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Callous-unemotional traits and fearlessness: A cardiovascular psychophysiological perspective in two adolescent samples using virtual reality. Dev Psychopathol 2020; 32:803-815. [PMID: 31455440 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579419001196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
There has been a longstanding debate about the link between callous-unemotional traits and fearlessness. However, biological evidence for a relationship in adolescents is lacking. Using two adolescent samples, we measured emotional reactivity and cardiac measures of sympathetic (pre-ejection period) and parasympathetic (respiratory sinus arrhythmia) reactivity during 3D TV and virtual reality fear induction. Study 1 included 62 community adolescents from a stratified sample. Study 2 included 60 adolescents from Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties schools. Results were consistent across both studies. Adolescents with high callous-unemotional traits showed coactivation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Consistent with these results, youths with callous-unemotional traits self-reported that they felt more in control after the fear induction. Thus, in both samples, youth with callous-unemotional traits displayed a physiological and emotional profile suggesting they maintained control during fear induction. Therefore, it is proposed here that a shift in thinking of youth with callous-unemotional traits as fearless to youth with callous-unemotional traits are better able to manage fearful situations, may be more appropriate.
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2
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Gleichmann DC, Solis I, Janowich JR, Wang YP, Calhoun VD, Wilson TW, Stephen JM. Troubled Hearts: Association Between Heart Rate Variability and Depressive Symptoms in Healthy Children. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 2020; 45:283-292. [PMID: 32978742 DOI: 10.1007/s10484-020-09488-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Heart rate variability (HRV) captures the change in timing of consecutive heart beats and is reduced in individuals with depression and anxiety. The present study investigated whether typically-developing children without clinically recognized signs of depression or anxiety showed a relationship between HRV and depressive or anxiety symptoms. Children aged 9-14 years (N = 104) provided three minutes of cardiac signal during eyes closed rest and eyes open rest. The association between high frequency HRV, low frequency HRV, root mean square of the successive differences (RMSSD), and pNN20 versus depressive symptoms (NIH Toolbox and Child Behavior Checklist) was investigated. Results partially confirm our hypothesis, with pNN20 positively correlated with the self-reported depression measure of loneliness while controlling for age, sex, social status, and physical activity. The association was stronger in male participants. However, there is no consensus in the literature about which HRV measures are associated with depressive symptoms in healthy children. Additional studies are needed which reliably account for variables that influence HRV to establish whether certain HRV measures can be used as an early marker for depression risk in children.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Isabel Solis
- The Mind Research Network, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, USA
| | | | - Yu-Ping Wang
- Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- The Mind Research Network, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, USA.,University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Tony W Wilson
- University of Nebraska Medical Center, S 42nd St. & Emile St, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA
| | - Julia M Stephen
- The Mind Research Network, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, USA.
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3
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Extinction Learning as a Potential Mechanism Linking High Vagal Tone with Lower PTSD Symptoms among Abused Youth. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 47:659-670. [PMID: 30112595 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-018-0464-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Childhood abuse is a potent risk factor for psychopathology, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research has shown high resting vagal tone, a measure of parasympathetic nervous system function, protects abused youth from developing internalizing psychopathology, but potential mechanisms explaining this effect are unknown. We explored fear extinction learning as a possible mechanism underlying the protective effect of vagal tone on PTSD symptoms among abused youth. We measured resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and skin conductance responses (SCR) during a fear conditioning and extinction task in youth with variability in abuse exposure (N = 94; aged 6-18 years). High RSA predicted lower PTSD symptoms and enhanced extinction learning among abused youths. In a moderated-mediation model, extinction learning mediated the association of abuse with PTSD symptoms only among youth with high RSA. These findings highlight extinction learning as a possible mechanism linking high vagal tone to decreased risk for PTSD symptoms among abused youth.
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4
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Schuetze P, Molnar D, Eiden RD, Shisler S, Zhao J, Colder CR, Huestis MA. The effect of prenatal adversity on externalizing behaviors at 24 months of age in a high-risk sample: Maternal sensitivity as a moderator. Infant Ment Health J 2020; 41:530-542. [PMID: 32594565 DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of maternal sensitivity on the association between prenatal adversity and externalizing behaviors at 24 months of age in a diverse, high-risk sample. We hypothesized that among children with higher prenatal adversity, high maternal sensitivity would serve as a protective factor. Participants were 247 primarily low-income, diverse dyads. Results indicated a significant interaction effect of maternal sensitivity and prenatal adversity on externalizing problems. The association between prenatal adversity and externalizing behaviors was significant only among children who experienced low prenatal adversity, with higher maternal sensitivity associated with lower externalizing behaviors. These findings indicate that, in the absence of high prenatal risk, responsive and sensitive parenting can buffer children in an otherwise high-risk sample from the development of externalizing behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela Schuetze
- Department of Psychology, State University of New York Buffalo State, Buffalo, New York, USA.,Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | | | - Rina D Eiden
- Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA.,Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Shannon Shisler
- Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Junru Zhao
- Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Craig R Colder
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Marilyn A Huestis
- School of Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
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5
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Kahle S, Utendale WT, Widaman KF, Hastings PD. Parasympathetic Regulation and Inhibitory Control Predict the Development of Externalizing Problems in Early Childhood. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2019; 46:237-249. [PMID: 28493111 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-017-0305-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The current report examined the longitudinal relations between cognitive self-regulation, physiological self-regulation, and externalizing problems. At age 4 (n = 98; 49 girls) and 6 (n = 87; 42 girls), children completed the Day-Night task, which taps the inhibitory control dimension of executive function. During the task, cardiac activity was measured and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was derived as an index of parasympathetic activity. Mothers reported on externalizing problems. A cross-lagged path model was used to estimate longitudinal predictions while controlling for stability in all constructs over time. Earlier inhibitory control negatively predicted later externalizing problems, but not vice versa. However, RSA reactivity moderated this link; better inhibitory control predicted fewer externalizing problems only when reactivity to the Day-Night task ranged from mild RSA suppression to RSA augmentation. Externalizing problems at 6 years were highest among preschoolers who augmented RSA but showed poor inhibitory control performance, suggesting that risk for psychopathology may be better delineated by viewing self-regulation from an integrated, multi-system perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Kahle
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | | | - Keith F Widaman
- Graduate School of Education, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Paul D Hastings
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
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6
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Fanti KA. Understanding heterogeneity in conduct disorder: A review of psychophysiological studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 91:4-20. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.09.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2016] [Revised: 09/20/2016] [Accepted: 09/22/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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7
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Kassing F, Lochman JE, Glenn AL. Autonomic functioning in reactive versus proactive aggression: The influential role of inconsistent parenting. Aggress Behav 2018; 44:524-536. [PMID: 30040125 DOI: 10.1002/ab.21772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Revised: 04/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Research has consistently supported autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning as a predictor of aggressive behavior in youth. Several studies have further examined how the functioning of the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) branches of the ANS interact with environmental factors to predict behavioral outcomes. One factor that has yet to be studied in this context however, is parenting practices. Given that many interventions for externalizing behavior target parenting practices, such as increasing consistent discipline, it may be particularly important to assess whether parenting practices interact with SNS and PNS functioning in the child to influence risk for aggressive behavior. Therefore, the current study addressed this question by examining inconsistent discipline as a moderator of the relationship between baseline SNS versus PNS activity and reactive versus proactive aggression. Data were collected from a sample of fourth graders identified as at-risk for aggression (N = 188). Results indicated that baseline SNS activity was positively related to proactive aggression under high levels of inconsistent discipline, but negatively related to proactive aggression under very low levels of inconsistent discipline. Baseline PNS activity was negatively associated with reactive aggression under low levels of inconsistent discipline. No main effects were found for SNS or PNS functioning and either form of aggression, emphasizing the importance of taking a biosocial approach to examining the predictors of aggressive behavior in at-risk youth. Results from this study help to better understand the circumstances under which children are most likely to exhibit reactive versus proactive aggression, better informing targeted prevention and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Kassing
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
| | - John E Lochman
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
| | - Andrea L Glenn
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
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8
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Fagan SE, Zhang W, Gao Y. Social Adversity and Antisocial Behavior: Mediating Effects of Autonomic Nervous System Activity. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2018; 45:1553-1564. [PMID: 28070755 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-017-0262-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The display of antisocial behaviors in children and adolescents has been of interest to criminologists and developmental psychologists for years. Exposure to social adversity is a well-documented predictor of antisocial behavior. Additionally, measures of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity, including heart rate variability (HRV), pre-ejection period (PEP), and heart rate, have been associated with antisocial behaviors including rule-breaking and aggression. Social neuroscience research has begun to investigate how neurobiological underpinnings affect the relationship between social adversity and antisocial/psychopathic behavior in children and adolescents. This study investigated the potential mediating effects of ANS activity on the relationship between social adversity and antisocial behavior in a group of 7- to 10-year-old children from the community (N = 339; 48.2% male). Moderated multiple mediation analyses revealed that low resting heart rate, but not PEP or HRV, mediated the relationship between social adversity and antisocial behavior in males only. Social adversity but not ANS measures were associated with antisocial behavior in females. Findings have implications for understanding the neural influences that underlie antisocial behavior, illustrate the importance of the social environment regarding the expression of these behaviors, and highlight essential gender differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn E Fagan
- Department of Psychology, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 5th Ave, New York, NY, 10016, USA. .,Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11210, USA.
