHD symptoms and comorbidities appear to influence FER deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Daniela Olaya-Galindo
- Neuroscience research group (NeURos), NeuroVitae Center for Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Oscar Alberto Vargas-Cifuentes
- Neuroscience research group (NeURos), NeuroVitae Center for Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Alberto Vélez Van-Meerbeke
- Neuroscience research group (NeURos), NeuroVitae Center for Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Claudia Talero-Gutiérrez
- Neuroscience research group (NeURos), NeuroVitae Center for Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
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12
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Mohamed Ali O, Vandermeer MRJ, Liu P, Joanisse MF, Barch DM, Hayden EP. Associations between childhood irritability and neural reactivity to maternal feedback in adolescence. Biol Psychol 2023; 182:108645. [PMID: 37596151 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108645] [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: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 07/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Abstract
Early irritability, a transdiagnostic vulnerability for psychopathology, is associated with alterations in neural reactivity to emotional stimuli and reward; however, associations between childhood irritability and neural markers of risk may be mitigated by the quality of caregiving youth receive. We examined longitudinal relationships between irritability in childhood and young adolescents' neural activity of regions typically associated with emotion regulation and reward processing during processing of maternal feedback and tested whether these associations were moderated by youth's perceptions of the parent-child relationship quality. Eighty-one adolescents (Mage = 11.1 years) listened to maternal critical and praising feedback while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Age 3 irritability, assessed observationally, was negatively associated with age 11 neural reactivity to maternal criticism in a cluster in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), particularly for youths who reported more positive maternal parenting. Given the role of the dlPFC activation in the effortful processing of emotional stimuli, decreased activation may reflect disengagement from negatively valenced interpersonal feedback in the context of a positive caregiving environment, thereby mitigating psychopathology risk associated with irritability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ola Mohamed Ali
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada.
| | - Matthew R J Vandermeer
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada; St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON L8N 4A6, Canada
| | - Pan Liu
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada; Department of Psychology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USA
| | - Marc F Joanisse
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Deanna M Barch
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Elizabeth P Hayden
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
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Mallidi A, Meza-Cervera T, Kircanski K, Stringaris A, Brotman MA, Pine DS, Leibenluft E, Linke JO. Robust caregiver-youth discrepancies in irritability ratings on the affective reactivity index: An investigation of its origins. J Affect Disord 2023; 332:185-193. [PMID: 37030330 PMCID: PMC10170868 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.03.091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/10/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The Affective Reactivity Index (ARI) is widely used to assess young people's irritability symptoms, but youth and caregivers often diverge in their assessments. Such informant discrepancy might be rooted in poor psychometric properties, the differential conceptualization of irritability across informants, or reflect sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. We use an out-of-sample replication approach and leverage longitudinal data, available for a subset of the participants, to test these hypotheses. METHOD Across two independent samples (NCohort-1 = 765, 8-21 years; NCohort-2 = 1910, 6-21 years), we investigate the reliability and measurement invariance of the ARI, examine sociodemographic and clinical predictors of discrepant reporting and probe the utility of a bifactor model for cross-informant integration. RESULTS Despite good internal consistency and 6-week-retest-reliability of parent (Cohort-1: α = 0.92, ICC = 0.85; Cohort-2: α = 0.93) and youth forms (Cohort-1: α = 0.88, ICC = 0.78; Cohort-2: α = 0.82), we confirm substantial informant discrepancy in ARI ratings (3 points on a scale from 0 to 12), which is stable over six weeks (ICC = 0.53). Measurement invariance across informants was weak, indicating that parents and youth may interpret ARI items differently. Irritability severity and diagnostic status predicted informant-discrepancy, albeit in opposing directions: higher severity was linked to relative, higher irritability-ratings by youth (Cohort-1: β = -0.06, p < .001; Cohort-2: β = -0.06, p < .001), while diagnoses of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (Cohort-1: β = 0.44, p < .001; Cohort-2: β = 0.84, p < .001) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (Cohort-1: β = 0.41, p < .001; Cohort-2: β = 0.42, p < .001) predicted relative higher irritability-ratings by caregivers. In both datasets, a bifactor model parsing informant-specific from shared irritability-related variance fit the data well (CFI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.05; N2: CFI = 0.99; RMSEA = 0.04). CONCLUSION Parent and youth ARI reports and their discrepancy are reliable and reflect different interpretations of the scale items; hence they should not be averaged. This finding also suggests that irritability is not a unitary construct. Future work should investigate and model how different aspects of irritability might differ in their impact on the responses of specific informants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajitha Mallidi
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America
| | - Tatiana Meza-Cervera
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America
| | - Katharina Kircanski
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America
| | - Argyris Stringaris
- Divisions of Psychiatry and Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, United Kingdom
| | - Melissa A Brotman
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America
| | - Daniel S Pine
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America
| | - Ellen Leibenluft
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America
| | - Julia O Linke
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America.
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14
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MacSweeney N, Louvet P, Zafar S, Chan SWY, Kwong ASF, Lawrie SM, Romaniuk L, Whalley HC. Keeping up with the kids: the value of co-production in the study of irritability in youth depression and its underlying neural circuitry. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1124940. [PMID: 37397127 PMCID: PMC10310302 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1124940] [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: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Irritability is a core symptom of adolescent depression, characterized by an increased proneness to anger or frustration. Irritability in youth is associated with future mental health problems and impaired social functioning, suggesting that it may be an early indicator of emotion regulation difficulties. Adolescence is a period during which behavior is significantly impacted by one's environment. However, existing research on the neural basis of irritability typically use experimental paradigms that overlook the social context in which irritability occurs. Here, we bring together current findings on irritability in adolescent depression and the associated neurobiology and highlight directions for future research. Specifically, we emphasize the importance of co-produced research with young people as a means to improve the construct and ecological validity of research within the field. Ensuring that our research design and methodology accurately reflect to lives of young people today lays a strong foundation upon which to better understand adolescent depression and identify tractable targets for intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niamh MacSweeney
- Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Perrine Louvet
- Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Simal Zafar
- School of Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Stella W. Y. Chan
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Alex S. F. Kwong
- Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen M. Lawrie
- Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Liana Romaniuk
- Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Heather C. Whalley
- Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Generation Scotland, Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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15
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Li X, Gao Y, Liu Y, Wang Y, Wu Q. Clinical Markers of Physical Violence in Patients with Bipolar Disorder in Manic States. Risk Manag Healthc Policy 2023; 16:991-1000. [PMID: 37250432 PMCID: PMC10225141 DOI: 10.2147/rmhp.s403170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Identifying patients with bipolar disorder (BD) in manic states (BD-M) who are at a high risk of physical violence is a matter of clinical concern. This retrospective institution-based study aimed to identify simple, rapid, and inexpensive clinical markers of physical violence in patients with BD-M. Patients and Methods The anonymized sociodemographic variables (sex, age, years of education, marital status) and clinical ones (weight, height, body mass index, blood pressure, the score of BRMS, number of BD episodes, psychotic symptoms, history of violence, biochemical parameters, and blood routine parameters) of 316 BD-M participants were collected, and the risk of physical violence was identified using the Brøset Violence Checklist (BVC). Difference tests, correlation analyses, and multivariate linear regression analysis were performed to identify clinical markers for the risk of physical violence. Results The participants were categorized into groups at low (49, 15.51%), medium (129, 40.82%), and high (138, 43.67%) risk of physical violence. The number of BD episodes, serum uric acid (UA), free thyroxine (FT4) levels, history of violence, and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) differed significantly between groups (all P<0.05). The number of BD episodes (r=0.152), FT3 (r=0.131) and FT4 (r=0.132) levels, history of violence (r=0.206), and MLR (r=-0.132) were significantly correlated with the risk of physical violence (all P<0.05). The existence of history of violence, number of BD episodes, UA, FT4, and MLR were identified as clinical markers of the risk of physical violence in patients with BD-M (all P<0.05). Conclusion These identified markers are readily available at initial presentation and may help in the timely assessment and treatment of patients with BD-M.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuelong Li
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China
- Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yakun Gao
- Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical College, Weifang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yiyi Liu
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China
- Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ying Wang
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China
- Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qing Wu
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China
- Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, People’s Republic of China
- Hefei Fourth People’s Hospital, Hefei, People’s Republic of China
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16
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Cardinale EM, Bezek J, Morales S, Filippi C, Smith AR, Haller S, Valadez EA, Harrewijn A, Phillips D, Chronis-Tuscano A, Brotman MA, Fox NA, Pine DS, Leibenluft E, Kircanski K. Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Associations of Anxiety and Irritability With Adolescents' Neural Responses to Cognitive Conflict. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2023; 8:436-444. [PMID: 35358745 PMCID: PMC9764223 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 04/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Psychiatric symptoms are commonly comorbid in childhood. The ability to disentangle unique and shared correlates of comorbid symptoms facilitates personalized medicine. Cognitive control is implicated broadly in psychopathology, including in pediatric disorders characterized by anxiety and irritability. To disentangle cognitive control correlates of anxiety versus irritability, the current study leveraged both cross-sectional and longitudinal data from early childhood into adolescence. METHODS For this study, 89 participants were recruited from a large longitudinal research study on early-life temperament to investigate associations of developmental trajectories of anxiety and irritability symptoms (from ages 2 to 15) as well as associations of anxiety and irritability symptoms measured cross-sectionally at age 15 with neural substrates of conflict and error processing assessed at age 15 using the flanker task. RESULTS Results of whole-brain multivariate linear models revealed that anxiety at age 15 was uniquely associated with decreased neural response to conflict across multiple regions implicated in attentional control and conflict adaptation. Conversely, irritability at age 15 was uniquely associated with increased neural response to conflict in regions implicated in response inhibition. Developmental trajectories of anxiety and irritability interacted in relation to neural responses to both error and conflict. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that neural correlates of conflict processing may relate uniquely to anxiety and irritability. Continued cross-symptom research on the neural correlates of cognitive control could stimulate advances in individualized treatment for anxiety and irritability during child and adolescent development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jessica Bezek
