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1.
Psychophysiology ; 60(10): e14336, 2023 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37212619

ABSTRACT

The ability to monitor performance during a goal-directed behavior differs among children and adults in ways that can be measured with several tasks and techniques. As well, recent work has shown that individual differences in error monitoring moderate temperamental risk for anxiety and that this moderation changes with age. We investigated age differences in neural responses linked to performance monitoring using a multimodal approach. The approach combined functional MRI and source localization of event-related potentials (ERPs) in 12-year-old, 15-year-old, and adult participants. Neural generators of two components related to performance and error monitoring, the N2 and ERN, lay within specific areas of fMRI clusters. Whereas correlates of the N2 component appeared similar across age groups, age-related differences manifested in the location of the generators of the ERN component. The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) was the predominant source location for the 12-year-old group; this area manifested posteriorly for the 15-year-old and adult groups. A fMRI-based ROI analysis confirmed this pattern of activity. These results suggest that changes in the underlying neural mechanisms are related to developmental changes in performance monitoring.


Subject(s)
Electroencephalography , Evoked Potentials , Child , Adult , Humans , Adolescent , Evoked Potentials/physiology , Gyrus Cinguli/diagnostic imaging , Gyrus Cinguli/physiology , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Anxiety Disorders
2.
Arch Womens Ment Health ; 26(4): 531-541, 2023 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37268777

ABSTRACT

Social support is an influential component of postpartum recovery, adjustment, and bonding, which was disrupted by social distancing recommendations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports on changes in the availability of social support for postpartum women during the pandemic, investigates how those changes may have contributed to postpartum mental health, and probes how specific types of social support buffered against poor postpartum mental health and maternal-infant bonding impairment. Participants were 833 pregnant patients receiving prenatal care in an urban USA setting and using an electronic patient portal to access self-report surveys at two time points, during pregnancy (April-July 2020) and at ~12 weeks postpartum (August 2020-March 2021). Measures included an assessment of COVID-19 pandemic-related change in social support, sources of social support, ratings of emotional and practical support, and postpartum outcomes including depression, anxiety, and maternal-infant bonding. Overall self-reported social support decreased during the pandemic. Decreased social support was associated with an increased risk of postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, and impaired parent-infant bonding. Among women reporting low practical support, emotional support appeared to protect against clinically significant depressive symptoms and impaired bonding with the infant. Decreases in social support are associated with a risk for poor postpartum mental health outcomes and impaired maternal-infant bonding. Evaluation and promotion of social support are recommended for healthy adjustment and functioning of postpartum women and families.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Depression, Postpartum , Pregnancy , Infant , Female , Humans , Pandemics , Mother-Child Relations/psychology , Postpartum Period/psychology , Depression, Postpartum/psychology , Anxiety/psychology , Social Support , Outcome Assessment, Health Care , Depression/psychology
3.
Child Psychiatry Hum Dev ; 54(4): 961-972, 2023 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35037180

ABSTRACT

Childhood adversity places youth at risk for multiple negative outcomes. The current study aimed to understand how a constellation of risk and resilience factors influenced mental health outcomes as a function of adversities: socioeconomic status (SES) and traumatic stressful events (TSEs). Specifically, we examined outcomes related to psychosis and mood disorders, as well as global clinical functioning. The current study is a longitudinal follow up of 140 participants from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (PNC) assessed for adversities at Time 1 (Mean age: 14.11 years) and risk, resilience, and clinical outcomes at Time 2 (mean age: 21.54 years). In the context of TSE, a limited set of predictors emerged as important; a more diverse set of moderators emerged in the context of SES. Across adversities, social support was a unique predictor of psychosis spectrum diagnoses and global functioning; emotion dysregulation was an important predictor for mood diagnoses. The current findings underscore the importance of understanding effects of childhood adversity on maladaptive outcomes within a resilience framework.