| | - Wei Zhang
- Queens College, City University of New York, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY, 11367, USA
| | - Yu Gao
- Department of Psychology, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 5th Ave, New York, NY, 10016, USA.,Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11210, USA
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9
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Morales S, Brown KM, Taber-Thomas BC, LoBue V, Buss KA, Pérez-Edgar KE. Maternal anxiety predicts attentional bias towards threat in infancy. Emotion 2017; 17:874-883. [PMID: 28206795 PMCID: PMC5519443 DOI: 10.1037/emo0000275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Although cognitive theories of psychopathology suggest that attention bias toward threat plays a role in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety, there is relatively little evidence regarding individual differences in the earliest development of attention bias toward threat. The current study examines attention bias toward threat during its potential first emergence by evaluating the relations between attention bias and known risk factors of anxiety (i.e., temperamental negative affect and maternal anxiety). We measured attention bias to emotional faces in infants (N = 98; 57 male) ages 4 to 24 months during an attention disengagement eye-tracking paradigm. We hypothesized that (a) there would be an attentional bias toward threat in the full sample of infants, replicating previous studies; (b) attentional bias toward threat would be positively related to maternal anxiety; and (c) attention bias toward threat would be positively related to temperamental negative affect. Finally, (d) we explored the potential interaction between temperament and maternal anxiety in predicting attention bias toward threat. We found that attention bias to the affective faces did not change with age, and that bias was not related to temperament. However, attention bias to threat, but not attention bias to happy faces, was positively related to maternal anxiety, such that higher maternal anxiety predicted a larger attention bias for all infants. These findings provide support for attention bias as a putative early mechanism by which early markers of risk are associated with socioemotional development. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kayla M Brown
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State Universit
| | | | | | - Kristin A Buss
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State Universit
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10
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Davis M, Thomassin K, Bilms J, Suveg C, Shaffer A, Beach SRH. Preschoolers' genetic, physiological, and behavioral sensitivity factors moderate links between parenting stress and child internalizing, externalizing, and sleep problems. Dev Psychobiol 2017; 59:473-485. [PMID: 28295263 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2016] [Revised: 01/26/2017] [Accepted: 01/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
This study examined three potential moderators of the relations between maternal parenting stress and preschoolers' adjustment problems: a genetic polymorphism-the short allele of the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR, ss/sl allele) gene, a physiological indicator-children's baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and a behavioral indicator-mothers' reports of children's negative emotionality. A total of 108 mothers (Mage = 30.68 years, SDage = 6.06) reported on their parenting stress as well as their preschoolers' (Mage = 3.50 years, SDage = 0.51, 61% boys) negative emotionality and internalizing, externalizing, and sleep problems. Results indicated that the genetic sensitivity variable functioned according to a differential susceptibility model; however, the results involving physiological and behavioral sensitivity factors were most consistent with a diathesis-stress framework. Implications for prevention and intervention efforts to counter the effects of parenting stress are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly Davis
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
| | | | - Joanie Bilms
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
| | - Cynthia Suveg
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
| | - Anne Shaffer
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
| | - Steven R H Beach
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
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11
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Van der Graaff J, Meeus W, de Wied M, van Boxtel A, van Lier P, Branje S. Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia Moderates the Relation between Parent-Adolescent Relationship Quality and Adolescents' Social Adjustment. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2016; 44:269-81. [PMID: 25711459 PMCID: PMC4729811 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-015-9989-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
This 2-wave longitudinal study aimed (1) to investigate whether high resting RSA predicted adolescents’ lower externalizing behavior and higher empathic concern, and (2) to address the potential moderating role of resting RSA in the association between parent-adolescent relationship quality and adolescents’ externalizing behavior and empathic concern. In a sample of 379 adolescents (212 boys, 167 girls), resting RSA was assessed during a laboratory session, and adolescents reported on parental support, negative interaction with parents, empathic concern and externalizing behavior during a home visit. We found no support for high resting RSA predicting low externalizing behavior or high empathic concern. However, in line with our hypotheses, we did find several instances of RSA functioning as a moderator, although the interaction patterns varied. First, negative interaction with parents was a negative predictor of externalizing behavior for girls low in resting RSA, whereas the association was non-significant for girls with high RSA. Second, higher negative interaction with parents predicted lower empathic concern for boys high in resting RSA, whereas the association was reversed for boys with low resting RSA. Third, parental support was a positive predictor of empathic concern for girls high in resting RSA, whereas the association was non-significant for girls low in resting RSA. The findings suggest that adolescents with different levels of resting RSA respond differentially to relationship quality with parents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jolien Van der Graaff
- Research Centre Adolescent Development, Utrecht University, PO Box 80.140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Wim Meeus
- Research Centre Adolescent Development, Utrecht University, PO Box 80.140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- Department of Psychology, Tilburg University, PO Box 90.153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
| | - Minet de Wied
- Research Centre Adolescent Development, Utrecht University, PO Box 80.140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Anton van Boxtel
- Department of Psychology, Tilburg University, PO Box 90.153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
| | - Pol van Lier
- Department of Developmental Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Susan Branje
- Research Centre Adolescent Development, Utrecht University, PO Box 80.140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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12
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Depression and resting state heart rate variability in children and adolescents — A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Rev 2016; 46:136-50. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2016.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2015] [Revised: 04/18/2016] [Accepted: 04/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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13
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Ma N, Roberts R, Winefield H, Furber G. The prevalence of psychopathology in siblings of children with mental health problems: a 20-year systematic review. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2015; 46:130-49. [PMID: 24652033 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-014-0459-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
While the importance of looking at the entire family system in the context of child and adolescent mental health is well recognised, siblings of children with mental health problems (MHPs) are often overlooked. The existing literature on the mental health of these siblings needs to be reviewed. A systematic search located publications from 1990 to 2011 in four electronic databases. Thirty-nine relevant studies reported data on the prevalence of psychopathology in siblings of target children with MHPs. Siblings of target children had higher rates of at least one type of psychopathology than comparison children. Risk of psychopathology varied across the type of MHP in the target child. Other covariates included sibling age and gender and parental psychopathology. Significant variations and limitations in methodology were found in the existing literature. Methodological guidelines for future studies are outlined. Implications for clinicians, parents, and for future research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nylanda Ma
- School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, North Tce, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia,
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14
