Large-scale proteomics in the first trimester of pregnancy predict psychopathology and temperament in preschool children: an exploratory study.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the prenatal origins of children's psychopathology is a fundamental goal in developmental and clinical science. Recent research suggests that inflammation during pregnancy can trigger a cascade of fetal programming changes that contribute to vulnerability for the emergence of psychopathology. Most studies, however, have focused on a handful of proinflammatory cytokines and have not explored a range of prenatal biological pathways that may be involved in increasing postnatal risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties. METHODS: Using extreme gradient boosted machine learning models, we explored large-scale proteomics, considering over 1,000 proteins from first trimester blood samples, to predict behavior in early childhood. Mothers reported on their 3- to 5-year-old children's (N = 89, 51% female) temperament (Child Behavior Questionnaire) and psychopathology (Child Behavior Checklist). RESULTS: We found that machine learning models of prenatal proteomics predict 5%-10% of the variance in children's sadness, perceptual sensitivity, attention problems, and emotional reactivity. Enrichment analyses identified immune function, nervous system development, and cell signaling pathways as being particularly important in predicting children's outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings, though exploratory, suggest processes in early pregnancy that are related to functioning in early childhood. Predictive features included far more proteins than have been considered in prior work. Specifically, proteins implicated in inflammation, in the development of the central nervous system, and in key cell-signaling pathways were enriched in relation to child temperament and psychopathology measures.

The growing interdisciplinarity of developmental psychopathology: Implications for science and training.

The field of developmental psychopathology has grown exponentially over the past decades, and has become increasingly multifaceted. The initial focus on understanding abnormal child psychology has broadened to the study of the origins of psychopathology, with the goals of preventing and alleviating disorder and promoting healthy development. In this paper, we discuss how technological advances and global events have expanded the questions that researchers in developmental psychopathology can address. We do so by describing a longitudinal study that we have been conducting for the past dozen years. We originally planned to examine the effects of early adversity on trajectories of brain development, endocrine function, and depressive symptoms across puberty; it has since become an interdisciplinary study encompassing diverse domains like inflammation, sleep, biological aging, the environment, and child functioning post-pandemic, that we believe will advance our understanding of neurobehavioral development. This increase in the breadth in our study emerged from an expansion of the field; we encourage researchers to embrace these dynamic changes. In this context, we discuss challenges, opportunities, and institutional changes related to the growing interdisciplinarity of the field with respect to training the next generation of investigators to mitigate the burden of mental illness in youth.

Early life stress predicts trajectories of emotional problems and hippocampal volume in adolescence.

Exposure to early life stress (ELS) has been consistently associated with adverse emotional and neural consequences in youth. The development of brain structures such as the hippocampus, which plays a significant role in stress and emotion regulation, may be particularly salient in the development of psychopathology. Prior work has documented smaller hippocampal volume (HCV) in relation to both ELS exposure and risk for psychopathology. We used longitudinal k-means clustering to identify simultaneous trajectories of HCV and emotional problems in 155 youth across three assessments conducted approximately two years apart (mean baseline age = 11.33 years, 57% female). We also examined depressive symptoms and resilience approximately two years after the third timepoint. We identified three clusters of participants: a cluster with high HCV and low emotional problems; a cluster with low HCV and high emotional problems; and a cluster with low HCV and low emotional problems. Importantly, severity of ELS was associated with greater likelihood of belonging to the low HCV/high symptom cluster than to the low HCV/low symptom cluster. Further, low HCV/high symptom participants had more depressive symptoms and lower resilience scores than did participants in the low HCV/low symptom, but not than in the high HCV/low symptom cluster. Our findings suggest that smaller HCV indexes biological sensitivity to stress. This adds to our understanding of the ways in which ELS can affect hippocampal and emotional development in young people and points to hippocampal volume as a marker of susceptibility to context.

Maternal-prenatal stress and depression predict infant temperament during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Researchers have begun to examine the psychological toll of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic. Data are now emerging indicating that there may be long-term adverse effects of the pandemic on new mothers and on children born during this period. In a longitudinal study of maternal mental health and child emotional development during the pandemic, we conducted online assessments of a cohort of women at two time points: when they were pregnant at the beginning of the surge of the pandemic in the United States (baseline, N = 725), and approximately 1 year postpartum (follow-up, N = 296), examining prenatal and postnatal maternal mental health, prenatal pandemic-related stress, and infant temperament. Pandemic-related stress at baseline was associated with concurrent depressive symptoms and infant negative affect at follow-up. Baseline maternal depressive symptoms were associated with follow-up depressive symptoms, which in turn were also associated with infant negative affect. Pandemic-related stress during pregnancy may have enduring effects on infant temperament. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the emotional development of children who were in utero during the COVID-19 pandemic.

An exploration of dimensions of early adversity and the development of functional brain network connectivity during adolescence: Implications for trajectories of internalizing symptoms.

Different dimensions of adversity may affect mental health through distinct neurobiological mechanisms, though current supporting evidence consists largely of cross-sectional associations between threat or deprivation and fronto-limbic circuitry. In this exploratory three-wave longitudinal study spanning ages 9-19 years, we examined the associations between experiences of unpredictability, threat, and deprivation with the development of functional connectivity within and between three brain networks implicated in psychopathology: the salience (SAL), default mode (DMN), and fronto-parietal (FPN) networks, and tested whether network trajectories moderated associations between adversity and changes in internalizing symptoms. Connectivity decreased with age on average; these changes differed by dimension of adversity. Whereas family-level deprivation was associated with lower initial levels and more stability across most networks, unpredictability was associated with stability only in SAL connectivity, and threat was associated with stability in FPN and DMN-SAL connectivity. In youth exposed to higher levels of any adversity, lower initial levels and more stability in connectivity were related to smaller increases in internalizing symptoms. Our findings suggest that whereas deprivation is associated with widespread neurodevelopmental differences in cognitive and emotion processing networks, unpredictability is related selectively to salience detection circuitry. Studies with wider developmental windows should examine whether these neurodevelopmental alterations are adaptive or serve to maintain internalizing symptoms.

Negative caregiving and stress reactivity moderate the relation between early life stress and externalizing in adolescence.

Exposure to early life stress (ELS) is common and has been implicated in the development of psychopathology; importantly, however, many individuals who experience ELS do not develop emotional or behavioral difficulties. Prior research implicates stress exposure, negative caregiving behaviors, and patterns of physiological reactivity in predicting psychological well-being; however, the precise factors that contribute to resilience versus vulnerability to the adverse effects of stress exposures are not well understood. In a longitudinal study of adolescents (N = 120) assessed at three timepoints approximately every 2 years beginning at the ages of 913 years, we examined the roles of autonomic reactivity to social stress (assessed through skin conductance during the Trier Social Stress Task) and negative caregiving behaviors as moderators of the association between exposure to ELS and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. We found that the relation between ELS and externalizing symptoms was moderated by both negative caregiving and autonomic reactivity, such that the relation between ELS and externalizing was positive at low levels of negative caregiving and at high levels of autonomic reactivity; interactions predicting internalizing symptoms were not statistically significant. These findings highlight the importance of considering physiological and environmental variables that might contribute to susceptibility or resilience to symptoms of psychopathology following exposure to ELS.

Stress and Its Consequences-Biological Strain.

Understanding the role of stress in pregnancy and its consequences is important, particularly given documented associations between maternal stress and preterm birth and other pathological outcomes. Physical and psychological stressors can elicit the same biological responses, known as biological strain. Chronic stressors, like poverty and racism (race-based discriminatory treatment), may create a legacy or trajectory of biological strain that no amount of coping can relieve in the absence of larger-scale socio-behavioral or societal changes. An integrative approach that takes into consideration simultaneously social and biological determinants of stress may provide the best insights into the risk of preterm birth. The most successful computational approaches and the most predictive machine-learning models are likely to be those that combine information about the stressors and the biological strain (for example, as measured by different omics) experienced during pregnancy.

Hippocampal volume indexes neurobiological sensitivity to the effect of pollution burden on telomere length in adolescents.

Exposure to environmental pollutants has been associated with cellular aging in children and adolescents. Individuals may vary, however, in their sensitivity or vulnerability to the effects of environmental pollutants. Larger hippocampal volume has emerged as a potential index of increased sensitivity to social contexts. In exploratory analyses (N = 214), we extend work in this area by providing evidence that larger hippocampal volume in early adolescence reflects increased sensitivity to the effect of neighborhood pollution burden on telomere length (standardized ß = -0.40, 95% CI[-0.65, -0.15]). In contrast, smaller hippocampal volume appears to buffer this association (standardized ß = 0.02). In youth with larger hippocampal volume, pollution burden was indirectly associated with shorter telomere length approximately 2 years later through shorter telomere length at baseline (indirect standardized ß = -0.25, 95% CI[-0.40, 0.10]). For these youth, living in high or low pollution-burdened neighborhoods may predispose them to develop shorter or longer telomeres, respectively, later in adolescence.

Infant Temperament: Repercussions of Superstorm Sandy-Related Maternal Stress.

This study recruited a prospective cohort of 380 pregnant women before, during, or after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 to examine the association between disaster-related pre- and post-natal maternal stress and offspring temperament at 6 months-old. Mothers prospectively reported stressful experiences during the storm and rated their child's temperament 6 months postpartum. Results indicated that length of time without phone or electricity and financial loss was associated with offspring negative affect, whereas financial loss and threat of death or injury was associated with emotion dysregulation. Furthermore, offspring born before the storm had greater negative affect and lower emotion regulation than those born after the storm. Given the probable increase in the occurrence of natural disasters due to climate change in recent years (McCarthy, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate change 2001: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability: contribution of Working Group II to the third assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2001), our results highlight the necessity of education and planning to help ameliorate any potential consequences on the developing infant.

Influence of in utero exposure to maternal depression and natural disaster-related stress on infant temperament at 6 months: The children of Superstorm Sandy.

This study examined the effects of in utero exposure to maternal depression and Superstorm Sandy, a hurricane that hit metropolitan New York in 2012, on infant temperament at 6 months. Temperament was assessed using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised. Maternal depression was measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The main effects and the interaction of maternal depression and Sandy exposure on infant temperament were examined using a multivariable generalized linear model. Results show that prenatal maternal depression was associated with lower emotion regulation and greater distress. Stratification and interaction analyses suggested that the adverse effects of prenatal maternal depression on problematic temperament were amplified by in utero Sandy exposure. This study underscores the importance of providing prenatal screening and treatment for maternal depression during pregnancy while also identifying high-risk families who may have suffered from disaster-related traumas to provide necessary services. As the frequency of natural disasters may increase due to climate change, it is important to understand the consequences of in utero stress on child development and to formulate plans for early identification.

El estudio examinó los efectos del estar expuesto in-utero a la depresión materna y a la Gran Tormenta Sandy, un huracán que afectó el área metropolitana de Nueva York en 2012, sobre el temperamento del infante a los 6 meses. Se evaluó el temperamento usando el Revisado Cuestionario de Conducta del Infante. La depresión materna fue medida por medio de la Escala de Depresión Posnatal de Edinburgh. Los principales efectos y la interacción de la depresión materna y el estar expuesto a Sandy sobre el temperamento del infante se examinaron usando el Modelo Lineal General de Variables Múltiples. Los resultados muestran que la depresión materna prenatal se asoció con una más baja regulación de la emoción y una mayor angustia. Los análisis de estratificación e interacción sugirieron que los efectos adversos de la depresión materna prenatal sobre el temperamento problemático se ampliaron por el hecho de haber estado expuesto a Sandy in-utero. El estudio subraya la importancia de proveer examen y tratamiento prenatal para la depresión materna durante el embarazo, mientras simultáneamente se identifican las familias bajo alto riesgo que pudieran haber sufrido de traumas relacionados con desastres con el fin de proveer los servicios necesarios. Ya que la frecuencia de desastres naturales pudiera aumentar debido a los cambios climáticos, es importante comprender las consecuencias que el estrés in-utero tiene sobre el desarrollo del niño y formular planes para la temprana identificación.

