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Comte A, Szymanska M, Monnin J, Moulin T, Nezelof S, Magnin E, Jardri R, Vulliez-Coady L. Neural correlates of distress and comfort in individuals with avoidant, anxious and secure attachment style: an fMRI study. Attach Hum Dev 2024:1-23. [PMID: 39093338 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2024.2384393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/22/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024]
Abstract
Despite a growing literature, experiments directly related to attachment are still needed. We explored brain processes involved in two aspects of attachment, distress and comfort. Seventy-eight healthy adult males with different attachment styles (secure, avoidant, and anxious) viewed distress, comfort, complicity-joy and neutral images (picture database BAPS-Adult) in an fMRI block design. ROIs from the modules described in the functional Neuro-Anatomical Model of Attachment (Long et al. 2020) were studied. Secure participants used more co- and self-regulation strategies and exhibited a higher activation of the reward network in distress and comfort viewing, than insecure participants. Avoidant participants showed the lower brain activations. Their approach and reward modules were the least activated in distress and comfort. Anxious participants presented both higher activations of the approach and aversion modules during complicity-joy. In addition, comfort and complicity-joy were processed differently according to attachment styles and should be differentiated among positive stimuli to disentangle attachment processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Comte
- Université de Franche-Comté, INSERM, UMR 1322 LINC, Besançon, France
- Université de Franche-Comté, INSERM, UMR 1322 LINC, Plateforme Neuraxess, CIC-1431 INSERM, Besançon, France
| | - Monika Szymanska
- Université de Franche-Comté, INSERM, UMR 1322 LINC, Besançon, France
- Université de Franche-Comté, CHU Besançon, Service de Psychiatrie de l'Enfant et de l'Adolescent, Besançon, France
| | - Julie Monnin
- Université de Franche-Comté, INSERM, UMR 1322 LINC, Besançon, France
- Université de Franche-Comté, CHU Besançon, Service de Psychiatrie de l'Enfant et de l'Adolescent, Besançon, France
| | - Thierry Moulin
- Université de Franche-Comté, INSERM, UMR 1322 LINC, Besançon, France
- Université de Franche-Comté, CHU Besançon, Service de Neurologie, Besançon, France
| | - Sylvie Nezelof
- Université de Franche-Comté, INSERM, UMR 1322 LINC, Besançon, France
- Université de Franche-Comté, CHU Besançon, Service de Psychiatrie de l'Enfant et de l'Adolescent, Besançon, France
| | - Eloi Magnin
- Université de Franche-Comté, INSERM, UMR 1322 LINC, Besançon, France
- Université de Franche-Comté, CHU Besançon, Service de Neurologie, Besançon, France
| | - Renaud Jardri
- University of Lille, Inserm U1172, Centre Lille Neuroscience and Cognition, CHU Lille, Lille, France
| | - Lauriane Vulliez-Coady
- Université de Franche-Comté, INSERM, UMR 1322 LINC, Besançon, France
- Université de Franche-Comté, CHU Besançon, Service de Psychiatrie de l'Enfant et de l'Adolescent, Besançon, France
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2
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Lin J, Stern JA, Allen JP, Coan JA. Does attachment in adolescence predict neural responses to handholding in adulthood? A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS 2024; 41:2276-2296. [PMID: 39166123 PMCID: PMC11335342 DOI: 10.1177/02654075241239604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/22/2024]
Abstract
Objective Early life experiences, including attachment-related experiences, inform internal working models that guide adult relationship behaviors. Few studies have examined the association between adolescent attachment and adult relationship behavior on a neural level. The current study examined attachment in adolescence and its associations with neural correlates of relationship behaviors in adulthood. Method 85 participants completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) at age 14. Ten years later, at age 24, participants underwent functional brain image when participants were under the threat of electric shock alone, holding the hand of a stranger, or their partner. Results We found that adolescents who were securely attached at age 14 showed increased activation in regions commonly associated with cognitive, affective, and reward processing when they held the hand of their partner and stranger compared to being alone. Adolescents with higher preoccupied attachment scores showed decreased activation in similar regions only during the stranger handholding condition compared to being alone. Conclusions These findings suggest that adolescent attachment predicts adult social relationship behaviors on a neural level, in regions largely consistent with previous literature. Broadly, this study has implications for understanding long-term links between attachment and adult relationship behaviors and has potential for informing intervention.
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Short AK, Weber R, Kamei N, Wilcox Thai C, Arora H, Mortazavi A, Stern HS, Glynn L, Baram TZ. Individual longitudinal changes in DNA-methylome identify signatures of early-life adversity and correlate with later outcome. Neurobiol Stress 2024; 31:100652. [PMID: 38962694 PMCID: PMC11219970 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2024] [Revised: 05/02/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Adverse early-life experiences (ELA) affect a majority of the world's children. Whereas the enduring impact of ELA on cognitive and emotional health is established, there are no tools to predict vulnerability to ELA consequences in an individual child. Epigenetic markers including peripheral-cell DNA-methylation profiles may encode ELA and provide predictive outcome markers, yet the interindividual variance of the human genome and rapid changes in DNA methylation in childhood pose significant challenges. Hoping to mitigate these challenges we examined the relation of several ELA dimensions to DNA methylation changes and outcome using a within-subject longitudinal design and a high methylation-change threshold. DNA methylation was analyzed in buccal swab/saliva samples collected twice (neonatally and at 12 months) in 110 infants. We identified CpGs differentially methylated across time for each child and determined whether they associated with ELA indicators and executive function at age 5. We assessed sex differences and derived a sex-dependent 'impact score' based on sites that most contributed to methylation changes. Changes in methylation between two samples of an individual child reflected age-related trends and correlated with executive function years later. Among tested ELA dimensions and life factors including income to needs ratios, maternal sensitivity, body mass index and infant sex, unpredictability of parental and household signals was the strongest predictor of executive function. In girls, high early-life unpredictability interacted with methylation changes to presage executive function. Thus, longitudinal, within-subject changes in methylation profiles may provide a signature of ELA and a potential predictive marker of individual outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annabel K. Short
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, ersity of California- Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
- Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Ryan Weber
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Noriko Kamei
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, ersity of California- Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Christina Wilcox Thai
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Hina Arora
- Department of Statistics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Ali Mortazavi
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Hal S. Stern
- Department of Statistics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Laura Glynn
- Department of Psychology, Chapman University, Orange, CA, 92866, USA
| | - Tallie Z. Baram
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, ersity of California- Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
- Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
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4
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Hong DS. Editorial: Imaging the Identified Patient: The Importance of Parent-Child Relationships in Pediatric Neuroimaging Research. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2024:S0890-8567(24)00245-4. [PMID: 38750814 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2024.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/28/2024]
Abstract
There has been a long-standing appreciation in child and adolescent psychiatry for the influence of the family or caregiver. In clinical practice, parents are routinely identified as both a key biological and a key environmental figure in child psychopathology. This is perhaps best represented by the identified patient construct, which recognizes that while symptoms in a child are often the explicit driver for a family to present for psychiatric care, these symptoms do not occur in a vacuum. Instead, within a family systems theory framework, the manifestation of symptoms in a child represents the broader reciprocal relationship between a child and their family unit.
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Affiliation(s)
- David S Hong
- Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
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5
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DeJoseph ML, Ellwood-Lowe ME, Miller-Cotto D, Silverman D, Shannon KA, Reyes G, Rakesh D, Frankenhuis WE. The promise and pitfalls of a strength-based approach to child poverty and neurocognitive development: Implications for policy. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 66:101375. [PMID: 38608359 PMCID: PMC11019102 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
There has been significant progress in understanding the effects of childhood poverty on neurocognitive development. This progress has captured the attention of policymakers and promoted progressive policy reform. However, the prevailing emphasis on the harms associated with childhood poverty may have inadvertently perpetuated a deficit-based narrative, focused on the presumed shortcomings of children and families in poverty. This focus can have unintended consequences for policy (e.g., overlooking strengths) as well as public discourse (e.g., focusing on individual rather than systemic factors). Here, we join scientists across disciplines in arguing for a more well-rounded, "strength-based" approach, which incorporates the positive and/or adaptive developmental responses to experiences of social disadvantage. Specifically, we first show the value of this approach in understanding normative brain development across diverse human environments. We then highlight its application to educational and social policy, explore pitfalls and ethical considerations, and offer practical solutions to conducting strength-based research responsibly. Our paper re-ignites old and recent calls for a strength-based paradigm shift, with a focus on its application to developmental cognitive neuroscience. We also offer a unique perspective from a new generation of early-career researchers engaged in this work, several of whom themselves have grown up in conditions of poverty. Ultimately, we argue that a balanced strength-based scientific approach will be essential to building more effective policies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - David Silverman
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, United States
| | | | - Gabriel Reyes
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, United States
| | - Divyangana Rakesh
- Neuroimaging Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Willem E Frankenhuis
- Evolutionary and Population Biology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security, and Law, Germany
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6
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Abramson L, Callaghan BL, Silvers JA, Choy T, VanTieghem M, Vannucci A, Fields A, Tottenham N. The effects of parental presence on amygdala and mPFC activation during fear conditioning: An exploratory study. Dev Sci 2024:e13505. [PMID: 38549194 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/30/2024]
Abstract
Learning safe versus dangerous cues is crucial for survival. During development, parents can influence fear learning by buffering their children's stress response and increasing exploration of potentially aversive stimuli. Rodent findings suggest that these behavioral effects are mediated through parental presence modulation of the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Here, we investigated whether similar parental modulation of amygdala and mPFC during fear learning occurs in humans. Using a within-subjects design, behavioral (final N = 48, 6-17 years, mean = 11.61, SD = 2.84, 60% females/40% males) and neuroimaging data (final N = 39, 6-17 years, mean = 12.03, SD = 2.98, 59% females/41% males) were acquired during a classical fear conditioning task, which included a CS+ followed by an aversive noise (US; 75% reinforcement rate) and a CS-. Conditioning occurred once in physical contact with the participant's parent and once alone (order counterbalanced). Region of interest analyses examined the unconditioned stress response by BOLD activation to the US (vs. implicit baseline) and learning by activation to the CS+ (vs. CS-). Results showed that during US presentation, parental presence reduced the centromedial amygdala activity, suggesting buffering of the unconditioned stress response. In response to learned stimuli, parental presence reduced mPFC activity to the CS+ (relative to the CS-), although this result did not survive multiple comparisons' correction. These preliminary findings indicate that parents modulate amygdala and mPFC activity during exposure to unconditioned and conditioned fear stimuli, potentially providing insight into the neural mechanisms by which parents act as a social buffer during fear learning. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: (1)This study used a within-participant experimental design to investigate how parental presence (vs. absence) affects youth's neural responses in a classical fear conditioning task. (2)Parental presence reduced the youth's centromedial amygdala activation to the unconditioned stimulus (US), suggesting parental buffering of the neural unconditioned response (UR). (3)Parental presence reduced the youth's mPFC activation to a conditioned threat cue (CS+) compared to a safety cue (CS-), suggesting possible parental modulation of fear learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lior Abramson
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Bridget L Callaghan
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Jennifer A Silvers
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Tricia Choy
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Michelle VanTieghem
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Anna Vannucci
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Andrea Fields
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Nim Tottenham
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
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7
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Stern JA, Kelsey CM, Yancey H, Grossmann T. Love on the developing brain: Maternal sensitivity and infants' neural responses to emotion in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Dev Sci 2024:e13497. [PMID: 38511516 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
Infancy is a sensitive period of development, during which experiences of parental care are particularly important for shaping the developing brain. In a longitudinal study of N = 95 mothers and infants, we examined links between caregiving behavior (maternal sensitivity observed during a mother-infant free-play) and infants' neural response to emotion (happy, angry, and fearful faces) at 5 and 7 months of age. Neural activity was assessed using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), a region involved in cognitive control and emotion regulation. Maternal sensitivity was positively correlated with infants' neural responses to happy faces in the bilateral dlPFC and was associated with relative increases in such responses from 5 to 7 months. Multilevel analyses revealed caregiving-related individual differences in infants' neural responses to happy compared to fearful faces in the bilateral dlPFC, as well as other brain regions. We suggest that variability in dlPFC responses to emotion in the developing brain may be one correlate of early experiences of caregiving, with implications for social-emotional functioning and self-regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica A Stern
- Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Caroline M Kelsey
- Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Heath Yancey
- Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Tobias Grossmann
- Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
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8
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Eskola E, Kataja EL, Hyönä J, Hakanen H, Nolvi S, Häikiö T, Pelto J, Karlsson H, Karlsson L, Korja R. Lower maternal emotional availability is related to increased attention toward fearful faces during infancy. Infant Behav Dev 2024; 74:101900. [PMID: 37979474 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2023.101900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/20/2023]
Abstract
It has been suggested that infants' age-typical attention biases for faces and facial expressions have an inherent connection with the parent-infant interaction. However, only a few previous studies have addressed this topic. To investigate the association between maternal caregiving behaviors and an infant's attention for emotional faces, 149 mother-infant dyads were assessed when the infants were 8 months. Caregiving behaviors were observed during free-play interactions and coded using the Emotional Availability Scales. The composite score of four parental dimensions, that are sensitivity, structuring, non-intrusiveness, and non-hostility, was used in the analyses. Attention disengagement from faces was measured using eye tracking and face-distractor paradigm with neutral, happy, and fearful faces and scrambled-face control pictures as stimuli. The main finding was that lower maternal emotional availability was related to an infant's higher attention to fearful faces (p = .042), when infant sex and maternal age, education, and concurrent depressive and anxiety symptoms were controlled. This finding indicates that low maternal emotional availability may sensitize infants' emotion processing system for the signals of fear at least during this specific age around 8 months. The significance of the increased attention toward fearful faces during infancy is an important topic for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eeva Eskola
- University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland; University of Turku, Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku, Finland; Turku University Hospital, Expert Services, Turku, Finland.
| | - Eeva-Leena Kataja
- University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland
| | - Jukka Hyönä
- University of Turku, Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku, Finland
| | - Hetti Hakanen
- University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland; University of Turku, Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku, Finland
| | - Saara Nolvi
- University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland; University of Turku, Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku, Finland; University of Turku, Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, Turku, Finland
| | - Tuomo Häikiö
- University of Turku, Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku, Finland
| | - Juho Pelto
- University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland
| | - Hasse Karlsson
- University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland; University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Turku, Finland; Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Linnea Karlsson
- University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland; University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Turku, Finland; Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Riikka Korja
- University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland; University of Turku, Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku, Finland
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Korom M, Valadez EA, Tottenham N, Dozier M, Spielberg JM. Preliminary examination of the effects of an early parenting intervention on amygdala-orbitofrontal cortex resting-state functional connectivity among high-risk children: A randomized clinical trial. Dev Psychopathol 2024:1-9. [PMID: 38247369 PMCID: PMC11260902 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579423001669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
We examined the long-term causal effects of an evidence-based parenting program delivered in infancy on children's emotion regulation and resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) during middle childhood. Families were referred to the study by Child Protective Services (CPS) as part of a diversion from a foster care program. A low-risk group of families was also recruited. CPS-involved families were randomly assigned to receive the target (Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up, ABC) or a control intervention (Developmental Education for Families, DEF) before infants turned 2. Both interventions were home-based, manualized, and 10-sessions long. During middle childhood, children underwent a 6-min resting-state functional MRI scan. Amygdala seed-based rs-fc analysis was completed with intervention group as the group-level predictor of interest. Fifty-seven children (NABC = 21; NDEF = 17; NCOMP = 19; Mage = 10.02 years, range = 8.08-12.14) were scanned successfully. The DEF group evidenced negative left amygdala↔OFC connectivity, whereas connectivity was near zero in the ABC and comparison groups (ABCvsDEF: Cohen's d = 1.17). ABC may enhance high-risk children's regulatory neurobiology outcomes ∼8 years after the intervention was completed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Korom
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Emilio A. Valadez
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Nim Tottenham
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mary Dozier
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Jeffrey M. Spielberg
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
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10
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Short AK, Weber R, Kamei N, Thai CW, Arora H, Mortazavi A, Stern HS, Glynn L, Baram TZ. Within-subject changes in methylome profile identify individual signatures of early-life adversity, with a potential to predict neuropsychiatric outcome. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.16.571594. [PMID: 38187766 PMCID: PMC10769190 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.16.571594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Background Adverse early-life experiences (ELA), including poverty, trauma and neglect, affect a majority of the world's children. Whereas the impact of ELA on cognitive and emotional health throughout the lifespan is well-established, it is not clear how distinct types of ELA influence child development, and there are no tools to predict for an individual child their vulnerability or resilience to the consequences of ELAs. Epigenetic markers including DNA-methylation profiles of peripheral cells may encode ELA and provide a predictive outcome marker. However, the rapid dynamic changes in DNA methylation in childhood and the inter-individual variance of the human genome pose barriers to identifying profiles predicting outcomes of ELA exposure. Here, we examined the relation of several dimensions of ELA to changes of DNA methylation, using a longitudinal within-subject design and a high threshold for methylation changes in the hope of mitigating the above challenges. Methods We analyzed DNA methylation in buccal swab samples collected twice for each of 110 infants: neonatally and at 12 months. We identified CpGs differentially methylated across time, calculated methylation changes for each child, and determined whether several indicators of ELA associated with changes of DNA methylation for individual infants. We then correlated select dimensions of ELA with methylation changes as well as with measures of executive function at age 5 years. We examined for sex differences, and derived a sex-dependent 'impact score' based on sites that most contributed to the methylation changes. Findings Setting a high threshold for methylation changes, we discovered that changes in methylation between two samples of an individual child reflected age-related trends towards augmented methylation, and also correlated with executive function years later. Among the tested factors and ELA dimensions, including income to needs ratios, maternal sensitivity, body mass index and sex, unpredictability of parental and household signals was the strongest predictor of executive function. In girls, an interaction was observed between a measure of high early-life unpredictability and methylation changes, in presaging executive function. Interpretation These findings establish longitudinal, within-subject changes in methylation profiles as a signature of some types of ELA in an individual child. Notably, such changes are detectable beyond the age-associated DNA methylation dynamics. Future studies are required to determine if the methylation profile changes identified here provide a predictive marker of vulnerabilities to poorer cognitive and emotional outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annabel K. Short
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California- Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697
- Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697
- Brain Tumour Research Program, Telethon Kids Institute, Nedlands, WA, Australia, 6009 (current)
- Division of Paediatrics/Centre for Child Health Research, Medical School, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia, 6009 (current)
| | - Ryan Weber
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697
| | - Noriko Kamei
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California- Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697
| | - Christina Wilcox Thai
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697
| | - Hina Arora
- Department of Statistics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697
| | - Ali Mortazavi
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697
| | - Hal S. Stern
- Department of Statistics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697
| | - Laura Glynn
- Department of Psychology, Chapman University, Orange, CA, 92866
| | - Tallie Z. Baram
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California- Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697
- Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697
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11
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Gee DG, Cohodes EM. Leveraging the developmental neuroscience of caregiving to promote resilience among youth exposed to adversity. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:2168-2185. [PMID: 37929292 PMCID: PMC10872788 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579423001128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Early adversity is a major risk factor for the emergence of psychopathology across development. Identifying mechanisms that support resilience, or favorable mental health outcomes despite exposure to adversity, is critical for informing clinical intervention and guiding policy to promote youth mental health. Here we propose that caregivers play a central role in fostering resilience among children exposed to adversity via caregiving influences on children's corticolimbic circuitry and emotional functioning. We first delineate the numerous ways that caregivers support youth emotional learning and regulation and describe how early attachment lays the foundation for optimal caregiver support of youth emotional functioning in a developmental stage-specific manner. Second, we outline neural mechanisms by which caregivers foster resilience-namely, by modulating offspring corticolimbic circuitry to support emotion regulation and buffer stress reactivity. Next, we highlight the importance of developmental timing and sensitive periods in understanding caregiving-related mechanisms of resilience. Finally, we discuss clinical implications of this line of research and how findings can be translated to guide policy that promotes the well-being of youth and families.
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Barr GA, Opendak M, Perry RE, Sarro E, Sullivan RM. Infant pain vs. pain with parental suppression: Immediate and enduring impact on brain, pain and affect. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0290871. [PMID: 37972112 PMCID: PMC10653509 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the short term, parental presence while a human infant is in pain buffers the immediate pain responses, although emerging evidence suggests repeated social buffering of pain may have untoward long-term effects. METHODS/FINDING To explore the short- and long-term impacts of social buffering of pain, we first measured the infant rat pup's [postnatal day (PN) 8, or 12] response to mild tail shock with the mother present compared to shock alone or no shock. Shock with the mother reduced pain-related behavioral activation and USVs of pups at both ages and reduced Fos expression in the periaqueductal gray, hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, and the amygdala at PN12 only. At PN12, shock with the mother compared to shock alone differentially regulated expression of several hundred genes related to G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and neural development, whereas PN8 pups showed a less robust and less coherent expression pattern. In a second set of experiments, pups were exposed to daily repeated Shock-mother pairings (or controls) at PN5-9 or PN10-14 (during and after pain sensitive period, respectively) and long-term outcome assessed in adults. Shock+mother pairing at PN5-9 reduced adult carrageenan-induced thermal hyperalgesia and reduced Fos expression, but PN10-14 pairings had minimal impact. The effect of infant treatment on adult affective behavior showed a complex treatment by age dependent effect. Adult social behavior was decreased following Shock+mother pairings at both PN5-9 and PN10-14, whereas shock alone had no effect. Adult fear responses to a predator odor were decreased only by PN10-14 treatment and the infant Shock alone and Shock+mother did not differ. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Overall, integrating these results into our understanding of long-term programming by repeated infant pain experiences, the data suggest that pain experienced within a social context impacts infant neurobehavioral responses and initiates an altered developmental trajectory of pain and affect processing that diverges from experiencing pain alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gordon A. Barr
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Maya Opendak
- Child Study Center, Center for Early Childhood Health & Development, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, United States of America
| | - Rosemarie E. Perry
- Child Study Center, Center for Early Childhood Health & Development, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, United States of America
| | - Emma Sarro
- Child Study Center, Center for Early Childhood Health & Development, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, United States of America
| | - Regina M. Sullivan
- Child Study Center, Center for Early Childhood Health & Development, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, United States of America
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13
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Leal ASM, Alba LA, Cummings KK, Jung J, Waizman YH, Moreira JFG, Saragosa-Harris NM, Ninova E, Waterman JM, Langley AK, Tottenham N, Silvers JA, Green SA. Sensory processing challenges as a novel link between early caregiving experiences and mental health. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:1968-1981. [PMID: 36523255 PMCID: PMC10734795 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579422000633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
Early caregiving adversity (ECA) is associated with elevated psychological symptomatology. While neurobehavioral ECA research has focused on socioemotional and cognitive development, ECA may also increase risk for "low-level" sensory processing challenges. However, no prior work has compared how diverse ECA exposures differentially relate to sensory processing, or, critically, how this might influence psychological outcomes. We examined sensory processing challenges in 183 8-17-year-old youth with and without histories of institutional (orphanage) or foster caregiving, with a particular focus on sensory over-responsivity (SOR), a pattern of intensified responses to sensory stimuli that may negatively impact mental health. We further tested whether sensory processing challenges are linked to elevated internalizing and externalizing symptoms common in ECA-exposed youth. Relative to nonadopted comparison youth, both groups of ECA-exposed youth had elevated sensory processing challenges, including SOR, and also had heightened internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Additionally, we found significant indirect effects of ECA on internalizing and externalizing symptoms through both general sensory processing challenges and SOR, covarying for age and sex assigned at birth. These findings suggest multiple forms of ECA confer risk for sensory processing challenges that may contribute to mental health outcomes, and motivate continuing examination of these symptoms, with possible long-term implications for screening and treatment following ECA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Laura A. Alba
- Graduate School of Education, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Kaitlin K. Cummings
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane & Terry Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jiwon Jung
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane & Terry Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Yael H. Waizman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Emilia Ninova
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jill M. Waterman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Audra K. Langley
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane & Terry Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Nim Tottenham
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jennifer A. Silvers
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Shulamite A. Green
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane & Terry Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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14
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Orendain N, Ayaz A, Chung PJ, Bookheimer S, Galván A. Perceptions of neighborhood threat and caregiver support in early adolescence: Sex differences in neural and behavioral correlates in the ABCD study. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2023:106446. [PMID: 37704547 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adolescents, particularly racial and ethnic minorities, are at increased risk for neighborhood threat and violence exposure, which impacts behavioral and neural outcomes. Caregiver support is associated with healthy socioemotional adjustment and self-regulatory and coping behaviors; however, it remains unclear whether caregiver support, specifically, consolation, can moderate the behavioral and neural impacts of neighborhood threat. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the role of youth-perceived neighborhood threat on neural and behavioral correlates and to test the moderating potential of caregiver support. Sex differences in associations were examined. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING 11,559 nine- and ten-year old youth enrolled in the multi-site Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study at baseline. METHODS Associations were examined via linear regression models employing youth-perceived neighborhood threat and caregiver support. Regression and interaction models controlled for youth age, sex, race and ethnicity, primary caregiver's education, family income, family structure, youth-perceived school threat, and intracranial volume when examining neural outcomes. An ANOVA employing a Chi-square test and simple slopes analysis were used to identify significant interactions in moderation models. RESULTS Neighborhood threat is associated with structural alterations in the left amygdala (p = .004). Meanwhile, caregiver support interacts in a dose-response fashion with neighborhood threat to attenuate its relationship with left amygdala volume (p = .008). Among youth reporting neighborhood threat, problematic behaviors were more common (p < .0001). While not significant, males reported higher rates of neighborhood threat than females (p = .267). Females reported greater levels of caregiver support (p = .017). Lastly, racial and ethnic differences in neighborhood threat and caregiver support were evident (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS While youth may not have been exposed to direct or immediate sources of threat and violence, these findings shed light on the impact of neighborhood threat perception on problematic behaviors and amygdala volume among nine- and ten-year olds. Future research should identify other culturally inclusive sources and measures of support and resiliency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Orendain
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Aliza Ayaz
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Paul J Chung
- Departments of Pediatrics and Health Policy & Management, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Health Systems Science, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Susan Bookheimer
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Adriana Galván
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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15
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Rousseau S, Feldman T, Shlomi Polachek I, Frenkel TI. Persistent symptoms of maternal post-traumatic stress following childbirth across the first months postpartum: Associations with perturbations in maternal behavior and infant avoidance of social gaze toward mother. INFANCY 2023; 28:882-909. [PMID: 37329252 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Recent literature identifies childbirth as a potentially traumatic event, following which mothers may develop symptoms of Post-Traumatic-Stress-Following-Childbirth (PTS-FC). The current study examines whether stable symptoms of PTS-FC during the early postpartum period may impose risk for perturbations in maternal behavior and infant social-engagement with mother, controlling for comorbid postpartum internalizing symptoms. Mother-infant dyads (N = 192) were recruited from the general population, during the third trimester of pregnancy. 49.5% of the mothers were primipara, and 48.4% of the infants were girls. Maternal PTS-FC was assessed at 3-day, 1-month and 4-month postpartum, via self-report and clinician-administered interview. Latent Profile Analysis generated two profiles of symptomology: "Stable-High-PTS-FC" (17.0%), and "Stable-Low-PTS-FC" (83%). Membership in the "Stable-High-PTS-FC" profile associated with perturbed maternal sensitivity, which was in turn significantly associated with infant avoidance of social gaze toward mother (Indirect effect β = -0.15). Results suggest the need for early screening and inform the planning of early preventive interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofie Rousseau
- School of Education, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University (IDC Herzliya), Herzliya, Israel
| | - Tamar Feldman
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University (IDC Herzliya), Herzliya, Israel
| | - Inbal Shlomi Polachek
- Be'er Ya'akov Medical Center, Beer Yaakov, Israel
- Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Tahl I Frenkel
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University (IDC Herzliya), Herzliya, Israel
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16
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Sahi RS, Eisenberger NI, Silvers JA. Peer facilitation of emotion regulation in adolescence. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 62:101262. [PMID: 37302349 PMCID: PMC10276262 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Emotion regulation is particularly important for adolescents as they undergo normative developmental changes in affective systems and experience heightened risk for psychopathology. Despite a high need for emotion regulation during adolescence, commonly studied emotion regulation strategies like cognitive reappraisal are less beneficial for adolescents than adults because they rely on neural regions that are still developing during this period (i.e., lateral prefrontal cortex). However, adolescence is also marked by increased valuation of peer relationships and sensitivity to social information and cues. In the present review, we synthesize research examining emotion regulation and peer influence across development to suggest that sensitivity to peers during adolescence could be leveraged to improve emotion regulation for this population. We first discuss developmental trends related to emotion regulation at the level of behavior and brain in adolescents, using cognitive reappraisal as an exemplar emotion regulation strategy. Next, we discuss social influences on adolescent brain development, describing caregiver influence and increasing susceptibility to peer influence, to describe how adolescent sensitivity to social inputs represents both a window of vulnerability and opportunity. Finally, we conclude by describing the promise of social (i.e., peer-based) interventions for enhancing emotion regulation in adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Razia S Sahi
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Naomi I Eisenberger
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer A Silvers
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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17
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Delaney SW, Hidalgo APC, White T, Haneuse S, Ressler KJ, Tiemeier H, Kubzansky LD. Behavioral and neurostructural correlates of childhood physical violence victimization: Interaction with family functioning. Dev Psychobiol 2023; 65:e22398. [PMID: 37338254 PMCID: PMC11012107 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023]
Abstract
Violence victimization may cause child behavior problems and neurostructural differences associated with them. Healthy family environments may buffer these effects, but neural pathways explaining these associations remain inadequately understood. We used data from 3154 children (x̅age = 10.1) to test whether healthy family functioning moderated possible associations between violence victimization, behavior problems, and amygdala volume (a threat-responsive brain region). Researchers collected data on childhood violence victimization, family functioning (McMaster Family Assessment Device, range 0-3, higher scores indicate healthier functioning), and behavior problems (Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist [CBCL] total problem score, range 0-117), and they scanned children with magnetic resonance imaging. We standardized amygdala volumes and fit confounder-adjusted models with "victimization × family functioning" interaction terms. Family functioning moderated associations between victimization, behavior problems, and amygdala volume. Among lower functioning families (functioning score = 1.0), victimization was associated with a 26.1 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.9, 42.4) unit higher CBCL behavior problem score, yet victimized children from higher functioning families (score = 3.0) exhibited no such association. Unexpectedly, victimization was associated with higher standardized amygdala volume among lower functioning families (ŷ = 0.5; 95% CI: 0.1, 1.0) but lower volume among higher functioning families (ŷ = -0.4; 95% CI: -0.7, -0.2). Thus, healthy family environments may mitigate some neurobehavioral effects of childhood victimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott W. Delaney
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Andrea P. Cortes Hidalgo
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Tonya White
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sebastien Haneuse
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kerry J. Ressler
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Henning Tiemeier
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Laura D. Kubzansky
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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18
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Vannucci A, Fields A, Hansen E, Katz A, Kerwin J, Tachida A, Martin N, Tottenham N. Interpersonal early adversity demonstrates dissimilarity from early socioeconomic disadvantage in the course of human brain development: A meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 150:105210. [PMID: 37141961 PMCID: PMC10247458 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
It has been established that early-life adversity impacts brain development, but the role of development itself has largely been ignored. We take a developmentally-sensitive approach to examine the neurodevelopmental sequelae of early adversity in a preregistered meta-analysis of 27,234 youth (birth to 18-years-old), providing the largest group of adversity-exposed youth to date. Findings demonstrate that early-life adversity does not have an ontogenetically uniform impact on brain volumes, but instead exhibits age-, experience-, and region-specific associations. Relative to non-exposed comparisons, interpersonal early adversity (e.g., family-based maltreatment) was associated with initially larger volumes in frontolimbic regions until ∼10-years-old, after which these exposures were linked to increasingly smaller volumes. By contrast, socioeconomic disadvantage (e.g., poverty) was associated with smaller volumes in temporal-limbic regions in childhood, which were attenuated at older ages. These findings advance ongoing debates regarding why, when, and how early-life adversity shapes later neural outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Vannucci
- Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
| | - Andrea Fields
- Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
| | - Eleanor Hansen
- Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Ariel Katz
- Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - John Kerwin
- Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Ayumi Tachida
- Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Nathan Martin
- Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Nim Tottenham
- Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
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19
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Ferrara NC, Opendak M. Amygdala circuit transitions supporting developmentally-appropriate social behavior. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2023; 201:107762. [PMID: 37116857 PMCID: PMC10204580 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023]
Abstract
Social behaviors dynamically change throughout the lifespan alongside the maturation of neural circuits. The basolateral region of the amygdala (BLA), in particular, undergoes substantial maturational changes from birth throughout adolescence that are characterized by changes in excitation, inhibition, and dopaminergic modulation. In this review, we detail the trajectory through which BLA circuits mature and are influenced by dopaminergic systems to guide transitions in social behavior in infancy and adolescence using data from rodents. In early life, social behavior is oriented towards approaching the attachment figure, with minimal BLA involvement. Around weaning age, dopaminergic innervation of the BLA introduces avoidance of novel peers into rat pups' behavioral repertoire. In adolescence, social behavior transitions towards peer-peer interactions with a high incidence of social play-related behaviors. This transition coincides with an increasing role of the BLA in the regulation of social behavior. Adolescent BLA maturation can be characterized by an increasing integration and function of local inhibitory GABAergic circuits and their engagement by the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Manipulation of these transitions using viral circuit dissection techniques and early adversity paradigms reveals the sensitivity of this system and its role in producing age-appropriate social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole C Ferrara
- Discipline of Physiology and Biophysics, Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA; Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Maya Opendak
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA; Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Johns Hopkins Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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20
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Abstract
Frameworks of emotional development have tended to focus on how environmental factors shape children's emotion understanding. However, individual experiences of emotion represent a complex interplay between both external environmental inputs and internal somatovisceral signaling. Here, we discuss the importance of afferent signals and coordination between central and peripheral mechanisms in affective response processing. We propose that incorporating somatovisceral theories of emotions into frameworks of emotional development can inform how children understand emotions in themselves and others. We highlight promising directions for future research on emotional development incorporating this perspective, namely afferent cardiac processing and interoception, immune activation, physiological synchrony, and social touch.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly E Faig
- Department of Psychology, Hamilton College, 198 College Hill Road, Clinton, NY 13502
| | - Karen E Smith
- Department of Psychology, the University of Wisconsin, 1500 Highland Blvd, Madison, WI, 53705
| | - Stephanie J Dimitroff
- Department of Psychology, Universität Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
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21
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Abu Salih M, Abargil M, Badarneh S, Klein Selle N, Irani M, Atzil S. Evidence for cultural differences in affect during mother-infant interactions. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4831. [PMID: 36964204 PMCID: PMC10039016 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31907-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Maternal care is considered a universal and even cross-species set of typical behaviors, which are necessary to determine the social development of children. In humans, most research on mother-infant bonding is based on Western cultures and conducted in European and American countries. Thus, it is still unknown which aspects of mother-infant behaviors are universal and which vary with culture. Here we test whether typical mother-infant behaviors of affect-communication and affect-regulation are equally represented during spontaneous interaction in Palestinian-Arab and Jewish cultures. 30 Palestinian-Arab and 43 Jewish mother-infant dyads were recruited and videotaped. Using AffectRegulation Coding System (ARCS), we behaviorally analyzed the second-by-second display of valence and arousal in each participant and calculated the dynamic patterns of affect co-regulation. The results show that Palestinian-Arab infants express more positive valence than Jewish infants and that Palestinian-Arab mothers express higher arousal compared to Jewish mothers. Moreover, we found culturally-distinct strategies to regulate the infant: increased arousal in Palestinian-Arab dyads and increased mutual affective match in Jewish dyads. Such cross-cultural differences in affect indicate that basic features of emotion that are often considered universal are differentially represented in different cultures. Affect communication and regulation patterns can be transmitted across generations in early-life socialization with caregivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miada Abu Salih
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Maayan Abargil
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Saja Badarneh
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel
| | | | - Merav Irani
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Shir Atzil
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel.
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22
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Uy JP, Tan AP, Broeckman BBFP, Gluckman PD, Chong YS, Chen H, Fortier MV, Meaney MJ, Callaghan BL. Effects of maternal childhood trauma on child emotional health: maternal mental health and frontoamygdala pathways. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2023; 64:426-436. [PMID: 36331294 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Experiences of early life adversity pose significant psychological and physical health risks to exposed individuals. Emerging evidence suggests that these health risks can be transmitted across generations; however, the mechanisms underlying the intergenerational impacts of maternal early-life trauma on child health remain unknown. METHODS The current study used a prospective longitudinal design to determine the unique and joint contributions of maternal childhood trauma (neglect and abuse) and maternal prenatal and postnatal mental health (anxiety and depressive symptoms) (N = 541) to children's resting frontoamygdala functional connectivity at 6 years (N = 89) and emotional health at 7-8 years, as indexed by parent-reported internalizing problems and child self-reported anxiety and depressive symptoms (N = 268-418). RESULTS Greater maternal childhood neglect was indirectly associated with greater internalizing problems serially through a pathway of worse maternal prenatal and postnatal mental health (greater maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms). Worse maternal postnatal mental health was also uniquely associated with more negative child frontoamygdala resting-state functional connectivity, over and above maternal childhood trauma (both neglect and abuse) and prenatal mental health. More negative frontoamygdala functional connectivity was, in turn, associated with poorer child emotional health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Findings from the current study provide support for the existence of intergenerational influences of parental exposure to childhood trauma on childhood risk for psychopathology in the next generation and point to the importance of maternal factors proximal to the second generation (maternal prenatal and postnatal mental health) in determining the intergenerational impact of maternal early experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica P Uy
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Ai Peng Tan
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Birit B F P Broeckman
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Peter D Gluckman
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore.,Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Yap Seng Chong
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore.,Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, National University Health System, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Helen Chen
- Psychiatry and Radiology, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Marielle V Fortier
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Michael J Meaney
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore.,Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand.,Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Bridget L Callaghan
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
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23
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Birnie MT, Short AK, de Carvalho GB, Taniguchi L, Gunn BG, Pham AL, Itoga CA, Xu X, Chen LY, Mahler SV, Chen Y, Baram TZ. Stress-induced plasticity of a CRH/GABA projection disrupts reward behaviors in mice. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1088. [PMID: 36841826 PMCID: PMC9968307 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36780-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Disrupted operations of the reward circuit underlie major emotional disorders, including depression, which commonly arise following early life stress / adversity (ELA). However, how ELA enduringly impacts reward circuit functions remains unclear. We characterize a stress-sensitive projection connecting basolateral amygdala (BLA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) that co-expresses GABA and the stress-reactive neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). We identify a crucial role for this projection in executing disrupted reward behaviors provoked by ELA: chemogenetic and optogenetic stimulation of the projection in control male mice suppresses several reward behaviors, recapitulating deficits resulting from ELA and demonstrating the pathway's contributions to normal reward behaviors. In adult ELA mice, inhibiting-but not stimulating-the projection, restores typical reward behaviors yet has little effect in controls, indicating ELA-induced maladaptive plasticity of this reward-circuit component. Thus, we discover a stress-sensitive, reward inhibiting BLA → NAc projection with unique molecular features, which may provide intervention targets for disabling mental illnesses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew T Birnie
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Annabel K Short
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Gregory B de Carvalho
- Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Lara Taniguchi
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Benjamin G Gunn
- Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Aidan L Pham
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Christy A Itoga
- Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Xiangmin Xu
- Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Lulu Y Chen
- Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Stephen V Mahler
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Yuncai Chen
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
- Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
- Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
- Department of Neurology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
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24
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Vannucci A, Fields A, Hansen E, Katz A, Kerwin J, Tachida A, Martin N, Tottenham N. Interpersonal early adversity demonstrates dissimilarity from early socioeconomic disadvantage in the course of human brain development: A meta-analysis. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.16.528877. [PMID: 36824818 PMCID: PMC9949158 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.16.528877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2023]
Abstract
It has been established that early-life adversity impacts brain development, but the role of development itself has largely been ignored. We take a developmentally-sensitive approach to examine the neurodevelopmental sequelae of early adversity in a preregistered meta-analysis of 27,234 youth (birth to 18-years-old), providing the largest group of adversity-exposed youth to date. Findings demonstrate that early-life adversity does not have an ontogenetically uniform impact on brain volumes, but instead exhibits age-, experience-, and region-specific associations. Relative to non-exposed comparisons, interpersonal early adversity (e.g., family-based maltreatment) was associated with initially larger volumes in frontolimbic regions until ~10-years-old, after which these exposures were linked to increasingly smaller volumes. By contrast, socioeconomic disadvantage (e.g., poverty) was associated with smaller volumes in temporal-limbic regions in childhood, which were attenuated at older ages. These findings advance ongoing debates regarding why, when, and how early-life adversity shapes later neural outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Vannucci
- Columbia University, Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory (409A Schermerhorn Hall), 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, MC 5501, New York, NY, USA 10027
| | - Andrea Fields
- Columbia University, Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory (409A Schermerhorn Hall), 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, MC 5501, New York, NY, USA 10027
| | - Eleanor Hansen
- Columbia University, Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory (409A Schermerhorn Hall), 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, MC 5501, New York, NY, USA 10027
| | - Ariel Katz
- Columbia University, Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory (409A Schermerhorn Hall), 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, MC 5501, New York, NY, USA 10027
| | - John Kerwin
- Columbia University, Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory (409A Schermerhorn Hall), 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, MC 5501, New York, NY, USA 10027
| | - Ayumi Tachida
- Columbia University, Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory (409A Schermerhorn Hall), 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, MC 5501, New York, NY, USA 10027
| | - Nathan Martin
- Columbia University, Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory (409A Schermerhorn Hall), 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, MC 5501, New York, NY, USA 10027
| | - Nim Tottenham
- Columbia University, Department of Psychology, Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory (409A Schermerhorn Hall), 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, MC 5501, New York, NY, USA 10027
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25
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Burra N, Vrtička P. Association between attachment anxiety and the gaze direction-related N170. Attach Hum Dev 2023; 25:181-198. [PMID: 35924946 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2022.2091337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Attachment theory suggests that interindividual differences in attachment security versus insecurity (anxiety and avoidance) contribute to the ways in which people perceive social emotional signals, particularly from the human face. Among different facial features, eye gaze conveys crucial information for social interaction, with a straight gaze triggering different cognitive and emotional processes as compared to an averted gaze. It remains unknown, however, how interindividual differences in attachment associate with early face encoding in the context of a straight versus averted gaze. Using electroencephalography (EEG) and recording event-related potentials (ERPs), specifically the N170 component, the present study (N = 50 healthy adults) measured how the characteristics of attachment anxiety and avoidance relate to the encoding of faces with respect to gaze direction and head orientation. Our findings reveal a significant relationship between gaze direction (irrespective of head orientation) and attachment anxiety on the interhemispheric (i.e. right) asymmetry of the N170 and thus provide evidence for an association between attachment anxiety and eye gaze processing during early visual face encoding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Burra
- Faculté de Psychologie et des Sciences de l'Education, Université de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Pascal Vrtička
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
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26
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Associations between cortical thickness and anxious/depressive symptoms differ by the quality of early care. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:73-84. [PMID: 35045914 PMCID: PMC9023591 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421000845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
A variety of childhood experiences can lead to anxious/depressed (A/D) symptoms. The aim of the present study was to explore the brain morphological (cortical thickness and surface area) correlates of A/D symptoms and the extent to which these phenotypes vary depending on the quality of the parenting context in which children develop. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were acquired on 45 children with Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement due to risk of not receiving adequate care (high-risk group) and 25 children without CPS involvement (low-risk group) (rangeage = 8.08-12.14; Mage = 10.05) to assess cortical thickness (CT) and cortical surface area (SA). A/D symptoms were measured using the Child Behavioral Checklist. The association between A/D symptoms and CT, but not SA, differed by risk status such that high-risk children showed decreasing CT as A/D scores increased, whereas low-risk children showed increasing CT as A/D scores increased. This interaction was specific to CT in prefrontal, frontal, temporal, and parietal cortical regions. The groups had marginally different A/D scores, in the direction of higher risk being associated with lower A/D scores. Results suggest that CT correlates of A/D symptoms are differentially shaped by the quality of early caregiving experiences and should be distinguished between high- and low-risk children.
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27
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Kitt ER, Odriozola P, Gee DG. Extinction Learning Across Development: Neurodevelopmental Changes and Implications for Pediatric Anxiety Disorders. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2023; 64:237-256. [PMID: 37532964 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2023_430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Alterations in extinction learning relate to the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders across the lifespan. While exposure therapy, based on principles of extinction, can be highly effective for treating anxiety, many patients do not show sufficient improvement following treatment. In particular, evidence suggests that exposure therapy does not work sufficiently for up to 40% of children who receive this evidence-based treatment.Importantly, fear learning and extinction, as well as the neural circuitry supporting these processes, undergo dynamic changes across development. An improved understanding of developmental changes in extinction learning and the associated neural circuitry may help to identify targets to improve treatment response in clinically anxious children and adolescents. In this chapter, we provide a brief overview of methods used to study fear learning and extinction in developmental populations. We then review what is currently known about the developmental changes that occur in extinction learning and related neural circuitry. We end this chapter with a discussion of the implications of these neurodevelopmental changes for the characterization and treatment of pediatric anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Paola Odriozola
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Dylan G Gee
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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28
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Nolvi S, Merz EC, Kataja EL, Parsons CE. Prenatal Stress and the Developing Brain: Postnatal Environments Promoting Resilience. Biol Psychiatry 2022; 93:942-952. [PMID: 36870895 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.11.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Heightened maternal stress during pregnancy is associated with atypical brain development and an elevated risk for psychopathology in offspring. Supportive environments during early postnatal life may promote brain development and reverse atypical developmental trajectories induced by prenatal stress. We reviewed studies focused on the role of key early environmental factors in moderating associations between prenatal stress exposure and infant brain and neurocognitive outcomes. Specifically, we focused on the associations between parental caregiving quality, environmental enrichment, social support, and socioeconomic status with infant brain and neurocognitive outcomes. We examined the evidence that these factors may moderate the effects of prenatal stress on the developing brain. Complementing findings from translational models, human research suggests that high-quality early postnatal environments are associated with indices of infant neurodevelopment that have also been associated with prenatal stress, such as hippocampal volume and frontolimbic connectivity. Human studies also suggest that maternal sensitivity and higher socioeconomic status may attenuate the effects of prenatal stress on established neurocognitive and neuroendocrine mediators of risk for psychopathology, such as hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning. Biological pathways that may underlie the effects of positive early environments on the infant brain, including the epigenome, oxytocin, and inflammation, are also discussed. Future research in humans should examine resilience-promoting processes in relation to infant brain development using large sample sizes and longitudinal designs. The findings from this review could be incorporated into clinical models of risk and resilience during the perinatal period and used to design more effective early programs that reduce risk for psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saara Nolvi
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Center for Population Health Research, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
| | - Emily C Merz
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Eeva-Leena Kataja
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Center for Population Health Research, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Christine E Parsons
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Interacting Minds Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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29
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Siqueira-Campos VM, Fernandes LJH, de Deus JM, Conde DM. Parenting Styles, Mental Health, and Catastrophizing in Women with Chronic Pelvic Pain: A Case-Control Study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:13347. [PMID: 36293927 PMCID: PMC9602934 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192013347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) in women is a highly prevalent condition worldwide and requires multimodal treatment. Adverse childhood experiences have been associated with CPP in women, while allodynia and poor outcomes have been linked to pain catastrophizing in these patients. Pain perception has been associated with parenting style during childhood. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between parenting style, pain catastrophizing, anxiety, depression and CPP in women. A case-control study was conducted between May 2018 and August 2021 with 123 women with CPP and 123 pain-free controls. Questionnaires were used to collect participants' data. The association between parenting style and CPP was assessed using multiple logistic regression, with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) being calculated. The correlation between catastrophizing, pain intensity, pain duration, anxiety, depression, and parenting style in women with CPP was assessed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (r). A higher frequency of low maternal care (60.7% versus 45.2%; p = 0.026), anxiety (79.7% versus 56.9%; p < 0.001), depression (73.2% versus 56.1%; p = 0.008) and physical violence (31.7% versus 14.6%; p = 0.003) was found in the CPP group compared to the controls. There was no association between parenting style and CPP in the adjusted analysis. A positive correlation was found between catastrophizing and pain intensity (r = 0.342; p < 0.001), anxiety (r = 0.271; p = 0.002), depression (r = 0.272; p = 0.002), and maternal overprotection (r = 0.185; p = 0.046). A negative correlation was found between anxiety and maternal (r = -0.184; p = 0.047) and paternal (r = -0.286; p = 0.006) care and between depression and maternal (r = -0.219; p = 0.018) and paternal (r = -0.234; p = 0.026) care. The present results suggest a significant but weak association of parenting style with pain catastrophizing, the mental health of women with CPP, and the way in which they experience pain.
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30
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Park AT, Richardson H, Tooley UA, McDermott CL, Boroshok AL, Ke A, Leonard JA, Tisdall MD, Deater-Deckard K, Edgar JC, Mackey AP. Early stressful experiences are associated with reduced neural responses to naturalistic emotional and social content in children. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 57:101152. [PMID: 36137356 PMCID: PMC9493069 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
How do children's experiences relate to their naturalistic emotional and social processing? Because children can struggle with tasks in the scanner, we collected fMRI data while 4-to-11-year-olds watched a short film with positive and negative emotional events, and rich parent-child interactions (n = 70). We captured broad, normative stressful experiences by examining socioeconomic status (SES) and stressful life events, as well as children's more proximal experiences with their parents. For a sub-sample (n = 30), parenting behaviors were measured during a parent-child interaction, consisting of a picture book, a challenging puzzle, and free play with novel toys. We characterized positive parenting behaviors (e.g., warmth, praise) and negative parenting behaviors (e.g., harsh tone, physical control). We found that higher SES was related to greater activity in medial orbitofrontal cortex during parent-child interaction movie events. Negative parenting behaviors were associated with less activation of the ventral tegmental area and cerebellum during positive emotional events. In a region-of-interest analysis, we found that stressful life events and negative parenting behaviors were associated with less activation of the amygdala during positive emotional events. These exploratory results demonstrate the promise of using movie fMRI to study how early experiences may shape emotional, social, and motivational processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne T Park
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Hilary Richardson
- Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Ursula A Tooley
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, United States; Neuroscience Graduate Group, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Cassidy L McDermott
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Austin L Boroshok
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Adrian Ke
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Julia A Leonard
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, United States; Department of Psychology, Yale University, United States
| | - M Dylan Tisdall
- Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Kirby Deater-Deckard
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States
| | | | - Allyson P Mackey
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, United States.
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31
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Copeland A, Korja R, Nolvi S, Rajasilta O, Pulli EP, Kumpulainen V, Silver E, Saukko E, Hakanen H, Holmberg E, Kataja EL, Häkkinen S, Parkkola R, Lähdesmäki T, Karlsson L, Karlsson H, Tuulari JJ. Maternal sensitivity at the age of 8 months associates with local connectivity of the medial prefrontal cortex in children at 5 years of age. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:920995. [PMID: 36188450 PMCID: PMC9520291 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.920995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The quality of mother–child interaction, especially maternal sensitivity in caregiving behavior, plays an important role in a child’s later socioemotional development. Numerous studies have indicated associations between poor mother–child interaction and offspring brain structure and function, but more knowledge on how variation in the characteristics of early caregiving is associated with children’s brain structure and function is needed. We investigated whether maternal sensitivity at 8 or 30 months is associated with functional connectivity in a child’s brain at 5 years of age based on the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study (17 and 39 mother–child dyads at 8 and 30 months, respectively, with an overlap of 13 dyads). Maternal sensitivity was assessed during a free play interaction using the Emotional Availability Scales at 8 and 30 months of the children’s age. Task-free functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was acquired at the age of 5 years in 7-min scans while watching the Inscapes movie. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) maps were created from the fMRI data, and multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the relation between maternal sensitivity and ReHo. Maternal sensitivity at the age of 8 months was positively associated with children’s ReHo values within the medial prefrontal cortex. Distal connectivity of this region showed no significant association with maternal sensitivity in a seed-based connectivity analysis. No associations were found between maternal sensitivity during toddlerhood and brain functional connectivity. Together, these results suggest that maternal sensitivity, especially in infancy, may influence offspring brain functional connectivity. However, studies with larger sample sizes are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anni Copeland
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
- *Correspondence: Anni Copeland,
| | - Riikka Korja
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Saara Nolvi
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Olli Rajasilta
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Elmo P. Pulli
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Venla Kumpulainen
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Eero Silver
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Ekaterina Saukko
- Department of Radiology, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Hetti Hakanen
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Eeva Holmberg
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Eeva-Leena Kataja
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Suvi Häkkinen
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Riitta Parkkola
- Department of Radiology, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Tuire Lähdesmäki
- Department of Pediatric Neurology, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Linnea Karlsson
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Center for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Hasse Karlsson
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
- Center for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Jetro J. Tuulari
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
- Turku Collegium for Science, Medicine and Technology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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32
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Fields A, Silvers JA, Callaghan BL, VanTieghem M, Choy T, O'Sullivan K, Tottenham N. Fear modulates parental orienting during childhood and adolescence. J Exp Child Psychol 2022; 221:105461. [PMID: 35617793 PMCID: PMC10019908 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Adults quickly orient toward sources of danger and deploy fight-or-flight tactics to manage threatening situations. In contrast, infants who cannot implement the safety strategies available to adults and depend heavily on caregivers for survival are more likely to turn toward familiar adults, such as their parents, to help them navigate threatening circumstances. However, work has yet to investigate how readily children and adolescents orient toward their parents in threatening or fearful contexts. The current work addressed this question using a visual search paradigm that included arrays of parents' and strangers' faces as target and distractor stimuli, preceded by a fear or neutral emotional priming procedure. Linear mixed-effects models showed that children and adolescents (N = 88, age range = 4-17 years; 42M/46F) were faster to search for the face of their parent than of a stranger. However, fear priming attenuated this effect of the parent on search times, such that children and adolescents were significantly slower to orient toward their parent in an array of strangers' faces if they were first primed with fear as opposed to a neutral video. This work indicates that fear priming may phasically interfere with parental orienting during childhood and adolescence, possibly because fear reallocates attention away from parents and toward (potentially threatening) unfamiliar people in the environment to facilitate the development of independent threat learning and coping systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Fields
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
| | - Jennifer A Silvers
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Bridget L Callaghan
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | | | - Tricia Choy
- Department of Education, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | | | - Nim Tottenham
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
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33
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Gard AM, Hein TC, Mitchell C, Brooks-Gunn J, McLanahan SS, Monk CS, Hyde LW. Prospective longitudinal associations between harsh parenting and corticolimbic function during adolescence. Dev Psychopathol 2022; 34:981-996. [PMID: 33487207 PMCID: PMC8310533 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579420001583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Childhood adversity is thought to undermine youth socioemotional development via altered neural function within regions that support emotion processing. These effects are hypothesized to be developmentally specific, with adversity in early childhood sculpting subcortical structures (e.g., amygdala) and adversity during adolescence impacting later-developing structures (e.g., prefrontal cortex; PFC). However, little work has tested these theories directly in humans. Using prospectively collected longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) (N = 4,144) and neuroimaging data from a subsample of families recruited in adolescence (N = 162), the current study investigated the trajectory of harsh parenting across childhood (i.e., ages 3 to 9) and how initial levels versus changes in harsh parenting across childhood were associated with corticolimbic activation and connectivity during socioemotional processing. Harsh parenting in early childhood (indexed by the intercept term from a linear growth curve model) was associated with less amygdala, but not PFC, reactivity to angry facial expressions. In contrast, change in harsh parenting across childhood (indexed by the slope term) was associated with less PFC, but not amygdala, activation to angry faces. Increases in, but not initial levels of, harsh parenting were also associated with stronger positive amygdala-PFC connectivity during angry face processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arianna M. Gard
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Tyler C. Hein
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Serious Mental Illness Treatment Resource Evaluation Center, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Department of Veterans Affairs, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Colter Mitchell
- Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
- Teachers College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Columbia Population Research Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sarah S. McLanahan
- Department of Sociology and Public Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Office of Population Research, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Christopher S. Monk
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Luke W. Hyde
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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34
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Leconstant C, Spitz E. Integrative Model of Human-Animal Interactions: A One Health-One Welfare Systemic Approach to Studying HAI. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:656833. [PMID: 35968006 PMCID: PMC9372562 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.656833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The Integrative Model of Human-Animal Interactions (IMHAI) described herewith provides a conceptual framework for the study of interspecies interactions and aims to model the primary emotional processes involved in human-animal interactions. This model was developed from theoretical inputs from three fundamental disciplines for understanding interspecies interactions: neuroscience, psychology and ethology, with the objective of providing a transdisciplinary approach on which field professionals and researchers can build and collaborate. Seminal works in affective neuroscience offer a common basis between humans and animals and, as such, can be applied to the study of interspecies interactions from a One Health-One Welfare perspective. On the one hand, Jaak Panksepp's research revealed that primary/basic emotions originate in the deep subcortical regions of the brain and are shared by all mammals, including humans. On the other hand, several works in the field of neuroscience show that the basic physiological state is largely determined by the perception of safety. Thus, emotional expression reflects the state of an individual's permanent adaptation to ever-changing environmental demands. Based on this evidence and over 5 years of action research using grounded theory, alternating between research and practice, the IMHAI proposes a systemic approach to the study of primary-process emotional affects during interspecies social interactions, through the processes of emotional transfer, embodied communication and interactive emotional regulation. IMHAI aims to generate new hypotheses and predictions on affective behavior and interspecies communication. Application of such a model should promote risk prevention and the establishment of positive links between humans and animals thereby contributing to their respective wellbeing.
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Naeem N, Zanca RM, Weinstein S, Urquieta A, Sosa A, Yu B, Sullivan RM. The Neurobiology of Infant Attachment-Trauma and Disruption of Parent-Infant Interactions. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:882464. [PMID: 35935109 PMCID: PMC9352889 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.882464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Current clinical literature and supporting animal literature have shown that repeated and profound early-life adversity, especially when experienced within the caregiver-infant dyad, disrupts the trajectory of brain development to induce later-life expression of maladaptive behavior and pathology. What is less well understood is the immediate impact of repeated adversity during early life with the caregiver, especially since attachment to the caregiver occurs regardless of the quality of care the infant received including experiences of trauma. The focus of the present manuscript is to review the current literature on infant trauma within attachment, with an emphasis on animal research to define mechanisms and translate developmental child research. Across species, the effects of repeated trauma with the attachment figure, are subtle in early life, but the presence of acute stress can uncover some pathology, as was highlighted by Bowlby and Ainsworth in the 1950s. Through rodent neurobehavioral literature we discuss the important role of repeated elevations in stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) in infancy, especially if paired with the mother (not when pups are alone) as targeting the amygdala and causal in infant pathology. We also show that following induced alterations, at baseline infants appear stable, although acute stress hormone elevation uncovers pathology in brain circuits important in emotion, social behavior, and fear. We suggest that a comprehensive understanding of the role of stress hormones during infant typical development and elevated CORT disruption of this typical development will provide insight into age-specific identification of trauma effects, as well as a better understanding of early markers of later-life pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nimra Naeem
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, New York University, New York, NY, United States,Emotional Brain Institute, The Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States,Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States,*Correspondence: Nimra Naeem,
| | - Roseanna M. Zanca
- Emotional Brain Institute, The Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States,Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Sylvie Weinstein
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, New York University, New York, NY, United States,Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Alejandra Urquieta
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, New York University, New York, NY, United States,Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Anna Sosa
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, New York University, New York, NY, United States,Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Boyi Yu
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, New York University, New York, NY, United States,Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Regina M. Sullivan
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, New York University, New York, NY, United States,Emotional Brain Institute, The Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States,Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States,Regina M. Sullivan,
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36
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Gee DG, Hanson C, Caglar LR, Fareri DS, Gabard-Durnam LJ, Mills-Finnerty C, Goff B, Caldera CJ, Lumian DS, Flannery J, Hanson SJ, Tottenham N. Experimental evidence for a child-to-adolescent switch in human amygdala-prefrontal cortex communication: A cross-sectional pilot study. Dev Sci 2022; 25:e13238. [PMID: 35080089 PMCID: PMC9232876 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Interactions between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex are fundamental to human emotion. Despite the central role of frontoamygdala communication in adult emotional learning and regulation, little is known about how top-down control emerges during human development. In the present cross-sectional pilot study, we experimentally manipulated prefrontal engagement to test its effects on the amygdala during development. Inducing dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) activation resulted in developmentally-opposite effects on amygdala reactivity during childhood versus adolescence, such that dACC activation was followed by increased amygdala reactivity in childhood but reduced amygdala reactivity in adolescence. Bayesian network analyses revealed an age-related switch between childhood and adolescence in the nature of amygdala connectivity with the dACC and ventromedial PFC (vmPFC). Whereas adolescence was marked by information flow from dACC and vmPFC to amygdala (consistent with that observed in adults), the reverse information flow, from the amygdala to dACC and vmPFC, was dominant in childhood. The age-related switch in information flow suggests a potential shift from bottom-up co-excitatory to top-down regulatory frontoamygdala connectivity and may indicate a profound change in the circuitry supporting maturation of emotional behavior. These findings provide novel insight into the developmental construction of amygdala-cortical connections and implications for the ways in which childhood experiences may influence subsequent prefrontal function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan G. Gee
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, 2 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511
- To whom correspondence should be addressed: ,
| | - Catherine Hanson
- Rutgers University, Department of Psychology, 101 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07102
| | - Leyla Roksan Caglar
- Rutgers University, Department of Psychology, 101 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07102
| | - Dominic S. Fareri
- Adelphi University, Department of Psychology, Blodgett Hall, Garden City, NY 11530
| | | | | | - Bonnie Goff
- University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, 1285 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Christina J. Caldera
- University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, 1285 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Daniel S. Lumian
- University of Denver, Department of Psychology, 2155 S. Race Street, Denver, CO 80210
| | - Jessica Flannery
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Department of Psychology, 235 E. Cameron Ave, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
| | - Stephen J. Hanson
- Rutgers University, Department of Psychology, 101 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07102
| | - Nim Tottenham
- Columbia University, Department of Psychology, 406 Schermerhorn Hall, 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027
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37
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Levis SC, Birnie MT, Bolton JL, Perrone CR, Montesinos JS, Baram TZ, Mahler SV. Enduring disruption of reward and stress circuit activities by early-life adversity in male rats. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:251. [PMID: 35705547 PMCID: PMC9200783 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-01988-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In humans, early-life adversity (ELA) such as trauma, poverty, and chaotic environment is linked to increased risk of later-life emotional disorders including depression and substance abuse. These disorders involve underlying disruption of reward circuits and likely vary by sex. Accordingly, we previously found that ELA leads to anhedonia for natural rewards and cocaine in male rodents, whereas in females ELA instead increases vulnerability to addiction-like use of opioid drugs and palatable food. While these findings suggest that ELA-induced disruption of reward circuitry may differ between the sexes, the specific circuit nodes that are influenced by ELA in either sex remain poorly understood. Here, in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, we ask how ELA impacts opioid addiction-relevant behaviors that we previously tested after ELA in females. We probe potential circuit mechanisms in males by assessing opioid-associated neuronal activation in stress and reward circuit nodes including nucleus accumbens (NAc), amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and paraventricular thalamus. We find that ELA diminishes opioid-seeking behaviors in males, and alters heroin-induced activation of NAc, PFC, and amygdala, suggesting a potential circuit-based mechanism. These studies demonstrate that ELA leads to behavioral and neurobiological disruptions consistent with anhedonia in male rodents, unlike the increased opioid seeking we previously saw in females. Our findings, taken together with our prior work, suggest that men and women could face qualitatively different mental health consequences of ELA, which may be essential for individually tailoring future intervention strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia C Levis
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
| | - Matthew T Birnie
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Jessica L Bolton
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Christina R Perrone
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Johanna S Montesinos
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Stephen V Mahler
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
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38
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Christaki EV, Pervanidou P, Papassotiriou I, Mantzou A, Giannakakis G, Boschiero D, Chrousos GP. Circulating FGF21 vs. Stress Markers in Girls during Childhood and Adolescence, and in Their Caregivers: Intriguing Inter-Relations between Overweight/Obesity, Emotions, Behavior, and the Cared-Caregiver Relationship. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 9:children9060821. [PMID: 35740758 PMCID: PMC9221579 DOI: 10.3390/children9060821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF21) acts on several brain regions, including the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, which is involved in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interrelations between FGF21 and stress indices in girls, as well as in their caregivers. 78 girls, aged between 5 and 15 years, were studied; 50 of them were overweight and obese (OB) and 28 in the control group (C). Serum FGF21 and hair and diurnal salivary cortisol were measured. Children participants filled in the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC), while their caregivers filled in the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Holmes-Rahe Stress Events Scale (HRSES). The OB group girls had significantly higher levels of FGF21 than the C group (p < 0.001). In contrast to the C group, in whom FGF21 levels were positively correlated with both hair and salivary AUCg cortisol concentrations (p = 0.045 and p = 0.007, respectively), no such correlations were observed in the OB group. In the caregivers of the OB group, STAI-state (r = 0.388, p = 0.008), STAI-trait (r = 0.4, p = 0.006), PSS (r = 0.388, p = 0.008), and HRSES (r = 0.358, p = 0.015) scores, all correlated positively with the FGF21 levels of the children under their care. FGF21 concentrations positively correlated with hair and salivary cortisol levels in the C group only. These findings may represent an interesting correlation dictated by bi-directional empathy links between the primary caregivers and the children under their care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eirini V. Christaki
- Childhood Obesity Clinic, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece; (P.P.); (A.M.); (G.P.C.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Panagiota Pervanidou
- Childhood Obesity Clinic, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece; (P.P.); (A.M.); (G.P.C.)
- Unit of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Ioannis Papassotiriou
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece;
| | - Aimilia Mantzou
- Childhood Obesity Clinic, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece; (P.P.); (A.M.); (G.P.C.)
| | - Giorgos Giannakakis
- Computational Biomedicine Laboratory, Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), 70013 Heraklion, Greece;
- Institute of AgriFood and Life Sciences, University Research Centre, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
| | | | - George P. Chrousos
- Childhood Obesity Clinic, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece; (P.P.); (A.M.); (G.P.C.)
- Unit of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece
- University Research Institute of Maternal and Child Health and Precision Medicine and UNESCO Chair on Adolescent Health Care, 11527 Athens, Greece
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39
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Davis K, Hirsch E, Gee D, Andover M, Roy AK. Mediating role of the default mode network on parental acceptance/warmth and psychopathology in youth. Brain Imaging Behav 2022; 16:2229-2238. [PMID: 35648269 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-022-00692-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Humans are reliant on their caregivers for an extended period of time, offering numerous opportunities for environmental factors, such as parental attitudes and behaviors, to impact brain development. The default mode network is a neural system encompassing the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and temporo-parietal junction, which is implicated in aspects of cognition and psychopathology. Delayed default mode network maturation in children and adolescents has been associated with greater general dimensional psychopathology, and positive parenting behaviors have been suggested to serve as protective mechanisms against atypical default mode network development. The current study aimed to extend the existing research by examining whether within- default mode network resting-state functional connectivity would mediate the relation between parental acceptance/warmth and youth psychopathology. Data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study, which included a community sample of 9,366 children ages 8.9-10.9 years, were analyzed to test this prediction. Results demonstrated a significant mediation, where greater parental acceptance/warmth predicted greater within- default mode network resting-state functional connectivity, which in turn predicted lower externalizing, but not internalizing symptoms, at baseline and 1-year later. Our study provides preliminary support for the notion that positive parenting behaviors may reduce the risk for psychopathology in youth through their influence on the default mode network.
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40
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Levis SC, Baram TZ, Mahler SV. Neurodevelopmental origins of substance use disorders: Evidence from animal models of early-life adversity and addiction. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 55:2170-2195. [PMID: 33825217 PMCID: PMC8494863 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder with devastating personal, societal, and economic consequences. In humans, early-life adversity (ELA) such as trauma, neglect, and resource scarcity are linked with increased risk of later-life addiction, but the brain mechanisms underlying this link are still poorly understood. Here, we focus on data from rodent models of ELA and addiction, in which causal effects of ELA on later-life responses to drugs and the neurodevelopmental mechanisms by which ELA increases vulnerability to addiction can be determined. We first summarize evidence for a link between ELA and addiction in humans, then describe how ELA is commonly modeled in rodents. Since addiction is a heterogeneous disease with many individually varying behavioral aspects that may be impacted by ELA, we next discuss common rodent assays of addiction-like behaviors. We then summarize the specific addiction-relevant behavioral phenotypes caused by ELA in male and female rodents and discuss some of the underlying changes in brain reward and stress circuits that are likely responsible. By better understanding the behavioral and neural mechanisms by which ELA promotes addiction vulnerability, we hope to facilitate development of new approaches for preventing or treating addiction in those with a history of ELA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia C Levis
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.,Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Stephen V Mahler
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
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41
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Jethava V, Kadish J, Kakonge L, Wiseman-Hakes C. Early Attachment and the Development of Social Communication: A Neuropsychological Approach. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:838950. [PMID: 35463524 PMCID: PMC9024310 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.838950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social communication forms the foundation of human relationships. Social communication, i.e., the appropriate understanding and use of verbal and non-verbal communication within a social context, profoundly impacts mental health across the lifespan and is also highly vulnerable to neurodevelopmental threats and social adversities. There exists a strong interconnection between the development of language and other higher cognitive skills, mediated, in part, through the early attachment relationship. Consideration of how attachment links to brain development can help us understand individuals with social communication difficulties across the lifespan. The early attachment relationship supports the development of the foundational constructs of social communication. In this paper, a neuropsychological perspective was applied to social communication, which integrated evidence from early attachment theory, examining the underpinnings of social communication components identified by the SoCom model, namely socio-cognitive, socio-emotional, and socio-linguistic constructs. A neuropsychological perspective underscores the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. This should also inform approaches to prevention, policy, intervention, and advocacy for individuals with or at risk for social communication impairments, as well as their families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vibhuti Jethava
- York Hills Centre for Children, Youth and Families, Richmond Hill, ON, Canada
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jocelyn Kadish
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Lisa Kakonge
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- School of Rehabilitation Science, Speech Language Pathology Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Catherine Wiseman-Hakes
- School of Rehabilitation Science, Speech Language Pathology Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehab-University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
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42
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Liu S, Fisher PA. Early experience unpredictability in child development as a model for understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: A translational neuroscience perspective. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 54:101091. [PMID: 35217299 PMCID: PMC8860470 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 02/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Extensive evidence links adverse experiences during childhood to a wide range of negative consequences in biological, socioemotional, and cognitive development. Unpredictability is a core element underlying most forms of early adversity; it has been a focus of developmental research for many years and has been receiving increasing attention recently. In this article, we propose a conceptual model to describe how unpredictable and adverse early experiences affect children's neurobiological, behavioral, and psychological development in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We first highlight the critical role of unpredictability in child development by reviewing existing conceptual models of early adversity as they relate to subsequent development across the lifespan. Then, we employ a translational neuroscience framework to summarize the current animal- and human-based evidence on the neurobiological alterations induced by early experience unpredictability. We further argue that the COVID-19 pandemic serves as a global "natural experiment" that provides rare insight to the investigation of the negative developmental consequences of widespread, clustered, and unpredictable adverse events among children. We discuss how the pandemic helps advance the science of unpredictable early adverse experiences. As unpredictability research continues to grow, we highlight several directions for future studies and implications for policymaking and intervention practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sihong Liu
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States.