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Kirsch V, Wilhelm FH, Goldbeck L. Psychophysiological characteristics of pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder during script-driven traumatic imagery. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2015; 6:25471. [PMID: 25660044 PMCID: PMC4320135 DOI: 10.3402/ejpt.v6.25471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2014] [Revised: 12/22/2014] [Accepted: 01/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Psychophysiological alterations such as elevated baseline levels and hyperresponsivity in cardiac, electrodermal, and facial muscle activity have been observed in adults with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There are only few, inconclusive studies investigating psychophysiological responses in children and adolescents with PTSD. OBJECTIVE This cross-sectional study sought to examine if autonomic variables, facial electromyography (EMG), and self-reported anxiety at baseline, while listening to neutral and idiosyncratic trauma scripts, differ between minors with a trauma history and PTSD, and a traumatized control (TC) group without PTSD. A better understanding of psychophysiological reactions in trauma-exposed children and adolescents could improve differential assessment and treatment decisions. METHOD PTSD was assessed using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for Children and Adolescents in 6- to 17-year-old trauma-exposed children, resulting in a group with PTSD according to DSM-IV (n=16) and a TC group without PTSD (n=18). Facial EMG, (para-)sympathetic measures (heart rate, electrodermal activity, respiratory sinus arrhythmia), and self-reported anxiety were measured during 5-min baseline, 3-min neutral script, and 3-min idiosyncratic trauma script. Baseline, reactivity (trauma minus baseline), and script contrast (trauma minus neutral) were analyzed by multivariate analyses of variance. RESULTS Children and adolescents with PTSD reported more anxiety compared to TC for baseline, reactivity, and script contrast (ps<0.021, ds>0.59), and showed elevated corrugator supercilii muscle activity for script contrast (p<0.05, d=0.79). No group differences emerged for sympathetic or parasympathetic measures. CONCLUSIONS Children and adolescents with PTSD experienced elevated anxiety at baseline and elevated anxiety and facial corrugator muscle response to an idiosyncratic trauma narrative. Autonomic hyperreactivity, typical for adult PTSD samples, did not figure prominently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Kirsch
- Clinic for Child and Adolescence Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany;
| | - Frank H Wilhelm
- Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Health Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Lutz Goldbeck
- Clinic for Child and Adolescence Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
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15
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Scott BG, Weems CF. Resting vagal tone and vagal response to stress: associations with anxiety, aggression, and perceived anxiety control among youths. Psychophysiology 2014; 51:718-27. [PMID: 24708059 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2013] [Accepted: 02/21/2014] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
This study tested the associations of both resting vagal tone and vagal response to stress with anxiety control beliefs, anxiety, and aggression among 80 youths (aged 11-17 years). Measures included physiological assessments of emotion regulation along with youth self-report of anxiety control beliefs, anxiety, and aggression and caregiver reports of their child's anxiety and aggression. Resting vagal tone was positively related to anxiety control beliefs, but negatively associated with anxiety. Conversely, higher levels of anxiety and aggression were associated with increased vagal tone during a cognitive stress task. Findings suggest associations between physiological and self-report of emotion regulation (anxiety control beliefs) and that anxiety and aggression may have specific and nonspecific relations with physiological indices of emotion regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon G Scott
- Prevention Research Center, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
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16
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McLaughlin KA, Alves S, Sheridan MA. Vagal regulation and internalizing psychopathology among adolescents exposed to childhood adversity. Dev Psychobiol 2013; 56:1036-51. [PMID: 24338154 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2013] [Accepted: 11/18/2013] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Childhood adversity (CA) is strongly associated with youth psychopathology. Identifying factors that reduce vulnerability following CA is critical for developing preventive interventions. Vagal tone and vagal reactivity following psychosocial stressors might influence psychopathology among youths exposed to CA. We acquired heart period and impedance cardiography data to calculate respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and preejection period (PEP) from 157 adolescents aged 13-17 years at rest and during the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Internalizing and externalizing symptoms and multiple forms of CA were assessed. Resting RSA and RSA reactivity interacted with CA in predicting internalizing but not externalizing psychopathology; CA was unassociated with internalizing problems in adolescents with high resting RSA and RSA reactivity. No interactions were observed with PEP. High resting RSA predicted greater vagal rebound and accelerated heart rate recovery following the TSST, highlighting one potential mechanism underlying low internalizing symptoms following CA among youths with high vagal tone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie A McLaughlin
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Box 351525, Seattle, WA, 98195-1525.
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17
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Associations between respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity and internalizing and externalizing symptoms are emotion specific. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2013; 13:238-51. [PMID: 23233122 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-012-0136-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Internalizing and externalizing disorders are often, though inconsistently in studies of young children, associated with low baseline levels of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). RSA is thus considered to reflect the capacity for flexible and regulated affective reactivity and a general propensity for psychopathology. However, studies assessing RSA reactivity to emotional challenges tend to report more consistent associations with internalizing than with externalizing disorders, although it is unclear whether this is a function of the type of emotion challenges used. In the present study, we examined whether baseline RSA was associated with internalizing and/or externalizing severity in a sample of 273 young children (ages 5-6) with elevated symptoms of psychopathology. Following motivation-based models of emotion, we also tested whether RSA reactivity during withdrawal-based (fear, sadness) and approach-based (happiness, anger) emotion inductions was differentially associated with internalizing and externalizing symptoms, respectively. Baseline RSA was not associated with externalizing or internalizing symptom severity. However, RSA reactivity to specific emotional challenges was associated differentially with each symptom domain. As expected, internalizing symptom severity was associated with greater RSA withdrawal (increased arousal) during fearful and sad film segments. Conversely, externalizing symptom severity was related to blunted RSA withdrawal during a happy film segment. The use of theoretically derived stimuli may be important in characterizing the nature of the deficits in emotion processing that differentiate the internalizing and externalizing domains of psychopathology.
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18
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McLaughlin KA, Rith-Najarian L, Dirks MA, Sheridan MA. Low vagal tone magnifies the association between psychosocial stress exposure and internalizing psychopathology in adolescents. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY 2013; 44:314-28. [PMID: 24156380 DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2013.843464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Vagal tone is a measure of cardiovascular function that facilitates adaptive responses to environmental challenge. Low vagal tone is associated with poor emotional and attentional regulation in children and has been conceptualized as a marker of sensitivity to stress. We investigated whether the associations of a wide range of psychosocial stressors with internalizing and externalizing psychopathology were magnified in adolescents with low vagal tone. Resting heart period data were collected from a diverse community sample of adolescents (ages 13-17; N = 168). Adolescents completed measures assessing internalizing and externalizing psychopathology and exposure to stressors occurring in family, peer, and community contexts. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was calculated from the interbeat interval time series. We estimated interactions between RSA and stress exposure in predicting internalizing and externalizing symptoms and evaluated whether interactions differed by gender. Exposure to psychosocial stressors was associated strongly with psychopathology. RSA was unrelated to internalizing or externalizing problems. Significant interactions were observed between RSA and child abuse, community violence, peer victimization, and traumatic events in predicting internalizing but not externalizing symptoms. Stressors were positively associated with internalizing symptoms in adolescents with low RSA but not in those with high RSA. Similar patterns were observed for anxiety and depression. These interactions were more consistently observed for male than female individuals. Low vagal tone is associated with internalizing psychopathology in adolescents exposed to high levels of stressors. Measurement of vagal tone in clinical settings might provide useful information about sensitivity to stress in child and adolescent clients.