Cette étude a examiné les effets de l'exposition à la dépression maternelle et à la grande tempête Sandy in-utero sur le tempérament du bébé à 6 mois, la tempête Sandy ayant été un cyclone ayant frappé la ville de New York aux Etats-Unis en 2012. Le tempérament a été évalué en utilisant le Questionnaire Révisé du Comportement du Nourrisson. La dépression maternelle a été mesurée au moyen d'Echelle de Dépression Postnatale d'Edinburgh. Les principaux effets et l'interaction de la dépression maternelle et l'exposition à Sandy sur le tempérament du bébé ont été examinés en utilisant un Modèle Général de Linéarité (MGL). Les résultats montrent que la dépression maternelle prénatale est liée à une émotion-régulation moindre et à une plus grande détresse. Les analyses de stratification et d'interaction suggèrent que les effets adverses de la dépression maternelle prénatale sur un tempérament problématique ont été amplifiés par l'exposition à Sandy in-utero. Cette étude souligne l'importance qu'il y a d'offrir un dépistage et un traitement pour la dépression maternelle durant la grossesse, tout en identifiant simultanément les familles à haut risque qui peuvent avoir souffert de traumatismes liés à des désastres naturels de façon à offrir des services nécessaires. Comme la fréquence des catastrophes naturelles peut augmenter avec le changement climatique il est important de comprendre les conséquences du stress in-utero sur le développement de l'enfant et de formuler des plans d'identification précoce.

Placental MAOA expression mediates prenatal stress effects on temperament in 12-month-olds.

The placenta adapts to maternal environment and its alterations may have a lasting impact on child's temperament development. Prenatal stress has been linked to both a downregulation of monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene expression in the placenta and to difficult temperament. Capitalizing on an ongoing longitudinal study, we analysed data from 95 mother-child dyads to investigate whether MAOA mediates the association between prenatal stress and infant temperament. Prenatal stress was defined as exposure to Superstorm Sandy (Sandy) during pregnancy. Infant temperament was measured by Infant Behaviour Questionnaire-Revised. MAOA gene expression was quantified in placenta tissue. The Smiling and Laughter subscale score was independently associated with Sandy exposure and MAOA placental gene expression. Mediation analysis confirmed that MAOA expression partially mediated the relationship between Sandy and Smiling and Laughter subscale, suggesting that in utero exposure to Sandy could induce lower frequency of smiling and laughter via downregulation of placental MAOA gene expression. These effects could compromise optimal temperamental trajectory and contribute to risk for psychological problems. Placental epigenetic markers can contribute to a multidimensional model of early intervention for high-risk children.

Neurodevelopmental consequences in offspring of mothers with preeclampsia during pregnancy: underlying biological mechanism via imprinting genes.

PURPOSE: Preeclampsia is known to be a leading cause of mortality and morbidity among mothers and their infants. Approximately 3-8% of all pregnancies in the US are complicated by preeclampsia and another 5-7% by hypertensive symptoms. However, less is known about its long-term influence on infant neurobehavioral development. The current review attempts to demonstrate new evidence for imprinting gene dysregulation caused by hypertension, which may explain the link between maternal preeclampsia and neurocognitive dysregulation in offspring. METHOD: Pub Med and Web of Science databases were searched using the terms "preeclampsia," "gestational hypertension," "imprinting genes," "imprinting dysregulation," and "epigenetic modification," in order to review the evidence demonstrating associations between preeclampsia and suboptimal child neurodevelopment, and suggest dysregulation of placental genomic imprinting as a potential underlying mechanism. RESULTS: The high mortality and morbidity among mothers and fetuses due to preeclampsia is well known, but there is little research on the long-term biological consequences of preeclampsia and resulting hypoxia on the fetal/child neurodevelopment. In the past decade, accumulating evidence from studies that transcend disciplinary boundaries have begun to show that imprinted genes expressed in the placenta might hold clues for a link between preeclampsia and impaired cognitive neurodevelopment. A sudden onset of maternal hypertension detected by the placenta may result in misguided biological programming of the fetus via changes in the epigenome, resulting in suboptimal infant development. CONCLUSION: Furthering our understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms through which neurodevelopmental trajectories of the fetus/infant are affected by preeclampsia and hypertension will represent an important first step toward preventing adverse neurodevelopment in infants.

