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Archer C, Jeong HJ, Reimann GE, Durham EL, Moore TM, Wang S, Ashar DA, Kaczkurkin AN. Concurrent and longitudinal neurostructural correlates of irritability in children. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024:10.1038/s41386-024-01966-4. [PMID: 39154134 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01966-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 08/02/2024] [Accepted: 08/08/2024] [Indexed: 08/19/2024]
Abstract
Irritability, or an increased proneness to frustration and anger, is common in youth; however, few studies have examined neurostructural correlates of irritability in children. The purpose of the current study was to examine concurrent and longitudinal associations between brain structure and irritability in a large sample of 9-10-year-old children. Participants included 10,647 children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Developmentsm Study (ABCD Study®). We related a latent irritability factor to gray matter volume, cortical thickness, and surface area in 68 cortical regions and to gray matter volume in 19 subcortical regions using structural equation modeling. Multiple comparisons were adjusted for using the false discovery rate (FDR). After controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, scanner model, parent's highest level of education, medication use, and total intracranial volume, irritability was associated with smaller volumes in primarily temporal and parietal regions at baseline. Longitudinal analyses showed that baseline gray matter volume did not predict irritability symptoms at the 3rd-year follow-up. No significant associations were found for cortical thickness or surface area. The current study demonstrates inverse associations between irritability and volume in regions implicated in emotional processing/social cognition, attention allocation, and movement/perception. We advance prior research by demonstrating that neurostructural differences associated with irritability are already apparent by age 9-10 years, extending this work to children and supporting theories positing socioemotional deficits as a key feature of irritability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Archer
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Hee Jung Jeong
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | | | - Tyler M Moore
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Shuti Wang
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Devisi A Ashar
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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Díaz DE, Tseng WL, Michalska KJ. Pre-scan state anxiety is associated with greater right amygdala-hippocampal response to fearful versus happy faces among trait-anxious Latina girls. BMC Psychiatry 2024; 24:1. [PMID: 38167015 PMCID: PMC10759434 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-05403-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Unfamiliarity with academic research may contribute to higher levels of anticipatory state anxiety about affective neuroimaging tasks. Children with high trait anxiety display differences in brain response to fearful facial affect compared to non-anxious youth, but little is known about the influence of state anxiety on this association. Because reduced engagement in scientific research and greater mistrust among minoritized groups may lead to systematic differences in pre-scan state anxiety, it is crucial to understand the neural correlates of state anxiety during emotion processing so as to disambiguate sources of individual differences. METHODS The present study probed the interactive effects of pre-scan state anxiety, trait anxiety, and emotional valence (fearful vs. happy faces) on neural activation during implicit emotion processing in a community sample of 46 preadolescent Latina girls (8-13 years). RESULTS Among girls with mean and high levels of trait anxiety, pre-scan state anxiety was associated with greater right amygdala-hippocampal and left inferior parietal lobe response to fearful faces relative to happy faces. CONCLUSIONS Anticipatory state anxiety in the scanning context may cause children with moderate and high trait anxiety to be hypervigilant to threats, further compounding the effects of trait anxiety. Neuroimaging researchers should control for state anxiety so that systematic differences in brain activation resulting from MRI apprehension are not misleadingly attributed to demographic or environmental characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana E Díaz
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Wan-Ling Tseng
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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He M, Zhan X, Liu C, Li L, Zhao X, Ren L, Li K, Luo X. The relationship between self-control and mental health problems among Chinese university students. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1224427. [PMID: 38026364 PMCID: PMC10644003 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1224427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Mental health issues are often associated with poor self-control. Therefore, effective interventions against mental health problems should include self-control training. However, it is unclear whether the effect of self-control varies across different types of mental health problems. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the convenience sampling method at five universities in Chongqing, China, where 1,409 students reported their demographic information, level of self-control, and symptoms of irritability, depression, and anxiety. Descriptive statistical methods and a network analysis approach were employed to explore the relationship between self-control and symptoms of irritability, depression, and anxiety among 1,409 students. The bridging links between self-control and the three mental health problems were analyzed. Results The findings revealed a negative correlation between self-control and symptoms of irritability, depression, and anxiety among university students. Impulse control was found to be the bridge between self-control and irritability or anxiety symptoms, while resistance to temptation was the bridge between self-control and depressive symptoms. Conclusion These results demonstrate the different relationship between self-control with irritability, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. The findings of this study may shed light on future mental health interventions for university students during potential public health emergencies, such as prior knowledge of the main types of psychological problems among university students, which may allow for the development of precise self-control intervention strategies, such as targeting impulsivity or resistance to temptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mu He
- Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College, Chongqing, China
| | - Xiaoqing Zhan
- Medical English Department, College of Basic Medicine, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Chang Liu
- Brain Park, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health and School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Ling Li
- College of General Education, Chongqing Water Resources and Electric Engineering College, Chongqing, China
| | - Xiaojie Zhao
- College of General Education, Chongqing Water Resources and Electric Engineering College, Chongqing, China
| | - Lei Ren
- Military Psychology Section, Logistics University of PAP, Tianjin, China
- Military Mental Health Services and Research Center, Tianjin, China
| | - Kuiliang Li
- Medical English Department, College of Basic Medicine, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xi Luo
- Medical English Department, College of Basic Medicine, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
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Stoddard J, Haller SP, Costa V, Brotman MA, Jones M. A Computational Model Reveals Learning Dynamics During Interpretation Bias Training With Clinical Applications. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2023; 8:1033-1040. [PMID: 37062362 PMCID: PMC10576009 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Some psychopathologies, including anxiety and irritability, are associated with biases when judging ambiguous social stimuli. Interventions targeting these biases, or interpretation bias training (IBT), are amenable to computational modeling to describe their associative learning mechanisms. Here, we translated ALCOVE (attention learning covering map), a model of category learning, to describe learning in youths with affective psychopathology when training on more positive judgments of ambiguous face emotions. METHODS A predominantly clinical sample comprised 71 youths (age range, 8-22 years) representing broad distributions of irritability and anxiety symptoms. Of these, 63 youths were included in the test sample by completing an IBT task with acceptable performance for computational modeling. We used a separate sample of 28 youths to translate ALCOVE for individual estimates of learning rate and generalization. In the test sample, we assessed associations between model learning estimates and irritability, anxiety, their shared variance (negative affectivity), and age. RESULTS Age and affective symptoms were associated with category learning during IBT. Lower learning rates were associated with higher negative affectivity common in anxiety and irritability. Lower generalization, or improved discrimination between face emotions, was associated with increasing age. CONCLUSIONS This work demonstrates a functional consequence of age- and symptom-related learning during interpretation bias. Learning measured by ALCOVE also revealed learning types not accounted for in the prior literature on IBT. This work more broadly demonstrates the utility of measurement models for understanding trial-by-trial processes and identifying individual learning styles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel Stoddard
- Pediatric Mental Health Institute, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado.