- National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Santiago Morales
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland; Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | | | | | - Simone Haller
- National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Emilio A Valadez
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
| | - Anita Harrewijn
- National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of Clinical Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Andrea Chronis-Tuscano
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
| | | | - Nathan A Fox
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
| | - Daniel S Pine
- National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland
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17
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Lee KS, Hagan CN, Hughes M, Cotter G, McAdam Freud E, Kircanski K, Leibenluft E, Brotman MA, Tseng WL. Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Task-based fMRI Studies in Youths With Irritability. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2023; 62:208-229. [PMID: 35944754 PMCID: PMC9892288 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2022.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Childhood irritability, operationalized as disproportionate and frequent temper tantrums and low frustration tolerance relative to peers, is a transdiagnostic symptom across many pediatric disorders. Studies using task-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to probe neural dysfunction in irritability have increased. However, an integrated review summarizing the published methods and synthesized fMRI results remains lacking. METHOD We conducted a systematic search using irritability terms and task functional neuroimaging in key databases in March 2021, and identified 30 studies for our systematic review. Sample characteristics and fMRI methods were summarized. A subset of 28 studies met the criteria for extracting coordinate-based data for quantitative meta-analysis. Ten activation-likelihood estimations were performed to examine neural convergence across irritability measures and fMRI task domains. RESULTS Systematic review revealed small sample sizes (median = 58, mean age range = 8-16 years) with heterogeneous sample characteristics, irritability measures, tasks, and analytical procedures. Meta-analyses found no evidence for neural activation convergence of irritability across neurocognitive functions related to emotional reactivity, cognitive control, and reward processing, or within each domain. Sensitivity analyses partialing out variances driven by heterogeneous tasks, irritability measures, stimulus types, and developmental ages all yielded null findings. Results were compared with a review on irritability-related structural anomalies from 11 studies. CONCLUSION The lack of neural convergence suggests a need for common, standardized irritability assessments and more homogeneous fMRI tasks. Thoughtfully designed fMRI studies probing commonly defined neurocognitive functions may be more fruitful to elucidate the neural mechanisms of irritability. Open science practices, data mining in large neuroscience databases, and standardized analytical methods promote meaningful collaboration in irritability research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ka Shu Lee
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
| | | | - Mina Hughes
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Eva McAdam Freud
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; University College London, United Kingdom; Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, United Kingdom
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18
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Diagnostic instruments for the assessment of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder: a systematic review of the literature. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2023; 32:17-39. [PMID: 34232390 PMCID: PMC9908712 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-021-01840-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) involves non-episodic irritability and frequent severe temper outbursts in children. Since the inclusion of the diagnosis in the DSM-5, there is no established gold-standard in the assessment of DMDD. In this systematic review of the literature, we provide a synopsis of existing diagnostic instruments for DMDD. Bibliographic databases were searched for any studies assessing DMDD. The systematic search of the literature yielded K = 1167 hits, of which n = 110 studies were included. The most frequently used measure was the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia DMDD module (25%). Other studies derived diagnostic criteria from interviews not specifically designed to measure DMDD (47%), chart review (7%), clinical diagnosis without any specific instrument (6%) or did not provide information about the assessment (9%). Three structured interviews designed to diagnose DMDD were used in six studies (6%). Interrater reliability was reported in 36% of studies (ranging from κ = 0.6-1) while other psychometric properties were rarely reported. This systematic review points to a variety of existing diagnostic measures for DMDD with good reliability. Consistent reporting of psychometric properties of recently developed DMDD interviews, as well as their further refinement, may help to ascertain the validity of the diagnosis.
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19
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Context-dependent amygdala-prefrontal connectivity during the dot-probe task varies by irritability and attention bias to angry faces. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:2283-2291. [PMID: 35641787 PMCID: PMC9630440 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-022-01307-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2021] [Revised: 02/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Irritability, defined as proneness to anger, is among the most common reasons youth are seen for psychiatric care. Youth with irritability demonstrate aberrant processing of anger-related stimuli; however, the neural mechanisms remain unknown. We applied a drift-diffusion model (DDM), a computational tool, to derive a latent behavioral metric of attentional bias to angry faces in youth with varying levels of irritability during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We examined associations among irritability, task behavior using a DDM-based index for preferential allocation of attention to angry faces (i.e., extra-decisional time bias; Δt0), and amygdala context-dependent connectivity during the dot-probe task. Our transdiagnostic sample, enriched for irritability, included 351 youth (ages 8-18; M = 12.92 years, 51% male, with primary diagnoses of either attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], disruptive mood dysregulation disorder [DMDD], an anxiety disorder, or healthy controls). Models accounted for age, sex, in-scanner motion, and co-occurring symptoms of anxiety. Youth and parents rated youth's irritability using the Affective Reactivity Index. An fMRI dot-probe task was used to assess attention orienting to angry faces. In the angry-incongruent vs. angry-congruent contrast, amygdala connectivity with the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), insula, caudate, and thalamus/pulvinar was modulated by irritability level and attention bias to angry faces, Δt0, all ts350 > 4.46, ps < 0.001. In youth with high irritability, elevated Δt0 was associated with a weaker amygdala connectivity. In contrast, in youth with low irritability, elevated Δt0 was associated with stronger connectivity in those regions. No main effect emerged for irritability. As irritability is associated with reactive aggression, these results suggest a potential neural regulatory deficit in irritable youth who have elevated attention bias to angry cues.
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20
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Ibrahim K, Kalvin C, Morand-Beaulieu S, He G, Pelphrey KA, McCarthy G, Sukhodolsky DG. Amygdala-prefrontal connectivity in children with maladaptive aggression is modulated by social impairment. Cereb Cortex 2022; 32:4371-4385. [PMID: 35059702 PMCID: PMC9574236 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Aggressive behavior is common across childhood-onset psychiatric disorders and is associated with impairments in social cognition and communication. The present study examined whether amygdala connectivity and reactivity during face emotion processing in children with maladaptive aggression are moderated by social impairment. This cross-sectional study included a well-characterized transdiagnostic sample of 101 children of age 8-16 years old with clinically significant levels of aggressive behavior and 32 typically developing children without aggressive behavior. Children completed a face emotion perception task of fearful and calm faces during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Aggressive behavior and social functioning were measured by standardized parent ratings. Relative to controls, children with aggressive behavior showed reduced connectivity between the amygdala and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) during implicit emotion processing. In children with aggressive behavior, the association between reduced amygdala-ventrolateral PFC connectivity and greater severity of aggression was moderated by greater social impairment. Amygdala reactivity to fearful faces was also associated with severity of aggressive behavior for children without social deficits but not for children with social deficits. Social impairments entail difficulties in interpreting social cues and enacting socially appropriate responses to frustration or provocation, which increase the propensity for an aggressive response via diminished connectivity between the amygdala and the ventral PFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karim Ibrahim
- Address correspondence to Karim Ibrahim, PsyD, Yale University School of Medicine, Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. ; Denis G. Sukhodolsky, PhD, Yale University School of Medicine, Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
| | - Carla Kalvin
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | | | - George He
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Kevin A Pelphrey
- Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA
| | - Gregory McCarthy
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Denis G Sukhodolsky
- Address correspondence to Karim Ibrahim, PsyD, Yale University School of Medicine, Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. ; Denis G. Sukhodolsky, PhD, Yale University School of Medicine, Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
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21
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Kowalczyk OS, Mehta MA, O’Daly OG, Criaud M. Task-Based Functional Connectivity in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 2:350-367. [PMID: 36324660 PMCID: PMC9616264 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Altered neurocognitive functioning is a key feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and increasing numbers of studies assess task-based functional connectivity in the disorder. We systematically reviewed and critically appraised functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task-based functional connectivity studies in ADHD. A systematic search conducted up to September 2020 found 34 studies, including 51 comparisons. Comparisons were divided into investigations of ADHD neuropathology (37 comparing ADHD and typical development, 2 comparing individuals with ADHD and their nonsymptomatic siblings, 2 comparing remitted and persistent ADHD, and 1 exploring ADHD symptom severity) and the effects of interventions (8 investigations of stimulant effects and 1 study of fMRI neurofeedback). Large heterogeneity in study methodologies prevented a meta-analysis; thus, the data were summarized as a narrative synthesis. Across cognitive domains, functional connectivity in the cingulo-opercular, sensorimotor, visual, subcortical, and executive control networks in ADHD consistently differed from neurotypical populations. Furthermore, literature comparing individuals with ADHD and their nonsymptomatic siblings as well as adults with ADHD and their remitted peers showed ADHD-related abnormalities in similar sensorimotor and subcortical (primarily striatal) networks. Interventions modulated those dysfunctional networks, with the most consistent action on functional connections with the striatum, anterior cingulate cortex, occipital regions, and midline default mode network structures. Although methodological issues limited many of the reviewed studies, the use of task-based functional connectivity approaches has the potential to broaden the understanding of the neural underpinnings of ADHD and the mechanisms of action of ADHD treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia S. Kowalczyk
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mitul A. Mehta
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Owen G. O’Daly
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Marion Criaud
