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Ruge J, Ehlers MR, Kastrinogiannis A, Klingelhöfer-Jens M, Koppold A, Abend R, Lonsdorf TB. How adverse childhood experiences get under the skin: A systematic review, integration and methodological discussion on threat and reward learning mechanisms. eLife 2024; 13:e92700. [PMID: 39012794 PMCID: PMC11251725 DOI: 10.7554/elife.92700] [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: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a major risk factor for the development of multiple psychopathological conditions, but the mechanisms underlying this link are poorly understood. Associative learning encompasses key mechanisms through which individuals learn to link important environmental inputs to emotional and behavioral responses. ACEs may impact the normative maturation of associative learning processes, resulting in their enduring maladaptive expression manifesting in psychopathology. In this review, we lay out a systematic and methodological overview and integration of the available evidence of the proposed association between ACEs and threat and reward learning processes. We summarize results from a systematic literature search (following PRISMA guidelines) which yielded a total of 81 articles (threat: n=38, reward: n=43). Across the threat and reward learning fields, behaviorally, we observed a converging pattern of aberrant learning in individuals with a history of ACEs, independent of other sample characteristics, specific ACE types, and outcome measures. Specifically, blunted threat learning was reflected in reduced discrimination between threat and safety cues, primarily driven by diminished responding to conditioned threat cues. Furthermore, attenuated reward learning manifested in reduced accuracy and learning rate in tasks involving acquisition of reward contingencies. Importantly, this pattern emerged despite substantial heterogeneity in ACE assessment and operationalization across both fields. We conclude that blunted threat and reward learning may represent a mechanistic route by which ACEs may become physiologically and neurobiologically embedded and ultimately confer greater risk for psychopathology. In closing, we discuss potentially fruitful future directions for the research field, including methodological and ACE assessment considerations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Ruge
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Institute for Systems NeuroscienceHamburgGermany
| | | | - Alexandros Kastrinogiannis
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Institute for Systems NeuroscienceHamburgGermany
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
| | - Maren Klingelhöfer-Jens
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Institute for Systems NeuroscienceHamburgGermany
- University of BielefeldBielefeldGermany
| | - Alina Koppold
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Institute for Systems NeuroscienceHamburgGermany
| | | | - Tina B Lonsdorf
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Institute for Systems NeuroscienceHamburgGermany
- University of BielefeldBielefeldGermany
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2
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Beurel E, Nemeroff CB. Early Life Adversity, Microbiome, and Inflammatory Responses. Biomolecules 2024; 14:802. [PMID: 39062516 PMCID: PMC11275239 DOI: 10.3390/biom14070802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2024] [Revised: 06/28/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Early life adversity has a profound impact on physical and mental health. Because the central nervous and immune systems are not fully mature at birth and continue to mature during the postnatal period, a bidirectional interaction between the central nervous system and the immune system has been hypothesized, with traumatic stressors during childhood being pivotal in priming individuals for later adult psychopathology. Similarly, the microbiome, which regulates both neurodevelopment and immune function, also matures during childhood, rendering this interaction between the brain and the immune system even more complex. In this review, we provide evidence for the role of the immune response and the microbiome in the deleterious effects of early life adversity, both in humans and rodent models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eléonore Beurel
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA;
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Charles B. Nemeroff
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Mulva Clinic for Neurosciences, University of Texas (UT) Dell Medical School, Austin, TX 78712, USA
- Mulva Clinic for Neurosciences, UT Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX 78712, USA
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3
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Westerman HB, Suarez GL, Richmond-Rakerd LS, Nusslock R, Klump KL, Burt SA, Hyde LW. Exposure to community violence as a mechanism linking neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and neural responses to reward. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2024; 19:nsae029. [PMID: 38619118 PMCID: PMC11079326 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsae029] [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: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024] Open
Abstract
A growing literature links socioeconomic disadvantage and adversity to brain function, including disruptions in reward processing. Less research has examined exposure to community violence (ECV) as a specific adversity related to differences in reward-related brain activation, despite the prevalence of community violence exposure for those living in disadvantaged contexts. The current study tested whether ECV was associated with reward-related ventral striatum (VS) activation after accounting for familial factors associated with differences in reward-related activation (e.g. parenting and family income). Moreover, we tested whether ECV is a mechanism linking socioeconomic disadvantage to reward-related activation in the VS. We utilized data from 444 adolescent twins sampled from birth records and residing in neighborhoods with above-average levels of poverty. ECV was associated with greater reward-related VS activation, and the association remained after accounting for family-level markers of disadvantage. We identified an indirect pathway in which socioeconomic disadvantage predicted greater reward-related activation via greater ECV, over and above family-level adversity. These findings highlight the unique impact of community violence exposure on reward processing and provide a mechanism through which socioeconomic disadvantage may shape brain function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi B Westerman
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Gabriela L Suarez
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | | | - Robin Nusslock
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Kelly L Klump
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - S Alexandra Burt
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Luke W Hyde
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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4
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Nusslock R, Alloy LB, Brody GH, Miller GE. Annual Research Review: Neuroimmune network model of depression: a developmental perspective. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2024; 65:538-567. [PMID: 38426610 PMCID: PMC11090270 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Depression is a serious public health problem, and adolescence is an 'age of risk' for the onset of Major Depressive Disorder. Recently, we and others have proposed neuroimmune network models that highlight bidirectional communication between the brain and the immune system in both mental and physical health, including depression. These models draw on research indicating that the cellular actors (particularly monocytes) and signaling molecules (particularly cytokines) that orchestrate inflammation in the periphery can directly modulate the structure and function of the brain. In the brain, inflammatory activity heightens sensitivity to threats in the cortico-amygdala circuit, lowers sensitivity to rewards in the cortico-striatal circuit, and alters executive control and emotion regulation in the prefrontal cortex. When dysregulated, and particularly under conditions of chronic stress, inflammation can generate feelings of dysphoria, distress, and anhedonia. This is proposed to initiate unhealthy, self-medicating behaviors (e.g. substance use, poor diet) to manage the dysphoria, which further heighten inflammation. Over time, dysregulation in these brain circuits and the inflammatory response may compound each other to form a positive feedback loop, whereby dysregulation in one organ system exacerbates the other. We and others suggest that this neuroimmune dysregulation is a dynamic joint vulnerability for depression, particularly during adolescence. We have three goals for the present paper. First, we extend neuroimmune network models of mental and physical health to generate a developmental framework of risk for the onset of depression during adolescence. Second, we examine how a neuroimmune network perspective can help explain the high rates of comorbidity between depression and other psychiatric disorders across development, and multimorbidity between depression and stress-related medical illnesses. Finally, we consider how identifying neuroimmune pathways to depression can facilitate a 'next generation' of behavioral and biological interventions that target neuroimmune signaling to treat, and ideally prevent, depression in youth and adolescents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Nusslock
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston IL, USA
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston IL, USA
| | - Lauren B. Alloy
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. USA
| | - Gene H. Brody
- Center for Family Research, University of Georgia, Athens GA, USA
| | - Gregory E. Miller
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston IL, USA
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston IL, USA
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5
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Park SH, Michael AM, Baker AK, Lei C, Martucci KT. Enhanced motor network engagement during reward gain anticipation in fibromyalgia. Cortex 2024; 173:161-174. [PMID: 38417389 PMCID: PMC10963137 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.12.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2024]
Abstract
Reward motivation is essential in shaping human behavior and cognition. Both reward motivation and reward brain circuits are altered in chronic pain conditions, including fibromyalgia. In this study of fibromyalgia patients, we used a data-driven independent component analysis (ICA) approach to investigate how brain networks contribute to altered reward processing. From females with fibromyalgia (N = 24) and female healthy controls (N = 24), we acquired fMRI data while participants performed a monetary incentive delay (MID) reward task. After analyzing the task-based fMRI data using ICA to identify networks, we analyzed 3 networks of interest: motor network (left), value-driven attention network, and basal ganglia network. Then, we evaluated correlation coefficients between each network timecourse versus a task-based timecourse which modeled gain anticipation. Compared to controls, the fibromyalgia cohort demonstrated significantly stronger correlation between the left motor network timecourse and the gain anticipation timecourse, indicating the left motor network was more engaged with gain anticipation in fibromyalgia. In an exploratory analysis, we compared motor network engagement during early versus late phases of gain anticipation. Across cohorts, greater motor network engagement (i.e., stronger correlation between network and gain anticipation) occurred during the late timepoint, which reflected enhanced motor preparation immediately prior to response. Consistent with the main results, patients exhibited greater engagement of the motor network during both early and late phases compared with healthy controls. Visual-attention and basal ganglia networks revealed similar engagement in the task across groups. As indicated by post-hoc analyses, motor network engagement was positively related to anxiety and negatively related to reward responsiveness. In summary, we identified enhanced reward-task related engagement of the motor network in fibromyalgia using a novel data-driven ICA approach. Enhanced motor network engagement in fibromyalgia may relate to impaired reward motivation, heightened anxiety, and possibly to altered motor processing, such as restricted movement or dysregulated motor planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Su Hyoun Park
- Department of Anesthesiology, Human Affect and Pain Neuroscience Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA; Center for Translational Pain Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Andrew M Michael
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Anne K Baker
- Department of Anesthesiology, Human Affect and Pain Neuroscience Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA; Center for Translational Pain Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Carina Lei
- Department of Anesthesiology, Human Affect and Pain Neuroscience Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA; Center for Translational Pain Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Katherine T Martucci
- Department of Anesthesiology, Human Affect and Pain Neuroscience Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA; Center for Translational Pain Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
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6
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Tomoda A, Nishitani S, Takiguchi S, Fujisawa TX, Sugiyama T, Teicher MH. The neurobiological effects of childhood maltreatment on brain structure, function, and attachment. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2024:10.1007/s00406-024-01779-y. [PMID: 38466395 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-024-01779-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Childhood maltreatment is a risk factor for psychopathologies, and influences brain development at specific periods, particularly during early childhood and adolescence. This narrative review addresses phenotypic alterations in sensory systems associated with specific types of childhood maltreatment exposure, periods of vulnerability to the neurobiological effects of maltreatment, and the relationships between childhood maltreatment and brain structure, function, connectivity, and network architecture; psychopathology; and resilience. It also addresses neurobiological alterations associated with maternal communication and attachment disturbances, and uses laboratory-based measures during infancy and case-control studies to elucidate neurobiological alterations in reactive attachment disorders in children with maltreatment histories. Moreover, we review studies on the acute effects of oxytocin on reactive attachment disorder and maltreatment and methylation of oxytocin regulatory genes. Epigenetic changes may play a critical role in initiating or producing the atypical structural and functional brain alterations associated with childhood maltreatment. However, these changes could be reversed through psychological and pharmacological interventions, and by anticipating or preventing the emergence of brain alterations and subsequent psychopathological risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akemi Tomoda
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Yoshida-gun, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan.
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan.