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Responses to voluntary hyperventilation in children with separation anxiety disorder: implications for the link to panic disorder. J Anxiety Disord 2013; 27:627-34. [PMID: 24064331 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2013] [Revised: 07/15/2013] [Accepted: 08/02/2013] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Biological theories on respiratory regulation have linked separation anxiety disorder (SAD) to panic disorder (PD). We tested if SAD children show similarly increased anxious and psychophysiological responding to voluntary hyperventilation and compromised recovery thereafter as has been observed in PD patients. METHODS Participants were 49 children (5-14 years old) with SAD, 21 clinical controls with other anxiety disorders, and 39 healthy controls. We assessed cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic, respiratory (including pCO2), electrodermal, electromyographic, and self-report variables during baseline, paced hyperventilation, and recovery. RESULTS SAD children did not react with increased anxiety or panic symptoms and did not show signs of slowed recovery. However, during hyperventilation they exhibited elevated reactivity in respiratory variability, heart rate, and musculus corrugator supercilii activity indicating difficulty with respiratory regulation. CONCLUSIONS Reactions to hyperventilation are much less pronounced in children with SAD than in PD patients. SAD children showed voluntary breathing regulation deficits.
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Graziano P, Derefinko K. Cardiac vagal control and children's adaptive functioning: a meta-analysis. Biol Psychol 2013; 94:22-37. [PMID: 23648264 PMCID: PMC4074920 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2013.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 294] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2012] [Revised: 04/15/2013] [Accepted: 04/16/2013] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Polyvagal theory has influenced research on the role of cardiac vagal control, indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia withdrawal (RSA-W) during challenging states, in children's self-regulation. However, it remains unclear how well RSA-W predicts adaptive functioning (AF) outcomes and whether certain caveats of measuring RSA (e.g., respiration) significantly impact these associations. A meta-analysis of 44 studies (n=4996 children) revealed small effect sizes such that greater levels of RSA-W were related to fewer externalizing, internalizing, and cognitive/academic problems. In contrast, RSA-W was differentially related to children's social problems according to sample type (community vs. clinical/at-risk). The relations between RSA-W and children's AF outcomes were stronger among studies that co-varied baseline RSA and in Caucasian children (no effect was found for respiration). Children from clinical/at-risk samples displayed lower levels of baseline RSA and RSA-W compared to children from community samples. Theoretical/practical implications for the study of cardiac vagal control are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulo Graziano
- Florida International University, Center for Children and Families and Department of Psychology, Miami 33199, USA.
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Skowron EA, Cipriano-Essel E, Benjamin LS, Pincus AL, Van Ryzin MJ. Cardiac Vagal Tone and Quality of Parenting Show Concurrent and Time-Ordered Associations That Diverge in Abusive, Neglectful, and Non-Maltreating Mothers. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 2:95-115. [PMID: 24729945 DOI: 10.1037/cfp0000005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Concurrent and lagged maternal respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was monitored in the context of parenting. One hundred and forty-one preschooler-mother dyads-involved with child welfare as documented perpetrators of child abuse or neglect, or non-maltreating (non-CM)-were observed completing a resting baseline and joint challenge task. Parenting behaviors were coded using SASB (Benjamin, 1996) and maternal RSA was simultaneously monitored, longitudinally-nested within-person (WP), and subjected to MLM. Abusive and neglectful mothers displayed less positive parenting and more strict/hostile control, relative to non-CM mothers. Non-CM mothers displayed greater WP heterogeneity in variance over time in their RSA scores, and greater consistency over time in their parenting behaviors, relative to abusive or neglectful mothers. CM group also moderated concurrent and lagged WP associations in RSA and positive parenting. When abusive mothers displayed lower RSA in a given epoch, relative to their task average, they showed concurrent increases in positive parenting, and higher subsequent levels of hostile control in the following epoch, suggesting that it is physiologically taxing for abusive mothers to parent in positive ways. In contrast, lagged effects for non-CM mothers were observed in which RSA decreases led to subsequent WP increases in positive parenting and decreases in control. Reversed models were significant only for neglectful mothers: Increases in positive parenting led to subsequent increases in RSA levels, and increases in strict, hostile control led to subsequent RSA decreases. These results provide new evidence that concurrent and time-ordered coupling in maternal physiology and behavior during parenting vary in theoretically meaningful ways across CM and non-CM mothers. Implications for intervention and study limitations are discussed.
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Tharner A, Dierckx B, Luijk MPCM, van Ijzendoorn MH, Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ, van Ginkel JR, Moll HA, Jaddoe VWV, Hofman A, Hudziak JJ, Verhulst FC, Tiemeier H. Attachment disorganization moderates the effect of maternal postnatal depressive symptoms on infant autonomic functioning. Psychophysiology 2012; 50:195-203. [PMID: 23252764 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2011] [Accepted: 09/27/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We examined associations of disorganized attachment and maternal depressive symptoms with infant autonomic functioning in 450 infant-mother dyads enrolled in the Generation R study. Maternal depressive symptoms were measured 2 months postpartum with the Brief Symptom Inventory. At 14 months, we assessed infant attachment with a slightly shortened Strange Situation and measured infant resting heart rate. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was calculated using spectral analysis. Higher levels of maternal postnatal depressive symptoms predicted lower resting RSA in disorganized infants (B = -0.31, SE = 0.15, p = .04, R(2) = .05) but not in nondisorganized infants (B = 0.05, SE = 0.06, p = .36). This effect was buffered in disorganized infants with a secondary secure attachment classification. Disorganized infants were more vulnerable to the effect of maternal postnatal depressive symptoms on the physiological stress systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Tharner
- Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Bagner DM, Graziano PA, Jaccard J, Sheinkopf SJ, Vohr BR, Lester BM. An initial investigation of baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia as a moderator of treatment outcome for young children born premature with externalizing behavior problems. Behav Ther 2012; 43:652-65. [PMID: 22697452 PMCID: PMC3475510 DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2011.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2011] [Revised: 12/19/2011] [Accepted: 12/21/2011] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
The aim of the current study was to examine the moderating effect of baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) on Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), a behavioral parent-training intervention, for young children born premature. In this pilot randomized controlled trial, 28 young children (mean age of 37.79 months), who were born <37 weeks gestation and presented with elevated externalizing behavior problems, were randomly assigned to an immediate treatment or waitlist control group. RSA, which provides an approximate marker of individual differences in cardiac vagal tone, was measured during a baseline period. Past research has generally shown that higher levels of baseline RSA correlate with various positive psychological states (e.g., empathy, sustained attention), whereas lower levels of baseline RSA correlate with less optimal psychological states (e.g., higher externalizing behavior problems). Results indicated that baseline RSA significantly interacted with treatment condition in predicting changes in child disruptive behavior. Specifically, low levels of baseline RSA were associated with greater improvements in child disruptive behavior following PCIT. While acknowledging the caveats of measuring and interpreting RSA and the need to include a sympathetic-linked cardiac measure in future research, these findings provide preliminary evidence that children with lower capacity for emotion regulation receive even greater treatment gains. Future research should also examine the moderating effect of RSA in larger samples and explore the potential mediating role of RSA on behavioral parenting interventions.