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
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22
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Yu H, Yoon J, Lee CW, Park JY, Jang Y, Park YS, Ryoo HA, Cho N, Oh S, Kim W, Woo JM, Kang HS, Ha TH, Myung W. Korean Validation of the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego Autoquestionnaire. Psychiatry Investig 2022; 19:729-737. [PMID: 36202108 PMCID: PMC9536880 DOI: 10.30773/pi.2022.0089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A) has been validated in more than 30 languages and is noted for its broad application in research and clinical settings. This study presents the first attempt to examine the reliability and validity of the TEMPS-A in Korea. METHODS A total of 540 non-clinical participants completed the Korean TEMPS-A, which was adapted from the original English version via a comprehensive translation procedure. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's α, and associations between temperaments were examined using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed, and differences in TEMPS-A scores between the gender- and age-based groups were examined using Kruskal-Wallis analysis. RESULTS The Korean TEMPS-A exhibited excellent internal consistency (0.70-0.91) and significant correlations between subscales. EFA resulted in a two-factor structure: Factor I (depressive, cyclothymic, irritable, and anxious) and Factor II (hyperthymic). Gender and age group differences were observed. CONCLUSION Overall, our results suggest that TEMPS-A is a reliable and valid measure of affective temperaments for the Korean population. This study opens new possibilities for further research on affective temperaments and their related traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyeona Yu
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Joohyun Yoon
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Chan Woo Lee
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji Yoon Park
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoonjeong Jang
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Yun Seong Park
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun A Ryoo
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Nayoung Cho
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Sunghee Oh
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Won Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong-Min Woo
- Seoul Mental Health Clinic, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyo Shin Kang
- Department of Psychology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Republic of Korea
| | - Tae Hyon Ha
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.,Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Woojae Myung
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.,Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Kryza-Lacombe M, Palumbo D, Wakschlag LS, Dougherty LR, Wiggins JL. Executive functioning moderates neural mechanisms of irritability during reward processing in youth. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2022; 323:111483. [PMID: 35561577 PMCID: PMC9829104 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2022.111483] [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: 12/29/2021] [Revised: 03/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Pediatric irritability is the most robust indicator of transdiagnostic psychopathology risk. It is associated with altered neural reward processing, including neural networks related to cognitive control, and better cognitive control has been hypothesized to mitigate irritability. We evaluated the relationship of executive functioning (EF) with irritability-related neural correlates of reward processing in youths with varying levels of irritability. Participants (N = 51, mean age=13.80 years, SD=1.94) completed a monetary incentive delay task during multiband fMRI acquisition. Irritability and EF were measured via the Affective Reactivity Index and the NIH Toolbox cognition battery, respectively. Whole-brain analyses, controlling for age, examined the moderating role of EF on irritability-related brain activation and connectivity (seeds: striatum, amygdala) during reward anticipation and performance feedback. Irritability-related neural patterns during reward processing depended on EF, in occipital areas during reward anticipation and limbic, frontal, and temporal networks during performance feedback. Higher irritability combined with higher EF was associated with neural patterns opposite to those observed for higher irritability with lower co-occurring EF. Although preliminary, findings suggest that EF may buffer irritability-related reward processing deficits. Additionally, individual differences in EF and their relation to irritability may be related to varied etiologic mechanisms of irritability with important implications for personalized prevention and intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Kryza-Lacombe
- San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, United States.
| | - Danielle Palumbo
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, United States
| | - Lauren S Wakschlag
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, & Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, United States
| | - Lea R Dougherty
- University of Maryland, Department of Psychology, United States
| | - Jillian Lee Wiggins
- San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, United States; Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, United States
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24
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Nakua H, Hawco C, Forde NJ, Jacobs GR, Joseph M, Voineskos AN, Wheeler AL, Lai MC, Szatmari P, Kelley E, Liu X, Georgiades S, Nicolson R, Schachar R, Crosbie J, Anagnostou E, Lerch JP, Arnold PD, Ameis SH. Cortico-amygdalar connectivity and externalizing/internalizing behavior in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:1963-1979. [PMID: 35469103 PMCID: PMC9232404 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02483-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Background Externalizing and internalizing behaviors contribute to clinical impairment in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Although associations between externalizing or internalizing behaviors and cortico-amygdalar connectivity have been found in clinical and non-clinical pediatric samples, no previous study has examined whether similar shared associations are present across children with different NDDs. Methods Multi-modal neuroimaging and behavioral data from the Province of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Disorders (POND) Network were used. POND participants aged 6–18 years with a primary diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), as well as typically developing children (TDC) with T1-weighted, resting-state fMRI or diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and parent-report Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) data available, were analyzed (total n = 346). Associations between externalizing or internalizing behavior and cortico-amygdalar structural and functional connectivity indices were examined using linear regressions, controlling for age, gender, and image-modality specific covariates. Behavior-by-diagnosis interaction effects were also examined. Results No significant linear associations (or diagnosis-by-behavior interaction effects) were found between CBCL-measured externalizing or internalizing behaviors and any of the connectivity indices examined. Post-hoc bootstrapping analyses indicated stability and reliability of these null results. Conclusions The current study provides evidence towards an absence of a shared linear relationship between internalizing or externalizing behaviors and cortico-amygdalar connectivity properties across a transdiagnostic sample of children with different primary NDD diagnoses and TDC. Different methodological approaches, including incorporation of multi-dimensional behavioral data (e.g., task-based fMRI) or clustering approaches may be needed to clarify complex brain-behavior relationships relevant to externalizing/internalizing behaviors in heterogeneous clinical NDD populations. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00429-022-02483-0.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hajer Nakua
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 80 Workman Way, Toronto, ON, M6J 1H4, Canada
- Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Colin Hawco
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 80 Workman Way, Toronto, ON, M6J 1H4, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Natalie J Forde
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 80 Workman Way, Toronto, ON, M6J 1H4, Canada
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Grace R Jacobs
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 80 Workman Way, Toronto, ON, M6J 1H4, Canada
- Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Michael Joseph
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 80 Workman Way, Toronto, ON, M6J 1H4, Canada
| | - Aristotle N Voineskos
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 80 Workman Way, Toronto, ON, M6J 1H4, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Anne L Wheeler
- Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Meng-Chuan Lai
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 80 Workman Way, Toronto, ON, M6J 1H4, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Peter Szatmari
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 80 Workman Way, Toronto, ON, M6J 1H4, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Kelley
- Department of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Queens University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Xudong Liu
- Department of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Queens University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | | | - Rob Nicolson
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Russell Schachar
- Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jennifer Crosbie
- Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Evdokia Anagnostou
- Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Pediatrics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Jason P Lerch
- Mouse Imaging Centre, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Paul D Arnold
- The Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Departments of Psychiatry and Medical Genetics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Stephanie H Ameis
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 80 Workman Way, Toronto, ON, M6J 1H4, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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25
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Colonna S, Eyre O, Agha SS, Thapar A, van Goozen S, Langley K. Investigating the associations between irritability and hot and cool executive functioning in those with ADHD. BMC Psychiatry 2022; 22:166. [PMID: 35247998 PMCID: PMC8898423 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-022-03818-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Irritability is especially pertinent to those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as it is highly prevalent and associated with a more severe clinical presentation and poorer longitudinal outcomes. Preliminary evidence suggests that top-down cognitive processes taking place in emotional contexts (i.e., hot executive functions) as opposed to those evoked in abstract scenarios (i.e., cool executive functions) may be relevant to the presentation of irritability in ADHD. This study explored the cognitive mechanisms underlying irritability in young people with ADHD, hypothesising that irritability would be associated with hot, but not cool, executive function impairments. METHODS Our sample included 219 individuals with ADHD. A composite irritability score was derived extracting items from a parent interview, with scores ranging from 0 to 5. Associations were investigated using linear regression analyses, between irritability and four hot tasks measuring sensitivity to risk, risk-taking behaviour following reward or punishment, acceptance of reward delay and reaction to unfair behaviour from others, and two cool tasks measuring set-shifting and motor inhibition. RESULTS As hypothesised, there were no significant associations between irritability and cool executive functions in those with ADHD; however, contrary to expectations, there was also no significant evidence that hot executive functions were associated with irritability. CONCLUSIONS These results, in a large well characterised sample and using a comprehensive task battery, suggest that the variation in irritability in those with ADHD may not be associated with differences in hot or cool executive function performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Colonna
- grid.5600.30000 0001 0807 5670School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT UK
| | - Olga Eyre
- grid.5600.30000 0001 0807 5670MRC Centre for Psychiatric Genetics & Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Maindy Road, Cardiff, UK
| | - Sharifah Shameem Agha
- grid.5600.30000 0001 0807 5670MRC Centre for Psychiatric Genetics & Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Maindy Road, Cardiff, UK ,Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Pontypridd, Wales, UK
| | - Anita Thapar
- grid.5600.30000 0001 0807 5670School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT UK ,grid.5600.30000 0001 0807 5670MRC Centre for Psychiatric Genetics & Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Maindy Road, Cardiff, UK
| | - Stephanie van Goozen
- grid.5600.30000 0001 0807 5670School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT UK
| | - Kate Langley
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK. .,MRC Centre for Psychiatric Genetics & Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Maindy Road, Cardiff, UK.