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychological Medicine, University of Fukui Hospital, Fukui, Japan.
| | - Shota Nishitani
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Yoshida-gun, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Shinichiro Takiguchi
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychological Medicine, University of Fukui Hospital, Fukui, Japan
| | - Takashi X Fujisawa
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Yoshida-gun, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Toshiro Sugiyama
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Yoshida-gun, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychological Medicine, University of Fukui Hospital, Fukui, Japan
| | - Martin H Teicher
- Developmental Biopsychiatry Research Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
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7
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Yuan JP, Coury SM, Ho TC, Gotlib IH. Early life stress moderates the relation between systemic inflammation and neural activation to reward in adolescents both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:532-540. [PMID: 37673968 PMCID: PMC10789786 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01708-y] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
Elevated levels of systemic inflammation are associated with altered reward-related brain function in ventral striatal areas of the brain like the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). In adolescents, cross-sectional research indicates that exposure to early life stress (ELS) can moderate the relation between inflammation and neural activation, which may contribute to atypical reward function; however, no studies have tested whether this moderation by ELS of neuroimmune associations persists over time. Here, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis and the first exploratory longitudinal analysis testing whether cumulative severity of ELS moderates the association of systemic inflammation with reward-related processing in the NAcc in adolescents (n = 104; 58F/46M; M[SD] age = 16.00[1.45] years; range = 13.07-19.86 years). For the cross-sectional analysis, we modeled a statistical interaction between ELS and levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) predicting NAcc activation during the anticipation and outcome phases of a monetary reward task. We found that higher CRP was associated with blunted NAcc activation during the outcome of reward in youth who experienced higher levels of ELS (β = -0.31; p = 0.006). For the longitudinal analysis, we modeled an interaction between ELS and change in CRP predicting change in NAcc activation across 2 years. This analysis similarly showed that increasing CRP over time was associated with decreasing NAcc during reward outcomes in youth who experienced higher levels of ELS (β = -0.47; p = 0.022). Both findings support contemporary theoretical frameworks involving associations among inflammation, reward-related brain function, and ELS exposure, and suggest that experiencing ELS can have significant and enduring effects on neuroimmune function and adolescent neurodevelopment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin P Yuan
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Saché M Coury
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Tiffany C Ho
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ian H Gotlib
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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8
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Lee SH, Jung EM. Adverse effects of early-life stress: focus on the rodent neuroendocrine system. Neural Regen Res 2024; 19:336-341. [PMID: 37488887 PMCID: PMC10503627 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.377587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Early-life stress is associated with a high prevalence of mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, and anxiety or depressive behavior, which constitute major public health problems. In the early stages of brain development after birth, events such as synaptogenesis, neuron maturation, and glial differentiation occur in a highly orchestrated manner, and external stress can cause adverse long-term effects throughout life. Our body utilizes multifaceted mechanisms, including neuroendocrine and neurotransmitter signaling pathways, to appropriately process external stress. Newborn individuals first exposed to early-life stress deploy neurogenesis as a stress-defense mechanism; however, in adulthood, early-life stress induces apoptosis of mature neurons, activation of immune responses, and reduction of neurotrophic factors, leading to anxiety, depression, and cognitive and memory dysfunction. This process involves the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and neurotransmitters secreted by the central nervous system, including norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin. The rodent early-life stress model is generally used to experimentally assess the effects of stress during neurodevelopment. This paper reviews the use of the early-life stress model and stress response mechanisms of the body and discusses the experimental results regarding how early-life stress mediates stress-related pathways at a high vulnerability of psychiatric disorder in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seung Hyun Lee
- Department of Molecular Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Eui-Man Jung
- Department of Molecular Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
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9
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Zhou HY, Zhou L, Zheng TX, Ma LP, Fan MX, Liu L, Zhao XD, Yan C. Unraveling the link between childhood maltreatment and depression: Insights from the role of ventral striatum and middle cingulate cortex in hedonic experience and emotion regulation. Dev Psychopathol 2024:1-11. [PMID: 38179683 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579423001591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
Childhood maltreatment is an established risk factor for psychopathology. However, it remains unclear how childhood traumatic events relate to mental health problems and how the brain is involved. This study examined the serial mediation effect of brain morphological alterations and emotion-/reward-related functions on linking the relationship from maltreatment to depression. We recruited 156 healthy adolescents and young adults and an additional sample of 31 adolescents with major depressive disorder for assessment of childhood maltreatment, depressive symptoms, cognitive reappraisal and anticipatory/consummatory pleasure. Structural MRI data were acquired to identify maltreatment-related cortical and subcortical morphological differences. The mediation models suggested that emotional maltreatment of abuse and neglect, was respectively associated with increased gray matter volume in the ventral striatum and greater thickness in the middle cingulate cortex. These structural alterations were further related to reduced anticipatory pleasure and disrupted cognitive reappraisal, which contributed to more severe depressive symptoms among healthy individuals. The above mediating effects were not replicated in our clinical group partly due to the small sample size. Preventative interventions can target emotional and reward systems to foster resilience and reduce the likelihood of future psychiatric disorders among individuals with a history of maltreatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han-Yu Zhou
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Changning Mental Health Centre, Shanghai, China
| | - Lan Zhou
- Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | | | - Li-Ping Ma
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (MOE&STCSM), Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ming-Xia Fan
- Department of Physics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, School of Physics and Materials Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Liang Liu
- Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Chinese-German Institute of Mental Health, Shanghai Pu-dong New Area Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xu-Dong Zhao
- Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Chinese-German Institute of Mental Health, Shanghai Pu-dong New Area Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Chao Yan
- Shanghai Changning Mental Health Centre, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (MOE&STCSM), Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
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10
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Kim BH, Baek J, Kim O, Kim H, Ko M, Chu SH, Jung YC. North Korean defectors with PTSD and complex PTSD show alterations in default mode network resting-state functional connectivity. BJPsych Open 2024; 10:e25. [PMID: 38179593 PMCID: PMC10790227 DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2023.636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND North Korean defectors (NKDs) have often been exposed to traumatic events. However, there have been few studies of neural alterations in NKDs with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (cPTSD). AIMS To investigate neural alterations in NKDs with PTSD and cPTSD, with a specific focus on alterations in resting-state functional connectivity networks, including the default mode network (DMN). METHOD Resting-state functional connectivity was assessed using brain functional magnetic resonance imaging in three groups of NKDs: without PTSD, with PTSD and with cPTSD. Statistical tests were performed, including region of interest (ROI)-to-ROI and ROI-to-voxel analysis, followed by post hoc correlation analysis. RESULTS In the ROI-to-ROI analysis, differences in functional connectivity were found among the components of the DMN, as well as in the thalamus and the basal ganglia. Right hippocampus-left pallidum and right amygdala-left lingual gyrus connectivity differed between groups in the ROI-to-voxel analysis, as did connectivity involving the basal ganglia. The post hoc analysis revealed negative correlations between Coping and Adaptation Processing Scale (CAPS) score and left posterior cingulate cortex-right pallidum connectivity and between CAPS score and right putamen-left angular gyrus connectivity in the control group, which were not observed in other groups. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that there are alterations in the functional connectivity of the DMN and the limbic system in NKDs with PTSD and cPTSD, and that these alterations involve the basal ganglia. The lower correlations of CAPS score with right basal ganglia-DMN functional connectivity in patients compared with controls further implies that these connectivities are potential targets for treatment of PTSD and cPTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byung-Hoon Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; and Institute of Behavioral Sciences in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jiwon Baek
- Mo-Im Kim Nursing Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Nursing, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Ocksim Kim
- Department of Nursing, Yonsei University College of Nursing and Brain Korea 21 FOUR Project, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Hokon Kim
- Department of Nursing, Yonsei University College of Nursing, Seoul, South Korea; and Brain Korea 21 FOUR Project, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Minjeong Ko
- Department of Nursing, Yonsei University College of Nursing, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Sang Hui Chu
- Mo-Im Kim Nursing Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Nursing, Seoul, South Korea; and Department of Nursing, Yonsei University College of Nursing, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Young-Chul Jung
- Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; and Institute of Behavioral Sciences in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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11
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Harhen NC, Bornstein AM. Interval Timing as a Computational Pathway From Early Life Adversity to Affective Disorders. Top Cogn Sci 2024; 16:92-112. [PMID: 37824831 PMCID: PMC10842617 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12701] [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: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Adverse early life experiences can have remarkably enduring negative consequences on mental health, with numerous, varied psychiatric conditions sharing this developmental origin. Yet, the mechanisms linking adverse experiences to these conditions remain poorly understood. Here, we draw on a principled model of interval timing to propose that statistically optimal adaptation of temporal representations to an unpredictable early life environment can produce key characteristics of anhedonia, a transdiagnostic symptom associated with affective disorders like depression and anxiety. The core observation is that early temporal unpredictability produces broader, more imprecise temporal expectations. As a result, reward anticipation is diminished, and associative learning is slowed. When agents with such representations are later introduced to more stable environments, they demonstrate a negativity bias, responding more to the omission of reward than its receipt. Increased encoding of negative events has been proposed to contribute to disorders with anhedonia as a symptom. We then examined how unpredictability interacts with another form of adversity, low reward availability. We found that unpredictability's effect was most strongly felt in richer environments, potentially leading to categorically different phenotypic expressions. In sum, our formalization suggests a single mechanism can help to link early life adversity to a range of behaviors associated with anhedonia, and offers novel insights into the interactive impacts of multiple adversities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora C. Harhen
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine
| | - Aaron M. Bornstein
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine
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12
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Kasparek SW, Gastón-Panthaki A, Hanford LC, Lengua LJ, Sheridan MA, McLaughlin KA. Does reward processing moderate or mediate the link between childhood adversity and psychopathology: A longitudinal study. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:2338-2351. [PMID: 37554120 PMCID: PMC10853484 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579423000962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
Childhood adversity is common and associated with elevated risk for transdiagnostic psychopathology. Reward processing has been implicated in the link between adversity and psychopathology, but whether it serves as a mediator or moderator is unclear. This study examined whether alterations in behavioral and neural reward processing function as a mechanism or moderator of psychopathology outcomes following adversity experiences, including threat (i.e., trauma) and deprivation. A longitudinal community sample of 10-15-year-old youths was assessed across two waves (Wave 1: n = 228; Wave 2: n = 206). Wave 1 assessed adverse experiences, psychopathology symptoms, reward processing on a monetary incentive delay task, and resting-state fMRI. At Wave 2, psychopathology symptoms were reassessed. Greater threat experiences were associated with blunted behavioral reward sensitivity, which, in turn, predicted increases in depression symptoms over time and mediated the prospective association between threat and depression symptoms. In contrast, reward sensitivity moderated the association between deprivation experiences and prospective externalizing symptoms such that the positive association of deprivation with increasing externalizing symptoms was absent for children with high levels of reward sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Margaret A. Sheridan
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
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13
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Crum KI, Aloi J, Blair KS, Bashford-Largo J, Bajaj S, Zhang R, Hwang S, Schwartz A, Elowsky J, Filbey FM, Dobbertin M, Blair RJ. Latent profiles of substance use, early life stress, and attention/externalizing problems and their association with neural correlates of reinforcement learning in adolescents. Psychol Med 2023; 53:7358-7367. [PMID: 37144406 PMCID: PMC10625649 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723000971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adolescent substance use, externalizing and attention problems, and early life stress (ELS) commonly co-occur. These psychopathologies show overlapping neural dysfunction in the form of reduced recruitment of reward processing neuro-circuitries. However, it is unclear to what extent these psychopathologies show common v. different neural dysfunctions as a function of symptom profiles, as no studies have directly compared neural dysfunctions associated with each of these psychopathologies to each other. METHODS In study 1, a latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted in a sample of 266 adolescents (aged 13-18, 41.7% female, 58.3% male) from a residential youth care facility and the surrounding community to investigate substance use, externalizing and attention problems, and ELS psychopathologies and their co-presentation. In study 2, we examined a subsample of 174 participants who completed the Passive Avoidance learning task during functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine differential and/or common reward processing neuro-circuitry dysfunctions associated with symptom profiles based on these co-presentations. RESULTS In study 1, LPA identified profiles of substance use plus rule-breaking behaviors, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and ELS. In study 2, the substance use/rule-breaking profile was associated with reduced recruitment of reward processing and attentional neuro-circuitries during the Passive Avoidance task (p < 0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons). CONCLUSIONS Findings indicate that there is reduced responsivity of striato-cortical regions when receiving outcomes on an instrumental learning task within a profile of adolescents with substance use and rule-breaking behaviors. Mitigating reward processing dysfunction specifically may represent a potential intervention target for substance-use psychopathologies accompanied by rule-breaking behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen I Crum
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Division of Neuroimaging, Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Joseph Aloi
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Karina S Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Johannah Bashford-Largo
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Sahil Bajaj
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Ru Zhang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Soonjo Hwang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Amanda Schwartz
- Department of Psychology, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, USA
| | - Jaimie Elowsky
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Francesca M Filbey
- Center for BrainHealth, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Matthew Dobbertin
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - R James Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
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14
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Boyle CC, Bower JE, Eisenberger NI, Irwin MR. Stress to inflammation and anhedonia: Mechanistic insights from preclinical and clinical models. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105307. [PMID: 37419230 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105307] [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: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
Anhedonia, as evidenced by impaired pleasurable response to reward, reduced reward motivation, and/or deficits in reward-related learning, is a common feature of depression. Such deficits in reward processing are also an important clinical target as a risk factor for depression onset. Unfortunately, reward-related deficits remain difficult to treat. To address this gap and inform the development of effective prevention and treatment strategies, it is critical to understand the mechanisms that drive impairments in reward function. Stress-induced inflammation is a plausible mechanism of reward deficits. The purpose of this paper is to review evidence for two components of this psychobiological pathway: 1) the effects of stress on reward function; and 2) the effects of inflammation on reward function. Within these two areas, we draw upon preclinical and clinical models, distinguish between acute and chronic effects of stress and inflammation, and address specific domains of reward dysregulation. By addressing these contextual factors, the review reveals a nuanced literature which might be targeted for additional scientific inquiry to inform the development of precise interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe C Boyle
- Norman Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, USA.