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Kossowsky J, Wilhelm FH, Roth WT, Schneider S. Separation anxiety disorder in children: disorder-specific responses to experimental separation from the mother. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2012; 53:178-87. [PMID: 21923807 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02465.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common anxiety disorders in childhood and is predictive of adult anxiety disorders, especially panic disorder. However, the disorder has seldom been studied and the attempt to distinguish SAD from other anxiety disorders with regard to psychophysiology has not been made. We expected exaggerated anxiety as well as sympathetic and respiratory reactivity in SAD during separation from the mother. METHOD Participants were 49 children with a principal diagnosis of SAD, 21 clinical controls (CC) with a principal diagnosis of anxiety disorder other than SAD, and 39 healthy controls (HC) not meeting criteria for any current diagnosis. Analyses of covariance controlling for age were used to assess sympathetic and parasympathetic activation (preejection period and respiratory sinus arrhythmia) as well as cardiovascular (heart rate, mean arterial pressure, total peripheral resistance), respiratory (total breath time, minute ventilation, tidal volume, end-tidal CO(2) , respiratory variability), electrodermal, and self-report (anxiety, cognitions, symptoms) variables during baseline, 4-min separation from, and reunion with the mother. RESULTS Children with a diagnosis of SAD were characterized by elevated self-reported anxiety responses to separation and increased sympathetic reactivity compared with CC and HC groups. The SAD group also displayed greater vagal withdrawal and higher reactivity in multiple cardiovascular, respiratory, and electrodermal measures compared with the HC group, while corresponding responses were less in the CC group and not significantly different from the other groups. CONCLUSIONS Separation from the mother elicits greater autonomic, respiratory, and experiential responses in children with SAD. Our findings based on brief experimental separation demonstrate differential subjective and physiological manifestations of specific anxiety diagnoses, thus supporting the validity of the diagnostic category of SAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joe Kossowsky
- Institute of Psychology, University of Basel, Switzerland
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Eisenberg N, Sulik MJ, Spinrad TL, Edwards A, Eggum ND, Liew J, Sallquist J, Popp TK, Smith CL, Hart D. Differential susceptibility and the early development of aggression: interactive effects of respiratory sinus arrhythmia and environmental quality. Dev Psychol 2011; 48:755-68. [PMID: 22182294 DOI: 10.1037/a0026518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of the current study was to predict the development of aggressive behavior from young children's respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and environmental quality. In a longitudinal sample of 213 children, baseline RSA, RSA suppression in response to a film of crying babies, and a composite measure of environmental quality (incorporating socioeconomic status and marital adjustment) were measured, and parent-reported aggression was assessed from 18 to 54 months of age. Predictions based on biological sensitivity-to-context/differential susceptibility and diathesis-stress models, as well as potential moderation by child sex, were examined. The interaction of baseline RSA with environmental quality predicted the development (slope) and 54-month intercept of mothers' reports of aggression. For girls only, the interaction between baseline RSA and environmental quality predicted the 18-month intercept of fathers' reports. In general, significant negative relations between RSA and aggression were found primarily at high levels of environmental quality. In addition, we found a significant Sex × RSA interaction predicting the slope and 54-month intercept of fathers' reports of aggression, such that RSA was negatively related to aggression for boys but not for girls. Contrary to predictions, no significant main effects or interactions were found for RSA suppression. The results provide mixed but not full support for differential susceptibility theory and provide little support for the diathesis-stress model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy Eisenberg
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104, USA.
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Raine A, Laufer WS, Yang Y, Narr KL, Thompson P, Toga AW. Increased executive functioning, attention, and cortical thickness in white-collar criminals. Hum Brain Mapp 2011; 33:2932-40. [PMID: 22002326 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2011] [Revised: 06/11/2011] [Accepted: 06/24/2011] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Very little is known on white-collar crime and how it differs to other forms of offending. This study tests the hypothesis that white-collar criminals have better executive functioning, enhanced information processing, and structural brain superiorities compared with offender controls. Using a case-control design, executive functioning, orienting, and cortical thickness was assessed in 21 white-collar criminals matched with 21 controls on age, gender, ethnicity, and general level of criminal offending. White-collar criminals had significantly better executive functioning, increased electrodermal orienting, increased arousal, and increased cortical gray matter thickness in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, somatosensory cortex, and the temporal-parietal junction compared with controls. Results, while initial, constitute the first findings on neurobiological characteristics of white-collar criminals. It is hypothesized that white-collar criminals have information-processing and brain superiorities that give them an advantage in perpetrating criminal offenses in occupational settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Raine
- Department of Criminology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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De Vries-Bouw M, Popma A, Vermeiren R, Doreleijers TAH, Van De Ven PM, Jansen LMC. The predictive value of low heart rate and heart rate variability during stress for reoffending in delinquent male adolescents. Psychophysiology 2011; 48:1597-1604. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01233.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Bradley RT, McCraty R, Atkinson M, Tomasino D, Daugherty A, Arguelles L. Emotion self-regulation, psychophysiological coherence, and test anxiety: results from an experiment using electrophysiological measures. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 2011; 35:261-83. [PMID: 20559707 DOI: 10.1007/s10484-010-9134-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of a novel, classroom-based emotion self-regulation program (TestEdge) on measures of test anxiety, socioemotional function, test performance, and heart rate variability (HRV) in high school students. The program teaches students how to self-generate a specific psychophysiological state--psychophysiological coherence--which has been shown to improve nervous system function, emotional stability, and cognitive performance. Implemented as part of a larger study investigating the population of tenth grade students in two California high schools (N = 980), the research reported here was conducted as a controlled pre- and post-intervention laboratory experiment, using electrophysiological measures, on a random stratified sample of students from the intervention and control schools (N = 136). The Stroop color-word conflict test was used as the experiment's stimulus to simulate the stress of taking a high-stakes test, while continuous HRV recordings were gathered. The post-intervention electrophysiological results showed a pattern of improvement across all HRV measures, indicating that students who received the intervention program had learned how to better manage their emotions and to self-activate the psychophysiological coherence state under stressful conditions. Moreover, students with high test anxiety exhibited increased HRV and heart rhythm coherence even during a resting baseline condition (without conscious use of the program's techniques), suggesting that they had internalized the benefits of the intervention. Consistent with these results, students exhibited reduced test anxiety and reduced negative affect after the intervention. Finally, there is suggestive evidence from a matched-pairs analysis that reduced test anxiety and increased psychophysiological coherence appear to be directly associated with improved test performance--a finding consistent with evidence from the larger study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymond Trevor Bradley
- Institute for Whole Social Science, Aorangi Retreat, Hikurangi RD 1, Northland, New Zealand,
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Byrne ML, Sheeber L, Simmons JG, Davis B, Shortt JW, Katz LF, Allen NB. Autonomic cardiac control in depressed adolescents. Depress Anxiety 2010; 27:1050-6. [PMID: 20577986 PMCID: PMC3626279 DOI: 10.1002/da.20717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2010] [Revised: 05/09/2010] [Accepted: 05/10/2010] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to identify the aspects of cardiac physiology associated with depressive disorder early in life by examining measures of autonomic cardiac control in a community-based sample of depressed adolescents at an early phase of illness, and matched on a number of demographic factors with a nondepressed comparison group. METHODS Participants were 127 adolescents (44 boys), ages 14-18, who formed two demographically matched groups of clinically depressed and nondepressed participants. Adolescents were excluded if they evidenced comorbid externalizing or substance-dependence disorders, were taking medications with known cardiac effects, or reported regular nicotine use. Resting measures of heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, skin conductance level, blood pressure, and pre-ejection period were collected. RESULTS Depressed adolescents had resting heart rates significantly higher than those of healthy adolescents. No other measure of autonomic functioning differentiated the groups. Post hoc analyses were conducted to examine the influence of illness chronicity, severity, comorbidity, and sex on cardiac psychophysiology. These variables did not appear to exert a significant influence on the findings. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that neither autonomic cardiac control, illness chronicity, or severity, nor medication effects fully explain resting heart rate differences between depressed and nondepressed adolescents. Future research on depression and heart rate should consider mechanisms other than sympathetic or parasympathetic control as potential explanations of heart rate differences, including blood-clotting mechanisms, vascular and endothelial dysfunction of the coronary arteries, and inflammatory immune system response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle L. Byrne
- ORYGEN Youth Health Research Centre, University of Melbourne, Australia,Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia
| | | | - Julian G. Simmons
- ORYGEN Youth Health Research Centre, University of Melbourne, Australia,Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia
| | | | | | | | - Nicholas B. Allen
- ORYGEN Youth Health Research Centre, University of Melbourne, Australia,Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia
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Pu J, Schmeichel BJ, Demaree HA. Cardiac vagal control predicts spontaneous regulation of negative emotional expression and subsequent cognitive performance. Biol Psychol 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2009.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Scarpa A, Haden SC, Tanaka A. Being hot-tempered: Autonomic, emotional, and behavioral distinctions between childhood reactive and proactive aggression. Biol Psychol 2010; 84:488-96. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2009.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2008] [Revised: 11/16/2009] [Accepted: 11/17/2009] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Obradović J, Bush NR, Stamperdahl J, Adler NE, Boyce WT. Biological sensitivity to context: the interactive effects of stress reactivity and family adversity on socioemotional behavior and school readiness. Child Dev 2010; 81:270-89. [PMID: 20331667 PMCID: PMC2846098 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01394.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 339] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
This study examined the direct and interactive effects of stress reactivity and family adversity on socioemotional and cognitive development in three hundred and thirty-eight 5- to 6-year-old children. Neurobiological stress reactivity was measured as respiratory sinus arrhythmia and salivary cortisol responses to social, cognitive, sensory, and emotional challenges. Adaptation was assessed using child, parent, and teacher reports of externalizing symptoms, prosocial behaviors, school engagement, and academic competence. Results revealed significant interactions between reactivity and adversity. High stress reactivity was associated with more maladaptive outcomes in the context of high adversity but with better adaption in the context of low adversity. The findings corroborate a reconceptualization of stress reactivity as biological sensitivity to context by showing that high reactivity can both hinder and promote adaptive functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jelena Obradović
- Stanford University, School of Education, Stanford, CA 94305-3096, USA.
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Bagner DM, Sheinkopf SJ, Miller-Loncar CL, Vohr BR, Hinckley M, Eyberg SM, Lester BM. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Children Born Premature: A Case Study and Illustration of Vagal Tone as a Physiological Measure of Treatment Outcome. COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL PRACTICE 2009; 16:468-477. [PMID: 20428470 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Evidence-based psychosocial interventions for externalizing behavior problems in children born premature have not been reported in the literature. This single-case study describes Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) with a 23-month-old child born at 29 weeks gestation weighing 1,020 grams, who presented with significant externalizing behavior problems. Treatment outcome was assessed using standard measures of maternal and child functioning and observational measures of the parent-child interaction, as well as a physiological measure of heart rate variability (i.e., vagal tone) used to assess parasympathetic control in the child. Maternal reports of child behavior problems and their own stress and depressive symptoms decreased after treatment. Behavioral observations demonstrated improved parenting practices and child compliance, and vagal tone showed comparable increases as well. Results suggest that PCIT is a promising psychosocial intervention for children born premature with externalizing behavior problems, and that vagal tone may be a useful measure of treatment outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel M Bagner
- Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Women & Infants' Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 101 Dudley St., Providence, RI 02905
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Allen MT, Hogan AM, Laird LK. The relationships of impulsivity and cardiovascular responses: The role of gender and task type. Int J Psychophysiol 2009; 73:369-76. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2009.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2009] [Revised: 05/19/2009] [Accepted: 05/26/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Bubier JL, Drabick DAG. Affective decision-making and externalizing behaviors: the role of autonomic activity. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2008; 36:941-53. [PMID: 18317919 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-008-9225-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2007] [Accepted: 02/07/2008] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We tested a conceptual model involving the inter-relations among affective decision-making (indexed by a gambling task), autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms in a largely impoverished, inner city sample of first through third grade children (N=63, 54% male). The present study hypothesized that impaired affective decision-making and decreased sympathetic and parasympathetic activation would be associated with higher levels of ADHD and ODD symptoms, and that low sympathetic and parasympathetic activation during an emotion-inducing task would mediate the relation between affective decision-making and child externalizing symptoms. In support of our model, disadvantageous decision-making on a gambling task was associated with ADHD hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms among boys, and attenuated sympathetic activation during an emotion-inducing task mediated this relation. Support for the model was not found among girls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Bubier
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Weiss Hall, 1701 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122-6085, USA.
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Brunelli SA, Hofer MA. Selective breeding for infant rat separation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations: developmental precursors of passive and active coping styles. Behav Brain Res 2007; 182:193-207. [PMID: 17543397 PMCID: PMC2759113 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2007.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2007] [Revised: 04/17/2007] [Accepted: 04/20/2007] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Human depression and anxiety disorders show inherited biases across generations, as do antisocial disorders characterized by aggression. Each condition is preceded in children by behavioral inhibition or aggressive behavior, respectively, and both are characterized by separation anxiety disorders. In affected families, adults and children exhibit different forms of altered autonomic nervous system regulation and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity in response to stress. Because it is difficult to determine mechanisms accounting for these associations, animal studies are useful for studying the fundamental relationships between biological and behavioral traits. Pharmacologic and behavioral studies suggest that infant rat ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) are a measure of an early anxiety-like state related to separation anxiety. However, it was not known whether or not early ultrasound emissions in infant rats are markers for genetic risk for anxiety states later in life. To address these questions, we selectively bred two lines of rats based on high and low rates of USV to isolation at postnatal (P) 10 days of age. To our knowledge, ours is the only laboratory that has ever selectively bred on the basis of an infantile trait related to anxiety. The High and Low USV lines show two distinct sets of patterns of behavior, physiology and neurochemistry from infancy through adulthood. As adults High line rats demonstrate "anxious"/"depressed" phenotypes in behavior and autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulation to standard laboratory tests. In Lows, on the other hand, behavior and autonomic regulation are consistent with an "aggressive" phenotype. The High and Low USV lines are the first genetic animal models implicating long-term associations of contrasting "coping styles" with early attachment responses. They thus present a potentially powerful model for examining gene-environment interactions in the development of life-long affective regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan A Brunelli
- Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY 10032,
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Dietrich A, Riese H, Sondeijker FEPL, Greaves-Lord K, van Roon AM, Ormel J, Neeleman J, Rosmalen JGM. Externalizing and internalizing problems in relation to autonomic function: a population-based study in preadolescents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2007; 46:378-386. [PMID: 17314724 DOI: 10.1097/chi.0b013e31802b91ea] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate whether externalizing and internalizing problems are related to lower and higher heart rate (HR), respectively, and to explore the relationship of these problems with respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS). Moreover, to study whether problems present at both preschool and preadolescent age show stronger associations with autonomic function than those that were not. METHOD In a population cohort of 10- to 13-year-old children (N = 931; 11.6 +/- 0.5 years; 47% boys), autonomic measurements in supine and standing position were performed at school. RSA and BRS were determined by spectral analysis. Current externalizing and internalizing problems were assessed by the Child Behavior Checklist and problems at age 4 to 5 retrospectively by the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire. RESULTS At supine rest, current externalizing problems were associated with lower HR and higher RSA, but not with BRS and current internalizing problems with higher HR and lower RSA, but not with BRS. These results were specifically found in children with problems that were retrospectively reported to have been also present at preschool age. Standing-induced changes in autonomic parameters were unrelated to the behavioral dimensions. CONCLUSIONS Externalizing and internalizing problems are associated with divergent autonomic patterns, suggesting autonomic underarousal and overarousal, respectively. Problems starting early in life may specifically account for this. This should be confirmed in prospective studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Dietrich
- Ms. Dietrich and Drs. Riese, Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Department of Psychiatry and Graduate School of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences, and Dr. van Roon is with the Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen; Ms. Sondeijker and Ms. Greaves-Lord are with the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam; Drs. Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Graduate School for Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen; and Dr. Neeleman is with the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Harriëtte Riese
- Ms. Dietrich and Drs. Riese, Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Department of Psychiatry and Graduate School of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences, and Dr. van Roon is with the Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen; Ms. Sondeijker and Ms. Greaves-Lord are with the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam; Drs. Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Graduate School for Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen; and Dr. Neeleman is with the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Frouke E P L Sondeijker
- Ms. Dietrich and Drs. Riese, Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Department of Psychiatry and Graduate School of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences, and Dr. van Roon is with the Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen; Ms. Sondeijker and Ms. Greaves-Lord are with the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam; Drs. Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Graduate School for Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen; and Dr. Neeleman is with the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Kirstin Greaves-Lord
- Ms. Dietrich and Drs. Riese, Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Department of Psychiatry and Graduate School of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences, and Dr. van Roon is with the Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen; Ms. Sondeijker and Ms. Greaves-Lord are with the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam; Drs. Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Graduate School for Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen; and Dr. Neeleman is with the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Arie M van Roon
- Ms. Dietrich and Drs. Riese, Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Department of Psychiatry and Graduate School of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences, and Dr. van Roon is with the Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen; Ms. Sondeijker and Ms. Greaves-Lord are with the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam; Drs. Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Graduate School for Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen; and Dr. Neeleman is with the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Johan Ormel