Subject(s)
Psychotic Disorders , Humans , Adolescent , Young Adult , Adult , Psychopathology , Mood Disorders
4.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37805964

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to increased risk for perinatal anxiety and depression among parents, as well as negative consequences for child development. Less is known about how worries arising from the pandemic during pregnancy are related to later child development, nor if resilience factors buffer negative consequences. The current study addresses this question in a prospective longitudinal design. Data was collected from a sub-study (n = 184) of a longitudinal study of pregnant individuals (total n = 1173). During pregnancy (April 17-July 8, 2020) and the early postpartum period (August 11, 2020-March 2, 2021), participants completed online surveys. At 12 months postpartum (June 17, 2021-March 23, 2022), participants completed online surveys and a virtual laboratory visit, which included parent-child interaction tasks. We found more pregnancy-specific pandemic worries were prospectively related to lower levels of child socioemotional development based on parent report (B = - 1.13, SE = .43, p = .007) and observer ratings (B = - 0.13, SE = .07, p = .045), but not to parent-reported general developmental milestones. Parental emotion regulation in the early postpartum period moderated the association between pregnancy-specific pandemic worries and child socioemotional development such that pregnancy-specific pandemic worries did not relate to worse child socioemotional development among parents with high (B = - .02, SE = .10, t = - .14, p = .89) levels of emotion regulation. Findings suggest the negative consequences of parental worry and distress during pregnancy on the early socioemotional development of children in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results highlight that parental emotion regulation may represent a target for intervention to promote parental resilience and support optimized child development.

5.
Arch Womens Ment Health ; 25(5): 985-993, 2022 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36030417

ABSTRACT

Childbirth trauma is common and increases risk for postpartum depression (PPD). However, we lack brief measures to reliably identify individuals who experience childbirth trauma and who may be at greater prospective risk for PPD. To address this gap, we used data from a racially diverse prospective cohort (n=1082). We collected survey data during pregnancy and at 12 weeks postpartum, as well as clinician-reported data from medical records. A new three-item measure of patient-reported childbirth trauma was a robust and independent risk factor for PPD, above and beyond other known risk factors for PPD, including prenatal anxiety and depression. Cesarean birth, greater blood loss, and preterm birth were each associated with greater patient-reported childbirth trauma. Finally, there were prospective indirect pathways whereby cesarean birth and higher blood loss were related to higher patient-reported childbirth trauma, in turn predicting greater risk for PPD. Early universal postpartum screening for childbirth trauma, targeted attention to individuals with childbirth complications, and continued screening for depression and anxiety can identify individuals at risk for PPD. Such efforts can inform targeted interventions to improve maternal mental health, which plays a vital role in infant development.


Subject(s)
Depression, Postpartum , Premature Birth , Child , Depression, Postpartum/diagnosis , Depression, Postpartum/epidemiology , Depression, Postpartum/prevention & control , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Parturition/psychology , Patient Reported Outcome Measures , Postpartum Period/psychology , Pregnancy , Prospective Studies , Risk Factors
6.
Child Psychiatry Hum Dev ; 52(6): 1012-1023, 2021 12.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33405026

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered family life, but whether family exposures to and worries about the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted child conduct problems (CP) and callous-unemotional (CU) traits is unknown. Thus, we evaluated 303 parents (Mage = 38.04; SD = 5.21; 92.4% biological mothers) and children (Mage = 6.43; SD = 2.13; 51.8% female) during a four-month period early in the pandemic. We examined associations between parental exposures to COVID-19, parental worries about the pandemic, harsh and warm parenting practices, and child CP and CU traits. Although more parental worries were not directly related to parenting practices, more worry about COVID-19 was specifically related to higher levels of child CP, particularly parental worries about themselves or family members contracting the virus. Our findings add to a growing literature demonstrating the burden that the pandemic has placed on families and its implications for children's mental health.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Conduct Disorder , Adult , Child , Conduct Disorder/epidemiology , Emotions , Empathy , Female , Humans , Male , Pandemics , Parenting , SARS-CoV-2
7.
Psychol Med ; 50(1): 96-106, 2020 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30616705