| | - Julienne E Bower
- Norman Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, USA; Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Michael R Irwin
- Norman Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, USA
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15
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Antoniou G, Lambourg E, Steele JD, Colvin LA. The effect of adverse childhood experiences on chronic pain and major depression in adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Anaesth 2023; 130:729-746. [PMID: 37087334 PMCID: PMC10251130 DOI: 10.1016/j.bja.2023.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Revised: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adverse childhood experiences have been linked to increased multimorbidity, with physical and mental health consequences throughout life. Chronic pain is often associated with mood disorders, such as major depressive disorder (MDD); both have been linked to adverse childhood experiences. It is unclear how the effect of adverse childhood experiences on neural processing impacts on vulnerability to chronic pain, MDD, or both, and whether there are shared mechanisms. We aimed to assess evidence for central neural changes associated with adverse childhood experiences in subjects with chronic pain, MDD, or both using systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS Electronic databases were systematically searched for neuroimaging studies of adverse childhood experiences, with chronic pain, MDD, or both. Two independent reviewers screened title, abstracts, and full text, and assessed quality. After extraction of neuroimaging data, activation likelihood estimate meta-analysis was performed to identify significant brain regions associated with these comorbidities. RESULTS Forty-nine of 2414 studies were eligible, of which 43 investigated adverse childhood experiences and MDD and six investigated adverse childhood experiences and chronic pain. None investigated adverse childhood experiences, chronic pain, and MDD together. Functional and structural brain abnormalities were identified in the superior frontal, lingual gyrus, hippocampus, insula, putamen, superior temporal, inferior temporal gyrus, and anterior cerebellum in patients with MDD exposed to adverse childhood experiences. In addition, brain function abnormalities were identified for patients with MDD or chronic pain and exposure to adverse childhood experiences in the cingulate gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, and precuneus in task-based functional MRI studies. CONCLUSIONS We found that adverse childhood experiences exposure can result in different functional and structural brain alterations in adults with MDD or chronic pain compared with those without adverse childhood experiences. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW PROTOCOL PROSPERO CRD42021233989.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Antoniou
- Division of Population Health and Genomics, Medical Research Institute, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK.
| | - Emilie Lambourg
- Division of Population Health and Genomics, Medical Research Institute, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - J Douglas Steele
- Division of Imaging Science and Technology, Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Lesley A Colvin
- Division of Population Health and Genomics, Medical Research Institute, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
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16
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Norbury A, Seeley SH, Perez-Rodriguez MM, Feder A. Functional neuroimaging of resilience to trauma: convergent evidence and challenges for future research. Psychol Med 2023; 53:3293-3305. [PMID: 37264949 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723001162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Resilience is broadly defined as the ability to adapt successfully following stressful life events. Here, we review functional MRI studies that investigated key psychological factors that have been consistently linked to resilience to severe adversity and trauma exposure. These domains include emotion regulation (including cognitive reappraisal), reward responsivity, and cognitive control. Further, we briefly review functional imaging evidence related to emerging areas of study that may potentially facilitate resilience: namely social cognition, active coping, and successful fear extinction. Finally, we also touch upon ongoing issues in neuroimaging study design that will need to be addressed to enable us to harness insight from such studies to improve treatments for - or, ideally, guard against the development of - debilitating post-traumatic stress syndromes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnes Norbury
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Queen Square Institute of Neurology and Mental Health Neuroscience Department, Applied Computational Psychiatry Lab, Max Planck Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, UK
| | - Saren H Seeley
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Adriana Feder
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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17
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Ion A, Bîlc MI, Pițur S, Pop CF, Szentágotai-Tătar A, Miu AC. Childhood maltreatment and emotion regulation in everyday life: an experience sampling study. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7214. [PMID: 37138049 PMCID: PMC10156801 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34302-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Childhood maltreatment is a major risk factor for psychopathology, and increasing evidence suggests that emotion regulation is one of the underlying mechanisms. However, most of this evidence comes from single assessments of habitual emotion regulation, which may not overlap with spontaneous emotion regulation in daily life and which fail to account for within-individual variability in emotion regulation across multiple contexts. In the present study, we investigated the relation between history of childhood maltreatment, positive and negative affect, and multiple dimensions of spontaneous emotion regulation (strategy use, emotion regulation goals, emotion regulation success and effort) in everyday life, using experience sampling method (3 assessments/day, for 10 consecutive days), in a sample of healthy volunteers (N = 118). Multilevel modeling results indicated that childhood maltreatment was associated with lower positive affect and higher negative affect. Childhood maltreatment was also related to lower use of reappraisal and savoring (but not suppression, rumination and distraction), reduced emotion regulation success (but not effort), as well as lower levels of and higher within-individual variability of hedonic (but not instrumental) emotion regulation goals. These results provide ecological evidence for multiple differences in emotion regulation in individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrei Ion
- Assessment and Individual Differences - AID Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Mirela I Bîlc
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Babeș-Bolyai University, 37 Republicii, 400015, Cluj-Napoca, CJ, Romania
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Otto-Von-Guericke University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Simina Pițur
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Babeș-Bolyai University, 37 Republicii, 400015, Cluj-Napoca, CJ, Romania
| | - Claudia Felicia Pop
- Nursing Discipline, Department Mother and Child, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iuliu Haţieganu, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Aurora Szentágotai-Tătar
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
| | - Andrei C Miu
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Babeș-Bolyai University, 37 Republicii, 400015, Cluj-Napoca, CJ, Romania.
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Park SH, Michael AM, Baker AK, Lei C, Martucci KT. Altered Functional Networks during Gain Anticipation in Fibromyalgia. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.04.28.23289290. [PMID: 37163010 PMCID: PMC10168512 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.28.23289290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Reward motivation is essential in shaping human behavior and cognition. Previous studies have shown altered reward motivation and reward brain circuitry in chronic pain conditions, including fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, cognitive problems, and mood-related symptoms. In this study, we analyzed brain reward networks in patients with fibromyalgia by using a data-driven approach with task-based fMRI data. fMRI data from 24 patients with fibromyalgia and 24 healthy controls were acquired while subjects performed a monetary incentive delay (MID) reward task. Functional networks were derived using independent component analysis (ICA) focused on the gain anticipation phase of the reward task. Functional activity in the motor, value-driven attention, and basal ganglia networks was evaluated during gain anticipation in both patient and healthy control groups. Compared to controls, the motor network was more engaged during gain anticipation in patients with fibromyalgia. Our findings suggest that reward motivation may lead to hyperactivity in the motor network, possibly related to altered motor processing, such as restricted movement or dysregulated motor planning in fibromyalgia. As an exploratory analysis, we compared levels of motor network engagement during early and late timepoints of the gain anticipation phase. Both groups showed greater motor network engagement during the late timepoint (i.e., closer to response), which reflected motor preparation prior to target response. Importantly, compared to controls and consistent with the initial findings described above, patients exhibited greater engagement of the motor network during both early and late timepoints. In summary, by using a novel data-driven ICA approach to analyze task-based fMRI data, we identified elevated motor network engagement during gain anticipation in fibromyalgia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Su Hyoun Park
- Department of Anesthesiology, Human Affect and Pain Neuroscience Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
- Center for Translational Pain Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Anne K. Baker
- Department of Anesthesiology, Human Affect and Pain Neuroscience Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
- Center for Translational Pain Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Carina Lei
- Department of Anesthesiology, Human Affect and Pain Neuroscience Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
- Center for Translational Pain Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Katherine T. Martucci
- Department of Anesthesiology, Human Affect and Pain Neuroscience Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
- Center for Translational Pain Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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19
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Scott JG, Malacova E, Mathews B, Haslam DM, Pacella R, Higgins DJ, Meinck F, Dunne MP, Finkelhor D, Erskine HE, Lawrence DM, Thomas HJ. The association between child maltreatment and mental disorders in the Australian Child Maltreatment Study. Med J Aust 2023; 218 Suppl 6:S26-S33. [PMID: 37004186 PMCID: PMC10952950 DOI: 10.5694/mja2.51870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To examine the associations between experiences of child maltreatment and mental disorders in the Australian population. DESIGN Population-representative survey conducted by computer-assisted telephone interviewing. SETTING, PARTICIPANTS Australian residents aged 16 years and older. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Mental disorder diagnoses of lifetime major depressive disorder, current alcohol use disorder (mild, moderate and severe), current generalised anxiety disorder and current post-traumatic stress disorder. RESULTS More than one in three Australians (3606/8503 surveyed participants; 38.0%; 95% CI, 36.7-39.3%) met the diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder. The prevalence of mental disorders in non-maltreated participants was 21.6% (95% CI, 19.9-23.3%; n = 851). This increased to 36.2% (95% CI, 33.5-38.9%; n = 764) for those who experienced a single type of maltreatment and 54.8% (95% CI, 52.6-56.9%; n = 1991) for participants who experienced multi-type maltreatment. Compared with non-maltreated Australians, maltreated participants had about three times the odds of any mental disorder (odds ratio [OR], 2.82; 95% CI, 2.47-3.22), generalised anxiety disorder (OR, 3.14; 95% CI, 2.48-3.97), major depressive disorder (OR, 3.19; 95% CI, 2.68-3.80) and severe alcohol use disorder (OR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.83-3.76), and almost five times the odds of post-traumatic stress disorder (OR, 4.60; 95% CI, 3.00-7.07). Associations between experiences of child maltreatment and mental disorders were strongest for sexual abuse, emotional abuse and multi-type maltreatment. The strength of the associations did not differ by gender. Adjustment for childhood and current financial hardship and for current socio-economic status did not significantly attenuate the associations. CONCLUSIONS Mental disorders are significantly more likely to occur in individuals who experience child maltreatment, particularly multi-type maltreatment. Prevention of child maltreatment provides an opportunity to substantially reduce the prevalence of mental illness and improve the health of the Australian population.