Exploring sex differences in trajectories of pubertal development and mental health following early adversity.

Despite evidence that early life adversity (ELA) affects mental health in adolescence, we know little about sex differences in how distinct dimensions of adversity affect development and their corresponding effects on mental health. In this three-wave longitudinal study, 209 participants (118 females; ages 9-13 years at baseline) provided objective (salivary hormones, BMI, age of menarche) and subjective (perceived gonadal and adrenal status) measures of puberty and physical development, and reported on levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms at all timepoints. Participants also reported lifetime exposure to three distinct types of ELA: deprivation, threat, and unpredictability. Using generalized additive mixed models, we tested within each sex whether dimensions of adversity were associated with longitudinal changes in measures of pubertal and physical development, and whether these indices of development were associated with trajectories of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. In females, experiences of threat and unpredictability were significantly associated with earlier pubertal timing (e.g., age of menarche) whereas experiences of deprivation were associated with steeper increases in BMI; further, faster pubertal tempo (i.e., steeper increases in pubertal stage) was associated with increases in internalizing and externalizing symptoms. In males, however, ELA was not associated with any measures of pubertal or physical development or with symptoms. Together, our results suggest that adverse experiences during early life have sex-selective consequences for pubertal and physical maturation and mental health trajectories in ways that may elucidate why females are at higher risk for mental health difficulties during puberty, particularly following exposure to unpredictable and threatening experiences of adversity.

The cortisol/DHEA ratio mediates the association between early life stress and externalizing problems in adolescent boys.

BACKGROUND: Despite evidence that early life stress (ELS) can influence the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and increase maladaptive behaviors in adolescence, less attention has been paid to the role of the coordinated effects of the two primary adrenal hormones, cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), in these associations. METHODS: 138 typically developing adolescents (76 females) reported the stressful events experienced during childhood and early adolescence across 30 domains. Two years later we assessed levels of externalizing problems and obtained salivary levels of cortisol and DHEA. Using causal moderated mediation analyses, we examined whether the ratio of cortisol to DHEA (CD ratio) mediates the association between ELS and subsequent externalizing problems. RESULTS: We found that ELS is associated with both a lower CD ratio and more externalizing problems. Importantly, a lower CD ratio mediated the association between ELS and externalizing problems in boys. CONCLUSIONS: An imbalance in adrenal hormones may be a mechanism through which ELS leads to an increase in externalizing problems in adolescent boys. These findings underscore the utility of using the CD ratio to index HPA-axis functioning.

Socioeconomic Disadvantage Moderates the Association of Systemic Inflammation with Amygdala Volume in Adolescents Over a Two-Year Interval: An Exploratory Study.