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Anxiety symptoms gradually emerge during childhood and adolescence. Individual differences in behavioral inhibition (BI), an early-childhood temperament, may shape developmental paths through which these symptoms arise. Cross-sectional research suggests that level of early-childhood BI moderates associations between later anxiety symptoms and threat-related amygdala-prefrontal cortex (PFC) circuitry function. However, no study has characterized these associations longitudinally. Here, we tested whether level of early-childhood BI predicts distinct evolving associations between amygdala-PFC function and anxiety symptoms across development. METHODS: Eighty-seven children previously assessed for BI level in early childhood provided data at ages 10 and/or 13 years, consisting of assessments of anxiety and an fMRI-based dot-probe task (including threat, happy, and neutral stimuli). Using linear-mixed-effects models, we investigated longitudinal changes in associations between anxiety symptoms and threat-related amygdala-PFC connectivity, as a function of early-childhood BI. RESULTS: In children with a history of high early-childhood BI, anxiety symptoms became, with age, more negatively associated with right amygdala-left dorsolateral-PFC connectivity when attention was to be maintained on threat. In contrast, with age, low-BI children showed an increasingly positive anxiety-connectivity association during the same task condition. Behaviorally, at age 10, anxiety symptoms did not relate to fluctuations in attention bias (attention bias variability, ABV) in either group; by age 13, low-BI children showed a negative anxiety-ABV association, whereas high-BI children showed a positive anxiety-ABV association. CONCLUSIONS: Early-childhood BI levels predict distinct neurodevelopmental pathways to pediatric anxiety symptoms. These pathways involve distinct relations among brain function, behavior, and anxiety symptoms, which may inform diagnosis and treatment.


Subject(s)
Amygdala/physiopathology , Anxiety/physiopathology , Inhibition, Psychological , Adolescent , Amygdala/diagnostic imaging , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Pediatrics
8.
Depress Anxiety ; 37(9): 851-861, 2020 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32500960

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Anxiety symptoms are common in adolescence and are often considered developmentally benign. Yet for some, anxiety presents with serious comorbid nonanxiety psychopathology. Early identification of such "malignant" anxiety presentations is a major challenge. We aimed to characterize anxiety symptoms suggestive of risk for depression and suicidal ideation (SI) in community youths. METHODS: Cross-sectional associations were evaluated in community youths (n = 7,054, mean age: 15.8) who were assessed for anxiety, depression, and SI. We employed factor and latent class analyses to identify anxiety clusters and subtypes. Longitudinal risk of anxiety was evaluated in a subset of 330 youths with longitudinal data on depression and SI (with baseline mean age of 12.3 years and follow-up mean age of 16.98 years). OUTCOMES: Almost all (92%) adolescents reported anxiety symptoms. Data-driven approaches revealed anxiety factors and subtypes that were differentially associated with depression and SI. Cross-sectional analyses revealed that panic and generalized anxiety symptoms show the most robust associations with depression and SI. Longitudinal, multivariate analyses revealed that panic symptoms during early adolescence, not generalized anxiety symptoms, predict depression and SI for later adolescent years, particularly in males. INTERPRETATION: Anxiety is common in youths, with certain symptom clusters/subtypes predicting risk for depression and SI. Panic symptoms in early adolescence, even below disorder threshold, predict high risk for late adolescent depression and SI.


Subject(s)
Depression , Suicidal Ideation , Adolescent , Anxiety/epidemiology , Child , Cross-Sectional Studies , Depression/epidemiology , Humans , Male , Phenotype , Risk Factors
9.
Dev Psychopathol ; 32(2): 397-409, 2020 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30837014

ABSTRACT

The current study had three goals. First, we replicated recent evidence that suggests a concurrent relation between attention bias to reward and externalizing and attention problems at age 7. Second, we extended these findings by examining the relations between attention and behavioral measures of early exuberance (3 years), early effortful control (4 years), and concurrent effortful control (7 years), as well as later behavioral problems (9 years). Third, we evaluated the role of attention to reward in the longitudinal pathways between early exuberance and early effortful control to predict externalizing and attention problems. Results revealed that attention bias to reward was associated concurrently and longitudinally with behavioral problems. Moreover, greater reward bias was concurrently associated with lower levels of parent-reported effortful control. Finally, attention bias to reward moderated the longitudinal relations between early risk factors for behavioral problems (gender, exuberance, and effortful control) and later externalizing and attention problems, such that these early risk factors were most predictive of behavioral problems for males with a large attention bias to reward. These findings suggest that attention bias to reward may act as a moderator of early risk, aiding the identification of children at the highest risk for later behavioral problems.