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Affiliation(s)
- James G Scott
- Child Health Research Centre, the University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLD
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLD
| | - Eva Malacova
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLD
| | - Ben Mathews
- Queensland University of TechnologyBrisbaneQLD
- Bloomberg School of Public HealthJohns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreMDUnited States of America
| | - Divna M Haslam
- Queensland University of TechnologyBrisbaneQLD
- The University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLD
| | - Rosana Pacella
- Institute for Lifecourse DevelopmentUniversity of GreenwichLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Daryl J Higgins
- Institute of Child Protection StudiesAustralian Catholic UniversityMelbourneVIC
| | - Franziska Meinck
- University of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
- University of the Witwatersrand JohannesburgJohannesburgSouth Africa
| | - Michael P Dunne
- Queensland University of TechnologyBrisbaneQLD
- Institute for Community Health ResearchHue UniversityHue CityVietnam
| | - David Finkelhor
- Crimes against Children Research CenterUniversity of New HampshireDurhamNHUnited States of America
| | - Holly E Erskine
- The University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLD
- Queensland Centre for Mental Health ResearchBrisbaneQLD
| | | | - Hannah J Thomas
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstituteBrisbaneQLD
- Queensland Centre for Mental Health ResearchBrisbaneQLD
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20
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Goemans A, Viding E, McCrory E. Child Maltreatment, Peer Victimization, and Mental Health: Neurocognitive Perspectives on the Cycle of Victimization. TRAUMA, VIOLENCE & ABUSE 2023; 24:530-548. [PMID: 34355601 PMCID: PMC10009486 DOI: 10.1177/15248380211036393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Children who experience maltreatment are at increased risk of revictimization across the life span. In childhood, this risk often manifests as peer victimization. Understanding the nature of this risk, and its impact on mental health, is critical if we are to provide effective support for those children who are most vulnerable. A systematic scoping review was conducted using Google Scholar and PsycINFO. Studies on adults, psychiatric, and/or inpatient populations were excluded. Included studies concerned all forms of child maltreatment and peer victimization. We found 28 studies about the association between maltreatment experience and peer victimization as well as peer rejection. We review the evidence documenting the relation between these adverse childhood experiences and mental health. The evidence suggests that maltreatment and peer victimization have additive effects on mental health outcomes. A number of theoretical developmental frameworks that delineate putative mechanisms that might account for an association are considered. Building on prior research, we then discuss the role of recent neurocognitive findings in providing a multilevel framework for conceptualizing mental health vulnerability following maltreatment. In addition, we consider how altered neurocognitive functioning following maltreatment may shed light on why affected children are more likely to be victimized by their peers. Specifically, we consider the threat, reward, and autobiographical memory systems and their role in relation to stress generation, stress susceptibility, and social thinning. Such a mechanistic understanding is necessary if we are to reduce the likelihood of peer victimization in children exposed to maltreatment, and move to a preventative model of mental health care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anouk Goemans
- Leiden University, the Netherlands
- University College London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Eamon McCrory
- University College London, United Kingdom
- Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, United
Kingdom
- Eamon McCrory, Division of Psychology and
Language Science, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, United
Kingdom.
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21
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Werchan DM, Ku S, Berry D, Blair C. Sensitive caregiving and reward responsivity: A novel mechanism linking parenting and executive functions development in early childhood. Dev Sci 2023; 26:e13293. [PMID: 35665988 PMCID: PMC9719571 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Sensitive caregiving is an essential aspect of positive parenting that influences executive functions development, but the mechanisms underlying this association are less clear. Using data from the Family Life Project, a large prospective longitudinal sample of 1292 families residing in rural, predominately low-income communities, the current study examined whether sensitive caregiving impacts executive functions development by shaping behavioral reward processing systems in early postnatal life. Results indicated that higher levels of sensitive caregiving during infancy were associated with heightened reward responsivity at age 4, which in turn predicted superior executive functions ability at age 5. Notably, children's reward responsivity partially mediated the relationship between sensitive caregiving in infancy and executive functions ability at school entry. These findings add to prior work on early experience and children's executive functions and highlight caregiver scaffolding of developing reward processing systems as a potential foundational mechanism for supporting adaptive behavior and self-regulation across the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise M Werchan
- Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York City, New York, USA
| | - Seulki Ku
- Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York City, New York, USA
| | - Daniel Berry
- Institute of Child Development, The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Clancy Blair
- Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York City, New York, USA
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22
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Seitz KI, Ueltzhöffer K, Rademacher L, Paulus FM, Schmitz M, Herpertz SC, Bertsch K. Your smile won't affect me: Association between childhood maternal antipathy and adult neural reward function in a transdiagnostic sample. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:70. [PMID: 36828811 PMCID: PMC9958053 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02364-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Aberrant activation in the ventral striatum (VS) during reward anticipation may be a key mechanism linking adverse childhood experiences (ACE) to transdiagnostic psychopathology. This study aimed to elucidate whether retrospectively reported ACE, specifically maternal antipathy, relate to monetary and social reward anticipation in a transdiagnostic adult sample. A cross-sectional neuroimaging study was conducted in 118 participants with varying levels of ACE, including 25 participants with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 32 with major depressive disorder (MDD), 29 with somatic symptom disorder (SSD), and 32 healthy volunteers (HVs). Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during a monetary and social incentive delay task, and completed a self-report measure of ACE, including maternal antipathy. Neural correlates of monetary and social reward anticipation and their association with ACE, particularly maternal antipathy, were analyzed. Participants showed elevated activation in brain regions underlying reward processing, including the VS, only while anticipating social, but not monetary rewards. Participants reporting higher levels of maternal antipathy exhibited reduced activation in the brain reward network, including the VS, only during social, but not monetary reward anticipation. Group affiliation moderated the association between maternal antipathy and VS activation to social reward anticipation, with significant associations found in participants with PTSD and HVs, but not in those with MDD and SSD. Results were not associated with general psychopathology or psychotropic medication use. Childhood maternal antipathy may confer risk for aberrant social reward anticipation in adulthood, and may thus be considered in interventions targeting reward expectations from social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja I. Seitz
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Kai Ueltzhöffer
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Lena Rademacher
- grid.4562.50000 0001 0057 2672Social Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany ,grid.4562.50000 0001 0057 2672Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM), University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Frieder M. Paulus
- grid.4562.50000 0001 0057 2672Social Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany ,grid.4562.50000 0001 0057 2672Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM), University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Marius Schmitz
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.5252.00000 0004 1936 973XDepartment of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Sabine C. Herpertz
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katja Bertsch
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.5252.00000 0004 1936 973XDepartment of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
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Suor JH, Granros M, Calentino AE, Luan Phan K, Burkhouse KL. The interplay of childhood maltreatment and maternal depression in relation to the reward positivity in youth. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:168-178. [PMID: 36914290 PMCID: PMC10014903 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421000857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Guided by developmental psychopathology and dual-risk frameworks, the present study examined the interplay between childhood maltreatment and maternal major depression history in relation to neural reward responsiveness in youth. The sample consisted of 96 youth (ages 9-16; M = 12.29 years, SD = 2.20; 68.8% female) drawn from a large metropolitan city. Youth were recruited based on whether their mothers had a history of major depressive disorder (MDD) and were categorized into two groups: youth with mothers with a history of MDD (high risk; HR; n = 56) and youth with mothers with no history of psychiatric disorders (low risk; LR; n = 40). The reward positivity (RewP), an event-related potential component, was utilized to measure reward responsiveness and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire measured childhood maltreatment. We found a significant two-way interaction between childhood maltreatment and risk group in relation to RewP. Simple slope analysis revealed that in the HR group, greater childhood maltreatment was significantly associated with reduced RewP. The relationship between childhood maltreatment and RewP was not significant among the LR youth. The present findings demonstrate that the association between childhood maltreatment and blunted reward responsiveness is dependent on whether offspring have mothers with histories of MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer H Suor
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Maria Granros
- Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Alison E Calentino
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Psychology, The Stony Brook University, Stony Book, NY, USA
| | - K Luan Phan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Katie L Burkhouse
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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24
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Korgaonkar MS, Breukelaar IA, Felmingham K, Williams LM, Bryant RA. Association of Neural Connectome With Early Experiences of Abuse in Adults. JAMA Netw Open 2023; 6:e2253082. [PMID: 36701155 PMCID: PMC9880798 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.53082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE More than 10% of children experience sexual, physical, or emotional abuse, and abuse experienced during sensitive neurodevelopmental periods is associated with a greater risk of psychiatric disorders. OBJECTIVE To investigate the extent to which a history of abuse is associated with alterations in the intrinsic functional connectome of the adult brain independent from the restriction of associated psychiatric conditions. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cohort study assessed data from 768 adult participants from the greater Sydney, Australia, area who were included in the study without diagnostic restrictions and categorized based on a history of childhood sexual, physical, and/or emotional abuse. Data were collected from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2015; data analysis was performed from October 1, 2020, to March 31, 2022. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Outcomes were structured psychiatric interview responses, self-report of the frequency and extent of various types of negative experiences in childhood and adolescence, and intrinsic functional connectivity derived from 5 functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks and estimated among 436 brain regions, comprising intranetwork and internetwork connectivity of 8 large-scale brain networks. RESULTS Among the 647 individuals with usable data (330 female [51.0%]; mean [SD] age, 33.3 [12.0] years; age range, 18.2-69.2 years), history of abuse was associated with greater likelihood of a current psychiatric illness (odds ratio, 4.55; 95% CI, 3.07-6.72; P < .001) and with greater depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms (mean difference, 20.4; 95% CI, 16.1-24.7; P < .001). An altered connectome signature of higher connectivity within somatomotor, dorsal, and ventral attention networks and between these networks and executive control and default mode networks was observed in individuals with a history of abuse experienced during childhood (n = 127) vs those without a history of abuse (n = 442; mean difference, 0.07; 95% CI, 0.05-0.08; familywise, Bonferroni-corrected P = .01; Cohen d = 0.82) and compared with those who experienced abuse in adolescence (n = 78; mean difference, 0.06; 95% CI, 0.04-0.08]; familywise, Bonferroni-corrected P < .001; Cohen d = 0.68). Connectome alterations were not observed for those who experienced abuse in adolescence. Connectivity of this signature was transdiagnostic and independent of the nature and frequency of abuse, sex, or current symptomatic state. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Findings highlight the associations of exposure to abuse before and during adolescence with the whole-brain functional connectome. The experience of child abuse was found to be associated with physiologic changes in intrinsic connectivity, independent of psychopathology, in a way that may affect functioning of systems responsible for perceptual processing and attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayuresh S. Korgaonkar
- Brain Dynamics Centre, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- Discipline of Psychiatry, Sydney Medical School, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Isabella A. Breukelaar
- Brain Dynamics Centre, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Kim Felmingham
- Discipline of Psychological Science, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Leanne M. Williams
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California
- Sierra-Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California
| | - Richard A. Bryant
- Brain Dynamics Centre, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
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25
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Scheuplein M, Vermeulen S, van Harmelen AL, Alink L. Child maltreatment and victimization. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2023; 197:147-160. [PMID: 37633707 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-821375-9.00001-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/28/2023]
Abstract
It is estimated that up to 25% of all children growing up worldwide experience child maltreatment, making it a global emergency with substantial individual and public health consequences. This chapter addresses one of the most societally pervasive consequences of child maltreatment which is known as the "cycle of victimization." This concept depicts the increased risk of maltreated individuals to victimize others later in life, both within and outside the family environment. To understand the architecture of this victimization cycle, the chapter further sheds light on neurocognitive mechanisms aiding different forms of victimization and the buffering role of social support that could help break the cycle of victimization. Advancing our understanding of these complex and interrelated mechanisms will ultimately facilitate the design and implementation of more targeted early treatments and (preventive) interventions and support a move toward a safer society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian Scheuplein
- Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Samantha Vermeulen
- Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Lenneke Alink
- Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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26
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Herzberg MP, Hennefield L, Luking KR, Sanders AFP, Vogel AC, Kandala S, Tillman R, Luby J, Barch DM. Family income buffers the relationship between childhood adverse experiences and putamen volume. Dev Neurobiol 2023; 83:28-39. [PMID: 36314461 PMCID: PMC10038819 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22906] [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: 11/05/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Adverse experiences and family income in childhood have been associated with altered brain development. While there is a large body of research examining these associations, it has primarily used cross-sectional data sources and studied adverse experiences and family income in isolation. However, it is possible that low family income and adverse experiences represent dissociable and potentially interacting profiles of risk. To address this gap in the literature, we examined brain structure as a function of adverse experiences in childhood and family income in 158 youths with up to five waves of MRI data. Specifically, we assessed the interactive effect of these two risk factors on six regions of interest: hippocampus, putamen, amygdala, nucleus accumbens, caudate, and thalamus. Adverse experiences and family income interacted to predict putamen volume (B = 0.086, p = 0.011) but only in participants with family income one standard deviation below the mean (slope estimate = -0.11, p = 0.03). These results suggest that adverse experiences in childhood result in distinct patterns of brain development across the socioeconomic gradient. Given previous findings implicating the role of the putamen in psychopathology-related behaviors, these results emphasize the importance of considering life events and socioeconomic context when evaluating markers of risk. Future research should include interactive effects of environmental exposures and family income to better characterize risk for psychopathology in diverse samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max P. Herzberg
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St.
Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Laura Hennefield
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St.
Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Katherine R. Luking
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences,
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Ashley F. P. Sanders
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St.
Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Alecia C. Vogel
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St.
Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Sridhar Kandala
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St.
Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Rebecca Tillman
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St.
Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Joan Luby
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St.
Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Deanna M. Barch
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St.
Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences,
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St.
Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
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27
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Catley P, Claydon L. Why neuroscience changes some things but not everything for the law. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2023; 197:251-264. [PMID: 37633714 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-821375-9.00016-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/28/2023]
Abstract
Neuroenthusiasts and neuroskeptics both exaggerate the strength of their positions. Neuroscience is already having a significant impact in the courts in many jurisdictions and as knowledge from the cognitive sciences expands, that knowledge, wherever relevant, should continue to inform legal systems. However, neuroscience will only ever be one influence among many. In certain areas, for example, our understanding of fear responses or the reliability of memory evidence, the cognitive sciences may help challenge errors of folk psychology and assist the law to adopt better approaches. In other areas such as juvenile responsibility, developmental neuroscience may prove decisive in reinforcing messages from educational psychology and the behavioral sciences both in persuading legislators and judges but also importantly in altering public attitudes. Drawing on examples from a range of countries including Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, the Netherlands, Scotland, Slovenia, and the United States, we argue that legal systems must be open to and learn from science and must not be afraid to engage with science even where there is no clear scientific consensus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Catley
- The Open University Law School, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom. //
| | - Lisa Claydon
- The Open University Law School, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
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28
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Bounoua N, Sadeh N. Dimensions of childhood maltreatment and adult risky behaviors: Differential affective and inhibitory control mechanisms. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2022; 134:105877. [PMID: 36152530 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND While childhood maltreatment has been identified as a robust risk factor for a myriad of poor outcomes, significant gaps in our understanding still remain regarding mechanisms of this risk transmission across the lifespan. OBJECTIVE Informed by recent dimensional models, the objective of this study was to examine how unique dimensions of childhood maltreatment relate to adult risky behaviors via interactions between cognitive control and affective processes across Positive and Negative Valence Systems. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING Our sample consisted of 110 community adults (M/SDage = 31.92/10.58 years old, 52.7 % male). METHODS Participants completed a neuropsychological test of inhibitory control and self-report measures of childhood maltreatment, recent adult risky behaviors, and indices of affective processing. RESULTS Moderated-mediation analyses revealed that childhood experiences of neglect and abuse exhibited distinct mechanisms of risk transmission related to adult risky behaviors. Specifically, disruptions in inhibitory control and reward-related processes were linked to adult risky behavior in the context of Childhood Deprivation (95%CI = -0.166/-0.002), whereas negative affective processes were associated with adult risky behavior in the context of Childhood Threat (95 % CI = 0.015/0.157). CONCLUSIONS Findings provide empirical support for novel dimensional theories of childhood maltreatment and suggest that distinct regulatory processes are impacted by these early life experiences, which may confer risk into adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia Bounoua
- University of Delaware, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, United States of America.
| | - Naomi Sadeh
- University of Delaware, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, United States of America
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29
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Pechtel P, Belleau EL, Kaiser RH, Whitton AE, Beltzer M, Clegg R, Goer F, Vitaliano G, Teicher MH, Pizzagalli DA. Stress and reward: A multimodal assessment of childhood sexual abuse. Neurobiol Stress 2022; 21:100498. [PMID: 36532372 PMCID: PMC9755059 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2022] [Revised: 08/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Childhood adversity has been found to impact stress and brain reward systems but it is unclear whether interactions between these systems might explain resilient vs. non-resilient trajectories following childhood sexual abuse (CSA). To address this gap, we adopted a multimodal approach in which cortisol reactivity to an acute stressor was assessed in conjunction with behavioral and neural measures of reward responsiveness in females with major depressive disorder (MDD) or no psychiatric disorders (i.e., resilient) who experienced CSA compared to females with and without MDD who did not experience abuse. Methods Latent Class Mixed Modelling (LCMM) identified classes of adults (n = 62; MAge = 26.48, SD = 5.68) characterized by distinct cortisol trajectories in response to a combined social evaluative cold pressor task. Classes were examined for their history of CSA and resilience as well as behavioral and neural measures of reward responsiveness using 128-channel electroencephalography (event-related potentials and source localization analysis). Results LCMM analysis identified two distinct classes of individuals with increased (Responders) or blunted (Non-Responders) cortisol reactivity to an acute stressor. Unlike Responders, Non-Responders did not modulate reward responses throughout the stress manipulation. No differences emerged between Responders and Non-Responders in terms of CSA or resilience. However, exploratory results showed that blunted cortisol response and non-modulation of reward responses emerged for those who experienced CSA at a younger age. Conclusions Co-occurring blunted stress and reward reactivity emerged irrespective of adults' experience of CSA or resilience. However, preliminary findings showed that CSA ending during peripubertal development was associated with blunted cortisol and reward responsiveness. Future research needs to replicate findings in larger samples and could investigate if increasing reward responsiveness during critical times of neurodevelopment could normalize stress reactivity to future stressors and thus promote resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pia Pechtel
- University of Exeter, Department of Psychology, Exeter, UK
| | - Emily L. Belleau
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
| | - Roselinde H. Kaiser
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, USA
| | - Alexis E. Whitton
- Black Dog Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Miranda Beltzer
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, USA
| | - Rachel Clegg
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, USA
| | - Franziska Goer
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, USA
| | - Gordana Vitaliano
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
- Black Dog Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | | | - Diego A. Pizzagalli
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
- McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, USA
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30
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Duque-Quintero M, Hooijmans CR, Hurowitz A, Ahmed A, Barris B, Homberg JR, Hen R, Harris AZ, Balsam P, Atsak P. Enduring effects of early-life adversity on reward processes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 142:104849. [PMID: 36116576 PMCID: PMC10729999 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Two-thirds of individuals experience adversity during childhood such as neglect, abuse or highly-stressful events. Early-life adversity (ELA) increases the life-long risk of developing mood and substance use disorders. Reward-related deficits has emerged as a key endophenotype of such psychiatric disorders. Animal models are invaluable for studying how ELA leads to reward deficits. However, the existing literature is heterogenous with difficult to reconcile findings. To create an overview, we conducted a systematic review containing multiple meta-analyses regarding the effects of ELA on reward processes overall and on specific aspects of reward processing in animal models. A comprehensive search identified 120 studies. Most studies omitted key details resulting in unclear risk of bias. Overall meta-analysis showed that ELA significantly reduced reward behaviors (SMD: -0.42 [-0.60; -0.24]). The magnitude of ELA effects significantly increased with longer exposure. When reward domains were analyzed separately, ELA only significantly dampened reward responsiveness (SMD: -0.525[-0.786; -0.264]) and social reward processing (SMD: -0.374 [-0.663; -0.084]), suggesting that ELA might lead to deficits in specific reward domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Duque-Quintero
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Carlijn R Hooijmans
- Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE), Department for Health Evidence, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Palliative Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Alexander Hurowitz
- Integrative Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York 10032, USA
| | - Afsana Ahmed
- Integrative Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York 10032, USA
| | - Ben Barris
- Integrative Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York 10032, USA
| | - Judith R Homberg
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Rene Hen
- Integrative Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York 10032, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Alexander Z Harris
- Integrative Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York 10032, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Peter Balsam
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Piray Atsak
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Integrative Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York 10032, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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31
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Bing-Canar H, Berenz EC. Trauma Cue-Elicited Alcohol Craving as a Function of Adult Versus Childhood-Onset Interpersonal Traumatic Events in Young Adult Drinkers. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 2022; 83:901-911. [PMID: 36484588 PMCID: PMC9756402 DOI: 10.15288/jsad.21-00350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Childhood trauma may influence risk for alcohol use disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder through negative and positive reinforcement drinking. Laboratory studies evaluating childhood trauma in relation to these phenotypes are limited. METHOD This study examined the influence of childhood index traumas on responses to trauma and alcohol cues among 184 college students (50.0% female) endorsing lifetime interpersonal trauma and current weekly alcohol use. Participants' subjective alcohol craving and distress were measured in response to four narrative (trauma vs. neutral) and beverage (alcohol vs. water) cue combinations. RESULTS Forward-fitted linear mixed-effects models indicated main effects of childhood index traumas on distress (β= 6.151, p = .001) and craving (β = 0.656, p = .023), wherein individuals with childhood index traumas showed evidence of elevated levels of distress and craving. Childhood index trauma interacted with the narrative cue to predict distress (β = -10.764, p = .002), wherein individuals with childhood index traumas showed greater levels of distress to the neutral cue, and individuals with adult index traumas showed greater levels of distress to the trauma cue. Childhood index trauma interacted with the beverage cue to predict craving (β = -0.599, p = .011), wherein childhood index traumas were associated with greater levels of craving to neutral cues. Childhood index trauma did not significantly interact with the beverage cue to predict distress or the narrative cue to predict craving (ps > .05). CONCLUSIONS Childhood trauma may be more relevant to positive rather than negative reinforcement aspects of alcohol use disorder during young adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanaan Bing-Canar
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Erin C. Berenz
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
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32
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Hu W, Zhao X, Liu Y, Ren Y, Wei Z, Tang Z, Tian Y, Sun Y, Yang J. Reward sensitivity modulates the brain reward pathway in stress resilience via the inherent neuroendocrine system. Neurobiol Stress 2022; 20:100485. [PMID: 36132434 PMCID: PMC9483565 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
In the previous 10 years, researchers have suggested a critical role for the brain reward system in stress resilience. However, no study has provided an empirical link between activity in the mesostriatal reward regions during stress and the recovery of cortisol stress response. Moreover, although reward sensitivity as a trait has been demonstrated to promote stress resilience, it remains unclear whether it modulates the brain reward system in stress resilience and how this effect is achieved by the inherent neuroendocrine system. To investigate these uncertainties, 70 young adults were recruited to participate in a ScanSTRESS task, and their brain imaging data and saliva samples (for cortisol assay) were collected during the task. In addition, we assessed reward sensitivity, cortisol awakening response, and intrinsic functional connectivity of the brain in all the participants. We found that left putamen activation during stress exposure positively predicted cortisol recovery. In addition, reward sensitivity was positively linked with activation of the left putamen, and this relationship was serially mediated by the cortisol awakening response and right hippocampus-left inferior frontal gyrus intrinsic connectivity. These findings suggest that reward sensitivity modulates reward pathways in stress resilience through the interplay of the diurnal stress response system and network of the hippocampus-prefrontal circuitry. Summarily, the current study built a model to highlight the dynamic and multifaceted interaction between pertinent allostatic factors in the reward-resilience pathway and uncovered new insight into the resilience function of the mesostriatal reward system during stress. Cortisol recovery can be predicted by activation of the left putamen in stress. Activation of the left putamen was positively linked with reward sensitivity. This relationship was serially mediated by the cortisol awakening response and right hippocampus-left inferior frontal gyrus intrinsic coupling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiyu Hu
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Xiaolin Zhao
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Yadong Liu
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Yipeng Ren
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Zhenni Wei
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Zihan Tang
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Yun Tian
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Yadong Sun
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Juan Yang
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
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33
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Nussenbaum K, Velez JA, Washington BT, Hamling HE, Hartley CA. Flexibility in valenced reinforcement learning computations across development. Child Dev 2022; 93:1601-1615. [PMID: 35596654 PMCID: PMC9831067 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Optimal integration of positive and negative outcomes during learning varies depending on an environment's reward statistics. The present study investigated the extent to which children, adolescents, and adults (N = 142 8-25 year-olds, 55% female, 42% White, 31% Asian, 17% mixed race, and 8% Black; data collected in 2021) adapt their weighting of better-than-expected and worse-than-expected outcomes when learning from reinforcement. Participants made choices across two contexts: one in which weighting positive outcomes more heavily than negative outcomes led to better performance, and one in which the reverse was true. Reinforcement learning modeling revealed that across age, participants shifted their valence biases in accordance with environmental structure. Exploratory analyses revealed strengthening of context-dependent flexibility with increasing age.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Catherine A. Hartley
- Corresponding Author: Catherine A. Hartley, Department of Psychology, New York University, 6 Washington Place, Room 871A, New York, NY, 10003.
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34
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Effects of stress on endophenotypes of suicide across species: A role for ketamine in risk mitigation. Neurobiol Stress 2022; 18:100450. [PMID: 35685678 PMCID: PMC9170747 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Suicide is a leading cause of death and morbidity worldwide, yet few interventions are available to mitigate its risk. Barriers to effective treatments involve a limited understanding of factors that predict the onset of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. In the context of suicide risk, stress is a precipitating factor that is largely overlooked in the literature. Indeed, the pathophysiology of stress and suicide are heavily interconnected, underscoring the need to target the stress system in suicide prevention. In this review, we integrate findings from the preclinical and clinical literature that links stress and suicide. We focus specifically on the effects of stress on underlying biological functions and processes associated with suicide, allowing for the review of research using animal models. Owing to the rapid anti-suicidal effects of (R,S)-ketamine, we discuss its ability to modulate various stress-related endophenotypes of suicide, as well as its potential role in preventing suicide in those with a history of chronic life stress (e.g., early life adversity). We highlight future research directions that could advance our understanding of stress-related effects on suicide risk, advocating a dimensional, endophenotype approach to suicide research. Suicide and chronic stress pathophysiology are interconnected. Chronic stress has profound impacts on several endophenotypes of suicide. Animal and human research points to stress as a precipitating factor in suicide. Ketamine modulates specific biological processes associated with stress and suicide. Suicide research into endophenotypes can help inform risk-mitigation strategies.
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Pechtel P, Harris J, Karl A, Clunies-Ross C, Bower S, Moberly NJ, Pizzagalli DA, Watkins ER. Emerging ecophenotype: reward anticipation is linked to high-risk behaviours after sexual abuse. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2022; 17:1035-1043. [PMID: 35438797 PMCID: PMC9629466 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Adolescents frequently engage in high-risk behaviours (HRB) following childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Aberrant reward processes are implicated in HRB, and their underlying fronto-striatal networks are vulnerable to neurodevelopmental changes during adversity representing a promising candidate for understanding links between CSA and HRB. We examined whether fronto-striatal responses during reward anticipation and feedback (i) are altered in depressed adolescents with CSA compared to depressed, non-abused peers and (ii) moderate the relationship between CSA and HRB irrespective of depression. Forty-eight female adolescents {14 with CSA and depression [CSA + major depressive disorder (MDD)]; 17 with MDD but no CSA (MDD); 17 healthy, non-abused controls} completed a monetary reward task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. No differences in fronto-striatal response to reward emerged between CSA + MDD and MDD. Critically, high left nucleus accumbens activation during reward anticipation was associated with greater HRB in CSA + MDD compared to MDD and controls. Low left putamen activation during reward feedback was associated with the absence of HRB in CSA + MDD compared to MDD. Striatal reward responses appear to play a key role in HRB for adolescents with CSA irrespective of depression, providing initial support for a CSA ecophenotype. Such information is pivotal to identify at-risk youth and prevent HRB in adolescents after CSA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pia Pechtel
- Correspondence should be addressed to Pia Pechtel, Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Sir Henry Wellcome Building for Mood Disorders Research, Perry Road, Exeter EX4 4QQ, UK. E-mail:
| | - Jennifer Harris
- Department of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences (CLES), University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Anke Karl
- Department of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences (CLES), University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Caroline Clunies-Ross
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Children and Family Health Devon, Exeter EX2 4NU, UK
| | - Susie Bower
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Children and Family Health Devon, Exeter EX2 4NU, UK
| | - Nicholas J Moberly
- Department of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences (CLES), University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Diego A Pizzagalli
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont MA 02478, USA,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA,McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 02478 USA
| | - Edward R Watkins
- Department of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences (CLES), University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
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Hendrikse CJ, Plessis S, Luckhoff HK, Vink M, Heuvel LL, Scheffler F, Phahladira L, Smit R, Asmal L, Seedat S, Emsley R. Childhood trauma exposure and reward processing in healthy adults: A functional neuroimaging study. J Neurosci Res 2022; 100:1452-1462. [PMID: 35434795 PMCID: PMC9546243 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.25051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The association between childhood trauma exposure and risk of developing psychopathology may in part be mediated by the effects of chronic stress on dopaminergic neurotransmission. However, little is known about the differential effects of distinct trauma types on reward processing, particularly in adults without concurrent medical or psychiatric disorders. We examined the association of childhood trauma exposure, including the differential effects of abuse and neglect, with reward processing in healthy adults (n = 114). Functional magnetic resonance imaging during a monetary incentive delay task was used to assess neural activity in the ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex in relation to reward anticipation and reward outcome, respectively. Exposure to childhood trauma, including abuse and neglect, was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire‐Short Form. We found a significant effect for abuse on ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation, adjusting for age, sex, scanner site, educational level, and household monthly income. There were no effects for abuse or neglect, independently or combined, on orbitofrontal cortex activation during reward outcome. Our findings suggest differential effects of childhood abuse on ventral striatum activation during reward anticipation in healthy adults.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stéfan Plessis
- Department of Psychiatry Stellenbosch University Cape Town South Africa
- Genomics of Brain Disorders Research Unit South African Medical Research Council / Stellenbosch University Cape Town South Africa
| | | | - Matthijs Vink
- Departments of Experimental and Developmental Psychology Utrecht University Utrecht Netherlands
| | - Leigh Luella Heuvel
- Department of Psychiatry Stellenbosch University Cape Town South Africa
- Genomics of Brain Disorders Research Unit South African Medical Research Council / Stellenbosch University Cape Town South Africa
| | - Freda Scheffler
- Department of Psychiatry Stellenbosch University Cape Town South Africa
| | | | - Retha Smit
- Department of Psychiatry Stellenbosch University Cape Town South Africa
| | - Laila Asmal
- Department of Psychiatry Stellenbosch University Cape Town South Africa
| | - Soraya Seedat
- Department of Psychiatry Stellenbosch University Cape Town South Africa
- Genomics of Brain Disorders Research Unit South African Medical Research Council / Stellenbosch University Cape Town South Africa
| | - Robin Emsley
- Department of Psychiatry Stellenbosch University Cape Town South Africa
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Dong D, Belleau EL, Ironside M, Zhong X, Sun X, Xiong G, Cheng C, Li C, Wang X, Yao S, Pizzagalli DA. Distinct stress-related medial prefrontal cortex activation in women with depression with and without childhood maltreatment. Depress Anxiety 2022; 39:296-306. [PMID: 35072959 PMCID: PMC9063172 DOI: 10.1002/da.23243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2021] [Revised: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Emerging evidence has highlighted the moderating effect of childhood maltreatment (CM) in shaping neurobiological abnormalities in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, whether neural mechanisms underlying stress sensitivity in MDD are affected by the history of CM is unclear. METHODS Two hundred and thirteen medication-free female participants were recruited for a functional magnetic resonance imaging study assessing the effects of psychosocial stress on neural responses. The Montreal Imaging Stress Task was administrated to 44 female MDD patients with CM (MDD/CM), 32 female MDD patients without CM (MDD/noCM), 43 female healthy controls (HCs) with CM (HC/CM), and 94 female HCs without CM (HC/noCM). A CM (CM, noCM) × diagnosis (MDD, HC) whole-brain voxel-wise analysis was run to assess putative group differences in neural stress responses. RESULTS A significant CM × Diagnosis interaction emerged in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Bonferroni-corrected simple effects analysis clarified that (1) the MDD/CM group had less mPFC deactivation than the HC/CM group, (2) the MDD/noCM group exhibited greater mPFC deactivation than the HC/noCM group, and (3) the MDD/CM group exhibited less mPFC deactivation relative to the MDD/noCM group. In addition, the mPFC-seed psychophysiological interaction analysis revealed that individuals in the CM groups had significantly greater stress-related mPFC-left superior frontal gyrus and mPFC-right posterior cerebellum connectivity relative to the noCM groups. CONCLUSIONS Findings highlight distinct neural abnormalities in MDD depending on prior CM history, particularly potentiated stress-related mPFC recruitment among MDD individuals reporting CM. Moreover, CM history was generally associated with the disruption in functional connectivity centered on the mPFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daifeng Dong
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China,China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Xiangya), Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China,McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Emily L. Belleau
- McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Maria Ironside
- McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA,Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Xue Zhong
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China,China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Xiangya), Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Xiaoqiang Sun
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China,China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Xiangya), Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Ge Xiong
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China,China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Xiangya), Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Chang Cheng
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China,China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Xiangya), Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Chuting Li
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China,China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Xiangya), Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Xiang Wang
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China,China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Xiangya), Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China
| | - Shuqiao Yao
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China,China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Xiangya), Changsha, Hunan, P.R. China,Co-corresponding author: Diego A. Pizzagalli, Ph.D. Shuqiao Yao, M.D., Ph.D., McLean Hospital Medical Psychological Institute of Central, 115 Mill St South University, Belmont, MA 02478 139 Middle Renmin Road, Office phone: +1-617-855-4230 Changsha, Hunan 410011, Office phone: 86 731 85292126,
| | - Diego A. Pizzagalli
- McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA,Co-corresponding author: Diego A. Pizzagalli, Ph.D. Shuqiao Yao, M.D., Ph.D., McLean Hospital Medical Psychological Institute of Central, 115 Mill St South University, Belmont, MA 02478 139 Middle Renmin Road, Office phone: +1-617-855-4230 Changsha, Hunan 410011, Office phone: 86 731 85292126,
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Miu AC, Szentágotai-Tătar A, Balázsi R, Nechita D, Bunea I, Pollak SD. Emotion regulation as mediator between childhood adversity and psychopathology: A meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Rev 2022; 93:102141. [PMID: 35219929 PMCID: PMC8960368 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2020] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Childhood adversity is a major risk factor for multiple forms of psychopathology, and recent efforts have focused on understanding the underlying psychological mechanisms. One outstanding candidate is emotion regulation, which has been associated with both childhood adversity, and psychopathology. Based on the available evidence, the present meta-analysis set out to investigate the mechanistic involvement of emotion regulation in the relation between childhood adversity and psychopathology. Systematic searches in three databases (PubMed; PsycINFO; Web of Science) identified 215 eligible studies. Using meta-analytic structural equation modeling, we fitted a partial mediation model to the available data across studies, in which childhood adversity was related to psychopathology both directly and through emotion regulation. Multiple emotion regulation dimensions were analyzed, including emotion regulation difficulties and the habitual use of rumination, distraction, reappraisal, and suppression. Measures of psychopathology included a wide range of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in both clinical and non-clinical samples. The results indicated that childhood adversity was positively associated with emotion regulation difficulties, as well as with the habitual use of rumination and suppression. In turn, these measures of emotion regulation were positively associated with psychopathology. Habitual reappraisal use showed negative relations with both childhood adversity and psychopathology. All these emotion regulation measures were supported as mediators in the relation between childhood adversity and psychopathology. In contrast, distraction was not related to childhood adversity or psychopathology, and its mediator role was not supported. These results suggest that altered emotion regulation is a consistent marker of childhood adversity and contributes to risk of psychopathology.
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Altered reward and effort processing in children with maltreatment experience: a potential indicator of mental health vulnerability. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:1063-1070. [PMID: 35149765 PMCID: PMC8832084 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-022-01284-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In this longitudinal study of children and adolescents with a documented history of maltreatment, we investigated the impact of maltreatment on behavioral and neural indices of effort-based decision making for reward and examined their associations with future internalizing symptoms. Thirty-seven children with a documented history of maltreatment (MT group) and a carefully matched group of 33 non-maltreated children (NMT group) aged 10-16, completed an effort-based decision-making task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Internalizing symptoms were assessed at baseline and again 18 months later. Computational models were implemented to extract individual estimates of reward and effort sensitivity, and neural signals during decision-making about different levels of reward and effort were analyzed. These were used to predict internalizing symptoms at follow-up. We identified lower effort-related activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a prespecified region-of-interest, in the MT relative to the NMT group. No group differences were observed in the striatum, or in behavioral indices of reward and effort processing. Lower effort-related ACC activation significantly predicted elevated internalizing symptoms at follow-up in the MT group. These findings suggest that disrupted effort-related activation may index latent vulnerability to mental illness in children who have experienced maltreatment.
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40
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Oltean LE, Șoflău R, Miu AC, Szentágotai-Tătar A. Childhood adversity and impaired reward processing: A meta-analysis. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2022:105596. [PMID: 35346502 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Childhood adversity (CA) is associated with increased risk of psychopathology, and reward processing (RP) may be one of the underlying mechanisms. However, evidence on impaired RP in childhood adversity is theoretically and methodologically heterogeneous. OBJECTIVE To provide a quantitative overview of studies on the relation between childhood adversity and RP assessed at the behavioral and subjective levels, and identify differences between studies that influence the effect size. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING Twenty-seven studies (overall N = 6801) were included. METHODS Peer-reviewed publications describing empirical studies on the relation between CA and behavioral and self-report measures of RP in humans were identified through systematic searches in six bibliographic databases. Effect sizes (r) were pooled using random-effects models. The potential moderator role of RP dimension, type of RP assessment, type of childhood adversity assessment, and age were examined. RESULTS Results indicated a small, but consistent association between CA and impaired RP (r = 0.12; 95% CI: 0.07, 0.16), with medium heterogeneity (I2 = 62.43). The effect size was significantly larger (i.e., medium-sized) in studies that focused on reward learning rather than reward valuation and reward responsiveness; used cognitive tasks rather than self-report assessments of RP; and relied on official records rather than subjective reports of CA. There was evidence of publication bias, but overall effect size remained significant after imputation. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that multidimensional RP impairments (e.g., deficits in reward learning, biased reward valuation) are a consistent marker of CA, and may represent mechanisms underlying the increased risk of psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lia-Ecaterina Oltean
- Evidence-Based Assessment and Psychological Interventions Doctoral School, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; The International Institute for the Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Radu Șoflău
- The International Institute for the Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, CJ, Romania
| | - Andrei C Miu
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, CJ, Romania.
| | - Aurora Szentágotai-Tătar
- The International Institute for the Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, CJ, Romania.
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41
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Abram SV, Weittenhiller LP, Bertrand CE, McQuaid JR, Mathalon DH, Ford JM, Fryer SL. Psychological Dimensions Relevant to Motivation and Pleasure in Schizophrenia. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:827260. [PMID: 35401135 PMCID: PMC8985863 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.827260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Motivation and pleasure deficits are common in schizophrenia, strongly linked with poorer functioning, and may reflect underlying alterations in brain functions governing reward processing and goal pursuit. While there is extensive research examining cognitive and reward mechanisms related to these deficits in schizophrenia, less attention has been paid to psychological characteristics that contribute to resilience against, or risk for, motivation and pleasure impairment. For example, psychological tendencies involving positive future expectancies (e.g., optimism) and effective affect management (e.g., reappraisal, mindfulness) are associated with aspects of reward anticipation and evaluation that optimally guide goal-directed behavior. Conversely, maladaptive thinking patterns (e.g., defeatist performance beliefs, asocial beliefs) and tendencies that amplify negative cognitions (e.g., rumination), may divert cognitive resources away from goal pursuit or reduce willingness to exert effort. Additionally, aspects of sociality, including the propensity to experience social connection as positive reinforcement may be particularly relevant for pursuing social goals. In the current review, we discuss the roles of several psychological characteristics with respect to motivation and pleasure in schizophrenia. We argue that individual variation in these psychological dimensions is relevant to the study of motivation and reward processing in schizophrenia, including interactions between these psychological dimensions and more well-characterized cognitive and reward processing contributors to motivation. We close by emphasizing the value of considering a broad set of modulating factors when studying motivation and pleasure functions in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha V. Abram
- Mental Health Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | | | - Claire E. Bertrand
- Mental Health Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - John R. McQuaid
- Mental Health Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Daniel H. Mathalon
- Mental Health Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Judith M. Ford
- Mental Health Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Susanna L. Fryer
- Mental Health Service, Veterans Affairs San Francisco Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
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Childhood adversity and approach/avoidance-related behaviour in boys. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2022; 129:421-429. [PMID: 35275248 PMCID: PMC9007772 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-022-02481-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Childhood adversity has been suggested to affect the vulnerability for developmental psychopathology, including both externalizing and internalizing symptoms. This study examines spontaneous attention biases for negative and positive emotional facial expressions as potential intermediate phenotypes. In detail, typically developing boys (6-13 years) underwent an eye-tracking paradigm displaying happy, angry, sad and fearful faces. An approach bias towards positive emotional facial expressions with increasing childhood adversity levels was found. In addition, an attention bias away from negative facial expressions was observed with increasing childhood adversity levels, especially for sad facial expressions. The results might be interpreted in terms of emotional regulation strategies in boys at risk for reactive aggression and depressive behaviour.
