A genetic variant brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) polymorphism interacts with hostile parenting to predict error-related brain activity and thereby risk for internalizing disorders in children

The Presence of a Controlling Parent Is Related to an Increase in the Error-Related Negativity in 5-7 Year-Old Children

Anxiety disorders often begin early in life and there is substantial interest in identifying neural markers that characterize developmental trajectories that result in anxiety. The error-related negativity (ERN) is elicited when people make errors on lab-based reaction-time tasks, is increased in anxious children, and can predict the onset of anxiety across development. In light of this, there is an increasing interest in identifying environmental factors that may shape the ERN in children. Previous work suggests that controlling parenting styles may relate to the ERN in offspring. However, no study had yet examined the specific mechanism whereby parenting style may impact the ERN in children. We propose that it may be children's repeated exposure to making mistakes in the context of their parents' reactions (i.e., verbal or non-verbal reactions, displays of parental control, etc.) that may lead to an increased ERN. We test this novel hypothesis by measuring the ERN in 94 children between the ages of 5-7 years old, while their parent observes them and then while an experimenter observes them complete a Go-No/Go task. Results suggest that the presence of parents characterized by high control potentiates the ERN in their children. Moreover, the relationship between controlling parenting styles and child anxiety disorder status was mediated by the parent presence potentiation of the ERN. These findings are important and novel insofar as they highlight the impact of an environmental factor (i.e., parenting) in shaping a neural marker of risk for anxiety in children (i.e., the ERN).

The association between parenting and the error-related negativity across childhood and adolescence

Anxiety is the most common form of psychopathology, and it is often characterized by chronic impairment across the lifespan. Researchers have identified core neural markers that confer risk for anxious outcomes. An increased error-related negativity (ERN) in anxious individuals has been shown to prospectively predict onset of anxiety disorders across development. Hence, it is critical to examine environmental factors that may shape the ERN. In the current study, we use a large sample of 170 female adolescents aged 10-17 to investigate whether the ERN mediates the relationship between parenting style and anxiety diagnostic status. This study replicates previous findings, and it extends previous work by suggesting that this relationship is more robust in young children as compared to adolescents. Interventions targeting the ERN via parenting may be most effective during childhood.

The Utility of Event-Related Potentials in Clinical Psychology

Event-related potentials (ERPs) are direct measures of brain activity that can be leveraged for clinically meaningful research. They can relate robustly both to continuous measures of individual difference and to categorical diagnoses in ways that clarify similarities and distinctions between apparently related disorders and traits. ERPs can be linked to genetic risk, can act as moderators of developmental trajectories and responses to stress, and can be leveraged to identify those at greater risk for psychopathology, especially when used in combination with other neural and self-report measures. ERPs can inform models of the development of, and risk for, psychopathology. Finally, ERPs can be used as targets for existing and novel interventions and prevention efforts. We provide concrete examples for each of these possibilities by focusing on programmatic research on the error-related negativity and anxiety, and thus show that ERPs are poised to make greater contributions toward the identification, prediction, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders.