The interactive roles of narrative processing and emotion negativity/lability in relation to autonomic coordination

Emotion regulation (ER) is a multifaceted construct, involving behavioral, cognitive, and physiological processes. Although autonomic coordination is theorized to play a crucial role in adaptive functioning, few studies have examined how different individual and contextual factors together may contribute to such coordination. This study examined the joint influences of narrative processing and emotional negativity/lability (N/L) traits on the coordination of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in a sample of 112 children, ages 8-12 years (Mage  = 10.15 years, SD = 1.33). Children completed a stress-induction task followed by an interview about the task. Children's trait-level N/L was assessed via parent-report on the Emotion Regulation Checklist. Narrative processing was assessed and coded based on children's narrative accounts of the event (i.e., causal coherence, overall emotional tone). Indexes of sympathetic (skin conductance response, SCR) and parasympathetic (respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA) functioning were derived from physiological data obtained during the interview. Results revealed that children's trait-level N/L and narrative processing of the stressful event interacted to predict the RSA-SCR correlation. Specifically, children who were high on either N/L or narrative causal coherence, but not both, demonstrated significant RSA-SCR correlation. Similarly, children with high N/L and negative-to-neutral narratives, as well as those with low N/L and neutral-to-positive narratives, exhibited significant RSA-SCR correlation. This work provides empirical evidence that narrative processing and trait N/L, together with RSA-SCR correlation, work in tandem to regulate emotional arousal.

The Human Affectome

Over the last decades, theoretical perspectives in the interdisciplinary field of the affective sciences have proliferated rather than converged due to differing assumptions about what human affective phenomena are and how they work. These metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions, shaped by academic context and values, have dictated affective constructs and operationalizations. However, an assumption about the purpose of affective phenomena can guide us to a common set of metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions. In this capstone paper, we home in on a nested teleological principle for human affective phenomena in order to synthesize metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions. Under this framework, human affective phenomena can collectively be considered algorithms that either adjust based on the human comfort zone (affective concerns) or monitor those adaptive processes (affective features). This teleologically-grounded framework offers a principled agenda and launchpad for both organizing existing perspectives and generating new ones. Ultimately, we hope the Human Affectome brings us a step closer to not only an integrated understanding of human affective phenomena, but an integrated field for affective research.

Parental Deprivation- and Threat-Based Factors Associated with Youth Emotion-Based Neurocircuitry and Externalizing Behavior: A Systematic Review

Parental factors, including negative parenting practices (e.g., family conflict, low monitoring), parental depression, and parental substance use, are associated with externalizing behaviors among youth. However, the ways in which these parental factors are associated with youth brain function and consequent externalizing behavior has been less studied. Both the dimensional and stress acceleration models provide frameworks for understanding how parental factors may be associated with frontolimbic and frontoparietal networks implicated in emotional attention and regulation processes. The current review builds upon this work by examining how deprivation- and threat-based parental factors are associated with youth neurocircuitry involved in emotional functioning and externalizing behaviors. A systematic review using PRISMA guidelines was completed and included five studies assessing parenting behaviors, six studies assessing parental depressive symptoms and/or diagnosis, and 12 studies assessing parental history of substance use. Synthesis of reviewed studies discusses support for the dimensional and stress acceleration models within the context of deprivation and threat. Further, a limited number of studies tested (i.e., six studies) and supported (i.e., three studies) youth neural structure and function as a mediator of the association between parental factors and youth externalizing behavior. Specific recommendations for future work include more deliberate planning related to sample composition, improved clarity related to parental constructs, consistency in methodology, and longitudinal study design in order to better understand associations between contextual parental influences and youth neural and behavioral functioning.

An Individualized, Data-Driven Biological Approach to Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Heterogeneity

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed mental health disorder in childhood, however, there is well-established heterogeneity in both the presentation of ADHD symptoms and secondary characteristics across the literature. Existing Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) nosology has been ineffective in explaining such heterogeneity in terms of both pathophysiology and clinical trajectories. The current study investigated ADHD heterogeneity via a biologically-based, data-driven approach (k-Means algorithm). Specifically, unique biological profiles (derived from patterns of parasympathetic and sympathetic functioning) were identified and utilized as predictors of clinical presentations. Two hundred eighty-nine participants (167 youth with ADHD), ages 5 to 13 years, completed an emotion-based task while indexes of parasympathetic (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) and sympathetic (i.e., electrodermal activity [EDA]) activity were obtained. Overall, results suggest that three distinct biological profiles among youth with ADHD are evident, with biological profiles differing in regulation and arousal levels during emotionally evocative contexts: (Profile 1) underregulated, hyperaroused (negative contexts only), (Profile 2) typically regulated, underaroused, and (Profile 3) overregulated (positive contexts only), hyperaroused. Results are supported by several dopaminergic- and reward-based theories, integrating differing concepts across the literature, and adds biological support for existing models. Behaviorally, results may translate into differing clinical presentations, however, further work is needed. In general, youth with ADHD are heterogenous in autonomic functioning, which could have implications for synthesizing across differing theories within the literature, predicting clinical presentations, and developing targeted treatments.

Acculturative Orientations Among Hispanic/Latinx Caregivers in the ABCD Study: Associations With Caregiver and Youth Mental Health and Youth Brain Function

Background

Population-based neuroscience offers opportunities to examine important but understudied sociocultural factors such as acculturation. Acculturation refers to the extent to which an individual retains their cultural heritage and/or adopts the receiving society's culture and is particularly salient among Hispanic/Latinx immigrants. Specific acculturative orientations have been linked to vulnerability to substance use, depression, and suicide and are known to influence family dynamics between caregivers and their children.

Methods

Using data from first- and second-generation Hispanic/Latinx caregivers in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (N = 1057), we examined how caregivers' acculturative orientation affects their mental health, as well as the mental health and brain function of their children. Neuroimaging analyses focused on regions associated with self- and affiliation-based social processing (ventromedial prefrontal cortex, insula, and temporoparietal junction).

Results

We identified 2 profiles of caregiver acculturation: bicultural (retains heritage culture while adopting U.S. culture) and detached (discards heritage culture and rejects U.S. culture). Bicultural caregivers exhibited fewer internalizing and externalizing problems than detached caregivers; furthermore, youth exhibited similar internalizing effects across caregiver profiles. In addition, youth with bicultural caregivers displayed increased resting-state brain activity (i.e., fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and regional homogeneity) in the left insula, which has been linked to psychopathology; however, differences in long-range functional connectivity were not significant.

Conclusions

Caregiver acculturation is an important familial factor that has been linked to significant differences in youth mental health and insula activity. Future work should examine sociocultural and neurodevelopmental changes across adolescence to assess health outcomes and determine whether localized, corticolimbic brain effects are ultimately translated into long-range connectivity differences.