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Regier PS, Sinko L, Jagannathan K, Aryal S, Teitelman AM, Childress AR. In young women, a link between childhood abuse and subliminal processing of aversive cues is moderated by impulsivity. BMC Psychiatry 2022; 22:159. [PMID: 35236322 PMCID: PMC8889687 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-022-03770-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Childhood maltreatment is a serious public health concern. The association between child maltreatment, adverse behaviors, mental health outcomes, and alterations to brain function and structure have begun to be characterized. Less is known about the specific associations of maltreatment subtypes with cue-response to evocative cues and the moderating effects of confounding mental health/behavioral variables. METHODS Fifty-four emerging adult women (aged 18-24) completed assessments for behaviors, mental health, and childhood maltreatment. They participated in a fMRI task featuring passive viewing of evocative (33 ms) cues presented by "backward masking" to prevent conscious processing. Correlations of abuse/neglect scores, behavioral/mental health factors, and brain function were assessed. Follow-up analyses investigated the moderating effects of behavioral/mental health factors on maltreatment and brain relationships. RESULTS Greater frequency of childhood abuse and neglect were correlated with higher scores of impulsivity, depressive symptoms, and anxious attachment. Childhood abuse was positively associated with increased medial orbitofrontal cortical (mOFC) response to aversive (vs. neutral) cues. Among the behavioral/mental health variables, only impulsivity appeared to have a moderating effect on the relationship between childhood abuse and brain response to aversive cues. CONCLUSIONS The link between childhood abuse and a heightened mOFC response to "unseen" aversive stimuli, moderated by impulsivity, adds to the growing literature on the impact of prior adversity on brain function. These findings offer further understanding for the way in which childhood maltreatment affects the brain processing of negative stimuli, helping to explain the well-documented link between childhood maltreatment and a variety of adverse outcomes in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- P. S. Regier
- grid.25879.310000 0004 1936 8972Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA USA
| | - L. Sinko
- grid.25879.310000 0004 1936 8972School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA USA ,grid.264727.20000 0001 2248 3398College of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA
| | - K. Jagannathan
- grid.25879.310000 0004 1936 8972Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA USA
| | - S. Aryal
- grid.25879.310000 0004 1936 8972School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA USA
| | - A. M. Teitelman
- grid.25879.310000 0004 1936 8972School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA USA
| | - A. R. Childress
- grid.25879.310000 0004 1936 8972Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA USA
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Kangas BD, Short AK, Luc OT, Stern HS, Baram TZ, Pizzagalli DA. A cross-species assay demonstrates that reward responsiveness is enduringly impacted by adverse, unpredictable early-life experiences. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:767-775. [PMID: 34921225 PMCID: PMC8682039 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01250-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to early-life adversity (ELA) is associated with several neuropsychiatric conditions, including major depressive disorder, yet causality is difficult to establish in humans. Recent work in rodents has implicated impaired reward circuit signaling in anhedonic-like behavior after ELA exposure. Anhedonia, the lack of reactivity to previously rewarding stimuli, is a transdiagnostic construct common to mental illnesses associated with ELA. Here, we employed an assay of reward responsiveness validated across species, the Probabilistic Reward Task (PRT). In the PRT, healthy participants reliably develop a response bias toward the more richly rewarded stimulus, whereas participants with anhedonia exhibit a blunted response bias that correlates with current and future anhedonia. In a well-established model of ELA that generates a stressful, chaotic, and unpredictable early-life environment, ELA led to blunted response biases in the PRT in two separate cohorts, recapitulating findings in humans with anhedonia. The same ELA rats had blunted sucrose preference, further supporting their anhedonic-like phenotypes. Probing the aspects of ELA that might provoke these deficits, we quantified the unpredictability of dam/pup interactions using entropy measures and found that the unpredictability of maternal care was significantly higher in the ELA groups in which PRT and sucrose preference reward deficits were present later in life. Taken together, these data position the PRT, established in clinical patient populations, as a potent instrument to assess the impact of ELA on the reward circuit across species. These findings also implicate the unpredictability of maternal signals during early life as an important driver of reward sensitivity deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian D Kangas
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Behavioral Biology Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Annabel K Short
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Oanh T Luc
- Behavioral Biology Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Hal S Stern
- Department of Statistics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Diego A Pizzagalli
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Center for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
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45
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Kirsch DE, Lippard ET. Early life stress and substance use disorders: The critical role of adolescent substance use. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2022; 215:173360. [PMID: 35219756 PMCID: PMC8983562 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2022.173360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2021] [Revised: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Early life stress (ELS) is a well-established risk factor for many psychiatric and medical disorders, including substance use disorders (SUDs). The relationship between ELS and SUDs is complex and there are likely multiple pathways from ELS to adverse substance use outcomes. The association between ELS and substance use emerges in adolescence. Adolescence is a critical period in development during which substance exposure markedly increases risk for SUDs. Therefore, this review focuses on the literature supporting the hypothesis that ELS increases risk for the development of SUDs through its influence on adolescent substance use. We discuss studies substantiating the role of ELS in adolescent substance use and explore how internalizing and externalizing psychopathology may be antecedents of substance use in adolescence. We examine clinical work suggesting ELS sculpts the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis and developing brain-particularly subcortical brain regions that underlie stress response, mesocorticolimbic brain systems associated with reward sensitivity, and prefrontal regions that underlie executive control-in a way that increases risk for adolescent substance use and SUDs. We further explore how substance use during adolescence alters structure and function of these same systems, and how brain changes following ELS and adolescent substance use may independently, additively, or interactively contribute to risk for addiction. We conclude by discussing how the current literature can inform interventions aimed at reducing risk for SUDs in individuals with a history of ELS.
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Abstract
Anhedonia is a core feature of psychopathological conditions that have recent exposure to stress and trauma as central to their etiology. Indeed, evolutionary accounts of depression suggest that decreased motivation to pursue reward may be an adaptive strategy in the face of social stress, in particular, as it may serve to defuse interpersonal conflict. Through a review of rodent models and research with humans, we show that exposure to stress, particularly when it is chronic, repeated, and/or involves themes of social rejection or defeat, is consistently associated with reduced hedonic capacity ("liking"), motivation to pursue reward ("wanting"), and ability to learn from reward ("reward learning"). Further, across rodent and human research, there is evidence that females show greater stress-induced blunting of reward processing than males. In humans, this sex difference emerges most strongly when examining individual differences in the stress response rather than group differences in stress exposure. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the etiology of, and sex differences in, stress-related psychopathology, including depression and addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate L Harkness
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
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47
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Seraphin SB, Sanchez MM, Whitten PL, Winslow JT. The behavioral neuroendocrinology of dopamine systems in differently reared juvenile male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Horm Behav 2022; 137:105078. [PMID: 34823146 PMCID: PMC11302405 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2018] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine (DA) is a critical neuromodulator of behavior. With propensities for addiction, hyper-activity, cognitive impairment, aggression, and social subordinance, monkeys enduring early maternal deprivation evoke human disorders involving dopaminergic dysfunction. To examine whether DA system alterations shape the behavioral correlates of adverse rearing, male monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were either mother-reared (MR: N = 6), or separated from their mothers at birth and nursery-reared (NR: N = 6). Behavior was assessed during 20-minute observations of subjects interacting with same- or differently-reared peers. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biogenic amines, and serum testosterone (T), cortisol (CORT), and prolactin (PRL) were collected before and after pharmacologic challenge with saline or the DA receptor-2 (DRD2) antagonist Raclopride (RAC). Neuropeptide correlations observed in MR were non-existent in NR monkeys. Compared to MR, NR showed reduced DA tone; higher basal serum T; and lower CSF serotonin (5-HT). RAC increased PRL, T and CORT, but the magnitude of responses varied as a function of rearing. Levels of PRL significantly increased following RAC in MR, but not NR. Elevations in T following RAC were only significant among MR. Contrastingly, the net change (RAC CORT - saline CORT) in CORT was greater in NR than MR. Finally, observations conducted during the juvenile phase in a novel play-arena revealed more aggressive, self-injurious, and repetitive behaviors, which negatively correlated with indexes of dopaminergic tone in NR monkeys. In conclusion, early maternal deprivation alters brain DA systems, and thus may be associated with characteristic cognitive, social, and addiction outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sally B Seraphin
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, 207 Anthropology Building, 1557 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322-1003, United States; Center for Behavioral Neuroscience and Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 954 Gatewood Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA 30322-0001, United States.
| | - Mar M Sanchez
- Center for Behavioral Neuroscience and Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 954 Gatewood Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA 30322-0001, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322-1003, United States
| | - Patricia L Whitten
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, 207 Anthropology Building, 1557 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322-1003, United States; Center for Behavioral Neuroscience and Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 954 Gatewood Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA 30322-0001, United States
| | - James T Winslow
- NIMH IRP Neurobiology Primate Core, NIHAC Bldg. 110, National Institutes of Health (NIH), 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892-0001, United States
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48
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Smith KE, Pollak SD. Early life stress and perceived social isolation influence how children use value information to guide behavior. Child Dev 2021; 93:804-814. [PMID: 34971461 PMCID: PMC9177517 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Learning the value of environmental signals and using that information to guide behavior is critical for survival. Stress in childhood may influence these processes, but how it does so is still unclear. This study examined how stressful event exposures and perceived social isolation affect the ability to learn value signals and use that information in 72 children (8–9 years; 29 girls; 65.3% White). Stressful event exposures and perceived social isolation did not influence how children learned value information. But, children with high stressful event exposures and perceived social isolation were worse at using that information. These data suggest alterations in how value information is used, rather than learned, may be one mechanism linking early experiences to later behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen E Smith
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Seth D Pollak
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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49
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Golm D, Sarkar S, Mackes NK, Fairchild G, Mehta MA, Rutter M, Sonuga-Barke EJ. The impact of childhood deprivation on adult neuropsychological functioning is associated with ADHD symptom persistence. Psychol Med 2021; 51:2675-2684. [PMID: 32419675 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291720001294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Institutional deprivation in early childhood is associated with neuropsychological deficits in adolescence. Using 20-year follow-up data from a unique natural experiment - the large-scale adoption of children exposed to extreme deprivation in Romanian institutions in the 1980s -we examined, for the first time, whether such deficits are still present in adulthood and whether they are associated with deprivation-related symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHODS Adult neuropsychological functioning was assessed across five domains (inhibitory control, emotion recognition, decision-making, prospective memory and IQ) in 70 previously institutionalized adoptees (mean age = 25.3, 50% female) and 22 non-deprived UK adoptees (comparison group, mean age = 24.6, 41% female). ADHD and ASD symptoms were assessed using parent-completed questionnaires. RESULTS Early institutionalization was associated with impaired performance on all tasks in adulthood. Prospective memory deficits persisted after controlling for IQ. ADHD and ASD symptoms were positively correlated. After controlling for ASD symptoms, ADHD symptoms remained associated with deficits in IQ, prospective memory, proactive inhibition, decision-making quality and emotion recognition. ASD symptoms were not independently associated with neuropsychological deficits when accounting for their overlap with ADHD symptoms. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the link between childhood deprivation and adult ADHD symptoms was statistically explained by deprivation-related differences in adult IQ and prospective memory. CONCLUSIONS These results represent some of the most compelling evidence to date of the enduring power of early, time-limited childhood adversity to impair long-term neuropsychological functioning across the lifespan - effects that are linked specifically to deprivation-related adult ADHD symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Golm
- Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Sagari Sarkar
- Cognitive Neuroscience & Neuropsychiatry Section, University College London, London, UK
| | - Nuria K Mackes
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | | | - Mitul A Mehta
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Michael Rutter
- MRC Social Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Edmund J Sonuga-Barke
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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50
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Hanson JL, Williams AV, Bangasser DA, Peña CJ. Impact of Early Life Stress on Reward Circuit Function and Regulation. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:744690. [PMID: 34744836 PMCID: PMC8563782 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.744690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life stress - including experience of child maltreatment, neglect, separation from or loss of a parent, and other forms of adversity - increases lifetime risk of mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. A major component of this risk may be early life stress-induced alterations in motivation and reward processing, mediated by changes in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA). Here, we review evidence of the impact of early life stress on reward circuit structure and function from human and animal models, with a focus on the NAc. We then connect these results to emerging theoretical models about the indirect and direct impacts of early life stress on reward circuit development. Through this review and synthesis, we aim to highlight open research questions and suggest avenues of future study in service of basic science, as well as applied insights. Understanding how early life stress alters reward circuit development, function, and motivated behaviors is a critical first step toward developing the ability to predict, prevent, and treat stress-related psychopathology spanning mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie L. Hanson
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Alexia V. Williams
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Debra A. Bangasser
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Catherine J. Peña
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States
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