Subject(s)
Child Behavior Disorders , Problem Behavior , Attention , Child , Humans , Male , Reward , Risk Factors
10.
Depress Anxiety ; 36(8): 701-711, 2019 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31373756

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Clinical researchers face challenges when trying to quantify diverse processes engaged during social interactions. We report results from two studies, each demonstrating the potential utility of tools for examining processes engaged during social interactions. METHOD: In the first study, youth (n = 57) used a smartphone-based tool to rate mood and responses to social events. A subset (n = 20) completed the second, functional magnetic resonance imaging study. This second study related anxiety to error-evoked brain responses in two social conditions-while being observed and when alone. We also combined these tools to bridge clinical, social-contextual, and neural levels of measurement. RESULTS: Results from the first study showed an association between negatively-perceived social experiences and a range of negative emotions. In the second study there was a positive correlation during error monitoring between social-anxiety severity and context-specific activation of the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex. Finally, during imaging, the perceived quality of peer interactions as assessed using the smartphone-based tool, interacted with social context to predict levels of activation in the hippocampus and superior frontal gyrus. CONCLUSIONS: By improving measurement, enhanced tools may provide new means for studying relationships among anxiety, brain function, and social interactions.


Subject(s)
Brain/physiopathology , Interpersonal Relations , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Phobia, Social/diagnosis , Phobia, Social/psychology , Adolescent , Brain Mapping , Child , Fear/physiology , Fear/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Phobia, Social/physiopathology , Smartphone
11.
Depress Anxiety ; 35(3): 229-238, 2018 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29212134

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Considerable research links threat-related attention biases to anxiety symptoms in adults, whereas extant findings on threat biases in youth are limited and mixed. Inconsistent findings may arise due to substantial methodological variability and limited sample sizes, emphasizing the need for systematic research on large samples. The aim of this report is to examine the association between threat bias and pediatric anxiety symptoms using standardized measures in a large, international, multi-site youth sample. METHODS: A total of 1,291 children and adolescents from seven research sites worldwide completed standardized attention bias assessment task (dot-probe task) and child anxiety symptoms measure (Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders). Using a dimensional approach to symptomatology, we conducted regression analyses predicting overall, and disorder-specific, anxiety symptoms severity, based on threat bias scores. RESULTS: Threat bias correlated positively with overall anxiety symptoms severity (ß = 0.078, P = .004). Furthermore, threat bias was positively associated specifically with social anxiety (ß = 0.072, P = .008) and school phobia (ß = 0.076, P = .006) symptoms severity, but not with panic, generalized anxiety, or separation anxiety symptoms. These associations were not moderated by age or gender. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate associations between threat bias and pediatric anxiety symptoms, and suggest that vigilance to external threats manifests more prominently in symptoms of social anxiety and school phobia, regardless of age and gender. These findings point to the role of attention bias to threat in anxiety, with implications for translational clinical research. The significance of applying standardized methods in multi-site collaborations for overcoming challenges inherent to clinical research is discussed.


Subject(s)
Anxiety/physiopathology , Attentional Bias/physiology , Fear/physiology , Phobic Disorders/physiopathology , Adolescent , Child , Female , Humans , Male
12.
Neuroimage ; 157: 13-26, 2017 08 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28549796

ABSTRACT

The ability to self-detect errors and dynamically adapt behavior is a cornerstone of higher-level cognition, requiring coordinated activity from a network of neural regions. However, disagreement exists over how the error-monitoring system develops throughout adolescence and early adulthood. The present report leveraged MRI-constrained EEG source localization to detail typical development of the error-monitoring system in a sample of 9-35 year-olds (n = 43). Participants performed a flanker task while high-density EEG was recorded; structural MRIs were also acquired for all participants. Analysis of the scalp-recorded EEG data revealed a frontocentral negativity (error-related negativity; ERN) immediately following errors for all participants, although the topography of the ERN varied with age. Source localization of the ERN time range revealed maximal activity within the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) for all ages, consistent with recent evidence that the PCC provides a substantial contribution to the scalp-recorded ERN. Activity within a network of brain regions, including dorsal anterior cingulate, PCC, and parietal cortex, was predictive of improved performance following errors, regardless of age. However, additional activity within insula, orbitofrontal cortex and inferior frontal gyrus linearly increased with age. Together, these data suggest that the core error-monitoring system is online by early adolescence and remains relatively stable into adulthood. However, additional brain regions become embedded within this core network with age. These results serve as a model of typical development of the error-monitoring system from early adolescence into adulthood.