The Oregon ADHD-1000: A new longitudinal data resource enriched for clinical cases and multiple levels of analysis

The fields of developmental psychopathology, developmental neuroscience, and behavioral genetics are increasingly moving toward a data sharing model to improve reproducibility, robustness, and generalizability of findings. This approach is particularly critical for understanding attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which has unique public health importance given its early onset, high prevalence, individual variability, and causal association with co-occurring and later developing problems. A further priority concerns multi-disciplinary/multi-method datasets that can span different units of analysis. Here, we describe a public dataset using a case-control design for ADHD that includes: multi-method, multi-measure, multi-informant, multi-trait data, and multi-clinician evaluation and phenotyping. It spans > 12 years of annual follow-up with a lag longitudinal design allowing age-based analyses spanning age 7-19 + years with a full age range from 7 to 21. Measures span genetic and epigenetic (DNA methylation) array data; EEG, functional and structural MRI neuroimaging; and psychophysiological, psychosocial, clinical and functional outcomes data. The resource also benefits from an autism spectrum disorder add-on cohort and a cross sectional case-control ADHD cohort from a different geographical region for replication and generalizability. Datasets allowing for integration from genes to nervous system to behavior represent the "next generation" of researchable cohorts for ADHD and developmental psychopathology.

The Psychological Science Accelerator's COVID-19 rapid-response dataset

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures for each experimental study, a general questionnaire examining health prevention behaviors and COVID-19 experience, geographical and cultural context characterization, and demographic information for each participant. Each participant started the study with the same general questions and then was randomized to complete either one longer experiment or two shorter experiments. Data were provided by 73,223 participants with varying completion rates. Participants completed the survey from 111 geopolitical regions in 44 unique languages/dialects. The anonymized dataset described here is provided in both raw and processed formats to facilitate re-use and further analyses. The dataset offers secondary analytic opportunities to explore coping, framing, and self-determination across a diverse, global sample obtained at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be merged with other time-sampled or geographic data.

A critical review of hot executive functioning in youth attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Methodological limitations, conceptual considerations, and future directions

Hot executive functioning (EF) - EF under emotionally or motivationally salient conditions - is a putative etiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive behavior problems (DBPs), and their related impairments. Despite two decades of research, the present study is the first review of the construct in youth ADHD, with a particular focus on the role of task design, age, and DBPs, as well as relevant conceptual and methodological considerations. While certain hot EF tasks have been investigated extensively (e.g., choice impulsivity), substantial inconsistency in measurement of the broader construct remains, severely limiting conclusions. Future research should a) consider the extent to which various hot EF tasks relate to one another, a higher order factor, and other related constructs; b) further investigate task design, particularly the elicitation of emotion or motivation and its anticipated effect on EF; and c) incorporate multiple levels of analysis to validate similarities and differences among tasks with regard to the affective experiences and cognitive demands they elicit. With improved measurement and conceptual clarity, hot EF has potential to advance the literature on etiological pathways to ADHD, DBPs and associated impairments and, more broadly, may represent a useful tool for understanding the influence of emotion and motivation on cognition.

Neural systems underlying RDoC social constructs: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis

Neuroscientists have sought to identify the underlying neural systems supporting social processing that allow interaction and communication, forming social relationships, and navigating the social world. Through the use of NIMH's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework, we evaluated consensus among studies that examined brain activity during social tasks to elucidate regions comprising the "social brain". We examined convergence across tasks corresponding to the four RDoC social constructs, including Affiliation and Attachment, Social Communication, Perception and Understanding of Self, and Perception and Understanding of Others. We performed a series of coordinate-based meta-analyses using the activation likelihood estimate (ALE) method. Meta-analysis was performed on whole-brain coordinates reported from 864 fMRI contrasts using the NiMARE Python package, revealing convergence in medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, temporoparietal junction, bilateral insula, amygdala, fusiform gyrus, precuneus, and thalamus. Additionally, four separate RDoC-based meta-analyses revealed differential convergence associated with the four social constructs. These outcomes highlight the neural support underlying these social constructs and inform future research on alterations among neurotypical and atypical populations.

Extended functional connectivity of convergent structural alterations among individuals with PTSD: a neuroimaging meta-analysis

Background

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating disorder defined by the onset of intrusive, avoidant, negative cognitive or affective, and/or hyperarousal symptoms after witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event. Previous voxel-based morphometry studies have provided insight into structural brain alterations associated with PTSD with notable heterogeneity across these studies. Furthermore, how structural alterations may be associated with brain function, as measured by task-free and task-based functional connectivity, remains to be elucidated.

Methods

Using emergent meta-analytic techniques, we sought to first identify a consensus of structural alterations in PTSD using the anatomical likelihood estimation (ALE) approach. Next, we generated functional profiles of identified convergent structural regions utilizing resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and meta-analytic co-activation modeling (MACM) methods. Finally, we performed functional decoding to examine mental functions associated with our ALE, rsFC, and MACM brain characterizations.

Results

We observed convergent structural alterations in a single region located in the medial prefrontal cortex. The resultant rsFC and MACM maps identified functional connectivity across a widespread, whole-brain network that included frontoparietal and limbic regions. Functional decoding revealed overlapping associations with attention, memory, and emotion processes.

Conclusions

Consensus-based functional connectivity was observed in regions of the default mode, salience, and central executive networks, which play a role in the tripartite model of psychopathology. Taken together, these findings have important implications for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms associated with PTSD.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12993-022-00196-2.

An evaluation of the effect of methylphenidate on working memory, time perception, and choice impulsivity in children with ADHD

Individuals with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) consistently exhibit a stronger preference for immediate rewards than for larger rewards available following a delay on tasks measuring choice impulsivity (CI). Despite this, however, there remains a dearth of studies examining the impact of stimulant treatment on CI as well as associated higher order (e.g., working memory [WM]) and perceptual (e.g., time perception) cognitive processes. The present study examines the effect of osmotic release oral system methylphenidate (OROS-MPH) on CI, WM and time perception processes as well as the relation among these processes before and after taking a regimen of OROS-MPH. Thirty-five children (aged 7-12 years) with a diagnosis of ADHD participating in a concurrent stimulant medication study were recruited to complete computerized assessments of CI, WM, and time perception. Children completed the assessments after administration of a placebo as well as their lowest effective dose of OROS-MPH following a 2-week titration period. The results from one-sample t-tests indicated that OROS-MPH improves both CI and WM in youth with ADHD but does not impact time perception. Further, results revealed no significant association among the various indices of cognitive performance while taking placebo or OROS-MPH. Overall, the findings suggest that while OROS-MPH improves both CI and WM in youth with ADHD, improvements in CI as a result of OROS-MPH are unlikely to be associated with the improvements in WM given the lack of association among the two. Future studies should consider alternate cognitive, emotional, and motivational mechanisms that may account for the impact of OROS-MPH on CI. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Introduction to the Special Issue: Transdiagnostic Implications of Parental Socialization of Child and Adolescent Emotions

