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Smith OV, Penhale SH, Ott LR, Rice DL, Coutant AT, Glesinger R, Wilson TW, Taylor BK. Everyday home radon exposure is associated with altered structural brain morphology in youths. Neurotoxicology 2024; 102:114-120. [PMID: 38703899 PMCID: PMC11139553 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2024.04.007] [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: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
The refinement of brain morphology extends across childhood, and exposure to environmental toxins during this period may alter typical trends. Radon is a highly common radiologic toxin with a well-established role in cancer among adults. However, effects on developmental populations are understudied in comparison. This study investigated whether home radon exposure is associated with altered brain morphology in youths. Fifty-four participants (6-14 yrs, M=10.52 yrs, 48.15% male, 89% White) completed a T1-weighted MRI and home measures of radon. We observed a significant multivariate effect of home radon concentrations, which was driven by effects on GMV. Specifically, higher home radon was associated with smaller GMV (F=6.800, p=.012, ηp2=.13). Conversely, there was a trending radon-by-age interaction on WMV, which reached significance when accounting for the chronicity of radon exposure (F=4.12, p=.049, ηp2=.09). We found that youths with above-average radon exposure showed no change in WMV with age, whereas low radon was linked with normative, age-related WMV increases. These results suggest that everyday home radon exposure may alter sensitive structural brain development, impacting developmental trajectories in both gray and white matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- OgheneTejiri V Smith
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town NE, USA; Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Samantha H Penhale
- Clinical and Health Psychology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Lauren R Ott
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town NE, USA
| | - Danielle L Rice
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town NE, USA; Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Anna T Coutant
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town NE, USA; Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Ryan Glesinger
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town NE, USA; Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Tony W Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town NE, USA; Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Brittany K Taylor
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town NE, USA; Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA.
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Korom M, Tabachnick AR, Sellers T, Valadez EA, Tottenham N, Dozier M. Associations between cortical thickness and parasympathetic nervous system functioning during middle childhood. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14391. [PMID: 37455342 PMCID: PMC10789912 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14391] [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: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Positive associations have been found between cortical thickness and measures of parasympathetic cardiac control (e.g., respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA) in adults, which may indicate mechanistic integration between neural and physiological indicators of stress regulation. However, it is unknown when in development this brain-body association arises and whether the direction of association and neuroanatomical localization vary across development. To investigate this, we collected structural magnetic resonance imaging and resting-state respiratory sinus arrhythmia data from children in middle childhood (N = 62, Mage = 10.09, range: 8.28-12.14 years). Whole-brain and exploratory ROI analyses revealed positive associations between RSA and cortical thickness in four frontal and parietal clusters in the left hemisphere and one cluster in the right. Exploratory ROI analyses revealed a similar positive association between cortical thickness and RSA, with two regions surviving multiple comparison correction, including the inferior frontal orbital gyrus and the Sylvian fissure. Prior work has identified these cortical areas as part of the central autonomic network that supports integrative regulation of stress response (e.g., autonomic, endocrine, and behavioral) and emotional expression. Our results suggest that the association between cortical thickness and resting RSA is present in middle childhood and is similar to the associations seen during adulthood. Future studies should investigate associations between RSA and cortical thickness among young children and adolescents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Korom
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | | | - Tabitha Sellers
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Emilio A Valadez
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Nim Tottenham
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Mary Dozier
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
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Picci G, Petro NM, Son JJ, Agcaoglu O, Eastman JA, Wang YP, Stephen JM, Calhoun VD, Taylor BK, Wilson TW. Transdiagnostic indicators predict developmental changes in cognitive control resting-state networks. Dev Psychopathol 2023:1-11. [PMID: 37615120 PMCID: PMC11140239 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579423001013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Over the past decade, transdiagnostic indicators in relation to neurobiological processes have provided extensive insight into youth's risk for psychopathology. During development, exposure to childhood trauma and dysregulation (i.e., so-called AAA symptomology: anxiety, aggression, and attention problems) puts individuals at a disproportionate risk for developing psychopathology and altered network-level neural functioning. Evidence for the latter has emerged from resting-state fMRI studies linking mental health symptoms and aberrations in functional networks (e.g., cognitive control (CCN), default mode networks (DMN)) in youth, although few of these investigations have used longitudinal designs. Herein, we leveraged a three-year longitudinal study to identify whether traumatic exposures and concomitant dysregulation trigger changes in the developmental trajectories of resting-state functional networks involved in cognitive control (N = 190; 91 females; time 1 Mage = 11.81). Findings from latent growth curve analyses revealed that greater trauma exposure predicted increasing connectivity between the CCN and DMN across time. Greater levels of dysregulation predicted reductions in within-network connectivity in the CCN. These findings presented in typically developing youth corroborate connectivity patterns reported in clinical populations, suggesting there is predictive utility in using transdiagnostic indicators to forecast alterations in resting-state networks implicated in psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgia Picci
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
- Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Nathan M Petro
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
- Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Jake J Son
