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Beck D, Whitmore L, MacSweeney N, Brieant A, Karl V, de Lange AMG, Westlye LT, Mills KL, Tamnes CK. Dimensions of early life adversity are differentially associated with patterns of delayed and accelerated brain maturation. Biol Psychiatry 2024:S0006-3223(24)01486-0. [PMID: 39084501 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.07.019] [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: 02/14/2024] [Revised: 07/16/2024] [Accepted: 07/19/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Different types of early-life adversity have been associated with children's brain structure and function. However, understanding the disparate influence of distinct adversity exposures on the developing brain remains a major challenge. METHODS This study investigates the neural correlates of 10 robust dimensions of early-life adversity identified through exploratory factor analysis in a large community sample of youth from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Brain age models were trained, validated, and tested separately on T1-weighted (T1; N = 9524), diffusion tensor (DTI; N = 8834), and resting-state functional (rs-fMRI; N = 8233) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from two time points (mean age = 10.7 years, SD = 1.2, range = 8.9-13.8 years). RESULTS Bayesian multilevel modelling supported distinct associations between different types of early-life adversity exposures and younger- and older-looking brains. Dimensions generally related to emotional neglect, such as lack of primary and secondary caregiver support, and lack of caregiver supervision, were associated with lower brain age gaps (BAGs), i.e., younger-looking brains. In contrast, dimensions generally related to caregiver psychopathology, trauma exposure, family aggression, substance use and separation from biological parent, and socio-economic disadvantage and neighbourhood safety were associated with higher BAGs, i.e., older-looking brains. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that dimensions of early-life adversity are differentially associated with distinct neurodevelopmental patterns, indicative of dimension-specific delayed and accelerated brain maturation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dani Beck
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Lucy Whitmore
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Niamh MacSweeney
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Alexis Brieant
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, Vermont, USA
| | - Valerie Karl
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ann-Marie G de Lange
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, CHUV and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Lars T Westlye
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Kathryn L Mills
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Christian K Tamnes
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
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Yang XF, Hilliard K, Gotlieb R, Immordino-Yang MH. Transcendent thinking counteracts longitudinal effects of mid-adolescent exposure to community violence in the anterior cingulate cortex. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE 2024. [PMID: 38923619 DOI: 10.1111/jora.12993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Adolescence involves extensive brain maturation, characterized by social sensitivity and emotional lability, that co-occurs with increased independence. Mid-adolescence is also a hallmark developmental stage when youths become motivated to reflect on the broader personal, ethical, and systems-level implications of happenings, a process we term transcendent thinking. Here, we examine the confluence of these developmental processes to ask, from a transdisciplinary perspective, how might community violence exposure (CVE) impact brain development during mid-adolescence, and how might youths' dispositions for transcendent thinking be protective? Fifty-five low-SES urban youth with no history of delinquency (32 female; 27 Latinx, 28 East Asian) reported their CVE and underwent structural MRI first at age 14-18, and again 2 years later. At the study's start, participants also discussed their feelings about 40 minidocumentaries featuring other teens' compelling situations in a 2-h private interview that was transcribed and coded for transcendent thinking. Controlling for CVE and brain structure at the start: (1) New CVE during the 2-year inter-scan interval was associated with greater gray matter volume (GMV) reduction over that interval in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a central network hub whose reduced volume has been associated with posttraumatic stress disorder, and across multiple additional cortical and subcortical regions; (2) participants' transcendent thinking in the interview independently predicted greater GMV increase during the 2-year inter-scan interval in the ACC. Findings highlight the continued vulnerability of mid-adolescents to community violence and the importance of supporting teens' dispositions to reflect on the complex personal and systems-level implications and affordances of their civic landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Fei Yang
- Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education, Brain and Creativity Institute, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Katrina Hilliard
- Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education, Brain and Creativity Institute, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Rebecca Gotlieb
- Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice, School of Education and Information Studies, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
- Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education, Brain and Creativity Institute, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Psychology Department, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Barrett AMY, Cheng TW, Flannery JE, Mills KL, Fisher PA, McCann CF, Pfeifer JH. Comparing the multivariate relationships of conceptual adversity models and structural brain development in adolescent girls: A registered report. Dev Psychol 2024; 60:858-877. [PMID: 38358662 PMCID: PMC11332272 DOI: 10.1037/dev0001684] [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: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Adverse experiences throughout development confer risk for a multitude of negative long-term outcomes, but the processes via which these experiences are neurobiologically embedded are still unclear. Adolescence provides an opportunity to understand how these experiences impact the brain's rapidly changing structure. Two models are central to current adversity conceptualizations: a cumulative risk model, where all types of experiences are combined to represent accumulating stress, and a dimensional model, where certain features of experience (e.g., threat or deprivation) exert unique neurophysiological influence. In this registered report, we extended upon previous research by using a form of representational similarity analysis to examine whether the dimensional and cumulative risk models of adversity predict cortical thinning in frontoparietal and frontotemporal networks and volumetric changes in subcortical regions throughout adolescence. Drawing from a longitudinal sample of 179 adolescent girls (ages 10-13 years at the first wave) from Lane County, Oregon, United States, and up to four waves of follow-up data, we found that operationalizing adversity by similarity in threat and deprivation provided better prediction of brain development than similarity in overall adversity. However, these dimensions do not exhibit unique associations with developmental changes in the hypothesized brain changes. These results underscore the significance of carefully defining adversity and considering its impact on the entire brain. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Kathryn L. Mills
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo
| | - Philip A. Fisher
- Stanford Center on Early Childhood and Graduate School of Education, Stanford University
| | - Clare F. McCann
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
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4
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Muñoz E, Hyun J, Diaz JA, Scott SB, Sliwinski MJ. Exposure to neighborhood violence, and laboratory-based and ambulatory cognitive task performance in adulthood. Soc Sci Med 2024; 348:116807. [PMID: 38569283 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116807] [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: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 03/03/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Exposure to neighborhood violence may have negative implications for adults' cognitive functioning, but the ecological sensitivity of these effects has yet to be determined. We first evaluated the link between exposure to neighborhood violence and two latent constructs of cognitive function that incorporated laboratory-based and ambulatory, smartphone-based, cognitive assessments. Second, we examined whether the effect of exposure to violence was stronger for ambulatory assessments compared to in-lab assessments. METHODS We used data from 256 urban-dwelling adults between 25 and 65 years old (M = 46.26, SD = 11.07); 63.18% non-Hispanic Black, 9.21% non-Hispanic White, 18.41% Hispanic White, 5.02% Hispanic Black, and 4.18% other. Participants completed baseline surveys on neighborhood exposures, cognitive assessments in a laboratory/research office, and ambulatory smartphone-based cognitive assessments five-times a day for 14 days. RESULTS Exposure to neighborhood violence was associated with poorer performance in a latent working memory construct that incorporated in-lab and ambulatory assessments, but was not associated with the perceptual speed construct. The effect of exposure to neighborhood violence on the working memory construct was explained by its effect on the ambulatory working memory task and not by the in-lab cognitive assessments. CONCLUSION This study shows the negative effect that exposure to neighborhood violence may have on everyday working memory performance in urban-dwelling adults in midlife. Results highlight the need for more research to determine the sensitivity of ambulatory assessments to quantify the effects of neighborhood violence on cognitive function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Muñoz
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
| | - Jinshil Hyun
- Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Jose A Diaz
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies and Center for Healthy Aging, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Stacey B Scott
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Martin J Sliwinski
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies and Center for Healthy Aging, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
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5
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Polemiti E, Hese S, Schepanski K, Yuan J, Schumann G. How does the macroenvironment influence brain and behaviour-a review of current status and future perspectives. Mol Psychiatry 2024:10.1038/s41380-024-02557-x. [PMID: 38658771 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02557-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
The environment influences brain and mental health, both detrimentally and beneficially. Existing research has emphasised the individual psychosocial 'microenvironment'. Less attention has been paid to 'macroenvironmental' challenges, including climate change, pollution, urbanicity, and socioeconomic disparity. Notably, the implications of climate and pollution on brain and mental health have only recently gained prominence. With the advent of large-scale big-data cohorts and an increasingly dense mapping of macroenvironmental parameters, we are now in a position to characterise the relation between macroenvironment, brain, and behaviour across different geographic and cultural locations globally. This review synthesises findings from recent epidemiological and neuroimaging studies, aiming to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing evidence between the macroenvironment and the structure and functions of the brain, with a particular emphasis on its implications for mental illness. We discuss putative underlying mechanisms and address the most common exposures of the macroenvironment. Finally, we identify critical areas for future research to enhance our understanding of the aetiology of mental illness and to inform effective interventions for healthier environments and mental health promotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elli Polemiti
- Centre of Population Neuroscience and Stratified Medicine (PONS), Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Sören Hese
- Institute of Geography, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Jiacan Yuan
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences & Institute of Atmospheric Sciences & CMA-FDU Joint Laboratory of Marine Meteorology & IRDR-ICOE on Risk Interconnectivity and Governance on Weather/Climate Extremes Impact and Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Gunter Schumann
- Centre of Population Neuroscience and Stratified Medicine (PONS), Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Stratified Medicine (PONS), Institute for Science and Technology of Brain-inspired Intelligence (ISTBI), Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
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McKinney WS, Williford DN, Abbeduto L, Schmitt LM. The impact of social-environmental factors on IQ in syndromic intellectual developmental disabilities. J Clin Transl Sci 2024; 8:e59. [PMID: 38655457 PMCID: PMC11036438 DOI: 10.1017/cts.2024.510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite having the same underlying genetic etiology, individuals with the same syndromic form of intellectual developmental disability (IDD) show a large degree of interindividual differences in cognition and IQ. Research indicates that up to 80% of the variation in IQ scores among individuals with syndromic IDDs is attributable to nongenetic effects, including social-environmental factors. In this narrative review, we summarize evidence of the influence that factors related to economic stability (focused on due to its prevalence in existing literature) have on IQ in individuals with syndromic IDDs. We also highlight the pathways through which economic stability is hypothesized to impact cognitive development and drive individual differences in IQ among individuals with syndromic IDDs. We also identify broader social-environmental factors (e.g., social determinants of health) that warrant consideration in future research, but that have not yet been explored in syndromic IDDs. We conclude by making recommendations to address the urgent need for further research into other salient factors associated with heterogeneity in IQ. These recommendations ultimately may shape individual- and community-level interventions and may inform systems-level public policy efforts to promote the cognitive development of and improve the lived experiences of individuals with syndromic IDDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Walker S. McKinney
- Department of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology,
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center,
Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Desireé N. Williford
- Department of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology,
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center,
Cincinnati, OH, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of
Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Leonard Abbeduto
- MIND Institute, University of California Davis,
Sacramento, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University
of California Davis, Sacramento, CA,
USA
| | - Lauren M. Schmitt
- Department of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology,
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center,
Cincinnati, OH, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of
Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
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7
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Park J, Lee E, Cho G, Hwang H, Kim BG, Kim G, Joo YY, Cha J. Gene-environment pathways to cognitive intelligence and psychotic-like experiences in children. eLife 2024; 12:RP88117. [PMID: 38441539 PMCID: PMC10942586 DOI: 10.7554/elife.88117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/07/2024] Open
Abstract
In children, psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are related to risk of psychosis, schizophrenia, and other mental disorders. Maladaptive cognitive functioning, influenced by genetic and environmental factors, is hypothesized to mediate the relationship between these factors and childhood PLEs. Using large-scale longitudinal data, we tested the relationships of genetic and environmental factors (such as familial and neighborhood environment) with cognitive intelligence and their relationships with current and future PLEs in children. We leveraged large-scale multimodal data of 6,602 children from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study. Linear mixed model and a novel structural equation modeling (SEM) method that allows estimation of both components and factors were used to estimate the joint effects of cognitive phenotypes polygenic scores (PGSs), familial and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES), and supportive environment on NIH Toolbox cognitive intelligence and PLEs. We adjusted for ethnicity (genetically defined), schizophrenia PGS, and additionally unobserved confounders (using computational confound modeling). Our findings indicate that lower cognitive intelligence and higher PLEs are significantly associated with lower PGSs for cognitive phenotypes, lower familial SES, lower neighborhood SES, and less supportive environments. Specifically, cognitive intelligence mediates the effects of these factors on PLEs, with supportive parenting and positive school environments showing the strongest impact on reducing PLEs. This study underscores the influence of genetic and environmental factors on PLEs through their effects on cognitive intelligence. Our findings have policy implications in that improving school and family environments and promoting local economic development may enhance cognitive and mental health in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junghoon Park
- Interdisciplinary Program in Artificial Intelligence, College of Engineering, Seoul National UniversitySeoulRepublic of Korea
| | - Eunji Lee
- Department of Psychology, College of Social Sciences, Seoul National UniversitySeoulRepublic of Korea
| | - Gyeongcheol Cho
- Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, The Ohio State UniversityColumbusUnited States
| | - Heungsun Hwang
- Department of Psychology, McGill UniversityMontréalCanada
| | - Bo-Gyeom Kim
- Department of Psychology, College of Social Sciences, Seoul National UniversitySeoulRepublic of Korea
| | - Gakyung Kim
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National UniversitySeoulRepublic of Korea
| | - Yoonjung Yoonie Joo
- Department of Psychology, College of Social Sciences, Seoul National UniversitySeoulRepublic of Korea
- Department of Digital Health, Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences & Technology (SAIHST), Sungkyunkwan UniversitySeoulRepublic of Korea
- Samsung Medical CenterSeoulRepublic of Korea
| | - Jiook Cha
- Interdisciplinary Program in Artificial Intelligence, College of Engineering, Seoul National UniversitySeoulRepublic of Korea
- Department of Psychology, College of Social Sciences, Seoul National UniversitySeoulRepublic of Korea
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National UniversitySeoulRepublic of Korea
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8