BACKGROUND: Research has demonstrated an association between elevated systemic inflammation and changes in brain function. Affective areas of the brain involved in processing threat (e.g., amygdala) and reward (e.g., nucleus accumbens [NAcc]) appear to be sensitive to inflammation. Early life stress (ELS), such as experiencing low socioeconomic status (SES), may also potentiate this association, but relevant evidence has come primarily from cross-sectional studies of brain function. It is unclear whether similar associations are present between ELS, inflammation, and brain structure, particularly in typically developing populations. METHODS: We recruited and assessed 50 adolescents (31F/19M) from the community (M±SD age=15.5±1.1; range=13.1-17.5 years ) and in exploratory analyses examined whether changes in C-reactive protein (ΔCRP) from blood spots predict changes in gray matter volumes (ΔGMV) in the bilateral amygdala and NAcc over a two-year period. We also investigated whether experiencing ELS, operationalized using a comprehensive composite score of SES disadvantage at the family and neighborhood levels, significantly moderated the association between ΔCRP and ΔGMV. RESULTS: We found that ΔCRP was negatively associated with ΔAmygdala GMV (i.e. increasing CRP levels were associated with decreasing amygdala volume; ß=-0.84; p=0.012). This effect was stronger in youth who experienced greater SES disadvantage (ß=-0.56; p=0.025). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that increases in systemic inflammation are associated with reductions in amygdala GMV in adolescents, potentially signaling accelerated maturation, and that these neuroimmune processes are compounded in adolescents who experienced greater SES disadvantage. Our findings are consistent with theoretical frameworks of neuroimmune associations and suggest they may influence adolescent neurodevelopment.

Early life stress, sleep disturbances, and depressive symptoms during adolescence: The role of the cingulum bundle.

Adolescence is often characterized by sleep disturbances that can affect the development of white matter tracts implicated in affective and cognitive regulation, including the cingulate portion of the cingulum bundle (CGC) and the uncinate fasciculus (UF). These effects may be exacerbated in adolescents exposed to early life adversity (ELA). We examined the longitudinal relations between sleep problems and CGC and UF microstructure during adolescence and their relation to depressive symptoms as a function of exposure to ELA. We assessed self-reported sleep disturbances and depressive symptoms and acquired diffusion-weighted MRI scans twice: in early adolescence (9-13 years) and four years later (13-17 years) (N = 72 complete cases). Independent of ELA, higher initial levels and increases in sleep problems were related to increases in depressive symptoms. Further, increases in right CGC fractional anisotropy (FA) mediated the association between sleep problems and depressive symptoms for youth who experienced lower, but not higher, levels of ELA. In youth with higher ELA, higher initial levels of and steeper decreases in sleep problems were associated with greater decreases in right UF FA, but were unrelated to depressive symptoms. Our findings highlight the importance of sleep quality in shaping fronto-cingulate-limbic tract development and depressive symptoms during adolescence.

Biological sensitivity to adolescent-parent discrepancies in perceived parental warmth.

Introduction: Parenting behaviors are formative to the psychological development of young people; however, parent and adolescent perceptions of parenting are only moderately correlated with each other. Whereas discrepant perceptions may represent a normative process of deindividuation from caregivers in some adolescents, in others a discrepancy might predict psychological maladjustment. The biological sensitivity to context model provides a framework from which individual differences in development can be estimated in adolescents whose perceptions of parenting diverge from those of their parents. Methods: At baseline we obtained diurnal cortisol samples from US adolescents (M = 13.37 years of age, SD = 1.06) as well as parents' and adolescents' ratings of parental warmth; we obtained adolescent-reported symptoms of psychopathology at baseline and again at follow-up two years later (N = 108, 57.5% female). We estimated waking cortisol, cortisol awakening response, and daytime cortisol slopes using piecewise regression models. Results: Lower adolescent than parent ratings of parental warmth predicted increased externalizing symptoms at follow-up. Higher waking cortisol and steeper cortisol awakening response and daytime slopes predicted increased internalizing symptoms at follow-up. Further, discrepant ratings of parental warmth interacted with cortisol awakening response and daytime slopes such that greater discrepancies predicted greater increases in externalizing symptoms in adolescents with steeper cortisol slopes. Conclusions: These findings indicate that steeper changes in cortisol production throughout the day index a greater sensitivity to perceived parental warmth. Lower adolescent than parent ratings of parental warmth may represent dysfunction in the parental relationship rather than a normative process of deindividuation in adolescents with steeper diurnal cortisol slopes.

Prenatal Exposure to a Climate-Related Disaster Results in Changes of the Placental Transcriptome and Infant Temperament.