| | - Philip A Fisher
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States
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Fitter MH, Stern JA, Straske MD, Allard T, Cassidy J, Riggins T. Mothers’ Attachment Representations and Children’s Brain Structure. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:740195. [PMID: 35370579 PMCID: PMC8967255 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.740195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Ample research demonstrates that parents’ experience-based mental representations of attachment—cognitive models of close relationships—relate to their children’s social-emotional development. However, no research to date has examined how parents’ attachment representations relate to another crucial domain of children’s development: brain development. The present study is the first to integrate the separate literatures on attachment and developmental social cognitive neuroscience to examine the link between mothers’ attachment representations and 3- to 8-year-old children’s brain structure. We hypothesized that mothers’ attachment representations would relate to individual differences in children’s brain structures involved in stress regulation—specifically, amygdala and hippocampal volumes—in part via mothers’ responses to children’s distress. We assessed 52 mothers’ attachment representations (secure base script knowledge on the Attachment Script Assessment and self-reported attachment avoidance and anxiety on the Experiences in Close Relationships scale) and children’s brain structure. Mothers’ secure base script knowledge was significantly related to children’s smaller left amygdala volume but was unrelated to hippocampal volume; we found no indirect links via maternal responses to children’s distress. Exploratory analyses showed associations between mothers’ attachment representations and white matter and thalamus volumes. Together, these preliminary results suggest that mothers’ attachment representations may be linked to the development of children’s neural circuitry related to stress regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan H. Fitter
- Maryland Child and Family Development Lab, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
- *Correspondence: Megan H. Fitter,
| | - Jessica A. Stern
- BabyLab, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
| | - Martha D. Straske
- Maryland Child and Family Development Lab, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Tamara Allard
- Neurocognitive Development Lab, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Jude Cassidy
- Maryland Child and Family Development Lab, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Tracy Riggins
- Neurocognitive Development Lab, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
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44
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Mancini VO, Heritage BJ, Preece D, Cohodes EM, Gross JJ, Gee DG, Finlay-Jones A. How Caregivers Support Children's Emotion Regulation: Construct Validation of the Parental Assistance With Child Emotion Regulation (PACER) Questionnaire. Assessment 2022; 30:1040-1051. [PMID: 35272507 DOI: 10.1177/10731911221082708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Caregivers play a crucial role in supporting the development of their children's emotion regulation. This study validated the Parental Assistance with Child Emotion Regulation (PACER) Questionnaire in a sample of 491 caregivers (M = 32.89 years) of young children ≤ 5 years. Exploratory structural equation modeling provided evidence of the instrument's ability to assess parental support for 10 distinct emotion regulation strategies that match the intended design of the instrument. Latent profile analysis revealed three distinct caregiver profiles characterized by above-average support for strategies that previously have been shown to be predictive of adaptive outcomes, maladaptive outcomes, or mixed-outcomes, respectively. Results add to existing literature that suggests the PACER is a valid and reliable assessment of caregiver-implemented support of emotion regulation strategies for children ≤ 5 years old. Evidence of distinct caregiver profiles highlights opportunities for prevention and intervention efforts to bolster extrinsic support for adaptive emotion regulation strategies. This instrument may be well-suited to capturing changes throughout the early developmental period, in addition to monitoring caregiver-facing interventions promoting optimal emotion regulation in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent O Mancini
- University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.,Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | | | - David Preece
- Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
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A Review of Family Environment and Neurobehavioral Outcomes Following Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: Implications of Early Adverse Experiences, Family Stress, and Limbic Development. Biol Psychiatry 2022; 91:488-497. [PMID: 34772505 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a public health crisis, with neurobehavioral morbidity observed years after an injury associated with changes in related brain structures. A substantial literature base has established family environment as a significant predictor of neurobehavioral outcomes following pediatric TBI. The neural mechanisms linking family environment to neurobehavioral outcomes have, however, received less empiric study in this population. In contrast, limbic structural differences as well as challenges with emotional adjustment and behavioral regulation in non-TBI populations have been linked to a multitude of family environmental factors, including family stress, parenting style, and adverse childhood experiences. In this article, we systematically review the more comprehensive literature on family environment and neurobehavioral outcomes in pediatric TBI and leverage the work in both TBI and non-TBI populations to expand our understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms. Thus, we summarize the extant literature on the family environment's role in neurobehavioral sequelae in children with TBI and explore potential neural correlates by synthesizing the wealth of literature on family environment and limbic development, specifically related to the amygdala. This review underscores the critical role of environmental factors, especially those predating the injury, in modeling recovery outcomes post-TBI in childhood, and discusses clinical and research implications across pediatric populations. Given the public health crisis of pediatric TBI, along with the context of sparse available medical interventions, a broader understanding of factors contributing to outcomes is warranted to expand the range of intervention targets.
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Sheridan MA, McLaughlin KA. Introduction to the special issue on childhood adversity and neurodevelopment. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 54:101082. [PMID: 35153166 PMCID: PMC9019832 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Margaret A Sheridan
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, United States
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Rousseau S, Polachek IS, Frenkel TI. A machine learning approach to identifying pregnant women's risk for persistent post-traumatic stress following childbirth. J Affect Disord 2022; 296:136-149. [PMID: 34601301 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 09/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
INTRO Recent literature identifies childbirth as a potentially traumatic event, following which mothers may develop symptoms of Post-Traumatic-Stress-Following-Childbirth (PTS-FC). Especially when persistent, PTS-FC may interfere with mothers' caregiving and associated infant development, underscoring the need for accurate predictive screening of risk. Drawing on recent developments in advanced statistical modeling, the aim of the current study was to identify a set of prenatal indicators and prediction rules that may accurately identify pregnant women's risk for developing symptoms of PTS-FC which persist throughout the early postpartum period. METHODS 182 women from the general population completed a comprehensive set of approximately 200 potentially predictive questions during pregnancy, and subsequently reported on their acute stress and PTS-FC at three days, one month, and three months postpartum (self-report and clinician-administered interview). Based on the postpartum acute stress and PTS-FC data, women were classified into profiles of "Stable-High-PTS-FC" and "Stable-Low-PTS-FC" by means of Latent-Class Analyses. Prenatal data were modeled to identify women at risk for "Stable-High PTS-FC". RESULTS Employing machine-learning decision-tree analyses, a total of 36 questions and 7 prediction-rules were selected. Based on a cost-rate of 15 versus 100 for false-negative "Stable-Low-PTS-FC" versus false-negative "Stable-High-PTS-FC", the final model showed 80.6% accuracy for "Stable-High-PTS-FC" prediction. DISCUSSION This study identifies a short set of questions and prediction rules that may be included in future large-scale validation studies aimed at developing and validating a brief PTS-FC screening instrument that could be implemented in general population prenatal healthcare practice. Accurate screening would allow for selective administering of preventive interventions towards women at risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofie Rousseau
- Ziama Arkin Infancy Institute, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Hanadiv 71, 1st floor, Herzliya 46485, Israel; Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, HaUniversity 8, Herzliya 4610101, Israel
| | - Inbal Shlomi Polachek
- Be'er Ya'akov Medical Center, Israel; Tel Aviv University, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Tahl I Frenkel
- Ziama Arkin Infancy Institute, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Hanadiv 71, 1st floor, Herzliya 46485, Israel; Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, HaUniversity 8, Herzliya 4610101, Israel.
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Cubillo A. Neurobiological correlates of the social and emotional impact of peer victimization: A review. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:866926. [PMID: 35978845 PMCID: PMC9376443 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.866926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Peer victimization is very common during late childhood and adolescence. Despite the relatively reduced number of studies, the neurobiological underpinnings of the negative impact of peer victimization experiences have received increasing attention in recent years. The present selective review summarizes the most recent available evidence and provides a general overview of the impact of peer victimization experiences on social processing and decision-making at the neurobiological level, highlighting the most pressing areas requiring further research. Three key cognitive areas show a clear negative impact of peer victimization and bullying experiences: social valuation processing, reward and reinforcement learning and self-regulation processes. Victims show enhanced activation in key regions of the limbic system including the amygdala, rostral and dorsal anterior cingulate cortices, suggestive of enhanced sensitivity to social stimuli. They also show enhanced recruitment of lateral prefrontal regions crucially involved in cognitive and emotional regulation processes, and abnormal reward-related striatal function. The presence of psychopathology is a complex factor, increased as a consequence of peer victimization, but that also constitutes vulnerability to such experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Cubillo
- Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Psychiatric Clinic Basel, Basel, Switzerland
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Cordero MI, Stenz L, Moser DA, Rusconi Serpa S, Paoloni-Giacobino A, Schechter DS. The relationship of maternal and child methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor NR3C1 during early childhood and subsequent child psychopathology at school-age in the context of maternal interpersonal violence-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:919820. [PMID: 36061270 PMCID: PMC9437341 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.919820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Interpersonal violent (IPV) experiences when they begin in childhood and continue in various forms during adulthood often lead to chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that is associated in multiple studies with hypocortisolism and lower percentage of methylation of the promoter region of the gene coding for the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1). This prospective, longitudinal study examined the relationship of NR3C1 methylation among mothers with IPV-related PTSD and their toddlers and then looked at the relationship of maternal NR3C1 methylation and child psychopathology at school age. METHODS Forty-eight mothers were evaluated for life-events history and post-traumatic stress disorder via structured clinical interview when their children were ages 12-42 months (mean age 26.7 months, SD 8.8). Their children's psychopathology in terms of internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors was evaluated using the Child Behavior Checklist at ages 5-9 years (mean age 7 years, SD 1.1). Percentage of methylation for the NR3C1 gene promoter region was assessed from DNA extracted from maternal and child saliva using bisulfite pyrosequencing. Data analysis involved parametric and non-parametric correlations and multiple linear and logistic regression modeling. RESULTS Logistic regression models using child NR3C1 methylation as the dependent variable and maternal NR3C1 methylation and PTSD group status as predictors, as well as the interaction indicated that all three of these significantly predicted child NR3C1 methylation. These findings remained significant when controlling for child age, sex and maternal child abuse history. Overall, maternal NR3C1 methylation when children were toddlers was negatively and significantly associated with child externalizing behavior severity at school age. DISCUSSION We found that correlations between mothers and their children of NR3C1 methylation levels overall and at all individual CpG sites of interest were significant only in the IPV-PTSD group. The latter findings support that NR3C1 methylation in mothers positively and statistically significantly correlates with NR3C1 methylation in their children only in presence of IPV-PTSD in the mothers. This maternal epigenetic signature with respect to this glucocorticoid receptor is significantly associated with child behavior that may well pose a risk for intergenerational transmission of violence and related psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- María I Cordero
- Department of Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Ludwig Stenz
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Dominik A Moser
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Service, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sandra Rusconi Serpa
- Department of Psychology, University of Geneva Faculty of Psychology, Social Science and Education, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Ariane Paoloni-Giacobino
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Scott Schechter
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Service, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Faculty of Biology and Medicine, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
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50
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Birnie MT, Levis SC, Mahler SV, Baram TZ. Developmental Trajectories of Anhedonia in Preclinical Models. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2022; 58:23-41. [PMID: 35156184 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2021_299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
This chapter discusses how the complex concept of anhedonia can be operationalized and studied in preclinical models. It provides information about the development of anhedonia in the context of early-life adversity, and the power of preclinical models to tease out the diverse molecular, epigenetic, and network mechanisms that are responsible for anhedonia-like behaviors.Specifically, we first discuss the term anhedonia, reviewing the conceptual components underlying reward-related behaviors and distinguish anhedonia pertaining to deficits in motivational versus consummatory behaviors. We then describe the repertoire of experimental approaches employed to study anhedonia-like behaviors in preclinical models, and the progressive refinement over the past decade of both experimental instruments (e.g., chemogenetics, optogenetics) and conceptual constructs (salience, valence, conflict). We follow with an overview of the state of current knowledge of brain circuits, nodes, and projections that execute distinct aspects of hedonic-like behaviors, as well as neurotransmitters, modulators, and receptors involved in the generation of anhedonia-like behaviors. Finally, we discuss the special case of anhedonia that arises following early-life adversity as an eloquent example enabling the study of causality, mechanisms, and sex dependence of anhedonia.Together, this chapter highlights the power, potential, and limitations of using preclinical models to advance our understanding of the origin and mechanisms of anhedonia and to discover potential targets for its prevention and mitigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew T Birnie
- Departments of Anatomy/Neurobiology and Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Sophia C Levis
- Departments of Anatomy/Neurobiology and Neurobiology/Behavior, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Stephen V Mahler
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Departments of Anatomy/Neurobiology and Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
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