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Polemiti E, Hese S, Schepanski K, Yuan J, Schumann G. How does the macroenvironment influence brain and behaviour - a review of current status and future perspectives. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.10.09.23296785. [PMID: 37873310 PMCID: PMC10593044 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.09.23296785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
The environment influences mental health, both detrimentally and beneficially. Current research has emphasized the individual psychosocial 'microenvironment'. Less attention has been paid to 'macro-environmental' challenges including climate change, pollution, urbanicity and socioeconomic disparity. With the advent of large-scale big-data cohorts and an increasingly dense mapping of macroenvironmental parameters, we are now in a position to characterise the relation between macroenvironment, brain, and behaviour across different geographic and cultural locations globally. This review synthesises findings from recent epidemiological and neuroimaging studies, aiming to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing evidence between the macroenvironment and the structure and functions of the brain, with a particular emphasis on its implications for mental illness. We discuss putative underlying mechanisms and address the most common exposures of the macroenvironment. Finally, we identify critical areas for future research to enhance our understanding of the aetiology of mental illness and to inform effective interventions for healthier environments and mental health promotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elli Polemiti
- Centre of Population Neuroscience and Stratified Medicine (PONS), Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
| | - Soeren Hese
- Institute of Geography, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany
| | | | - Jiacan Yuan
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences & Institute of Atmospheric Sciences & CMA-FDU Joint Laboratory of Marine Meteorology & IRDR-ICOE on Risk Interconnectivity and Governance on Weather/Climate Extremes Impact and Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Gunter Schumann
- Centre of Population Neuroscience and Stratified Medicine (PONS), Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
- Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), Institute for Science and Technology of Brain-inspired Intelligence (ISTBI), Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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9
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Kahhalé I, Barry KR, Hanson JL. Positive parenting moderates associations between childhood stress and corticolimbic structure. PNAS NEXUS 2023; 2:pgad145. [PMID: 37325028 PMCID: PMC10263262 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Childhood stress has a deleterious impact on youth behavior and brain development. Resilience factors such as positive parenting (e.g. expressions of warmth and support) may buffer youth against the negative impacts of stress. We sought to determine whether positive parenting buffers against the negative impact of childhood stress on youth behavior and brain structure and to investigate differences between youth-reported parenting and caregiver-reported parenting. Cross-sectional behavioral and neuroimaging data were analyzed from 482 youth (39% female and 61% male, ages 10-17) who participated in an ongoing research initiative, the Healthy Brain Network (HBN). Regression models found that youth-reported positive parenting buffered against the association between childhood stress and youth behavioral problems (β = -0.10, P = 0.04) such that increased childhood stress was associated with increased youth behavior problems only for youth who did not experience high levels of positive parenting. We also found that youth-reported positive parenting buffered against the association between childhood stress and decreased hippocampal volumes (β = 0.07, P = 0.02) such that youth who experienced high levels of childhood stress and who reported increased levels of positive parenting did not exhibit smaller hippocampal volumes. Our work identifies positive parenting as a resilience factor buffering youth against the deleterious impact of stressful childhood experiences on problem behaviors and brain development. These findings underscore the importance of centering youth perspectives of stress and parenting practices to better understand neurobiology, mechanisms of resilience, and psychological well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabella Kahhalé
- Learning, Research, and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Kelly R Barry
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA
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10
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Brieant A, Vannucci A, Nakua H, Harris J, Lovell J, Brundavanam D, Tottenham N, Gee DG. Characterizing the dimensional structure of early-life adversity in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 61:101256. [PMID: 37210754 PMCID: PMC10209808 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101256] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Early-life adversity has profound consequences for youth neurodevelopment and adjustment; however, experiences of adversity are heterogeneous and interrelated in complex ways that can be difficult to operationalize and organize in developmental research. We sought to characterize the underlying dimensional structure of co-occurring adverse experiences among a subset of youth (ages 9-10) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (N = 7115), a community sample of youth in the United States. We identified 60 environmental and experiential variables that reflect adverse experiences. Exploratory factor analysis identified 10 robust dimensions of early-life adversity co-occurrence, corresponding to conceptual domains such as caregiver substance use and biological caregiver separation, caregiver psychopathology, caregiver lack of support, and socioeconomic disadvantage / neighborhood lack of safety. These dimensions demonstrated distinct associations with internalizing problems, externalizing problems, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control. Non-metric multidimensional scaling characterized qualitative similarity among the 10 identified dimensions. Results supported a nonlinear three-dimensional structure representing early-life adversity, including continuous gradients of "perspective", "environmental uncertainty", and "acts of omission/commission". Our findings suggest that there are distinct dimensions of early-life adversity co-occurrence in the ABCD sample at baseline, and the resulting dimensions may have unique implications for neurodevelopment and youth behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Hajer Nakua
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada; Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Jenny Harris
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, UK
| | - Jack Lovell
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, USA; Institute for Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, USA
| | - Divya Brundavanam
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
| | | | - Dylan G Gee
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, USA
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11
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Murtha K, Larsen B, Pines A, Parkes L, Moore TM, Adebimpe A, Bertolero M, Alexander-Bloch A, Calkins ME, Davila DG, Lindquist MA, Mackey AP, Roalf DR, Scott JC, Wolf DH, Gur RC, Gur RE, Barzilay R, Satterthwaite TD. Associations between neighborhood socioeconomic status, parental education, and executive system activation in youth. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:1058-1073. [PMID: 35348659 PMCID: PMC9930626 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Socioeconomic status (SES) can impact cognitive performance, including working memory (WM). As executive systems that support WM undergo functional neurodevelopment during adolescence, environmental stressors at both individual and community levels may influence cognitive outcomes. Here, we sought to examine how SES at the neighborhood and family level impacts task-related activation of the executive system during adolescence and determine whether this effect mediates the relationship between SES and WM performance. To address these questions, we studied 1,150 youths (age 8-23) that completed a fractal n-back WM task during functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3T as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort. We found that both higher neighborhood SES and parental education were associated with greater activation of the executive system to WM load, including the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, posterior parietal cortex, and precuneus. The association of neighborhood SES remained significant when controlling for task performance, or related factors like exposure to traumatic events. Furthermore, high-dimensional multivariate mediation analysis identified distinct patterns of brain activity within the executive system that significantly mediated the relationship between measures of SES and task performance. These findings underscore the importance of multilevel environmental factors in shaping executive system function and WM in youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin Murtha
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Bart Larsen
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Adam Pines
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Linden Parkes
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering & Applied Science, University of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Tyler M Moore
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Azeez Adebimpe
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Maxwell Bertolero
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Aaron Alexander-Bloch
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Monica E Calkins
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Diego G Davila
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Martin A Lindquist
- Department of Biostatistics, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Allyson P Mackey
- Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - David R Roalf
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - James C Scott
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Daniel H Wolf
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Ruben C Gur
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Raquel E Gur
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ran Barzilay
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Theodore D Satterthwaite
- Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perleman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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12
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Webb EK, Cardenas-Iniguez C, Douglas R. Radically reframing studies on neurobiology and socioeconomic circumstances: A call for social justice-oriented neuroscience. Front Integr Neurosci 2022; 16:958545. [PMID: 36118113 PMCID: PMC9479322 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2022.958545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Socioeconomic circumstances are associated with symptoms and diagnostic status of nearly all mental health conditions. Given these robust relationships, neuroscientists have attempted to elucidate how socioeconomic-based adversity "gets under the skin." Historically, this work emphasized individual proxies of socioeconomic position (e.g., income, education), ignoring the effects of broader socioeconomic contexts (e.g., neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage) which may uniquely contribute to chronic stress. This omission represented a disconnect between neuroscience and other allied fields that have recognized health is undeniably linked to interactions between systems of power and individual characteristics. More recently, neuroscience work has considered how sociopolitical context affects brain structure and function; however, the products of this exciting line of research have lacked critical sociological and historical perspectives. While empirical evidence on this topic is burgeoning, the cultural, ethical, societal, and legal implications of this work have been elusive. Although the mechanisms by which socioeconomic circumstances impact brain structure and function may be similar across people, not everyone is exposed to these factors at similar rates. Individuals from ethnoracially minoritized groups are disproportionally exposed to neighborhood disadvantage. Thus, socioeconomic inequities examined in neuroscience research are undergirding with other forms of oppression, namely structural racism. We utilize a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to interpret findings from neuroscience research and interweave relevant theories from the fields of public health, social sciences, and Black feminist thought. In this perspective piece, we discuss the complex relationship that continues to exist between academic institutions and underserved surrounding communities, acknowledging the areas in which neuroscience research has historically harmed and/or excluded structurally disadvantaged communities. We conclude by envisioning how this work can be used; not just to inform policymakers, but also to engage and partner with communities and shape the future direction of human neuroscience research.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. Kate Webb
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - Carlos Cardenas-Iniguez
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Robyn Douglas
- Department of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
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13
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de Carvalho MCL, Macena RHM. My Exposure to Violence: translation and cultural adaptation to the BR Portuguese. Rev Saude Publica 2022; 56:77. [PMID: 36043655 PMCID: PMC9388061 DOI: 10.11606/s1518-8787.2022056004080] [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: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To translate and adapt the My Exposure to Violence instrument for measuring exposure to community violence into Brazilian Portuguese. METHODS Psychometric study of translation and cross-cultural adaptation in seven stages: (I) initial translations, (II) synthesis of translations, (III) back-translations, (IV) cross-cultural pre-adaptation, (V) evaluation by committee of judges, (VI) pre-test, and (VII) submission to the original author. In step V eight judges evaluated the instrument’s equivalence of content, and the content validity index was calculated for each item (CVI-I) and for the average of the instrument (CVI-M), considering a CVI-I ≥ 0.78 as excellent and a CVI-M ≥ 0.80 as acceptable and ≥ 0.90 as excellent. The pre-test was conducted with 39 adolescents enrolled in an educational institution in Fortaleza, state of Ceará. The understandability of the items was evaluated. RESULTS In step I, two translations were produced with few differences between them. These were resolved in step II, by generating the synthesis version (T12). In step III, the back-translated items reflected the same content as the items in the original version. In step IV, T12 was revised by the authors, who made specific linguistic changes in order to facilitate understanding. In step V, one item (22) presented CVI < 0.78. Due to the relevance of the suggestions, 19 of the 23 items (82.60%) were modified. The CVI-M of the instrument was 0.92. In stage VI, the mean age of the participants was 17.48 years (SD = 1.27). The pre-final version had 21 out of 23 items (91.30%) fully understood by more than 90% of the participants. No changes were made to the final version. CONCLUSIONS My Exposure to Violence was cross-culturally adapted into Brazilian Portuguese, and was well understood by the target population. Other psychometric properties, such as reliability and validity, should be evaluated in further studies to strengthen the evidence of the translated and adapted version.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcos Clint Leal de Carvalho
- Universidade Federal do CearáFaculdade de MedicinaPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Saúde PúblicaFortalezaCEBrasilUniversidade Federal do Ceará. Faculdade de Medicina. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Pública. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil,Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do CearáFortalezaCEBrasil Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Ceará. Reitoria. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil
| | - Raimunda Hermelinda Maia Macena
- Universidade Federal do CearáFaculdade de MedicinaPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Saúde PúblicaFortalezaCEBrasilUniversidade Federal do Ceará. Faculdade de Medicina. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Pública. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil
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14
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Brady RG, Rogers CE, Prochaska T, Kaplan S, Lean RE, Smyser TA, Shimony JS, Slavich GM, Warner BB, Barch DM, Luby JL, Smyser CD. The Effects of Prenatal Exposure to Neighborhood Crime on Neonatal Functional Connectivity. Biol Psychiatry 2022; 92:139-148. [PMID: 35428496 PMCID: PMC9257309 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Maternal exposure to adversity during pregnancy has been found to affect infant brain development; however, the specific effect of prenatal crime exposure on neonatal brain connectivity remains unclear. Based on existing research, we hypothesized that living in a high-crime neighborhood during pregnancy would affect neonatal frontolimbic connectivity over and above other individual- and neighborhood-level adversity and that these associations would be mediated by maternal psychosocial stress. METHODS Participants included 399 pregnant women, recruited as part of the eLABE (Early Life Adversity, Biological Embedding, and Risk for Developmental Precursors of Mental Disorders) study. In the neonatal period, 319 healthy, nonsedated infants were scanned using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (repetition time = 800 ms; echo time = 37 ms; voxel size = 2.0 × 2.0 × 2.0 mm3; multiband = 8) on a Prisma 3T scanner and had at least 10 minutes of high-quality data. Crime data at the block group level were obtained from Applied Geographic Solution. Linear regressions and mediation models tested associations between crime, frontolimbic connectivity, and psychosocial stress. RESULTS Living in a neighborhood with high property crime during pregnancy was related to weaker neonatal functional connectivity between the thalamus-anterior default mode network (aDMN) (β = -0.15, 95% CI = -0.25 to -0.04, p = .008). Similarly, high neighborhood violent crime was related to weaker functional connectivity between the thalamus-aDMN (β = -0.16, 95% CI = -0.29 to -0.04, p = .01) and amygdala-hippocampus (β = -0.16, 95% CI = -0.29 to -0.03, p = .02), controlling for other types of adversity. Psychosocial stress partially mediated relationships between the thalamus-aDMN and both violent and property crime. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that prenatal exposure to crime is associated with weaker neonatal limbic and frontal functional brain connections, providing another reason for targeted public policy interventions to reduce crime.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca G Brady
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
| | - Cynthia E Rogers
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Trinidi Prochaska
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Sydney Kaplan
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Rachel E Lean
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Tara A Smyser
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Joshua S Shimony
- Mallinckrot Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - George M Slavich
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Barbara B Warner
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Deanna M Barch
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Mallinckrot Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Joan L Luby
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Christopher D Smyser
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Mallinckrot Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
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15
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Wade M, Wright L, Finegold KE. The effects of early life adversity on children's mental health and cognitive functioning. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:244. [PMID: 35688817 PMCID: PMC9187770 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02001-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Emerging evidence suggests that partially distinct mechanisms may underlie the association between different dimensions of early life adversity (ELA) and psychopathology in children and adolescents. While there is minimal evidence that different types of ELA are associated with specific psychopathology outcomes, there are partially unique cognitive and socioemotional consequences of specific dimensions of ELA that increase transdiagnostic risk of mental health problems across the internalizing and externalizing spectra. The current review provides an overview of recent findings examining the cognitive (e.g., language, executive function), socioemotional (e.g., attention bias, emotion regulation), and mental health correlates of ELA along the dimensions of threat/harshness, deprivation, and unpredictability. We underscore similarities and differences in the mechanisms connecting different dimensions of ELA to particular mental health outcomes, and identify gaps and future directions that may help to clarify inconsistencies in the literature. This review focuses on childhood and adolescence, periods of exquisite neurobiological change and sensitivity to the environment. The utility of dimensional models of ELA in better understanding the mechanistic pathways towards the expression of psychopathology is discussed, with the review supporting the value of such models in better understanding the developmental sequelae associated with ELA. Integration of dimensional models of ELA with existing models focused on psychiatric classification and biobehavioral mechanisms may advance our understanding of the etiology, phenomenology, and treatment of mental health difficulties in children and youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Wade
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
| | - Liam Wright
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Katherine E Finegold
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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16
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Picci G, Taylor BK, Killanin AD, Eastman JA, Frenzel MR, Wang YP, Stephen JM, Calhoun VD, Wilson TW. Left amygdala structure mediates longitudinal associations between exposure to threat and long-term psychiatric symptomatology in youth. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:4091-4102. [PMID: 35583310 PMCID: PMC9374891 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Revised: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Traumatic experiences during childhood can have profound effects on stress sensitive brain structures (e.g., amygdala and hippocampus) and the emergence of psychiatric symptoms. Recent theoretical and empirical work has delineated dimensions of trauma (i.e., threat and deprivation) as having distinct neural and behavioral effects, although there are few longitudinal examinations. A sample of 243 children and adolescents were followed for three time points, with each assessment approximately 1 year apart (ages 9–15 years at Time 1; 120 males). Participants or their caregiver reported on youths' threat exposure, perceived stress (Time 1), underwent a T1‐weighted structural high‐resolution MRI scan (Time 2), and documented their subsequent psychiatric symptoms later in development (Time 3). The primary findings indicate that left amygdala volume, in particular, mediated the longitudinal association between threat exposure and subsequent internalizing and externalizing symptomatology. Greater threat exposure related to reduced left amygdala volume, which in turn differentially predicted internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Decreased bilateral hippocampal volume was related to subsequently elevated internalizing symptoms. These findings suggest that the left amygdala is highly threat‐sensitive and that stress‐related alterations may partially explain elevated psychopathology in stress‐exposed adolescents. Uncovering potential subclinical and/or preclinical predictive biomarkers is essential to understanding the emergence, progression, and eventual targeted treatment of psychopathology following trauma exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgia Picci
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Brittany K Taylor
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA.,Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
| | - Abraham D Killanin
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA.,College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
| | - Jacob A Eastman
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Michaela R Frenzel
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Yu-Ping Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | | | - Vince D Calhoun
- Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.,Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Tony W Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA.,Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
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17
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Gotlieb RJ, Yang XF, Immordino-Yang MH. Concrete and Abstract Dimensions of Diverse Adolescents’ Social-Emotional Meaning-Making, and Associations With Broader Functioning. JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/07435584221091498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Adolescence is a sensitive period of social-emotional growth, when new abilities for abstract thinking also emerge. Especially among youth from under-resourced communities, how do adolescents’ proclivities to engage in abstract meaning-making about the social world manifest, alongside more concrete interpretations? How is meaning-making associated with other aspects of social and cognitive functioning? We interviewed 65 adolescents (aged 14–18) from low-SES urban neighborhoods about compelling mini-documentaries depicting teenagers. We also measured real-world social-emotional functioning and a range of cognitive capacities. Qualitative analyses, followed by exploratory factor analysis, revealed that, when reacting to the stories, every participant invoked: (1) concrete meaning-making, involving context-dependent reactive, or contagious feelings and advice giving; and (2) abstract meaning-making, involving perspectives, values, reflections, and curiosities that transcend the story context. Quantified concrete and abstract meaning-making scores were normally distributed, uncorrelated and unrelated to SES. Even controlling for IQ and demographic variables, concrete meaning-making predicted youths’ reporting more satisfying relationships and desired daily affective experiences, while abstract meaning-making was associated with greater working memory, executive functioning, long-term memory, social reasoning, and creativity. Findings tie theoretical dimensions of adolescent development to modern youth’s concrete and abstract construals and demonstrate that these construals may be associated with different developmental affordances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca J.M. Gotlieb
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
- University of California, Los Angeles, USA
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18
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Pollok TM, Kaiser A, Kraaijenvanger EJ, Monninger M, Brandeis D, Banaschewski T, Eickhoff SB, Holz NE. Neurostructural Traces of Early Life Adversities: A Meta-Analysis Exploring Age- and Adversity-specific Effects. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 135:104589. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 02/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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19
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Assari S. Cingulo-opercular and Cingulo-parietal Brain Networks Functional Connectivity in Pre-adolescents: Multiplicative Effects of Race, Ethnicity, and Parental Education. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2021; 6:76-99. [PMID: 34734154 DOI: 10.22158/rhs.v6n2p76] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Introduction A growing body of research has shown a diminished association between socioeconomic status (SES) indicators and a wide range of neuroimaging indicators for racial and ethnic minorities compared to majority groups. However, less is known about these effects for resting-state functional connectivity between various brain networks. Purpose This study investigated racial and ethnic variation in the correlation between parental education and resting-state functional connectivity between the cingulo-opercular (CO) and cingulo-parietal (CP) networks in children. Methods This cross-sectional study used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study; we analyzed the resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rsfMRI) data of 8,464 American pre-adolescents between the ages of 9 and 10. The main outcome measured was resting-state functional connectivity between the CO and CP networks calculated using rsfMRI. The independent variable was parental education, which was treated as a nominal variable. Age, sex, and family marital status were the study covariates. Race and ethnicity were the moderators. Mixed-effects regression models were used for data analysis, with and without interaction terms between parental education and race and ethnicity. Results Higher parental education was associated with higher resting-state functional connectivity between the CO and CP networks. Race and ethnicity both showed statistically significant interactions with parental education on children's resting-state functional connectivity between CO and CP networks, suggesting that the correlation between parental education and the resting-state functional connectivity was significantly weaker for Black and Hispanic pre-adolescents compared to White and non-Hispanic pre-adolescents. Conclusions In line with the Minorities' Diminished Returns theory, the association between parental education and pre-adolescents resting-state functional connectivity between CO and CP networks may be weaker in Black and Hispanic children than in White and non-Hispanic children. The weaker link between parental education and brain functional connectivity for Blacks and Hispanics than for Whites and non-Hispanics may reflect racism, racialization, and social stratification that collectively minimize the returns of SES indicators, such as parental education for non-Whites, who become others in the US.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shervin Assari
- Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA.,Department of Urban Public Health, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA.,Marginalization-related Diminished Returns (MDRs) Research Center, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA
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20
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Hanson JL, Nacewicz BM. Amygdala Allostasis and Early Life Adversity: Considering Excitotoxicity and Inescapability in the Sequelae of Stress. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:624705. [PMID: 34140882 PMCID: PMC8203824 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.624705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA), such as child maltreatment or child poverty, engenders problems with emotional and behavioral regulation. In the quest to understand the neurobiological sequelae and mechanisms of risk, the amygdala has been of major focus. While the basic functions of this region make it a strong candidate for understanding the multiple mental health issues common after ELA, extant literature is marked by profound inconsistencies, with reports of larger, smaller, and no differences in regional volumes of this area. We believe integrative models of stress neurodevelopment, grounded in "allostatic load," will help resolve inconsistencies in the impact of ELA on the amygdala. In this review, we attempt to connect past research studies to new findings with animal models of cellular and neurotransmitter mediators of stress buffering to extreme fear generalization onto testable research and clinical concepts. Drawing on the greater impact of inescapability over unpredictability in animal models, we propose a mechanism by which ELA aggravates an exhaustive cycle of amygdala expansion and subsequent toxic-metabolic damage. We connect this neurobiological sequela to psychosocial mal/adaptation after ELA, bridging to behavioral studies of attachment, emotion processing, and social functioning. Lastly, we conclude this review by proposing a multitude of future directions in preclinical work and studies of humans that suffered ELA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie L. Hanson
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Brendon M. Nacewicz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
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21
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Cuartas J, Weissman DG, Sheridan MA, Lengua L, McLaughlin KA. Corporal Punishment and Elevated Neural Response to Threat in Children. Child Dev 2021; 92:821-832. [PMID: 33835477 PMCID: PMC8237681 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Spanking remains common around the world, despite evidence linking corporal punishment to detrimental child outcomes. This study tested whether children (Mage = 11.60) who were spanked (N = 40) exhibited altered neural function in response to stimuli that suggest the presence of an environmental threat compared to children who were not spanked (N = 107). Children who were spanked exhibited greater activation in multiple regions of the medial and lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), including dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, dorsomedial PFC, bilateral frontal pole, and left middle frontal gyrus in response to fearful relative to neutral faces compared to children who were not spanked. These findings suggest that spanking may alter neural responses to environmental threats in a manner similar to more severe forms of maltreatment.
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22
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Hong SJ, Sisk LM, Caballero C, Mekhanik A, Roy AK, Milham MP, Gee DG. Decomposing complex links between the childhood environment and brain structure in school-aged youth. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 48:100919. [PMID: 33556882 PMCID: PMC7868609 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Childhood experiences play a profound role in conferring risk and resilience for brain and behavioral development. However, how different facets of the environment shape neurodevelopment remains largely unknown. Here we sought to decompose heterogeneous relationships between environmental factors and brain structure in 989 school-aged children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. We applied a cross-modal integration and clustering approach called 'Similarity Network Fusion', which combined two brain morphometrics (i.e., cortical thickness and myelin-surrogate markers), and key environmental factors (i.e., trauma exposure, neighborhood safety, school environment, and family environment) to identify homogeneous subtypes. Depending on the subtyping resolution, results identified two or five subgroups, each characterized by distinct brain structure-environment profiles. Notably, more supportive caregiving and school environments were associated with greater myelination, whereas less supportive caregiving, higher family conflict and psychopathology, and higher perceived neighborhood safety were observed with greater cortical thickness. These subtypes were highly reproducible and predicted externalizing symptoms and overall mental health problems. Our findings support the theory that distinct environmental exposures are differentially associated with alterations in structural neurodevelopment. Delineating more precise associations between risk factors, protective factors, and brain development may inform approaches to enhance risk identification and optimize interventions targeting specific experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seok-Jun Hong
- Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, USA; Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea
| | - Lucinda M Sisk
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Anthony Mekhanik
- Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Amy K Roy
- Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Michael P Milham
- Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, USA; Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Dylan G Gee
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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23
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David-Ferdon C, Clayton HB, Dahlberg LL, Simon TR, Holland KM, Brener N, Matjasko JL, D’Inverno AS, Robin L, Gervin D. Vital Signs: Prevalence of Multiple Forms of Violence and Increased Health Risk Behaviors and Conditions Among Youths - United States, 2019. MMWR. MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY WEEKLY REPORT 2021; 70:167-173. [PMID: 33539331 PMCID: PMC7861486 DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7005a4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Experiencing violence, especially multiple types of violence, can have a negative impact on youths' development. These experiences increase the risk for future violence and other health problems associated with the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among adolescents and adults. METHODS Data from the 2019 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey were used to determine the prevalence of high school students' self-reported experiences with physical fighting, being threatened with a weapon, physical dating violence, sexual violence, and bullying. Logistic regression models adjusting for sex, grade, and race/ethnicity were used to test the strength of associations between experiencing multiple forms of violence and 16 self-reported health risk behaviors and conditions. RESULTS Approximately one half of students (44.3%) experienced at least one type of violence; more than one in seven (15.6%) experienced two or more types during the preceding 12 months. Experiencing multiple types of violence was significantly more prevalent among females than among males and among students identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual or not sure of their sexual identity than among heterosexual students. Experiencing violence was significantly associated with higher prevalence of all examined health risks and conditions. Relative to youths with no violence experiences, adjusted health risk and condition prevalence estimates were up to seven times higher among those experiencing two types of violence and up to 21 times higher among those experiencing three or more types of violence. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE Many youths experience multiple types of violence, with potentially lifelong health impacts. Violence is preventable using proven approaches that address individual, family, and environmental risks. Prioritizing violence prevention is strategic to promoting adolescent and adult health.