Developmental research suggests that parent emotion socialization plays a critical role in children's development of emotion-related skills and their risk for psychopathology. Adaptive emotion socialization practices can shape children's capacities to understand and regulate their own emotions, and when maladaptive, these practices can confer risk for both internalizing and externalizing problems, suggesting transdiagnsotic significance. Yet, emerging work suggests that the effects of parent emotion socialization are not universal and may differ based on children's unique vulnerabilities, highlighting the need to examine both parent and child factors within transactional models. Given the developmental shifts in emotion regulation capacities and autonomy across development, there is a great need for longitudinal emotion socialization research, as well as work that accounts for alternative interpretations, in this domain. Additionally, to-date much of the work in this regard has utilized parental report in isolation, making the need for cutting-edge, multi-method approaches highly salient. Further, translating scientific research into parent emotion socialization interventions is still in its infancy, with the majority of available treatments focusing on young children. As such, contributors to this special issue help address these gaps in the literature and examine the implications of a range of parent emotion socialization behaviors in the context of both adaptive and maladaptive child and adolescent emotional development. In this introduction, we highlight major themes of the special issue; further discussion and future directions are offered in the commentary accompanying this special issue.

The role of temperament in alcohol use among college students

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Examining the mechanisms underlying alcohol use in college students.

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Interplay among temperament domains and alcohol use.

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Positive affect (PA) linked with engagement in hazardous alcohol use.

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Effortful control (EC) associated with reduced engagement in alcohol use broadly.

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PA and EC temperament domains linked to alcohol use in college students.

Alcohol use and alcohol use disorder (AUD) among young adults are important public health concerns. The high prevalence and negative effects of alcohol use suggests that there is a need for improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying alcohol use. The current study utilizes the model of adult temperament proposed by Evans and Rothbart (2007) as the framework with which to examine the interplay among temperament domains and alcohol use. Specifically, we examined individual and interactive associations among self-report ratings of positive affect, negative affect, effortful control, orienting sensitivity and alcohol use patterns, among a large sample of college students. ANOVA and linear regression analyses indicated that positive affect was associated with engagement in hazardous alcohol use and binge drinking. Furthermore, effortful control was associated with reduced engagement in overall alcohol use. These results corroborate and extend previous work which suggests that positive affect and effortful control temperament domains are linked to alcohol use patterns in college-age young adults. These findings may serve as an important step for informed decision-making about prevention and intervention efforts related to problematic alcohol use in young adults.

The Roles of Salience and Value in Inattention Among Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Pilot Investigation

Although inattention is a key symptom subdomain of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the mechanisms underlying this subdomain and related symptoms remain unclear. There is a need for more granular approaches that allow for greater specificity in linking disruptions in specific domains of cognitive performance (e.g., executive function and reward processing) with behavioral manifestations of ADHD. Such approaches may inform the development of more targeted therapeutic interventions. Here, we describe the results of a pilot study of elementary-aged children (ages 6–12years) with ADHD (n=50) and typically developing children (n=48) utilizing a cognitive science task designed to target two dissociable mechanisms of attentional selection: a goal-driven mechanism (i.e., reward/value-driven) and a salience-driven mechanism. Participants were asked to optimally extract and combine information about stimulus salience and value to maximize rewards. While results of this pilot study are ambiguous due to the small sample size and limited number of task trials, data suggest that neither participants with ADHD nor typically developing participants performed optimally to maximize rewards, though typically developing participants were somewhat more successful at the task (i.e., more likely to report high-value targets) regardless of task condition. Further, the manuscript examines several follow-up questions regarding group differences in task response times and group differences in task performance as related to sustained attention across the duration of the task. Finally, the manuscript examines follow-up questions related to heterogeneity in the ADHD group (i.e., age, DSM 5 presentation, and comorbid diagnosis) in predicting task performance.

Behind therapists' emotional responses to suicidal patients: A study of the narrative crisis model of suicide and clinicians' emotions

OBJECTIVE

Clinicians' negative emotional responses to suicidal patients are predictive of near-term suicidality. This study aimed to explore the underlying pathway of this association by investigating the potential relationship between clinicians' emotional responses and the Narrative Crisis Model of suicide, which comprises long-term risk factors (LTRF) of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, Suicidal Narrative, and the Suicide Crisis Syndrome (SCS), a presuicidal affective state.

METHOD

One thousand and One patient participants and 169 clinician participants were recruited. Patients' Suicidal Narrative, SCS, and LTRF were assessed at intake using the Suicidal Narrative Inventory (SNI), the Suicide Crisis Inventory, and a composite score of three separate scales, respectively. Clinicians' emotional responses were measured immediately after patient intake using the Therapist Response Questionnaire-Suicide Form (TRQ-SF).

RESULTS

Multilevel regression analyses, which controlled for clinician differences, found that only patients' SNI total score and perceived burdensomeness subscale score were significantly associated with clinicians' TRQ-SF total score. Furthermore, a higher SNI total score was significantly related to higher distress and lower affiliation scores among clinicians.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinicians appear to respond emotionally to patients' Suicidal Narrative, and thus, future investigation of Suicidal Narrative and its potential to improve imminent suicide risk assessment is warranted.

Child maltreatment in the time of COVID-19: Changes in the Florida foster care system surrounding the COVID-19 safer-at-home order

BACKGROUND

Media outlets have suggested that rates of child maltreatment may increase during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The few empirical studies that have examined pandemic related changes in rates of child maltreatment have relied predominantly on reports of suspected maltreatment.

OBJECTIVE

This study examines rates of documented, substantiated child maltreatment resulting in foster care placement, as well as demographic correlates of child maltreatment within the foster care system, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Data were available for all youth in the FL foster care system from January 1, 2001 through June 30, 2020 (i.e., > 304,000 youth; > 1.1 million total placements).

METHODS

This study utilizes data from the Florida State Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS).

RESULTS

Results revealed a decrease in the number of youths placed in the FL foster care system during the COVID-19 pandemic with the greatest reduction in April, 2020 during the Safer-at-Home Order (24 % fewer youth in 2020 than 2019). In contrast, the percentage of placements into foster care due to maltreatment increased by 3.34 %. Demographic-linked differences were observed in placement rates and exposure to maltreatment.

CONCLUSIONS

While prior work suggests that reports of child maltreatment have decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study demonstrates that overall rates of substantiated maltreatment resulting in foster care placement have increased for White youth, while rates of placement of due to inadequate supervision, emotional neglect, and/or parental substance use have decreased for Black youth. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.

Response Inhibition, Response Execution, and Emotion Regulation among Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with deficits in response inhibition, response execution, and emotion regulation. However, the nature of the associations among these deficits remains unclear. Thus, this study examines these associations using a multi-method design. One hundred sixty-six children (aged 5-13 years; 66.3% male; 75 with ADHD) completed two conditions (i.e., neutral and fear) of an emotional go/no-go task. Parasympathetic-based regulation was indexed via respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and sympathetic-based reactivity was indexed via cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP). Overall, children exhibited more difficulty with response execution (i.e., more omission errors, fewer correct go responses) and less difficulty with response inhibition (i.e., fewer commission errors, more correct no-go responses) during the fear condition than the neutral condition. Children with ADHD displayed more difficulty with response execution during the fear condition compared to typically developing youth. Additionally, children with ADHD displayed parasympathetic-based dysregulation (i.e., RSA increase from baseline) and reduced sympathetic-based reactivity (i.e., PEP lengthening) compared to typically developing youth across task conditions. In sum, children with ADHD demonstrate greater difficulty with response execution during emotionally salient contexts, as well as parasympathetic-based emotion dysregulation. Future work should examine these associations longitudinally with the aim of predicting impairment and treatment response in youth with ADHD.

Talking about emotions: Effects of emotion-focused interviewing on children's physiological regulation of stress and discussion of the subjective elements of a stressful experience

This is the first study to examine the effect of questioning children about emotions and cognitions versus facts on children's stress reactivity and regulation, as well as children's abilities to discuss their subjective experiences, in the context of adult-child discussions about a stressful event. A total of 80 8- to 12-year-old children participated in a stressful laboratory task (i.e., Trier Social Stress Test). Following the task, half of the children were engaged in an emotion-focused conversation with an adult interviewer about the event, and half were engaged in a fact-focused conversation. Electrodermal and cardiac preejection activity and respiratory sinus arrhythmia were derived at baseline, during the laboratory stressor, and during the conversation to index stress reactivity and regulation. Children's narratives were coded for indicators of emotion processing (i.e., positive and negative emotion words, cognitive words [e.g., think, know]). Children's English language abilities, self-reported stress, and several parent-report measures (demographics, child life stress, and children's emotion regulation strategies) were also obtained. Results indicate that the emotion-focused interview facilitated children's discussions of their subjective experiences without increasing their stress reactivity and that children showed enhanced physiological stress regulation during the emotion-focused interview. This research will be of interest to those in the fields of child narratives, stress, and social context as well as to parents and practitioners interested in improving children's understanding, reporting, and recovery after stressful experiences.

The role of hedonics in the Human Affectome

Experiencing pleasure and displeasure is a fundamental part of life. Hedonics guide behavior, affect decision-making, induce learning, and much more. As the positive and negative valence of feelings, hedonics are core processes that accompany emotion, motivation, and bodily states. Here, the affective neuroscience of pleasure and displeasure that has largely focused on the investigation of reward and pain processing, is reviewed. We describe the neurobiological systems of hedonics and factors that modulate hedonic experiences (e.g., cognition, learning, sensory input). Further, we review maladaptive and adaptive pleasure and displeasure functions in mental disorders and well-being, as well as the experience of aesthetics. As a centerpiece of the Human Affectome Project, language used to express pleasure and displeasure was also analyzed, and showed that most of these analyzed words overlap with expressions of emotions, actions, and bodily states. Our review shows that hedonics are typically investigated as processes that accompany other functions, but the mechanisms of hedonics (as core processes) have not been fully elucidated.

Role of empathy in the perception of medical errors in patient encounters: a preliminary study

Objective

Healthcare professionals’ empathy have been empirically demonstrated to decrease the risk of medical errors. Medical errors affect patient’s outcomes and healthcare providers’ well-being. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between patients’ perception of healthcare providers’ empathy, their intention to adhere to treatment, and their perception of medical errors made. An anonymous survey was emailed to staff at a health center and an urban university in Miami, Florida, USA.

Results

A total of 181 participants were enrolled. Participants rating their healthcare provider as high in empathy had 80% lower odds of reporting errors (CI 0.04–0.6). The intention to follow-up with recommendations or return to the provider were not significantly associated with provider’s empathy. Patients of high empathy providers were no more treatment adherent that those who rated their provider with low empathy but were less likely to perceive medical error. Providers’ empathy significantly affected patients’ perception of medical errors. Our results underscore that healthcare curricula need to address the link between empathy and perception of medical errors, including its potential legal implications.

Sibling Recurrence Risk and Cross-aggregation of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Importance

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are believed to partially share genetic factors and biological influences. As the number of children with these diagnoses rises, so does the number of younger siblings at presumed risk for ADHD and ASD; reliable recurrence risk estimates within and across diagnoses may aid screening and early detection efforts and enhance understanding of potential shared causes.

Objective

To examine within-diagnosis sibling recurrence risk and sibling cross-aggregation of ADHD and ASD among later-born siblings of children with either disorder.

Design, Setting, and Participants

Using data extracted from medical records of 2 large health care systems in the United States, estimates of recurrence risk and cross-aggregation in later-born siblings of children with ADHD or ASD were compared with later-born siblings of children without these diagnoses. One data set included children seen between January 1, 1995, and December 31, 2013; the other included children born between January 1, 1998, and May 17, 2010. Participants included 15 175 later-born siblings of children with ADHD, ASD, and no known diagnosis. The study was conducted from October 2, 2017, to August 14, 2018.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Diagnoses of ASD or ADHD in the later-born sibling, ascertained from medical records, were the primary outcomes of interest; moderators included sex, gestational age, and maternal age.

Results

A total of 15 175 later-born siblings were classified by familial risk status based on the older child's diagnostic status: ADHD risk (n = 730; male [51.92%]), ASD risk (n = 158; male [48.10%]), and no known risk (n = 14 287; male [50.73%]). Compared with later-born siblings of children without ADHD or ASD, later-born siblings of children with ASD were more likely to be diagnosed with ASD (odds ratio [OR], 30.38; 95% CI, 17.73-52.06) or ADHD in the absence of ASD (OR, 3.70; 95% CI, 1.67-8.21). Compared with later-born siblings of children without a diagnosis, later-born siblings of children with ADHD were more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD (OR, 13.05; 95% CI, 9.86-17.27) or ASD in the absence of ADHD (OR, 4.35; 95% CI, 2.43-7.79).

Conclusions and Relevance

Later-born siblings of children with ASD or ADHD appear to be at elevated risk for the same disorder, but also of being diagnosed with the other disorder. These findings provide further support for shared familial mechanisms underlying ASD and ADHD, which may be useful for genetic and prospective developmental studies. Later-born siblings of children with ADHD or ASD should be monitored for both conditions.

The Psychological Science Accelerator: Advancing Psychology through a Distributed Collaborative Network

Concerns have been growing about the veracity of psychological research. Many findings in psychological science are based on studies with insufficient statistical power and nonrepresentative samples, or may otherwise be limited to specific, ungeneralizable settings or populations. Crowdsourced research, a type of large-scale collaboration in which one or more research projects are conducted across multiple lab sites, offers a pragmatic solution to these and other current methodological challenges. The Psychological Science Accelerator (PSA) is a distributed network of laboratories designed to enable and support crowdsourced research projects. These projects can focus on novel research questions, or attempt to replicate prior research, in large, diverse samples. The PSA's mission is to accelerate the accumulation of reliable and generalizable evidence in psychological science. Here, we describe the background, structure, principles, procedures, benefits, and challenges of the PSA. In contrast to other crowdsourced research networks, the PSA is ongoing (as opposed to time-limited), efficient (in terms of re-using structures and principles for different projects), decentralized, diverse (in terms of participants and researchers), and inclusive (of proposals, contributions, and other relevant input from anyone inside or outside of the network). The PSA and other approaches to crowdsourced psychological science will advance our understanding of mental processes and behaviors by enabling rigorous research and systematically examining its generalizability.

Parent Emotion Expression and Autonomic-Linked Emotion Dysregulation in Childhood ADHD

Despite evidence that ADHD is associated with disruptions in emotion regulation, few studies have examined the biological correlates of emotion dysregulation among children with this disorder. Prior work has pointed to roles of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system, as indexed via respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP), respectively. Work in typically developing populations suggests that parenting behavior and parental emotion expression may shape the development of these systems. To date, a single study has examined the independent and interactive roles of autonomic nervous system functioning and parent emotion expression in youth with ADHD. This study seeks to extend that work. 86 children (42 with ADHD), aged 8-12 years, and a parent completed a parent-child interaction task, while electrocardiography and impedance cardiography data were recorded to derive RSA and PEP. Parent and child emotion word use (positive and negative valence) were coded from recordings of the task. Parents of youth with ADHD used fewer positive emotion words throughout the task. Additionally, throughout the task, children with ADHD engaged in excessive RSA withdrawal from baseline. Further, the association between RSA reactivity and ADHD diagnosis was moderated by parent positive emotion word use. Specifically, those with RSA augmentation and parents displaying high positive affect across the task conditions were least likely to have an ADHD diagnosis. If replicated and extended, these results support the use of interventions specifically designed to increase parental modeling of positive emotions, while simultaneously focusing on building emotion regulation skills in youth with ADHD.

Do we need an irritable subtype of ADHD? Replication and extension of a promising temperament profile approach to ADHD subtyping

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is emblematic of unresolved heterogeneity in psychiatric disorders-the variation in biological, clinical, and psychological correlates that impedes progress on etiology. One approach to this problem is to characterize subgroups using measures rooted in biological or psychological theory, consistent with the National Institute of Mental Health's research domain criteria initiative. Within ADHD, a promising application involves using emotion trait profiles that can address the role of irritability as a complicating feature for ADHD. Here, a new sample of 186 children with ADHD was evaluated using community detection analysis to determine if meaningful subprofiles existed and if they replicated those previously identified. The new sample and a prior sample were pooled for evaluation of (a) method dependence, (b) longitudinal assessment of the stability of classifications, and (c) clinical prediction 2 years later. Three temperament profiles were confirmed within the ADHD group: one with normative emotional functioning ("mild"), one with high surgency ("surgent"), and one with high negative affect ("irritable"). Profiles were similar across statistical clustering approaches. The irritable group had the highest external validity: It was moderately stable over time and it enhanced prospective prediction of clinical outcomes beyond standard baseline indicators. The irritable group was not reducible to ADHD + oppositional defiant disorder, ADHD + disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, or other patterns of comorbidity. Among the negative affect domains studied, trait proneness to anger uniquely contributed to clinical prediction. Results extend our understanding of chronic irritability in psychiatric disorders and provide prospects for a fresh approach to assessing ADHD heterogeneity focused on the distinction between ADHD with and without anger/irritability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Specificity of Reward Sensitivity and Parasympathetic-Based Regulation among Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity and Disruptive Behavior Disorders

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with disruptionsin reward sensitivity and regulatory processes. However, it is unclear whether thesedisruptions are better explained by comorbid disruptive behavior disorder (DBD)symptomology. This study sought to examine this question using multiple levels ofanalysis (i.e., behavior, autonomic reactivity). One hundred seventeen children (aged 6 to 12 years; 72.6% male; 69 with ADHD) completed theBalloon-Analogue Risk Task (BART) to assess external reward sensitivity behaviorally.Sympathetic-based internal reward sensitivity and parasympathetic-based regulationwere indexed via cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia(RSA), respectively. Children with ADHD exhibited reduced internal reward sensitivity (i.e.,lengthened PEP; F(1,112)=4.01, p=0.047) compared to healthy controls and werecharacterized by greater parasympathetic-based dysregulation (i.e., reduced RSAaugmentation F(1,112)=10.12, p=0.002). However, follow-up analyses indicated theADHD effect was better accounted for by comorbid DBD diagnoses; that is, childrenwith ADHD and comorbid ODD were characterized by reduced internal rewardsensitivity (i.e., lengthened PEP; t=2.47, p=0.046) and by parasympathetic-baseddysregulation (i.e., reduced RSA augmentation; t=3.51, p=0.002) in response to rewardwhen compared to typically developing youth. Furthermore, children with ADHD and comorbid CD exhibited greater behaviorally-based external reward sensitivity (i.e.,more total pops; F(3,110)= 5.96, p=0.001) compared to children with ADHD only (t=3.87, p=0.001) and children with ADHD and ODD (t=3.56, p=0.003). Results suggest that disruptions in sensitivity to reward may be betteraccounted for, in part, by comorbid DBD.Key Words: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autonomic nervous system,disruptive behavior disorders, reward sensitivityPowered.

Is Cannabis Use Associated with Various Indices of Motivation among Adolescents?

Decreased motivation is often noted as a consequence of cannabis use (CU). Previous work has yielded mixed findings, relied mostly on adult samples, and varied to the extent that it accounted for potential confounds. This study examines associations between CU and several motivation indices among adolescents. We hypothesized that regular cannabis users would report lower motivation than light users, and that greater lifetime and past 30-day CU amounts would be associated with decreased motivation. Participants were 79 adolescents, ages 14-18, classified as recent regular cannabis users (n = 36) or light users (n = 43). Frequency and amount of substance use were assessed across participants' lifetime and during the past 30 days. Motivation was measured through the Apathy Evaluation Scale and Motivation and Engagement Scale. To examine associations between CU and our motivation indices, we conducted a series of two-step hierarchical multiple regressions. Variables found to correlate with any motivation measure were entered on step 1 (e.g., mental health, other substance use) and the relevant CU variable was entered on step 2. After controlling for confounds, no significant differences were observed between regular and light users on any motivation index, p > .01. Similarly, no associations between motivation and lifetime or past 30-day CU amount were observed, p > .01. Our findings do not support a link between reduced motivation and CU among adolescents after controlling for relevant confounds. Future studies will examine the levels of CU which influence motivation in adolescents, and the conditions under which this link becomes manifest.

Maternal prepregnancy body mass index and offspring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a quasi-experimental sibling-comparison, population-based design

BACKGROUND

High maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) has been associated with increased risk of offspring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, whether this effect is attributable to maternal or familial level confounds has been little examined.

METHODS

The present study sought to examine these associations, utilizing data from the medical records of a health care system which treats 350,000 patients annually and a sibling-comparison design in a sample of 4,682 children born to 3,645 mothers.

RESULTS

When examining the overall maternal effect, a linear association was observed between maternal prepregnancy BMI and child ADHD [b = 0.04, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 0.02-0.06, p = .0003], such that a one-unit (i.e. 1 kg/m2 ) increase in prepregnancy BMI was associated with a 4% increase in the odds of ADHD (exp b = 1.04). However, when the model was reparameterized to take full advantage of the sibling design to allow for the examination of both maternal and child-specific effects, the child-specific prepregnancy BMI effect was not reliably different from zero (b = -0.08, 95% CI = -0.23 to 0.06, p = .24). In contrast, at the maternal-level, average prepregnancy BMI was a reliably non-zero predictor of child ADHD (b = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.02-0.06, p < .0001) with each one-unit increase in maternal prepregnancy BMI associated with a 4.2% increase in the odds of ADHD (exp b = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.02-1.06).

CONCLUSIONS

The association between maternal prepregnancy BMI and offspring ADHD may be better accounted for by familial or maternal confounds rather than a direct causal effect of BMI.

Emotion Dysregulation Across Emotion Systems in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) display alterations in both emotion reactivity and regulation. One mechanism underlying such alternations may be reduced coherence among emotion systems (i.e., autonomic, facial affect). The present study sought to examine this. One hundred children (50 with ADHD combined presentation), 7-11 years of age (62% male, 78% White), completed an emotion induction and suppression task. This task was coded for facial affect behavior across both negative and positive emotion eliciting task conditions. Electrocardiogram and impedance cardiography data were acquired throughout the task. Time-linked coherence of facial affect behavior and autonomic reactivity and regulation were examined during the induction conditions using hierarchical linear modeling. Although ADHD and typically developing children did not differ with respect to rates of facial affect behavior displayed (all Fs < 2.09, ps > .29), the ADHD group exhibited reduced coherence between facial affect behavior and an index of parasympathetic functioning (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia), γ₁₀ = -0.03, SE = 0.02, t(138) = -1.96, p = .05. In contrast, children in the control group displayed a significant, positive, γ₁₀ = 0.06, SE = 0.01, t(138) = 4.07, p < .001, association between facial affect behavior and respiratory sinus arrhythmia. Children with ADHD may receive conflicting emotional signals at the levels of facial affective behavior and parasympathetic functioning when compared to typically developing youth. Weakened coherence among these emotion systems may be an underlying mechanism of emotion dysregulation in ADHD. Implications for etiology and treatment are discussed.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder developmental trajectories related to parental expressed emotion

In the transition from childhood to adolescence, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) developmental trajectories diverge. Family environment, as indexed by parental expressed emotion, may moderate these trajectories. 388 children with ADHD and 127 controls were assessed using multi-informant, multimethod diagnostic procedures at up to 3 time points 1 year apart in an accelerated longitudinal design spanning ages 7-13 years. Latent-class growth analysis was used to identify developmental trajectories for parent- and teacher-rated ADHD and oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms within the ADHD sample. Parental expressed emotion, criticism, and emotional overinvolvement were coded from a 5-min speech sample at 2 time points, 1 year apart, for 208 of these children and compared among ADHD trajectory groups.

RESULTS

Parent-rated hyperactivity yielded a 4-class trajectory solution in latent-class growth analysis; teacher-rated inattention yielded a 3-trajectory solution. Teacher-rated ODD also yielded 3-trajectory solution. A parent-rated high persistent hyperactive group was more likely than the other ADHD groups to have parents with stable high criticism (34.6%, p < .001), with ODD symptoms controlled. A teacher-identified high ODD-worsening group was more likely to experience high criticism, particularly the initial time point; (87.5%, p < .001), with hyperactivity controlled. Parental criticism, an index of the family environment, is uniquely associated with divergent developmental trajectories among children with ADHD in addition to those associated with ODD symptoms. Lay summary: For many children, ADHD symptoms decrease as they transition to adolescence. Family environmental factors, such as parental criticism, may help explain for whom symptom remission is less likely.

Recalled Initiation and Duration of Maternal Breastfeeding Among Children with and Without ADHD in a Well Characterized Case-Control Sample

Early environmental influences are increasingly of interest in understanding ADHD as a neurodevelopmental condition, particularly in light of recognition that gene by environment interplay are likely involved in this condition. Breastfeeding duration predicts cognitive development, as well as development of brain white matter connectivity, in areas similar to those seen in ADHD. Prior studies show an association between breastfeeding and ADHD but without adequate evaluation of ADHD. A case control cohort of 474 children aged 7-13 years was examined, 291 with well characterized ADHD (71.5 % male) and the rest typically developing controls (51.9 % male). Mothers retrospectively reported on breast feeding initiation and duration. Initiation of breastfeeding was not associated with child ADHD, but shorter duration of breastfeeding was associated with child ADHD with a medium effect size (d = 0.40, p < 0.05); this effect held after covarying a broad set of potential confounders, including child oppositional defiant and conduct problems and including maternal and paternal ADHD symptoms. Effects were replicated across both parent and teacher ratings of child ADHD symptoms. Shorter duration of breastfeeding is among several risk factors in early life associated with future ADHD, or else longer duration is protective. The direction of this effect is unknown, however. It may be that some children are more difficult to breastfeed or that breastfeeding provides nutrients or other benefits that reduce future chance of ADHD.

Methylomic analysis of salivary DNA in childhood ADHD identifies altered DNA methylation in VIPR2

BACKGROUND

Peripheral epigenetic marks hold promise for understanding psychiatric illness and may represent fingerprints of gene-environment interactions. We conducted an initial examination of CpG methylation variation in children with or without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

METHODS

Children age 7-12 were recruited, screened, evaluated and assigned to ADHD or non-ADHD groups by defined research criteria. Two independent age-matched samples were examined, a discovery set (n = 92, all boys, half control, half ADHD) and a confirmation set (n = 20, half ADHD, all boys). 5-methylcytosine levels were quantified in salivary DNA using the Illumina 450 K HumanMethylation array. Genes for which multiple probes were nominally significant and had a beta difference of at least 2% were evaluated for biological relevance and prioritized for confirmation and sequence validation. Gene pathways were explored and described.

RESULTS

Two genes met the criteria for confirmation testing, VIPR2 and MYT1L; both had multiple probes meeting cutoffs and strong biological relevance. Probes on VIPR2 passed FDR correction in the confirmation set and were confirmed through bisulfite sequencing. Enrichment analysis suggested involvement of gene sets or pathways related to inflammatory processes and modulation of monoamine and cholinergic neurotransmission.

CONCLUSIONS

Although it is unknown to what extent CpG methylation seen in peripheral tissue reflect transcriptomic changes in the brain, these initial results indicate that peripheral DNA methylation markers in ADHD may be promising and suggest targeted hypotheses for future study in larger samples.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and being overweight/obesity: New data and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Literature has suggested that ADHD may be associated with increased risk of obesity. If so, this would have important clinical implications.

OBJECTIVE

To clarify the size of the association between ADHD and obesity and to evaluate key moderators of the association including medication, gender, age, and psychiatric comorbidity.

METHOD

Two preliminary studies are presented to supply critical additional data for the meta-analysis: a two-year longitudinal study of an ADHD case-control sample of 313 children aged 7-11, and a national survey study of 45,309 families in the United States using the 2012 National Survey of Children's Health. Formal meta-analysis was then conducted. The identification procedure yielded 43 studies, reporting 225 comparisons or effect sizes, studying 703,937 participants An overall effect size was estimated with a random effects model (after pooling within study using a modified fixed effects model). Effect size was then examined in relation to medication, gender, age, and psychiatric comorbidity.

RESULTS

The new study of children revealed no reliable association of ADHD and body mass index at any age or time point. In the national survey, ADHD was associated with obesity only in adolescent girls but not in children or boys; this effect was statistically accounted for by covarying of depression and conduct disorder. In the meta-analysis, the composite effect size was OR=1.22 (95% CI=1.11-1.34); 22 studies provided effects with medication controlled, yielding a composite effect size of OR=1.30 (95% CI=1.12-1.50). Pooled across age the association without covariates was reliable in females (OR=1.19 [1.01-1.41]) but not males (OR=1.10 [0.95-1.23]) although males and females did not statistically differ. Pooled across gender, the association was significantly larger in adults (>18years) (OR=1.37 [1.19-1.58]) than in youth (OR=1.13 [1.00-1.27]), p=.04.

CONCLUSIONS

ADHD has a small overall association with obesity, but this effect is moderate in adults. The effect is likely to be of no clinical significance in children, possible clinical significance in adolescent girls with comorbid disorders, and of clinical relevance by adulthood.

Subtyping attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder using temperament dimensions: toward biologically based nosologic criteria

IMPORTANCE

Psychiatric nosology is limited by behavioral and biological heterogeneity within existing disorder categories. The imprecise nature of current nosologic distinctions limits both mechanistic understanding and clinical prediction. We demonstrate an approach consistent with the National Institute of Mental Health Research Domain Criteria initiative to identify superior, neurobiologically valid subgroups with better predictive capacity than existing psychiatric categories for childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

OBJECTIVE

To refine subtyping of childhood ADHD by using biologically based behavioral dimensions (i.e., temperament), novel classification algorithms, and multiple external validators.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

A total of 437 clinically well-characterized, community-recruited children, with and without ADHD, participated in an ongoing longitudinal study. Baseline data were used to classify children into subgroups based on temperament dimensions and examine external validators including physiological and magnetic resonance imaging measures. One-year longitudinal follow-up data are reported for a subgroup of the ADHD sample to address stability and clinical prediction.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Parent/guardian ratings of children on a measure of temperament were used as input features in novel community detection analyses to identify subgroups within the sample. Groups were validated using 3 widely accepted external validators: peripheral physiological characteristics (cardiac measures of respiratory sinus arrhythmia and pre-ejection period), central nervous system functioning (via resting-state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging), and clinical outcomes (at 1-year longitudinal follow-up).

RESULTS

The community detection algorithm suggested 3 novel types of ADHD, labeled as mild (normative emotion regulation), surgent (extreme levels of positive approach-motivation), and irritable (extreme levels of negative emotionality, anger, and poor soothability). Types were independent of existing clinical demarcations including DSM-5 presentations or symptom severity. These types showed stability over time and were distinguished by unique patterns of cardiac physiological response, resting-state functional brain connectivity, and clinical outcomes 1 year later.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Results suggest that a biologically informed temperament-based typology, developed with a discovery-based community detection algorithm, provides a superior description of heterogeneity in the ADHD population than does any current clinical nosologic criteria. This demonstration sets the stage for more aggressive attempts at a tractable, biologically based nosology.

Shared familial transmission of autism spectrum and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders

BACKGROUND

To determine whether familial transmission is shared between autism spectrum disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, we assessed the prevalence, rates of comorbidity, and familial transmission of both disorders in a large population-based sample of children during a recent 7 year period.

METHODS

Study participants included all children born to parents with the Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW) Health Plan between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2004 (n = 35,073). Children and mothers with physician-identified autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were identified via electronic medical records maintained for all KPNW members.

RESULTS

Among children aged 6-12 years, prevalence was 2.0% for ADHD and 0.8% for ASD; within those groups, 0.2% of the full sample (19% of the ASD sample and 9.6% of the ADHD sample) had co-occurring ASD and ADHD, when all children were included. When mothers had a diagnosis of ADHD, first born offspring were at 6-fold risk of ADHD alone (OR = 5.02, p < .0001) and at 2.5-fold risk of ASD alone (OR = 2.52, p < .01). Results were not accounted for by maternal age, child gestational age, child gender, and child race.

CONCLUSIONS

Autism spectrum disorders shares familial transmission with ADHD. ADHD and ASD have a partially overlapping diathesis.

In an idealized world: can discrepancies across self-reported parental care and high betrayal trauma during childhood predict infant attachment avoidance in the next generation?

Adult caregivers' idealization of their parents as assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview is a risk factor for the intergenerational transmission of the insecure-avoidant attachment style. This study evaluated a briefer screening approach for identifying parental idealization, testing the utility of prenatal maternal self-report measures of recalled betrayal trauma and parental care in childhood to predict observationally assessed infant attachment avoidance with 58 mother-infant dyads 18 months postpartum. In a logistic regression that controlled for maternal demographics, prenatal psychopathology, and postnatal sensitivity, the interaction between women's self-reported childhood high betrayal trauma and the level of care provided to them by their parents was the only significant predictor of 18-month infant security versus avoidance. Results suggest that betrayal trauma and recalled parental care in childhood can provide a means of identifying caregivers whose infant children are at risk for avoidant attachment, potentially providing an efficient means for scientific studies and clinical intervention aimed at preventing the intergenerational transmission of attachment problems.

Reward circuit connectivity relates to delay discounting in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent psychiatric disorder that has poor long-term outcomes and remains a major public health concern. Recent theories have proposed that ADHD arises from alterations in multiple neural pathways. Alterations in reward circuits are hypothesized as one core dysfunction, leading to altered processing of anticipated rewards. The nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is particularly important for reward processes; task-based fMRI studies have found atypical activation of this region while the participants performed a reward task. Understanding how reward circuits are involved with ADHD may be further enhanced by considering how the NAcc interacts with other brain regions. Here we used the technique of resting-state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI) to examine the alterations in the NAcc interactions and how they relate to impulsive decision making in ADHD. Using rs-fcMRI, this study: examined differences in functional connectivity of the NAcc between children with ADHD and control children; correlated the functional connectivity of NAcc with impulsivity, as measured by a delay discounting task; and combined these two initial segments to identify the atypical NAcc connections that were associated with impulsive decision making in ADHD. We found that functional connectivity of NAcc was atypical in children with ADHD and the ADHD-related increased connectivity between NAcc and the prefrontal cortex was associated with greater impulsivity (steeper delayed-reward discounting). These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that atypical signaling of the NAcc to the prefrontal cortex in ADHD may lead to excessive approach and failure in estimating future consequences; thus, leading to impulsive behavior.

The neural correlates of maternal sensitivity: an fMRI study

Research on maternal neural response to infant distress highlights circuits that may underlie differences in quality of maternal behavior. However, it is far from clear which circuits are relevant to maternal sensitivity, as opposed to other maternal behavioral dimensions, particularly after the early postpartum. This study examined maternal sensitivity, intrusiveness, and mother-infant dyadic harmony as correlates of mothers' neural responses to the cries of their own infants. Twenty-two primiparous mothers were observed during an interaction with their infants at 18 months postpartum. In a separate functional neuroimaging session, mothers were exposed to their own infant's cry sound, as well as unfamiliar infant's cry and control sounds. Mothers who displayed more sensitive behaviors with their infant exhibited greater activation to their own infant's cry compared to that of an unfamiliar infant in the right frontal pole and inferior frontal gyrus. Mothers who displayed more intrusive behaviors with their infant showed greater activation in the left anterior insula and temporal pole, while mothers who had more harmonious interactions with their infant displayed greater activation in left hippocampal regions. The roles of these areas in the regulation of maternal emotion and stress, self and other awareness, and empathy are examined.

Predicting maternal sensitivity: The roles of postnatal depressive symptoms and parasympathetic dysregulation

Previous research has established that maternal depression is a risk factor for a variety of negative developmental outcomes among infants and children. Although low levels of maternal sensitivity have been hypothesized to explain this risk, the biological mechanisms underlying the association between maternal depressive symptoms and low levels of maternal sensitivity have been largely underexplored. This study examined the roles of postnatal depressive symptoms and parasympathetic nervous system functioning as predictors of low levels of maternal sensitivity, during a stressful mother-infant interaction-the reunion phase of the Still-Face Paradigm. Depressive symptoms and traitlike predispositions toward parasympathetic dysregulation, as indexed by low resting levels of respiratory sinus arrhythmia, were associated independently with less sensitive parenting. Discussion considers that during stressful mother-infant interactions, both mothers with depressive symptoms and mothers predisposed to parasympathetic dysregulation may have fewer emotional, physiological, and psychological resources with which to respond sensitively to their infants' cues.

Altered cortico-striatal-thalamic connectivity in relation to spatial working memory capacity in children with ADHD

INTRODUCTION

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) captures a heterogeneous group of children, who are characterized by a range of cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Previous resting-state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI) studies have sought to understand the neural correlates of ADHD by comparing connectivity measurements between those with and without the disorder, focusing primarily on cortical-striatal circuits mediated by the thalamus. To integrate the multiple phenotypic features associated with ADHD and help resolve its heterogeneity, it is helpful to determine how specific circuits relate to unique cognitive domains of the ADHD syndrome. Spatial working memory has been proposed as a key mechanism in the pathophysiology of ADHD.

METHODS

We correlated the rs-fcMRI of five thalamic regions of interest (ROIs) with spatial span working memory scores in a sample of 67 children aged 7-11 years [ADHD and typically developing children (TDC)]. In an independent dataset, we then examined group differences in thalamo-striatal functional connectivity between 70 ADHD and 89 TDC (7-11 years) from the ADHD-200 dataset. Thalamic ROIs were created based on previous methods that utilize known thalamo-cortical loops and rs-fcMRI to identify functional boundaries in the thalamus.

RESULTS/CONCLUSION

Using these thalamic regions, we found atypical rs-fcMRI between specific thalamic groupings with the basal ganglia. To identify the thalamic connections that relate to spatial working memory in ADHD, only connections identified in both the correlational and comparative analyses were considered. Multiple connections between the thalamus and basal ganglia, particularly between medial and anterior dorsal thalamus and the putamen, were related to spatial working memory and also altered in ADHD. These thalamo-striatal disruptions may be one of multiple atypical neural and cognitive mechanisms that relate to the ADHD clinical phenotype.

Emotion regulation via the autonomic nervous system in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Despite growing interest in conceptualizing ADHD as involving disrupted emotion regulation, few studies have examined the physiological mechanisms related to emotion regulation in children with this disorder. This study examined parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system reactivity via measures of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP) in children with ADHD (n=32) and typically developing controls (n=34), using a novel emotion task with four conditions: negative induction, negative suppression, positive induction, and positive suppression of affect. Both groups showed strong task-response effects in RSA. However, typically developing children showed systematic variation in parasympathetic activity (RSA) depending on both emotion valence (more activation for negative emotion, reduced activation for positive emotion) and task demand (more activation for suppression than induction). In contrast, children with ADHD displayed a stable pattern of elevated parasympathetic activity (RSA) across all task conditions compared to baseline. No group differences in sympathetic activity (PEP) were observed. It is concluded ADHD in childhood is associated with abnormal parasympathetic mechanisms involved in emotion regulation.

Delay discounting of reward in ADHD: application in young children

BACKGROUND

A key underlying process that may contribute to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) involves alterations in reward evaluation, including assessing the relative value of immediate over delayed rewards. This study examines whether children with ADHD discount the value of delayed rewards to a greater degree than typically developing children using a delay discounting task.

METHODS

Children aged 7-9 years diagnosed with ADHD and controls completed a task in which they chose between a hypothetical $10 available after a delay (7, 30, 90 and 180 days) versus various amounts available immediately.

RESULTS

ADHD participants discounted more steeply than controls. However, this effect did not survive covarying of IQ.

CONCLUSIONS

ADHD is associated with a steeper delay gradient when contemplating hypothetical later rewards, but not independently of IQ. The interplay of cognitive processing and IQ with reward evaluation in ADHD requires further exploration.