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
- Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Oktay Agcaoglu
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of technology, and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jacob A Eastman
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
- Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Yu-Ping Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | | | - Vince D Calhoun
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of technology, and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Brittany K Taylor
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
- Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Tony W Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
- Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
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Vargas TG, Mittal VA. Brain morphometry points to emerging patterns of psychosis, depression, and anxiety vulnerability over a 2-year period in childhood. Psychol Med 2023; 53:3322-3334. [PMID: 37323064 PMCID: PMC10276191 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291721005304] [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: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Gray matter morphometry studies have lent seminal insights into the etiology of mental illness. Existing research has primarily focused on adults and then, typically on a single disorder. Examining brain characteristics in late childhood, when the brain is preparing to undergo significant adolescent reorganization and various forms of serious psychopathology are just first emerging, may allow for a unique and highly important perspective of overlapping and unique pathogenesis. METHODS A total of 8645 youth were recruited as part of the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study. Magnetic resonance imaging scans were collected, and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), depressive, and anxiety symptoms were assessed three times over a 2-year period. Cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volume were used to predict baseline symptomatology and symptom progression over time. RESULTS Some features could possibly signal common vulnerability, predicting progression across forms of psychopathology (e.g. superior frontal and middle temporal regions). However, there was a specific predictive value for emerging PLEs (lateral occipital and precentral thickness), anxiety (parietal thickness/area and cingulate), and depression (e.g. parahippocampal and inferior temporal). CONCLUSION Findings indicate common and distinct patterns of vulnerability for varying forms of psychopathology are present during late childhood, before the adolescent reorganization, and have direct relevance for informing novel conceptual models along with early prevention and intervention efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa G Vargas
- Northwestern University, Swift Hall 102, 2029 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Vijay A Mittal
- Northwestern University, Swift Hall 102, 2029 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
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Fung MH, Taylor BK, Embury CM, Spooner RK, Johnson HJ, Willett MP, Frenzel MR, Badura-Brack AS, White SF, Wilson TW. Cortisol changes in healthy children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stress 2022; 25:323-330. [PMID: 36168664 PMCID: PMC9744629 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2022.2125798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused massive disruptions to daily life in the United States, closing schools and businesses and increasing physical and social isolation, leading to deteriorations in mental health and well-being in people of all ages. Many studies have linked chronic stress with long-term changes in cortisol secretion, which has been implicated in many stress-related physical and mental health problems that commonly emerge in adolescence. However, the physiological consequences of the pandemic in youth remain understudied. Using hair cortisol concentrations (HCC), we quantified average longitudinal changes in cortisol secretion across a four-month period capturing before, during, and after the transition to pandemic-lockdown conditions in a sample of healthy youth (n = 49). Longitudinal changes in HCC were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models. Perceived levels of pandemic-related stress were measured and compared to the physiological changes in HCC. In children and adolescents, cortisol levels significantly increased across the course of the pandemic. These youth reported a multitude of stressors during this time, although changes in HCC were not associated with self-reported levels of COVID-19-related distress. We provide evidence that youth are experiencing significant physiological changes in cortisol activity across the COVID-19 pandemic, yet these biological responses are not associated with perceived stress levels. Youth may be especially vulnerable to the deleterious impacts of chronic cortisol exposure due to their current status in the sensitive periods for development, and the incongruency between biological and psychological stress responses may further complicate these developmental problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madison H. Fung
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Brittany K. Taylor
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Christine M. Embury
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Rachel K. Spooner
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Hallie J. Johnson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Madelyn P. Willett
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Michaela R. Frenzel
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | | | - Stuart F. White
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Tony W. Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
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Hill DC, Cullen KR. Editorial: Subclinical Psychopathology and the Developing Brain. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2021; 60:1183-1184. [PMID: 33887360 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2021.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Adolescence is an important developmental window, characterized by critical changes in brain development (eg cortical thinning), and also by the peak time of onset for many mental health disorders.1 Understanding the neurodevelopmental roots of psychopathology has been a major focus in our field. Researchers have been charged with providing the foundational knowledge needed to guide the design of effective, neurobiologically based prevention and early intervention efforts.2 Although we have made some gains, we still have far to go. The questions that need to be answered require large-scale, longitudinal studies examining brain development beginning early in life, prior to the onset of mental health disorders, with repeated, multi-level assessments to understand the intertwining cascade of alterations in brain, behavior, and experience over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawson C Hill
- Mr. Hill and Dr. Cullen are with the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis
| | - Kathryn Regan Cullen
- Mr. Hill and Dr. Cullen are with the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis.
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