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24
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Dark HE, Harnett NG, Goodman AM, Wheelock MD, Mrug S, Schuster MA, Elliott MN, Emery ST, Knight DC. Violence exposure, affective style, and stress-induced changes in resting state functional connectivity. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 20:1261-1277. [PMID: 33000367 PMCID: PMC7718383 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00833-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Chronic childhood stress is linked to greater susceptibility to internalizing disorders in adulthood. Specifically, chronic stress leads to changes in brain connectivity patterns, and, in turn, affects psychological functioning. Violence exposure, a chronic stressor, increases stress reactivity and disrupts emotion regulation processes. However, it is unclear to what extent violence exposure affects the neural circuitry underlying emotion regulation. Individual differences in affective style also moderate the impact of stress on psychological function and can thus alter the relationship between violence exposure and brain function. Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) is an index of intrinsic brain activity. Stress-induced changes in rsFC between the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex (PFC) are associated with emotion dysregulation and may elucidate how affective style modulates the relationship between violence exposure and brain connectivity. Therefore, the present study examined the impact of violence exposure and affective style on stress-induced changes in rsFC. Participants (n = 233) completed two 6-minute resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans, one before (pre-stress) and one after (post-stress) a psychosocial stress task. The bilateral amygdala, hippocampus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) were used as seed regions for rsFC analyses. Significant stress-induced changes in the prefrontal, fronto-limbic, and parieto-limbic rsFC were observed. Further, pre-stress to post-stress differences in rsFC varied with violence exposure and affective style. These findings suggest that prefrontal, fronto-limbic, and parieto-limbic connectivity is associated with the emotional response to stress and provide new insight into the neural mechanisms through which affective style moderates the impact violence exposure has on the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather E Dark
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235H, 1720 2nd Ave S., Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Nathaniel G Harnett
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235H, 1720 2nd Ave S., Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Adam M Goodman
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235H, 1720 2nd Ave S., Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Muriah D Wheelock
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235H, 1720 2nd Ave S., Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Sylvie Mrug
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235H, 1720 2nd Ave S., Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Mark A Schuster
- Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - Susan Tortolero Emery
- School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - David C Knight
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235H, 1720 2nd Ave S., Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA.
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25
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Butler O, Herr K, Willmund G, Gallinat J, Kühn S, Zimmermann P. Trauma, treatment and Tetris: video gaming increases hippocampal volume in male patients with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2020; 45:279-287. [PMID: 32293830 PMCID: PMC7828932 DOI: 10.1503/jpn.190027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tetris has been proposed as a preventative intervention to reduce intrusive memories of a traumatic event. However, no neuroimaging study has assessed Tetris in patients with existing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or explored how playing Tetris may affect brain structure. METHODS We recruited patients with combat-related PTSD before psychotherapy and randomly assigned them to an experimental Tetris and therapy group (n = 20) or to a therapy-only control group (n = 20). In the control group, participants completed therapy as usual: eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) psychotherapy. In the Tetris group, in addition to EMDR, participants also played 60 minutes of Tetris every day from onset to completion of therapy, approximately 6 weeks later. Participants completed structural MRI and psychological questionnaires before and after therapy, and we collected psychological questionnaire data at follow-up, approximately 6 months later. We hypothesized that the Tetris group would show increases in hippocampal volume and reductions in symptoms, both directly after completion of therapy and at follow-up. RESULTS Following therapy, hippocampal volume increased in the Tetris group, but not the control group. As well, hippocampal increases were correlated with reductions in symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety between completion of therapy and follow-up in the Tetris group, but not the control group. LIMITATIONS Playing Tetris may act as a cognitive interference task and as a brain-training intervention, but it was not possible to distinguish between these 2 potential mechanisms. CONCLUSION Tetris may be useful as an adjunct therapeutic intervention for PTSD. Tetris-related increases in hippocampal volume may ensure that therapeutic gains are maintained after completion of therapy.
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26
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Ziegler G, Moutoussis M, Hauser TU, Fearon P, Bullmore ET, Goodyer IM, Fonagy P, Jones PB, Lindenberger U, Dolan RJ. Childhood socio-economic disadvantage predicts reduced myelin growth across adolescence and young adulthood. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:3392-3402. [PMID: 32432383 PMCID: PMC7375075 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Revised: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Socio-economic disadvantage increases exposure to life stressors. Animal research suggests early life stressors impact later neurodevelopment, including myelin developmental growth. To determine how early life disadvantage may affect myelin growth in adolescence and young adulthood, we analysed data from an accelerated longitudinal neuroimaging study measuring magnetisation transfer (MT), a myelin-sensitive marker, in 288 participants (149 female) between 14 and 25 years of age at baseline. We found that early life economic disadvantage before age 12, measured by a neighbourhood poverty index, was associated with slower myelin growth. This association was observed for magnetization transfer in cortical, subcortical and core white matter regions, and also in key subcortical nuclei. Participant IQ at baseline, alcohol use, body mass index, parental occupation and self-reported parenting quality did not account for these effects, but parental education did so partially. Specifically, positive parenting moderated the effect of socio-economic disadvantage in a protective manner. Thus, early socioeconomic disadvantage appears to alter myelin growth across adolescence. This finding has potential translational implications, including clarifying whether reducing socio-economic disadvantage during childhood, and increasing parental education and positive parenting, promote normal trajectories of brain development in economically disadvantaged contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Ziegler
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, UK.,Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.,Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK.,Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.,DZNE Magdeburg, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Michael Moutoussis
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, UK.,Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.,Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
| | - Tobias U Hauser
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, UK.,Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.,Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
| | - Pasco Fearon
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Edward T Bullmore
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Research and Development Department, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough National Health Service Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK.,Medical Research Council/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ian M Goodyer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Research and Development Department, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough National Health Service Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Peter Fonagy
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Peter B Jones
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Research and Development Department, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough National Health Service Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ulman Lindenberger
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, UK.,Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.,Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Raymond J Dolan
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, UK.,Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.,Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
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27
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McLaughlin KA, Weissman D, Bitrán D. Childhood Adversity and Neural Development: A Systematic Review. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 1:277-312. [PMID: 32455344 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-devpsych-121318-084950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 336] [Impact Index Per Article: 67.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
An extensive literature on childhood adversity and neurodevelopment has emerged over the past decade. We evaluate two conceptual models of adversity and neurodevelopment-the dimensional model of adversity and stress acceleration model-in a systematic review of 109 studies using MRI-based measures of neural structure and function in children and adolescents. Consistent with the dimensional model, children exposed to threat had reduced amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and hippocampal volume and heightened amygdala activation to threat in a majority of studies; these patterns were not observed consistently in children exposed to deprivation. In contrast, reduced volume and altered function in frontoparietal regions were observed consistently in children exposed to deprivation but not children exposed to threat. Evidence for accelerated development in amygdala-mPFC circuits was limited but emerged in other metrics of neurodevelopment. Progress in charting neurodevelopmental consequences of adversity requires larger samples, longitudinal designs, and more precise assessments of adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie A McLaughlin