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26
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Brænden A, Zeiner P, Coldevin M, Stubberud J, Melinder A. Underlying mechanisms of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder in children: A systematic review by means of research domain criteria. JCPP ADVANCES 2022; 2:e12060. [PMID: 37431494 PMCID: PMC10242926 DOI: 10.1002/jcv2.12060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background A systematic overview of underlying mechanisms in the new disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) diagnosis is needed. The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) represent a system of six domains of human functioning, which aims to structure the understanding of the nature of mental illnesses. By means of the RDoC framework, the objective of this systematic review is to synthesize available data on children and youths <18 years suffering from DMDD as reported in peer reviewed papers. Methods A literature search guided by PRISMA was conducted using Medline, PsychInfo, and Embase, while the RDoC domains were employed to systematize research findings. Risk of bias in the included studies was examined. Results We identified 319 studies. After study selection, we included 29 studies. Twenty-one of these had findings relating to >1 RDoC domain. The risk of bias assessment shows limitations in the research foundation of current knowledge on mechanisms of DMDD. Discussion Reviewing self-report, behavior and neurocircuit findings by means of RDoC domains, we suggest that DMDD youths have a negative interpretation bias in social processes and valence systems. In occurrence of a negative stimuli interpretation, aberrant cognitive processing may arise. However, current knowledge of DMDD is influenced by lack of sample diversity and open science practices. Conclusion We found the six RDoC domains useful in structuring current evidence of the underlying mechanisms of DMDD. Important opportunities for future studies in this field of research are suggested. In clinical practice, this comprehensive summary on DMDD mechanisms can be used in psychoeducation and treatment plans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Astrid Brænden
- Department of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryOslo University HospitalOsloNorway
| | - Pål Zeiner
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Research Unit, Department of Research and InnovationOslo University HospitalOsloNorway
- Institute of Clinical MedicineUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Marit Coldevin
- Nic Waals InstituteLovisenberg Diaconal HospitalOsloNorway
- Department of ResearchLovisenberg Diaconal HospitalOsloNorway
| | - Jan Stubberud
- Department of ResearchLovisenberg Diaconal HospitalOsloNorway
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Annika Melinder
- Department of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryOslo University HospitalOsloNorway
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
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Ibrahim K, Noble S, He G, Lacadie C, Crowley MJ, McCarthy G, Scheinost D, Sukhodolsky DG. Large-scale functional brain networks of maladaptive childhood aggression identified by connectome-based predictive modeling. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:985-999. [PMID: 34690348 PMCID: PMC9035467 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01317-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Disruptions in frontoparietal networks supporting emotion regulation have been long implicated in maladaptive childhood aggression. However, the association of connectivity between large-scale functional networks with aggressive behavior has not been tested. The present study examined whether the functional organization of the connectome predicts severity of aggression in children. This cross-sectional study included a transdiagnostic sample of 100 children with aggressive behavior (27 females) and 29 healthy controls without aggression or psychiatric disorders (13 females). Severity of aggression was indexed by the total score on the parent-rated Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire. During fMRI, participants completed a face emotion perception task of fearful and calm faces. Connectome-based predictive modeling with internal cross-validation was conducted to identify brain networks that predicted aggression severity. The replication and generalizability of the aggression predictive model was then tested in an independent sample of children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Connectivity predictive of aggression was identified within and between networks implicated in cognitive control (medial-frontal, frontoparietal), social functioning (default mode, salience), and emotion processing (subcortical, sensorimotor) (r = 0.31, RMSE = 9.05, p = 0.005). Out-of-sample replication (p < 0.002) and generalization (p = 0.007) of findings predicting aggression from the functional connectome was demonstrated in an independent sample of children from the ABCD study (n = 1791; n = 1701). Individual differences in large-scale functional networks contribute to variability in maladaptive aggression in children with psychiatric disorders. Linking these individual differences in the connectome to variation in behavioral phenotypes will advance identification of neural biomarkers of maladaptive childhood aggression to inform targeted treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karim Ibrahim
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Stephanie Noble
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - George He
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Cheryl Lacadie
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Michael J Crowley
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Dustin Scheinost
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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28
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Using ecological momentary assessment to enhance irritability phenotyping in a transdiagnostic sample of youth. Dev Psychopathol 2021. [DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421000717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
AbstractIrritability is a transdiagnostic symptom dimension in developmental psychopathology, closely related to the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) construct of frustrative nonreward. Consistent with the RDoC framework and calls for transdiagnostic, developmentally-sensitive assessment methods, we report data from a smartphone-based, naturalistic ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study of irritability. We assessed 109 children and adolescents (Mage = 12.55 years; 75.20% male) encompassing several diagnostic groups – disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety disorders (ANX), healthy volunteers (HV). The participants rated symptoms three times per day for 1 week. Compliance with the EMA protocol was high. As tested using multilevel modeling, EMA ratings of irritability were strongly and consistently associated with in-clinic, gold-standard measures of irritability. Further, EMA ratings of irritability were significantly related to subjective frustration during a laboratory task eliciting frustrative nonreward. Irritability levels exhibited an expected graduated pattern across diagnostic groups, and the different EMA items measuring irritability were significantly associated with one another within all groups, supporting the transdiagnostic phenomenology of irritability. Additional analyses utilized EMA ratings of anxiety as a comparison with respect to convergent validity and transdiagnostic phenomenology. The results support new measurement tools that can be used in future studies of irritability and frustrative nonreward.
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29
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Crum KI, Hwang S, Blair KS, Aloi JM, Meffert H, White SF, Tyler PM, Leibenluft E, Pope K, Blair RJR. Interaction of irritability and anxiety on emotional responding and emotion regulation: a functional MRI study. Psychol Med 2021; 51:2778-2788. [PMID: 32584213 PMCID: PMC7759590 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291720001397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Revised: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Irritability and anxiety frequently co-occur in pediatric populations. Studies separately looking at the neural correlates of these symptoms have identified engagement of similar neural systems - particularly those implicated in emotional processing. Both irritability and anxiety can be considered negative valence emotional states that might relate to emotion dysregulation. However, previous work has not examined the neural responding during the performance of an emotion regulation task as a function of interaction between irritability and anxiety simultaneously. METHODS This fMRI study involved 155 participants (90 with significant psychopathologies and 92 male) who performed the Affective Stroop Task, designed to engage emotion regulation as a function of task demands. The Affective Reactivity Index (ARI) was used to index irritability and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) was used to index anxiety. RESULTS Levels of irritability, but not anxiety, was positively correlated with responses to visual images within the right rostro-medial prefrontal cortex and left anterior cingulate cortex during view trials. The second region of ventral anterior cingulate cortex showed a condition-by-emotion-by-ARI score-by-SCARED score interaction. Specifically, anxiety level was significantly correlated with a decreased differential BOLD response to negative relative to neutral view trials but only in the presence of relatively high irritability. CONCLUSIONS Atypical maintenance of emotional stimuli within the rostro-medial prefrontal cortex may exacerbate the difficulties faced by adolescents with irritability. Moreover, increased anxiety combined with significant irritability may disrupt an automatic emotional conflict-based form of emotion regulation that is particularly associated with the ventral anterior cingulate cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen I. Crum
- Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Soonjo Hwang
- University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
| | - Karina S. Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | | | | | - Stuart F. White
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Patrick M. Tyler
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Ellen Leibenluft
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Kayla Pope
- Medical College of Wisconsin, Northeastern Wisconsin Psychiatry Training Program, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA
| | - R. J. R. Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
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30
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Tseng WL, Abend R, Gold AL, Brotman MA. Neural correlates of extinguished threat recall underlying the commonality between pediatric anxiety and irritability. J Affect Disord 2021; 295:920-929. [PMID: 34706463 PMCID: PMC8554134 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.08.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anxiety and irritability frequently co-occur in youth and are mediated by aberrant threat responses. However, empirical evidence on neural mechanisms underlying this co-occurrence is limited. To address this, we apply data-driven latent phenotyping to data from a prior report of a well-validated threat extinction recall fMRI paradigm. METHODS Participants included 59 youth (28 anxiety disorder, 31 healthy volunteers; Mage=13.15 yrs) drawn from a transdiagnostic sample of 331 youth, in which bifactor analysis was conducted to derive latent factors representing shared vs. unique variance of dimensionally-assessed anxiety and irritability. Participants underwent threat conditioning and extinction. Approximately three weeks later, during extinction recall fMRI, participants made threat-safety discriminations under two task conditions: current threat appraisal and explicit recall of threat contingencies. Linear mixed-effects analyses examined associations of a "negative affectivity" factor reflecting shared anxiety and irritability variance with whole-brain activation and task-dependent amygdala connectivity. RESULTS During recall of threat-safety contingencies, higher negative affectivity was associated with greater prefrontal (ventrolateral/ventromedial, dorsolateral, orbitofrontal), motor, temporal, parietal, and occipital activation. During threat appraisal, higher negative affectivity was associated with greater amygdala-inferior parietal lobule connectivity to threat/safety ambiguity. LIMITATIONS Sample included only healthy youth and youth with anxiety disorders. Results may not generalize to other diagnoses for which anxiety and irritability are also common, and our negative affectivity factor should be interpreted as anxiety disorders with elevated irritability. Reliability of some subfactors was poor. CONCLUSIONS Aberrant amygdala-prefrontal-parietal circuitry during extinction recall of threat-safety stimuli may be a mechanism underlying the co-occurrence of pediatric anxiety and irritability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wan-Ling Tseng
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, 230 S. Frontage Road, New Haven, CT 06519, USA.