- Ms. Dietrich and Drs. Riese, Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Department of Psychiatry and Graduate School of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences, and Dr. van Roon is with the Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen; Ms. Sondeijker and Ms. Greaves-Lord are with the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam; Drs. Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Graduate School for Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen; and Dr. Neeleman is with the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Neeleman
- Ms. Dietrich and Drs. Riese, Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Department of Psychiatry and Graduate School of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences, and Dr. van Roon is with the Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen; Ms. Sondeijker and Ms. Greaves-Lord are with the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam; Drs. Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Graduate School for Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen; and Dr. Neeleman is with the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Judith G M Rosmalen
- Ms. Dietrich and Drs. Riese, Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Department of Psychiatry and Graduate School of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences, and Dr. van Roon is with the Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen; Ms. Sondeijker and Ms. Greaves-Lord are with the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam; Drs. Ormel, Neeleman, and Rosmalen are with the Graduate School for Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen; and Dr. Neeleman is with the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Calkins SD, Graziano PA, Keane SP. Cardiac vagal regulation differentiates among children at risk for behavior problems. Biol Psychol 2007; 74:144-53. [PMID: 17055141 PMCID: PMC2773670 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 229] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/06/2005] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A sample of 335 five-year-old children participating in an ongoing longitudinal study was the focus of a study on the effects of emotional and behavioral challenge on cardiac activity in children with different patterns of early childhood behavior problems. The children were placed in one of three behavior problem groups (low behavior problems, risk for externalizing problems, risk for mixed externalizing/internalizing problems) based on their scores on the Child Behavior Checklist for 4-18-year-olds [Achenbach, T.M., 1991. Integrative guide for the 1991 CBCL/4-18, YSR & TRF profiles. University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry, Burlington, VT], completed by their mothers. To assess cardiac vagal regulation, resting measures of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and RSA change (vagal withdrawal) to five emotionally and behaviorally challenging tasks were derived. In addition, heart period (HP) and heart period change (HR acceleration) was examined. Results indicated that the behavior problem groups did not differ in terms of resting measures of either RSA or HP. Analyses of the challenge tasks indicated that the children at risk for mixed problems displayed greater cardiac vagal withdrawal across the five tasks than did the other two groups of children. There was a trend for the children at risk for externalizing problems to display less vagal withdrawal than the control group. In addition, the children at risk for mixed problems displayed greater heart rate acceleration to the tasks than did the other two groups of children. Follow-up analyses indicated that the greater cardiac acceleration observed in the mixed group was largely a function of greater vagal withdrawal. These findings are discussed in terms of the emotion regulatory function of cardiac vagal regulation, and its implications for patterns of risk for behavior problems in young children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan D Calkins
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27403, USA.
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Friedman BH. An autonomic flexibility–neurovisceral integration model of anxiety and cardiac vagal tone. Biol Psychol 2007; 74:185-99. [PMID: 17069959 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2005.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 487] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/16/2005] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Research on heart rate variability (HRV), cardiac vagal tone, and their relationship to anxiety is reviewed in the context of the autonomic flexibility and neurovisceral integration models of adaptive functioning. These perspectives address the qualities of response flexibility and inhibition across multiple levels, incorporating central and autonomic nervous system mechanisms of environmental engagement, as well as principles derived from non-linear dynamics. These models predict reduced HRV and vagal tone in anxiety, and the literature has generally supported this prediction, with exceptions as are noted. State, trait, and clinical expressions of anxiety are considered, along with the clinical, methodological, and theoretical implications of this research. A portrayal of anxiety as a restricted response range across biological and behavioral realms of functioning is drawn from the literature on anxiety and HRV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruce H Friedman
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0436, USA.
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Abstract
This study provides comparative data on cardiac reactivity to common laboratory tasks in preschool children (ages 4.5-5.5 years) and young adults. We used a series of tasks (an emotionally evocative video, interview, reaction time task, and cold forehead pressor) to examine whether pre-ejection period, a common estimate of sympathetic cardiac activity in adults, provides a comparable measure of sympathetic reactivity to these tasks in preschool children. Our results demonstrate that the cardiac reactivity (pre-ejection period, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and heart period) to such tasks in children and young adults is similar, but with smaller sympathetic reactivity in children. The consistency of the reactivity across tasks within individuals and consistency of reactivity across children and young adults suggests that pre-ejection period is a reasonable estimate of sympathetic activity in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen S Quigley
- War Related Illness & Injury Study Center, Department of Veterans Affairs-New Jersey Heath Care System, East Orange, New Jersey 07018, USA.
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41
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Abstract
The polyvagal theory introduced a new perspective relating autonomic function to behavior, that included an appreciation of the autonomic nervous system as a "system," the identification of neural circuits involved in the regulation of autonomic state, and an interpretation of autonomic reactivity as adaptive within the context of the phylogeny of the vertebrate autonomic nervous system. The paper has two objectives: first, to provide an explicit statement of the theory; and second, to introduce the features of a polyvagal perspective. The polyvagal perspective emphasizes how an understanding of neurophysiological mechanisms and phylogenetic shifts in neural regulation leads to different questions, paradigms, explanations, and conclusions regarding autonomic function in biobehavioral processes than peripheral models. Foremost, the polyvagal perspective emphasizes the importance of phylogenetic changes in the neural structures regulating the autonomic nervous system and how these phylogenetic shifts provide insights into the adaptive function and the neural regulation of the two vagal systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen W Porges
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Brain-Body Center, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
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42
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Abstract
Rapidly developing research has found abnormal cardiac vagal control (CVC) in several physical and mental health conditions. CVC findings in depression are mixed, and the degree to which CVC is compromised in depression is unclear. A meta-analysis of 13 rigorous cross-sectional studies reveals that a diagnosis of depression exerts a small-to-medium effect size on CVC, and explains only about 2% of the overall variance in CVC. More robust data may emerge from alternative approaches to the depression-CVC relationship, such as the use of CVC to predict the course of the disorder. Despite the vigor of recent work on CVC and depression, overall findings are suggestive rather than conclusive. Methodological desiderata and priorities for future research are discussed, including the need to clarify the etiological significance of CVC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Rottenberg
- Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620-7200, USA.
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43
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Beauchaine TP, Gatzke-Kopp L, Mead HK. Polyvagal Theory and developmental psychopathology: emotion dysregulation and conduct problems from preschool to adolescence. Biol Psychol 2006; 74:174-84. [PMID: 17045726 PMCID: PMC1801075 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2005.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 454] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/23/2005] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In science, theories lend coherence to vast amounts of descriptive information. However, current diagnostic approaches in psychopathology are primarily atheoretical, emphasizing description over etiological mechanisms. We describe the importance of Polyvagal Theory toward understanding the etiology of emotion dysregulation, a hallmark of psychopathology. When combined with theories of social reinforcement and motivation, Polyvagal Theory specifies etiological mechanisms through which distinct patterns of psychopathology emerge. In this paper, we summarize three studies evaluating autonomic nervous system functioning in children with conduct problems, ages 4-18. At all age ranges, these children exhibit attenuated sympathetic nervous system responses to reward, suggesting deficiencies in approach motivation. By middle school, this reward insensitivity is met with inadequate vagal modulation of cardiac output, suggesting additional deficiencies in emotion regulation. We propose a biosocial developmental model of conduct problems in which inherited impulsivity is amplified through social reinforcement of emotional lability. Implications for early intervention are discussed.