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - David Weissman
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Debbie Bitrán
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA
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28
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Yaple ZA, Yu R. Functional and Structural Brain Correlates of Socioeconomic Status. Cereb Cortex 2019; 30:181-196. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2018] [Revised: 03/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Socioeconomic status (SES) is a multidimensional construct that includes not only measures of material wealth, but also education, social prestige, and neighborhood quality. Socioeconomic correlates between wealth and cognitive functions have been well established in behavioral studies. However, functional and structural brain correlates of SES remain unclear. Here, we sought to uncover the most likely neural regions to be affected by low SES, specifically associated with age. Using effect size–seed-based d Mapping, we compiled studies that examined individuals with low SES and performed functional magnetic resonance imaging and voxel-based morphometry meta-analyses. The results revealed that as from early to late age, individuals exposed to low SES are less likely to have sustained executive network activity yet a greater likelihood to enhanced activity within reward-related regions. A similar activity was shown for gray matter volume across early to older age. These findings provide the first quantitative integration of neuroimaging results pertaining to the neural basis of SES. Hypoactivation of the executive network and hyperactivation of the reward network in low SES individuals may support the scarcity hypothesis and animal models of the effects of early adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary A Yaple
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Rongjun Yu
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore
- NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
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29
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Jung YH, Shin NY, Jang JH, Lee WJ, Lee D, Choi Y, Choi SH, Kang DH. Relationships among stress, emotional intelligence, cognitive intelligence, and cytokines. Medicine (Baltimore) 2019; 98:e15345. [PMID: 31045776 PMCID: PMC6504531 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000015345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The brain has multiple functions, and its structures are very closely related to one another. Thus, the brain areas associated with stress, emotion, and intelligence are closely connected. The purpose of this study was to investigate the multiple associations between stress and emotional intelligence (EI), between EI and intelligence quotient (IQ), between cytokines and stress, and between cytokines and IQ. We measured the stress, EI, cognitive intelligence using IQ, and cytokine levels of 70 healthy subjects. We also analyzed the association of cytokines with IQ according to hemispheric dominance using the brain preference indicator (BPI). We found significant negative correlations between stress and the components of EI, such as emotional awareness and expression, emotional thinking, and emotional regulation. High levels of anger, which is a component of stress, were significantly related to poor emotional regulation. Additionally, emotional application was positively correlated with full-scale IQ scores and scores on the vocabulary, picture arrangement, and block design subtests of the IQ test. High IL-10 levels were significantly associated with low stress levels only in the right-brain-dominant group. High IL-10 and IFN-gamma levels have been associated with high scores of arithmetic intelligence. TNF-alpha and IL-6 were negatively associated with vocabulary scores and full-scale IQ, but IL-10 and IFN-gamma were positively associated with scores on the arithmetic subtest in left-brain-dominant subjects. On the other hand, IL-10 showed positive correlations with scores for vocabulary and for vocabulary and arithmetic in right-brain-dominant subjects. Furthermore, we found significant linear regression models which can show integrative associations and contribution on emotional and cognitive intelligence. Thus, we demonstrated that cytokines, stress, and emotional and cognitive intelligence are closely connected one another related to brain structure and functions. Also, the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-6 had negative effects, whereas the anti-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-10 and IFN-gamma) showed beneficial effects, on stress levels, and multiple dimensions of emotional and cognitive intelligence. Additionally, these relationships among cytokines, stress, and emotional and cognitive intelligence differed depending on right and left hemispheric dominance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ye-Ha Jung
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul
| | | | - Joon Hwan Jang
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul
- Department of Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine
| | - Won Joon Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital
| | - Dasom Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul
| | - Yoobin Choi
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul
| | - Soo-Hee Choi
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine and Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine, SNU-MRC
| | - Do-Hyung Kang
- Emotional Information and Communication Technology Association, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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30
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Butler O, Herr K, Willmund G, Gallinat J, Zimmermann P, Kühn S. Neural correlates of response bias: Larger hippocampal volume correlates with symptom aggravation in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2018; 279:1-7. [PMID: 30014966 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2018.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Revised: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is vulnerable to the simulation or exaggeration of symptoms as it depends on the individual's self-report of symptoms. The use of symptom validity tests is recommended to detect malingering in PTSD. However, in neuroimaging research, PTSD diagnosis is often taken at face validity. To date, no neuroimaging study has compared credible PTSD patients with those identified as malingering, and the potential impacts of including malingerers along with credible patients on results is unclear. We classified male patients with combat-related PTSD as either credible (n = 37) or malingerers (n = 9) based on the Morel Emotional Numbing Test and compared structural neuroimaging and psychological questionnaire data. Patients identified as malingerers had larger gray matter volumes in the hippocampus, right inferior frontal gyrus and thalamus, and reported higher PTSD symptoms than credible PTSD patients. This is the first structural neuroimaging study to compare credible PTSD patients and malingerers. We find evidence of structural differences between these groups, in regions implicated in PTSD, inhibition and deception. These results emphasize the need for the inclusion of SVTs in neuroimaging studies of PTSD to ensure future findings are not confounded by an unknown mix of valid PTSD patients and malingerers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oisin Butler
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Lentzeallee 94, Berlin 14195, Germany.
| | - Kerstin Herr
- Center for Military Mental Health, Military Hospital Berlin, Scharnhorststr. 13, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Gerd Willmund
- Center for Military Mental Health, Military Hospital Berlin, Scharnhorststr. 13, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Jürgen Gallinat
- University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Martinistrasse 52, Hamburg 20246, Germany
| | - Peter Zimmermann
- Center for Military Mental Health, Military Hospital Berlin, Scharnhorststr. 13, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Simone Kühn
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Lentzeallee 94, Berlin 14195, Germany; University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Martinistrasse 52, Hamburg 20246, Germany
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31
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Butler O, Yang XF, Laube C, Kühn S, Immordino-Yang MH. Community violence exposure correlates with smaller gray matter volume and lower IQ in urban adolescents. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:2088-2097. [PMID: 29450935 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2017] [Revised: 01/13/2018] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Adolescents' exposure to community violence is a significant public health issue in urban settings and has been associated with poorer cognitive performance and increased risk for psychiatric illnesses, including PTSD. However, no study to date has investigated the neural correlates of community violence exposure in adolescents. Sixty-five healthy adolescents (age = 14-18 years; 36 females, 29 males) from moderate- to high-crime neighborhoods in Los Angeles reported their violence exposure, parents' education level, and free/reduced school lunch status (socio-economic status, SES), and underwent structural neuroimaging and intelligence testing. Violence exposure negatively correlated with measures of SES, IQ, and gray matter volume. Above and beyond the effect of SES, violence exposure negatively correlated with IQ and with gray matter volume in the left inferior frontal gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex, regions involved in high-level cognitive functions and autonomic modulation, and previously shown to be reduced in PTSD and combat-exposed military populations. The current results provide first evidence that frontal brain regions involved in cognition and affect appear to be selectively affected by exposure to community violence, even in healthy nondelinquent adolescents who are not the direct victims or perpetrators of violence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oisin Butler
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Xiao-Fei Yang
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, 3620A McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, 3620 McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.,Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, 3470 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA
| | - Corinna Laube
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Simone Kühn
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, Berlin, 14195, Germany.,Clinic and Policlinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, Hamburg, 20246, Germany
| | - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, 3620A McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, 3620 McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.,Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, 3470 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA
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