| | - Rany Abend
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD 20854, USA
| | - Andrea L Gold
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Melissa A Brotman
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD 20854, USA
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31
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Network-wise surface-based morphometric insight into the cortical neural circuitry underlying irritability in adolescents. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:581. [PMID: 34759268 PMCID: PMC8581009 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01710-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies examining structural brain correlates of irritability have taken a region-specific approach and have been relatively inconsistent. In a sample of adolescents with and without clinically impairing irritability, the current study examines: (i) cortical volume (CV) in canonical functional networks; (ii) the association between the CV of functional networks and severity of irritability; and (iii) the extent to which IQ mediates the association between structural abnormalities and severity of irritability. Structural MRI and IQ data were collected from 130 adolescents with high irritability (mean age = 15.54±1.83 years, 58 females, self-reported Affective Reactivity Index [ARI] ≥ 4) and 119 adolescents with low irritability (mean age = 15.10±1.93 years, 39 females, self-reported ARI < 4). Subject-specific network-wise CV was estimated after parcellating the whole brain into 17 previously reported functional networks. Our Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) revealed that adolescents with high irritability had significantly reduced CV of the bilateral control and default-mode networks (p < 0.05) relative to adolescents with low irritability. Multiple regression analyses showed a significant negative association between the control network CV and the severity of irritability. Mediation analysis showed that IQ partially mediated the association between the control network CV and the severity of irritability. Follow-up analysis on subcortical volume (SCV) showed that adolescents with high irritability had reduced bilateral SCV within the amygdala relative to adolescents with low irritability. Reduced CV within bilateral control and default networks and reduced SCV within bilateral amygdala may represent core features of the pathophysiology of irritability. The current data also indicate the potential importance of a patient's IQ in determining how pathophysiology related to the control network is expressed.
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32
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Nielsen AN, Wakschlag LS, Norton ES. Linking irritability and functional brain networks: A transdiagnostic case for expanding consideration of development and environment in RDoC. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 129:231-244. [PMID: 34302863 PMCID: PMC8802626 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.07.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The National Institute of Mental Health Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework promotes the dimensional and transdiagnostic operationalization of psychopathology, but consideration of the neurodevelopmental foundations of mental health problems requires deeper examination. Irritability, the dispositional tendency to angry emotion that has both mood and behavioral elements, is dimensional, transdiagnostic, and observable early in life-a promising target for the identification of early neural indicators or risk factors for psychopathology. Here, we examine functional brain networks linked to irritability from preschool to adulthood and discuss how development and early experience may influence these neural substrates. Functional connectivity measured with fMRI varies according to irritability and indicates the atypical coordination of several functional networks involved in emotion generation, emotion perception, attention, internalization, and cognitive control. We lay out an agenda to improve our understanding and detection of atypical brain:behavior patterns through advances in the characterization of both functional networks and irritability as well as the consideration and operationalization of developmental and early life environmental influences on this pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashely N Nielsen
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States; Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States.
| | - Lauren S Wakschlag
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States; Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Elizabeth S Norton
- Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States; Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
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Sebastian CL, Stafford J, McCrory EJ, Sethi A, De Brito SA, Lockwood PL, Viding E. Modulation of Amygdala Response by Cognitive Conflict in Adolescents with Conduct Problems and Varying Levels of CU Traits. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2021; 49:1043-1054. [PMID: 33728508 PMCID: PMC8222043 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-021-00787-z] [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] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Adolescents with conduct problems and low callous-unemotional traits are characterised by high levels of reactive aggression. Prior studies suggest that they can have exaggerated neural and behavioural responses to negative emotional stimuli, accompanied by compromised affect regulation and atypical engagement of prefrontal areas during cognitive control. This pattern may in part explain their symptoms. Clarifying how neurocognitive responses to negative emotional stimuli can be modulated in this group has potential translational relevance. We present fMRI data from a cognitive conflict task in which the requirement to visually scan emotional (vs. calm) faces was held constant across low and high levels of cognitive conflict. Participants were 17 adolescent males with conduct problems and low levels of callous-unemotional traits (CP/LCU); 17 adolescents with conduct problems and high levels of callous-unemotional traits (CP/HCU, who typically show blunted reactivity to fear), and 18 typically developing controls (age range 10-16). Control participants showed typical attenuation of amygdala response to fear relative to calm faces under high (relative to low) conflict, replicating previous findings in a healthy adult sample. In contrast, children with CP/LCU showed a reduced (left amygdala) or reversed (right amygdala) attenuation effect under high cognitive conflict conditions. Children with CP/HCU did not differ from controls. Findings suggest atypical modulation of amygdala response as a function of task demands, and raise the possibility that those with CP/LCU are unable to implement typical regulation of amygdala response when cognitive task demands are high.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jean Stafford
- Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Eamon J McCrory
- Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Arjun Sethi
- Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | | | | | - Essi Viding
- Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK.
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Hodgdon EA, Yu Q, Kryza-Lacombe M, Liuzzi MT, Aspe GI, Menacho VC, Bozzetto L, Dougherty L, Wiggins JL. Irritability-related neural responses to frustrative nonreward in adolescents with trauma histories: A preliminary investigation. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:e22167. [PMID: 34292612 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Irritability, conceptualized as a lowered frustration response threshold to blocked goal attainment (i.e., frustrative nonreward), is a common, detrimental symptom in adolescence. Yet, neural mechanisms of irritability are not well understood. This preliminary study aims to identify irritability-related neural patterns using a novel frustrative nonreward paradigm. Our study used a diverse sample of N = 31 non-White adolescent participants (mean age 14.53 years, SD = 1.74; 83.87% Hispanic/Latinx) to improve generalizability. During fMRI acquisition, participants performed a child-friendly monetary incentive delay task, modified to provide incorrect, negative feedback on performance. Irritability was associated with alterations in amygdala connectivity with basal ganglia, prefrontal, temporal, and parietal regions, and in activation of prefrontal and posterior cortical structures. Across clusters, youths with greater irritability showed activation/connectivity differences between reward blocked versus received conditions in the opposite direction compared to youths with lowered irritability. Alterations in amygdala-temporoparietal connectivity and lingual gyrus activation demonstrated an altered irritability-related recovery effect from the previous trial. These findings support the central role of frustrative nonreward as a key irritability pathway. Our work is one of the first to document neural correlates of difficult recovery from frustration characteristic of irritability and provides insight into novel treatment targets for irritability in diverse populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Hodgdon
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Qiongru Yu
- Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Maria Kryza-Lacombe
- Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Michael T Liuzzi
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Gabriela Ibarra Aspe
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
| | | | - Lauren Bozzetto
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Lea Dougherty
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Jillian Lee Wiggins
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA.,Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
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Seok JW, Bajaj S, Soltis-Vaughan B, Lerdahl A, Garvey W, Bohn A, Edwards R, Kratochvil CJ, Blair J, Hwang S. Structural atrophy of the right superior frontal gyrus in adolescents with severe irritability. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:4611-4622. [PMID: 34288223 PMCID: PMC8410540 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Revised: 05/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe irritability is common in youths with psychiatric disorders and results in significant dysfunction across domains (academic, social, and familial). Prior structural MRI studies in the pediatric population demonstrated that aberrations of cortical thickness (CT) and gray matter volume (GMV) in the fronto‐striatal‐temporal regions which have been associated with irritability. However, the directions of the correlations between structural alteration and irritability in the individual indices were not consistent. Thus, we aim to address this by implementing comprehensive assessments of CT, GMV, and local gyrification index (LGI) simultaneously in youths with severe levels of irritability by voxel‐based morphometry and surface‐based morphometry. One hundred and eight adolescents (46 youths with severe irritability and 62 healthy youths, average age = 14.08 years, standard deviation = 2.36) were scanned with a T1‐weighted MRI sequence. The severity of irritability was measured using the affective reactivity index. In youths with severe irritability, there was decreased CT, GMV, and LGI in the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG) compared to healthy youths, and negative correlations between these indices of the SFG and irritability. Our findings suggest that structural deficits in the SFG, potentially related to its role in inhibitory control, may be critical for the neurobiology of irritability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji-Woo Seok
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
| | - Sahil Bajaj