| | - Simone P Haller
- Neuroscience and Novel Therapeutics Unit, Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Vincent Costa
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, Oregon
| | - Melissa A Brotman
- Neuroscience and Novel Therapeutics Unit, Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Matt Jones
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
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Lee KS, Hagan CN, Hughes M, Cotter G, McAdam Freud E, Kircanski K, Leibenluft E, Brotman MA, Tseng WL. Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Task-based fMRI Studies in Youths With Irritability. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2023; 62:208-229. [PMID: 35944754 PMCID: PMC9892288 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2022.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Childhood irritability, operationalized as disproportionate and frequent temper tantrums and low frustration tolerance relative to peers, is a transdiagnostic symptom across many pediatric disorders. Studies using task-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to probe neural dysfunction in irritability have increased. However, an integrated review summarizing the published methods and synthesized fMRI results remains lacking. METHOD We conducted a systematic search using irritability terms and task functional neuroimaging in key databases in March 2021, and identified 30 studies for our systematic review. Sample characteristics and fMRI methods were summarized. A subset of 28 studies met the criteria for extracting coordinate-based data for quantitative meta-analysis. Ten activation-likelihood estimations were performed to examine neural convergence across irritability measures and fMRI task domains. RESULTS Systematic review revealed small sample sizes (median = 58, mean age range = 8-16 years) with heterogeneous sample characteristics, irritability measures, tasks, and analytical procedures. Meta-analyses found no evidence for neural activation convergence of irritability across neurocognitive functions related to emotional reactivity, cognitive control, and reward processing, or within each domain. Sensitivity analyses partialing out variances driven by heterogeneous tasks, irritability measures, stimulus types, and developmental ages all yielded null findings. Results were compared with a review on irritability-related structural anomalies from 11 studies. CONCLUSION The lack of neural convergence suggests a need for common, standardized irritability assessments and more homogeneous fMRI tasks. Thoughtfully designed fMRI studies probing commonly defined neurocognitive functions may be more fruitful to elucidate the neural mechanisms of irritability. Open science practices, data mining in large neuroscience databases, and standardized analytical methods promote meaningful collaboration in irritability research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ka Shu Lee
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
| | | | - Mina Hughes
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Eva McAdam Freud
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.,University College London, United Kingdom, and Anna Freud National
Centre for Children and Families, London, United Kingdom
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Abend R, Burk D, Ruiz SG, Gold AL, Napoli JL, Britton JC, Michalska KJ, Shechner T, Winkler AM, Leibenluft E, Pine DS, Averbeck BB. Computational modeling of threat learning reveals links with anxiety and neuroanatomy in humans. eLife 2022; 11:66169. [PMID: 35473766 PMCID: PMC9197395 DOI: 10.7554/elife.66169] [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: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Influential theories implicate variations in the mechanisms supporting threat learning in the severity of anxiety symptoms. We use computational models of associative learning in conjunction with structural imaging to explicate links among the mechanisms underlying threat learning, their neuroanatomical substrates, and anxiety severity in humans. We recorded skin-conductance data during a threat-learning task from individuals with and without anxiety disorders (N=251; 8-50 years; 116 females). Reinforcement-learning model variants quantified processes hypothesized to relate to anxiety: threat conditioning, threat generalization, safety learning, and threat extinction. We identified the best-fitting models for these processes and tested associations among latent learning parameters, whole-brain anatomy, and anxiety severity. Results indicate that greater anxiety severity related specifically to slower safety learning and slower extinction of response to safe stimuli. Nucleus accumbens gray-matter volume moderated learning-anxiety associations. Using a modeling approach, we identify computational mechanisms linking threat learning and anxiety severity and their neuroanatomical substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rany Abend
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, United States
| | - Diana Burk
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, United States
| | - Sonia G Ruiz
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, United States
| | - Andrea L Gold
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, United States
| | - Julia L Napoli
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, United States
| | - Jennifer C Britton
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, United States
| | - Kalina J Michalska
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, United States
| | - Tomer Shechner
- Psychology Department, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Anderson M Winkler
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, United States
| | - Ellen Leibenluft
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, United States
| | - Daniel S Pine
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Besthesda, United States
| | - Bruno B Averbeck
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, United States
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