Maternal stress during pregnancy exerts long-term effects on the mental well-being of the offspring. However, the long-term effect of prenatal exposure on the offspring's mental status is only partially understood. The placenta plays a vital role in connecting the maternal side to the fetus, thereby serving as an important interface between maternal exposure and fetal development. Here, we profiled the placental transcriptome of women who were pregnant during a hurricane (Superstorm Sandy), which struck New York City in 2012. The offspring were followed longitudinally and their temperament was assessed during the first 6-12 months of age. The data identified a significant correlation between a Superstorm Sandy stress factor score and infant temperament. Further, analysis of the placental transcriptomes identified an enrichment of functional pathways related to inflammation, extracellular matrix integrity and sensory perception in the specimen from those infants with "Slow-to-Warm-up" temperament during the first year of life. Together, these findings provide initial evidence that maternal exposure to climate-related disasters results in altered placental transcriptome, which may be related to long-term emotional and behavioral consequences in children.

A Social Gradient of Cortical Thickness in Adolescence: Relationships With Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage, Family Socioeconomic Status, and Depressive Symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Mental and physical health are affected by family and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES). Accelerated maturation in the context of lower SES is one mechanism that might contribute to underlying health disparities; few studies, however, have considered neighborhood SES in relation to putative markers of brain maturation in adolescents. METHODS: In 120 adolescents 13 to 18 years of age, we examined family and neighborhood SES in relation to cortical thickness adjusted for age. We also examined whether cortical thickness was related to depressive symptoms and explored regions of interest. RESULTS: Controlling for age, neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with a thinner cortex in the left hemisphere (standardized ß = -0.20), which was related to more severe depressive symptoms (standardized ß = -0.33). Family SES was not significantly associated with age-adjusted mean cortical thickness in either hemisphere after controlling for relevant covariates. In exploratory, covariate-adjusted analyses of cortical thickness at the regional level, neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with reduced cortical thickness in the left superior frontal gyrus (standardized ß = -0.27), fusiform gyrus (standardized ß = -0.20), and insula (standardized ß = -0.21), whereas family SES was positively associated with cortical thickness in the right lateral and right medial orbitofrontal cortex (standardized ß = 0.21 and standardized ß = 0.19, respectively) and left transverse temporal gyrus (standardized ß = 0.22). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide evidence for a social gradient of cortical thickness during adolescence. Adolescents living in less advantaged community or family contexts appear to have a thinner cortex according to global and regional measures. Reduced cortical thickness in the left hemisphere may indicate increased risk for depression in adolescence.

Sex differences in the relations between infant temperament and electrodermal responses in early childhood.

The present study examines the relationship between sex, infant temperament, and childhood psychophysiological reactivity via electrodermal activity (EDA). Both temperament and EDA are known to be relatively stable traits across the lifespan reflecting individual reactivity and regulation linked to suboptimal behavioral development and risk for psychopathology. However, little is known about the role of sex in the relationship between temperament and EDA. As a part of a larger longitudinal study of behavioral development, 125 participants were followed from birth till 3 years-old to examine the relationship between temperament and psychophysiological reactivity in different gender groups. Measurements of temperament at 6 months-old, and EDA, via skin conductance response (SCR) rate to a series of six startling auditory stimuli at 3 years-old were collected. Median splits of SCR scores and three temperament dimensions (positive affect, negative affect, and regulation) were created to designate high/low groups. Results indicate sex moderated the relationships between temperament traits and SCR rates. Specifically, low positive affect was associated with an increased risk for high psychophysiological reactivity in boys (odds ratio = 3.8), whereas high regulation was associated with an increased risk for greater reactivity in girls (odds ratio = 4.2). While preliminary, these findings suggest the importance of sex in relation to psychophysiological and temperamental reactivity, risk factors for developmental psychopathology. As our participants age, follow-up research to investigate the stability of these associations will provide valuable insights for the potential of EDA as a psychophysiological marker for developmental psychopathology risk in young children.