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | | | - Arica Lerdahl
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
| | - William Garvey
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
| | - Alexandra Bohn
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
| | - Ryan Edwards
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
| | | | - James Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Soonjo Hwang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
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Cardinale EM, Naim R, Haller SP, German R, Botz-Zapp C, Bezek J, Jangraw DC, Brotman MA. Rationale and validation of a novel mobile application probing motor inhibition: Proof of concept of CALM-IT. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0252245. [PMID: 34086728 PMCID: PMC8177631 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Identification of behavioral mechanisms underlying psychopathology is essential for the development of novel targeted therapeutics. However, this work relies on rigorous, time-intensive, clinic-based laboratory research, making it difficult to translate research paradigms into tools that can be used by clinicians in the community. The broad adoption of smartphone technology provides a promising opportunity to bridge the gap between the mechanisms identified in the laboratory and the clinical interventions targeting them in the community. The goal of the current study is to develop a developmentally appropriate, engaging, novel mobile application called CALM-IT that probes a narrow biologically informed process, inhibitory control. We aim to leverage the rigorous and robust methods traditionally used in laboratory settings to validate this novel mechanism-driven but easily disseminatable tool that can be used by clinicians to probe inhibitory control in the community. The development of CALM-IT has significant implications for the ability to screen for inhibitory control deficits in the community by both clinicians and researchers. By facilitating assessment of inhibitory control outside of the laboratory setting, researchers could have access to larger and more diverse samples. Additionally, in the clinical setting, CALM-IT represents a novel clinical screening measure that could be used to determine personalized courses of treatment based on the presence of inhibitory control deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise M. Cardinale
- Emotion & Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America
| | - Reut Naim
- Emotion & Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America
| | - Simone P. Haller
- Emotion & Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America
| | - Ramaris German
- Emotion & Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America
| | - Christian Botz-Zapp
- Emotion & Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America
| | - Jessica Bezek
- Emotion & Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America
| | - David C. Jangraw
- Department of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America
| | - Melissa A. Brotman
- Emotion & Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America
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Jha MK, Fava M, Minhajuddin A, Chin Fatt C, Mischoulon D, Wakhlu N, Trombello JM, Cusin C, Trivedi MH. Anger attacks are associated with persistently elevated irritability in MDD: findings from the EMBARC study. Psychol Med 2021; 51:1355-1363. [PMID: 32138798 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291720000112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND This report tests the association of self-reported symptoms of irritability with overt behavior of anger attacks (uncharacteristic sudden bouts of anger that are disproportionate to situation and associated with autonomic activation). METHODS Participants of the Establishing Moderators and Biosignatures of Antidepressant Response in Clinical Care study who completed Massachusetts General Hospital Anger Attacks questionnaire were included (n = 293). At each visit, the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the 16-item Concise Associated Symptom Tracking scale were used to measure depression, anxiety, and irritability. In those with anger attacks present v. those without anger attacks, separate t tests and mixed model analyses compared afore-mentioned symptoms at baseline and changes with treatment respectively. As anger attacks may occur without aggressive behaviors, analyses were repeated based only on the presence of aggressive behaviors. RESULTS At baseline, those with anger attacks (n = 109) v. those without anger attacks (n = 184) had similar levels of depression but higher levels of irritability [effect size (d) = 0.80] and anxiety (d = 0.32). With acute-phase treatment, participants with anger attacks experienced a greater reduction in irritability (p < 0.001) but not in depression (p = 0.813) or anxiety (p = 0.771) as compared to those without anger attacks. Yet, irritability levels at week-8 were higher in those with anger attacks (d = 0.32) than those without anger attacks. Similar results were found in participants with aggressive behaviors. CONCLUSIONS The presence of anger attacks in outpatients with major depressive disorder may identify a sub-group of patients with persistently elevated irritability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manish K Jha
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Maurizio Fava
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Abu Minhajuddin
- Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Cherise Chin Fatt
- Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - David Mischoulon
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nausheen Wakhlu
- Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Joseph M Trombello
- Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Cristina Cusin
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Madhukar H Trivedi
- Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
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Bell E, Boyce P, Porter RJ, Bryant RA, Malhi GS. Irritability in Mood Disorders: Neurobiological Underpinnings and Implications for Pharmacological Intervention. CNS Drugs 2021; 35:619-641. [PMID: 34019255 DOI: 10.1007/s40263-021-00823-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Feeling irritable is a common experience, both in health and disease. In the context of psychiatric illnesses, it is a transdiagnostic phenomenon that features across all ages, and often causes significant distress and impairment. In mood disorders, irritability is near ubiquitous and plays a central role in diagnosis and yet, despite its prevalence, it remains poorly understood. A neurobiological model of irritability posits that, in children and adolescents, it is consequent upon deficits in reward and threat processing, involving regions such as the amygdala and frontal cortices. In comparison, in adults with mood disorders, the few studies that have been conducted implicate the amygdala, orbitofrontal cortices, and hypothalamus; however, the patterns of activity in these areas are at variance with the findings in youth. These age-related differences seem to extend to the neurochemistry of irritability, with links between increased monoamine transmission and irritability evident in adults, but aberrant levels of, and responses to, dopamine in youth. Presently, there are no specific treatments that have significant efficacy in reducing irritability in mood disorders. However, treatments that hold some potential and warrant further exploration include agents that act on serotonergic and dopaminergic systems, especially as irritability may serve as a prognostic indicator for overall clinical responsiveness to specific medications. Therefore, for understanding and treatment of irritability to advance meaningfully, it is imperative that an accurate definition and means of measuring irritability are developed. To achieve this, it is necessary that the subjective experience of irritability, both in health and illness, is better understood. These insights will inform an accurate, comprehensive, and valid interrogation of the qualities of irritability in health and illness, and allow not only a clinical appreciation of the phenomenon, but also a deeper understanding of its important role within the development and manifestation of mood disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica Bell
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Northern Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
- Academic Department of Psychiatry, Royal North Shore Hospital, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, 2065, Australia.
- Department of Psychiatry, CADE Clinic, Royal North Shore Hospital, Level 3, Main Hospital Building, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, 2065, Australia.
| | - Phil Boyce
- Department of Psychiatry, Westmead Hospital and the Westmead Clinical School, Wentworthville, NSW, 2145, Australia
- Discipline of Psychiatry, Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Richard J Porter
- Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Richard A Bryant
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Gin S Malhi
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Northern Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Academic Department of Psychiatry, Royal North Shore Hospital, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, 2065, Australia
- Department of Psychiatry, CADE Clinic, Royal North Shore Hospital, Level 3, Main Hospital Building, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, 2065, Australia
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Functional connectivity during frustration: a preliminary study of predictive modeling of irritability in youth. Neuropsychopharmacology 2021; 46:1300-1306. [PMID: 33479511 PMCID: PMC8134471 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-020-00954-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Revised: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Irritability cuts across many pediatric disorders and is a common presenting complaint in child psychiatry; however, its neural mechanisms remain unclear. One core pathophysiological deficit of irritability is aberrant responses to frustrative nonreward. Here, we conducted a preliminary fMRI study to examine the ability of functional connectivity during frustrative nonreward to predict irritability in a transdiagnostic sample. This study included 69 youths (mean age = 14.55 years) with varying levels of irritability across diagnostic groups: disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (n = 20), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (n = 14), anxiety disorder (n = 12), and controls (n = 23). During fMRI, participants completed a frustrating cognitive flexibility task. Frustration was evoked by manipulating task difficulty such that, on trials requiring cognitive flexibility, "frustration" blocks had a 50% error rate and some rigged feedback, while "nonfrustration" blocks had a 10% error rate. Frustration and nonfrustration blocks were randomly interspersed. Child and parent reports of the affective reactivity index were used as dimensional measures of irritability. Connectome-based predictive modeling, a machine learning approach, with tenfold cross-validation was conducted to identify networks predicting irritability. Connectivity during frustration (but not nonfrustration) blocks predicted child-reported irritability (ρ = 0.24, root mean square error = 2.02, p = 0.03, permutation testing, 1000 iterations, one-tailed). Results were adjusted for age, sex, medications, motion, ADHD, and anxiety symptoms. The predictive networks of irritability were primarily within motor-sensory networks; among motor-sensory, subcortical, and salience networks; and between these networks and frontoparietal and medial frontal networks. This study provides preliminary evidence that individual differences in irritability may be associated with functional connectivity during frustration, a phenotype-relevant state.
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Giller F, Aggensteiner PM, Banaschewski T, Döpfner M, Brandeis D, Roessner V, Beste C. Affective Dysregulation in Children Is Associated With Difficulties in Response Control in Emotional Ambiguous Situations. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2021; 7:66-75. [PMID: 33857639 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Affective dysregulation (AD), or synonymously "irritability," is a transdiagnostic construct that serves as a diagnostic criterion in various childhood mental disorders. It is characterized by severe or persistent outbursts of anger and aggression. Emotional self-regulation is highly dependent on the ability to process relevant and ignore conflicting emotional information. Understanding neurophysiological mechanisms underlying impairment in AD may provide a starting point for research on pharmacological treatment options and evaluation of psychotherapeutic intervention. METHODS A total of 120 children 8 to 12 years of age (63 with AD and 57 typically developing) were examined using an emotional Stroop task. Signal-decomposed electroencephalographic recordings providing information about the affected sensory-perceptual, response selection, or motor information processing stage were combined with source localization. RESULTS Behavioral performance revealed dysfunctional cognitive-emotional conflict monitoring in children with AD, suggesting difficulties in differentiating between conflicting and nonconflicting cognitive-emotional information. This was confirmed by the electroencephalographic data showing that they cannot intensify response selection processes during conflicting cognitive-emotional situations. Typically developing children were able to do so and activated a functional-neuroanatomical network comprising the left inferior parietal cortex (Brodmann area 40), right middle frontal (Brodmann area 10), and right inferior/orbitofrontal (Brodmann area 47) regions. Purely sensory-perceptual selection and motor execution processes were not modulated in AD, as evidenced by Bayesian analyses. CONCLUSIONS Behavioral and electroencephalogram data suggest that children with AD cannot adequately modulate controlled response selection processes given emotionally ambiguous information. Which neurotransmitter systems underlie these deficits and how they can be improved are important questions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Giller
- Department of Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Pascal-M Aggensteiner
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Tobias Banaschewski
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Manfred Döpfner
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; School for Child and Adolescent Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Daniel Brandeis
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zürich, University and Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Veit Roessner
- Department of Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Beste
- Department of Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
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Fitzgerald KD, Schroder HS, Marsh R. Cognitive Control in Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive and Anxiety Disorders: Brain-Behavioral Targets for Early Intervention. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 89:697-706. [PMID: 33454049 PMCID: PMC8353584 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [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: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 10/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The DSM provides distinct criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and various types of anxiety disorders, but phenomenological overlap, high rates of comorbidity, and early onset suggest common underlying mechanisms. This notion is further supported by use of the same treatments-cognitive behavioral therapy and serotonin reuptake inhibitor medication-for managing both OCD and non-OCD anxiety disorders in clinical settings. While early intervention with these gold standard treatments is recommended for pediatric OCD and anxiety disorders, young patients often remain symptomatic even after treatment. To guide the development of novel, mechanistically targeted treatments to better resolve OCD and anxiety symptoms, the identification of neural circuits underlying psychological constructs with relevance across disorders has been recommended. One construct that may be relevant for understanding pediatric OCD and anxiety disorders is cognitive control, given the difficulty that young patients experience in dismissing obsessions, compulsions, and worry despite recognition that these symptoms are excessive and unreasonable. In this review, we examine findings from a growing body of literature implicating brain-behavioral markers of cognitive control in pediatric OCD and anxiety disorders, including before and after treatment. We conclude by suggesting that interventions designed to enhance the functioning of the task control circuits underlying cognitive control may facilitate brain maturation to help affected youth overcome symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate D Fitzgerald
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
| | - Hans S Schroder
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Rachel Marsh
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York
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Linke JO, Abend R, Kircanski K, Clayton M, Stavish C, Benson BE, Brotman MA, Renaud O, Smith SM, Nichols TE, Leibenluft E, Winkler AM, Pine DS. Shared and Anxiety-Specific Pediatric Psychopathology Dimensions Manifest Distributed Neural Correlates. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 89:579-587. [PMID: 33386133 PMCID: PMC7889729 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [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: 03/13/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Imaging research has not yet delivered reliable psychiatric biomarkers. One challenge, particularly among youth, is high comorbidity. This challenge might be met through canonical correlation analysis designed to model mutual dependencies between symptom dimensions and neural measures. We mapped the multivariate associations that intrinsic functional connectivity manifests with pediatric symptoms of anxiety, irritability, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as common, impactful, co-occurring problems. We evaluate the replicability of such latent dimensions in an independent sample. METHODS We obtained ratings of anxiety, irritability, and ADHD, and 10 minutes of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data, from two independent cohorts. Both cohorts (discovery: n = 182; replication: n = 326) included treatment-seeking youth with anxiety disorders, with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, with ADHD, or without psychopathology. Functional connectivity was modeled as partial correlations among 216 brain areas. Using canonical correlation analysis and independent component analysis jointly we sought maximally correlated, maximally interpretable latent dimensions of brain connectivity and clinical symptoms. RESULTS We identified seven canonical variates in the discovery and five in the replication cohort. Of these canonical variates, three exhibited similarities across datasets: two variates consistently captured shared aspects of irritability, ADHD, and anxiety, while the third was specific to anxiety. Across cohorts, canonical variates did not relate to specific resting-state networks but comprised edges interconnecting established networks within and across both hemispheres. CONCLUSIONS Findings revealed two replicable types of clinical variates, one related to multiple symptom dimensions and a second relatively specific to anxiety. Both types involved a multitude of broadly distributed, weak brain connections as opposed to strong connections encompassing known resting-state networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia O Linke
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
| | - Rany Abend
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Katharina Kircanski
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Michal Clayton
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Caitlin Stavish
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Brenda E Benson
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Melissa A Brotman
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Olivier Renaud
- Methodology and Data Analysis, Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Stephen M Smith
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas E Nichols
- Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Ellen Leibenluft
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Anderson M Winkler
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Daniel S Pine
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
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Childhood conduct problems are associated with reduced white matter fibre density and morphology. J Affect Disord 2021; 281:638-645. [PMID: 33239244 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.11.098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Childhood conduct problems are an important public health issue as these children are at-risk of adverse outcomes. Studies using diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) have found that conduct problems in adults are characterised by abnormal white-matter microstructure within a range of white matter pathways underpinning socio-emotional processing, while evidence within children and adolescents has been less conclusive based on non-specific diffusion tensor imaging metrics. Fixel-based analysis (FBA) provides measures of fibre density and morphology that are more sensitive to developmental changes in white matter microstructure. The current study used FBA to investigate whether childhood conduct problems were related both cross-sectionally and longitudinally to microstructural alterations within the fornix, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), and the uncinate fasciculus (UF). dMRI data was obtained for 130 children across two time-points in a community sample with high levels of externalising difficulties (age: time-point 1 = 9.47 - 11.86 years, time-point 2 = 10.67 -13.45 years). Conduct problems were indexed at each time-point using the Conduct Problems subscale of the parent-informant Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Conduct problems were related to lower fibre density in the fornix at both time-points, and in the ILF at time-point 2. We also observed lower fibre cross-section in the UF at time-point 1. The change in conduct problems did not predict longitudinal changes in white-matter microstructure across time-points. The current study suggests that childhood conduct problems are related to reduced fibre-specific microstructure within white matter fibre pathways implicated in socio-emotional functioning.
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Bell E, Bryant RA, Boyce P, Porter RJ, Malhi GS. Irritability through Research Domain Criteria: an opportunity for transdiagnostic conceptualisation. BJPsych Open 2021; 7:e36. [PMID: 33461648 PMCID: PMC8058909 DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2020.168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Irritability is a transdiagnostic phenomenon that, despite its ubiquity and significant impact, is poorly conceptualised, defined and measured. As it lacks specificity, efforts to examine irritability in adults by using a diagnostic category perspective have been hamstrung. Therefore, using a Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) approach to examine irritability in adults, which spans many constructs and domains, may have a better chance of yielding underlying mechanisms that can then be mapped onto various diagnostic categories. Recently, a model has been proposed for irritability in children and adolescents that uses the RDoC framework; however, this model, which accounts for chronic, persistent irritability, may not necessarily transpose to adults. Therefore, use of the RDoC framework to examine irritability in adults is urgently needed, as it may shed light on this currently amorphous phenomenon and the many disorders within which it operates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica Bell
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Australia
| | | | - Philip Boyce
- Discipline of Psychiatry, Sydney Medical School, Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney, Australia; and Perinatal Psychiatry Clinical Research Unit, Westmead Hospital, Australia
| | - Richard J Porter
- Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, New Zealand
| | - Gin S Malhi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Sydney, Australia
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Kryza-Lacombe M, Hernandez B, Owen C, Reynolds RC, Wakschlag LS, Dougherty LR, Wiggins JL. Neural mechanisms of reward processing in adolescent irritability. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:1241-1254. [PMID: 33462834 PMCID: PMC10171261 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2020] [Revised: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Irritability is impairing and prevalent across pediatric psychiatric disorders and typical development, yet its neural mechanisms are largely unknown. This study evaluated the relation between adolescent irritability and reward-related brain function as a candidate neural mechanism. Adolescents from intervention-seeking families in the community (N = 52; mean age = 13.80, SD = 1.94) completed a monetary incentive delay task to assess reward anticipation and feedback (reward receipt and omission) during fMRI acquisition. Whole-brain analyses, controlling for age, examined brain activation and striatal and amygdala connectivity in relation to irritability. Irritability was measured using the parent- and youth-reported Affective Reactivity Index. Irritability was associated with altered reward processing-related activation and connectivity in multiple networks during reward anticipation and feedback, including increased striatal activation and altered ventral striatum connectivity with prefrontal areas. Our findings suggest that irritability is associated with altered neural patterns during reward processing and that aberrant prefrontal cortex-mediated top-down control may be related to irritability. These findings inform our understanding of the etiology of youth irritability and the development of mechanism-based interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Kryza-Lacombe
- San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Brianna Hernandez
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Cassidy Owen
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Richard C Reynolds
- Scientific and Statistical Computing Core, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Lauren S Wakschlag
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine & Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Lea R Dougherty
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Jillian L Wiggins
- San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA.,Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
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Gaffrey MS, Barch DM, Luby JL, Petersen SE. Amygdala Functional Connectivity Is Associated With Emotion Regulation and Amygdala Reactivity in 4- to 6-Year-Olds. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2021; 60:176-185. [PMID: 32119912 PMCID: PMC7483219 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2020.01.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Emotion dysregulation has been suggested to be a potent risk factor for multiple psychiatric conditions. Altered amygdala-prefrontal cortex (PFC) connectivity has been consistently linked to emotion dysregulation. Recent data indicate that amygdala-PFC functional connectivity undergoes a prolonged period of development, with amygdala reactivity during early childhood potentially shaping this unfolding process. Little is known about the relationships between amygdala-PFC functional connectivity, amygdala reactivity, and emotion regulation during early childhood. This information is likely critical for understanding early emotion dysregulation as a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology. The current study examined the relationships between amygdala functional connectivity, amygdala reactivity, and emotion regulation in preschoolers. METHOD A total of 66 medication-naive 4- to 6-year-olds participated in a study where resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and parent-reported child emotion regulation ability data were collected. fMRI data collected during a face viewing task was also available for 24 children. RESULTS Right amygdala-medial PFC (mPFC) functional connectivity was positively associated with child emotion regulation ability and negatively associated with child negative affect and right amygdala reactivity to facial expressions of emotion. Right amygdala-mPFC functional connectivity also statistically mediated the relationship between heightened right amygdala reactivity and elevated child negative affect. CONCLUSION Study findings suggest that amygdala-mPFC functional connectivity during early childhood, and its relationships with amygdala reactivity and emotion regulation during this highly sensitive developmental period, may play an important role in early emotional development. These results inform the neurodevelopmental biology of emotion regulation and its potential relationship with risk for psychopathology.