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Hibbeln JR, Ferguson TA, Blasbalg TL. Omega-3 fatty acid deficiencies in neurodevelopment, aggression and autonomic dysregulation: opportunities for intervention. Int Rev Psychiatry 2006; 18:107-18. [PMID: 16777665 DOI: 10.1080/09540260600582967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Mechanisms by which aggressive and depressive disorders may be exacerbated by nutritional deficiencies in omega-3 fatty acids are considered. Early developmental deficiencies in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) may lower serotonin levels at critical periods of neurodevelopment and may result in a cascade of suboptimal development of neurotransmitter systems limiting regulation of the limbic system by the frontal cortex. Residual developmental deficits may be manifest as dysregulation of sympathetic responses to stress including decreased heart rate variability and hypertension, which in turn have been linked to behavioral dysregulation. Little direct data are available to disentangle residual neurodevelopmental effects from reversible adult pathologies. Ensuring optimal intakes of omega-3 fatty acids during early development and adulthood shows considerable promise in preventing aggression and hostility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph R Hibbeln
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, 20892, USA.
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Forbes EE, Fox NA, Cohn JF, Galles SF, Kovacs M. Children's affect regulation during a disappointment: psychophysiological responses and relation to parent history of depression. Biol Psychol 2005; 71:264-77. [PMID: 16115722 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2005.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2004] [Accepted: 05/28/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Psychophysiological responses during affect regulation were examined in 57 children ages 3-9 years, 41 of whom had a parent history of childhood-onset depression (COD). During a structured laboratory task, children were given first a disappointing toy and then a desired toy. Frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), heart period, and heart period variability were measured during resting and task conditions. Affective and self-regulatory behaviors were coded from videotape. In 3-5-year olds, greater relative right frontal activity was associated with withdrawal behavior. High heart period was associated with approach behavior. Compared with children of psychiatrically healthy parents, children of parents with COD exhibited poor heart period recovery after disappointment. For children of parents with COD, greater relative left frontal activity was related to concurrent internalizing and externalizing problems, and low resting RSA was related to internalizing problems. Physiological responses associated with affect regulation may help identify children at risk for depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika E Forbes
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Sennott Square, 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
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Movius HL, Allen JJB. Cardiac Vagal Tone, defensiveness, and motivational style. Biol Psychol 2005; 68:147-62. [PMID: 15450694 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2004.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2002] [Accepted: 03/30/2004] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Cardiac Vagal Tone has been proposed as a stable biological marker for the ability to sustain attention and regulate emotion [Porges, Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 59 (1994) 167-186]. Vagal tone is a physiological index of parasympathetic nervous system influence on the heart that has predicted a number of emotional behaviors and styles in infants, children, and adults. Little research, however, has sought to explore the link between vagal tone and established variables relating to personality and self-regulation. In this study, vagal tone was collected during 5-min baseline, stress, and recovery periods. Subjects (n = 98) also completed a short form of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, the Behavioral Activation and Behavioral Inhibition Scales, the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, the Self-Consciousness Scale, and the Openness to Experience subscale of the Five Factor Personality Inventory. Poorer modulation for vagal tone was associated with greater social anxiety, while lower vagal tone across recording periods was associated with greater defensiveness and lower behavioral activation sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hallam L Movius
- Department of Psychology, Cognitive Science and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210068, Tucson, AZ 85721-0068, USA
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Abstract
To examine processes underlying generational and developmental influences on anxiety, this laboratory produced two lines of (N:NIH strain) rats, selectively bred on the basis extreme rates of ultrasonic vocalization in 2 minutes of isolation at Postnatal Day 10. The research reviewed in this article focuses on: (1) establishment of the selectively bred lines; (2) defining infant behavioral and physiological phenotypes and (3) determining whether infantile USV phenotypes endure over development. The High and Low lines have diverged widely in their USV rates from each other and from the Random control line, which has maintained N:NIH strain rates overall from generation to generation. Beginning in the 11th generation, High USV pups have shown significantly higher frequencies of defecation and urination during isolation screening than the Low USV and random control line. Both lines show altered autonomic regulation of heart rates (HR) in response to stressors as juveniles and adults. These differences in HR responses in High and Low lines appear to be mediated by changes in the balance of sympathetic versus parasympathetic mechanisms. Other behavioral characteristics of the High line are consistent with an "anxious"/ "depressive" phenotype, such as vocalizations to touch in a novel environment, and performance in the Porsolt Swim, whereas Low line shows few differences in anxiety behavior. Future work will resolve the similarities and differences in the High and Low phenotypes and provide a developmental perspective to the growing body of information about affective regulation in humans and animals provided by selectively bred animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan A Brunelli
- Developmental Psychobiology, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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Brody S, Potterat JJ, Muth SQ, Woodhouse DE. Psychiatric and characterological factors relevant to excess mortality in a long-term cohort of prostitute women. JOURNAL OF SEX & MARITAL THERAPY 2005; 31:97-112. [PMID: 15859370 DOI: 10.1080/00926230590477943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
We previously reported on the causes of death in a 30-year open cohort of 1,969 prostitute women. Excess mortality was mostly accounted for by homicide, suicide, drug and alcohol toxicity, and AIDS, with AIDS deaths occurring in prostitutes identified as injecting drug users. Presently, we examine observed mortality trends in light of the literature on personality and psychopathological characteristics reported for prostitute women, and with reports linking such personality characteristics to excess mortality. We observed consistency between the observed pattern of mortality in prostitute women and mortality that would be expected in a sample of persons at high risk for antisocial and borderline personality disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart Brody
- Institute for Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Germany.
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Abstract
Psychophysiological evidence supports the notion that serious and persistent childhood misconduct is symptomatic of an internal dysfunction that dynamically interacts with other psychological and social causes. Childhood misconduct is a complex phenomenon with multiple causes and no easy solutions. Rather than think our civilization is doomed, however, we should realize that the great majority of our children grow up to be sociable and law-abiding individuals. For the others, we are afforded optimism that this problem can be minimized as we gain a more complete understanding of the interplay among biological, psychological, and social risks, and through the consequent refinement of interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Scarpa
- Department of Psychology (0436), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0436, USA
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Ortiz J, Raine A. Heart rate level and antisocial behavior in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2004; 43:154-62. [PMID: 14726721 DOI: 10.1097/00004583-200402000-00010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 225] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To assess whether antisocial children are characterized by low heart rate. METHOD A meta-analysis was conducted on 45 independent effect sizes of the resting heart rate-antisocial behavior relationship obtained from 40 studies meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria. Studies were conducted between 1971 to 2002 using a total of 5,868 children. A secondary meta-analysis was also conducted on heart rate during a stressor. RESULTS Significant overall effect sizes were found for both resting heart rate (d = -0.44, p <.0001) and heart during a stressor (d = -0.76, p <.0001). Gender, age, method of recording, use of psychiatric control group, recruitment source, concurrent versus prospective nature of testing, and source of behavioral rating all failed to moderate this relationship. CONCLUSIONS Low resting heart rate appears to be the best-replicated biological correlate to date of antisocial behavior in children and adolescents. Several theoretical interpretations of this relationship are outlined that should be examined in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jame Ortiz
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
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