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Zhang R, Bashford-Largo J, Lukoff J, Elowsky J, Carollo E, Schwartz A, Dobbertin M, Bajaj S, Blair KS, Leibenluft E, Blair RJR. Callous-Unemotional Traits Moderate the Relationship Between Irritability and Threatening Responding. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:617052. [PMID: 34867494 PMCID: PMC8635046 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.617052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Irritability and callous-unemotional (CU; reduced guilt/empathy) traits vary dimensionally in the typically developing population but may be particularly marked in youth with conduct disorder (CD). While these dimensional traits are positively correlated, they have been associated with divergent forms of dysfunction, particularly with respect to threat processing (i.e., irritability with increased, and CU traits with decreased, threat responsiveness). This suggests that interactions between these two dimensions may be complex at the neurobiological level. However, this issue has received minimal empirical attention. Methods: The study included 105 adolescents (typically developing and cases with CD; N = 59). They were scanned with fMRI during a looming threat task that involved images of threatening and neutral human faces or animals that appeared to be either looming or receding. Results: Significant irritability-by-CU traits-by-Direction-by-Emotion interactions were seen within right thalamus/PAG, left lingual gyrus and right fusiform gyrus; irritability was positively associated with the BOLD response for Looming Threatening vs. Receding Threatening trials, particularly for youth with low CU traits. In contrast, CU traits were negatively associated with the same differential BOLD response but particularly for youth showing higher levels of irritability. Similar findings were seen within left ventral anterior and posterior cingulate cortices, though the addition of the interaction with CU traits was only seen at slightly more lenient thresholds. Conclusions: The results support previous work linking irritability to increased, and CU traits to reduced, threat responsiveness. However, for adolescents with high irritability, if CU traits are also high, the underlying neuropathology appears to relate to reduced, rather than increased, threat responsiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ru Zhang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Johannah Bashford-Largo
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Jennie Lukoff
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Jaimie Elowsky
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Erin Carollo
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Amanda Schwartz
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Matthew Dobbertin
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Sahil Bajaj
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Karina S Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Ellen Leibenluft
- Section on Mood Dysregulation and Neuroscience, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - R James R Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
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Kryza-Lacombe M, Iturri N, Monk CS, Wiggins JL. Face Emotion Processing in Pediatric Irritability: Neural Mechanisms in a Sample Enriched for Irritability With Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2020; 59:1380-1391. [PMID: 31541675 PMCID: PMC9831686 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2019.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2018] [Revised: 07/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Characterizing the pathophysiology of irritability symptoms from a dimensional perspective above and beyond diagnostic boundaries is key to developing mechanism-based interventions that can be applied broadly. Face emotion processing deficits are present in youths with elevated levels of irritability. The present study aimed to identify the neural mechanisms of face emotion processing in a sample enriched for irritability by including youths with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HF-ASD). METHOD Youths (N = 120, age = 8.3-19.2 years) completed an implicit face emotion task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. We evaluated how irritability, measured dimensionally, above and beyond diagnostic group, relates to whole-brain neural activation and amygdala connectivity in response to face emotions. RESULTS Both neural activation and amygdala connectivity differed as a function of irritability level and face emotion in the prefrontal cortex. Youths with higher irritability levels had decreased activation in response to both fearful and happy faces in the left middle frontal gyrus and to happy faces in the left inferior frontal gyrus. Furthermore, increased irritability levels were associated with altered right amygdala connectivity to the left superior frontal gyrus when viewing fearful and sad faces. CONCLUSION The neural mechanisms of face emotion processing differ in youths with higher irritability compared to their less irritable peers. The findings suggest that these irritability mechanisms may be common to both typically developing and HF-ASD youths. Understanding the neural mechanisms of pediatric irritability symptoms that cut across diagnostic boundaries may be leveraged for future intervention development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Kryza-Lacombe
- Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego.
| | | | | | - Jillian Lee Wiggins
- San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology and the Department of Psychology, San Diego State University
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Blair RJR, Bashford-Largo J, Zhang R, Lukoff J, Elowsky JS, Leibenluft E, Hwang S, Dobbertin M, Blair KS. Temporal Discounting Impulsivity and Its Association with Conduct Disorder and Irritability. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 2020; 30:542-548. [PMID: 32882144 PMCID: PMC7699000 DOI: 10.1089/cap.2020.0001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Objectives: Temporal reward discounting impulsivity (TDI) reflects a propensity to choose smaller immediate rather than larger delayed rewards relative to age/IQ-matched peers. Previous work with adults has linked TDI to an increased risk for antisocial behavior but also psychopathology in general. However, little work has examined TDI in adolescents with conduct disorder (CD), or considered whether TDI might be associated dimensionally with traits associated with antisocial behavior, that is, impulsivity, irritability, and/or callous-unemotional traits. In this study TDI was investigated in a large adolescent group with varying levels of antisocial behavior. Methods: Participants consisted of 195 adolescents (67 with CD, 77 in a psychiatric comparison group and 51 typically developing adolescents). Participants performed a temporal discounting task and individual differences were measured through the Connors rating scale for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (impulsivity), Affective Reactivity Index (irritability), and Inventory of Callous-Unemotional traits. Results: The adolescents with CD and those in the psychiatric comparison group showed significantly greater TDI than typically developing adolescents. However, these group differences were abolished when dimensional covariates were included. Irritability was significantly associated with TDI. Conclusions: We conclude that TDI reflects a transdiagnostic form of dysfunction that particularly manifests in adolescents with increased irritability.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. James R. Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA.,Address correspondence to: R. James R. Blair, PhD, Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 14100 Crawford Street, Boys Town, NE 68154, USA
| | - Johannah Bashford-Largo
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Ru Zhang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Jennie Lukoff
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Jamie S. Elowsky
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Ellen Leibenluft
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Soonjo Hwang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
| | - Matthew Dobbertin
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Karina S. Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
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Derella OJ, Burke JD, Romano-Verthelyi AM, Butler EJ, Johnston OG. Feasibility and acceptability of a brief cognitive-behavioral group intervention for chronic irritability in youth. Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry 2020; 25:778-789. [PMID: 32370543 DOI: 10.1177/1359104520918331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Chronic irritability is a core feature of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), but few irritability-specific interventions have been tested. Existing evidence-based treatments for disruptive behavior problems offer a strong template. This pilot study was conducted to develop and evaluate a brief irritability-specific module of a validated cognitive-behavioral group intervention for children (Stop Now And Plan (SNAP) Program). Stop now and plan for irritability (I-SNAP) retained core elements of SNAP in a shortened 6-week format. Community families with irritable children (M = 8.44 years, SD = 1.42) were recruited for parent and child emotion regulation skills groups. Of 18 children enrolled (72% male), 14 completed (78%). Half of children attended all six sessions, though homework compliance was lower. All parents reported favorable impressions and would recommend I-SNAP to others. Significant improvements were seen from pre- to post-treatment across parent-reported irritability, ODD symptoms, emotion regulation, and disciplinary effectiveness. This pilot study provides initial support suggesting I-SNAP may be feasible to implement and acceptable to parents. In addition, pilot analyses demonstrated that this brief group intervention was associated with positive outcomes consistent with treatment targets. This preliminary evidence supports the need for further research to assess I-SNAP's effects on irritability relative to control groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia J Derella
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, USA
| | - Jeffrey D Burke
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, USA
| | | | - Emilie J Butler
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, USA
| | - Oliver G Johnston
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, USA
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