Subject(s)
Cerebral Cortex/physiology , Electroencephalography/methods , Evoked Potentials/physiology , Human Development/physiology , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Psychomotor Performance/physiology , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Humans , Young Adult
13.
Child Dev ; 88(1): 141-155, 2017 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28042902

ABSTRACT

This study examined relations between behavioral inhibition (BI) assessed in toddlerhood (n = 268) and attention biases (AB) to threat and positive faces and maternal-reported anxiety assessed when children were 5- and 7-year-old. Results revealed that BI predicted anxiety at age 7 in children with AB toward threat, away from positive, or with no bias, at age 7; BI did not predict anxiety for children displaying AB away from threat or toward positive. Five-year AB did not moderate the link between BI and 7-year anxiety. No direct association between AB and BI or anxiety was detected; moreover, children did not show stable AB across development. These findings extend our understanding of the developmental links among BI, AB, and anxiety.


Subject(s)
Anxiety/physiopathology , Attentional Bias/physiology , Child Behavior/physiology , Child Development/physiology , Emotions/physiology , Inhibition, Psychological , Child , Child, Preschool , Facial Expression , Fear , Female , Humans , Male
14.
Neuroimage ; 136: 84-93, 2016 Aug 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27129757

ABSTRACT

Considerable translational research on anxiety examines attention bias to threat and the efficacy of attention training in reducing symptoms. Imaging research on the stability of brain functions engaged by attention bias tasks could inform such research. Perturbed fronto-amygdala function consistently arises in attention bias research on adolescent anxiety. The current report examines the stability of the activation and functional connectivity of these regions on the dot-probe task. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activation and connectivity data were acquired with the dot-probe task in 39 healthy youth (f=18, Mean Age=13.71years, SD=2.31) at two time points, separated by approximately nine weeks. Intraclass-correlations demonstrate good reliability in both neural activation for the ventrolateral PFC and task-specific connectivity for fronto-amygdala circuitry. Behavioral measures showed generally poor test-retest reliability. These findings suggest potential avenues for future brain imaging work by highlighting brain circuitry manifesting stable functioning on the dot-probe attention bias task.


Subject(s)
Adolescent Behavior , Amygdala/physiopathology , Anxiety/physiopathology , Attention , Fear , Frontal Lobe/physiopathology , Nerve Net/physiopathology , Adolescent , Brain Mapping/methods , Child , Facial Expression , Female , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Male , Neural Pathways/physiopathology , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity
15.
Dev Psychol ; 2024 Jul 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38976428

ABSTRACT

Children with a history of behaviorally inhibited (BI) temperament face a heightened risk for anxiety disorders and often use control strategies that are less planful. Although these relations have been observed concurrently in early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence, few studies leverage longitudinal data to examine long-term prospective relations between cognitive control and anxiety. Using longitudinal data from 149 adolescents (55% female; from predominantly White middle-class families), we assessed temperament in toddlerhood and cognitive control and anxiety at 4, 12, 15, and 18 years of age. At age 4, separate measures of task switching and inhibitory control were obtained via the Dimensional Change Card Sort and Stroop tasks, respectively. At 12, 15, and 18 years of age, planful control was assessed with the AX-Continuous Performance Test, and anxiety symptoms were assessed via self-report. Growth curve models revealed that children with greater inhibitory control at age 4, regardless of BI status, experienced a sharper increase in anxiety symptoms across adolescence. Children with heightened BI during early childhood displayed lower levels of planful control at age 12, but experienced a more rapid improvement in these skills across adolescence. Children with greater task switching ability at age 4 displayed higher levels of planful control at age 12, but experienced a smaller increase in these skills across adolescence. Finally, children's growth rate for anxiety was unrelated to their growth rate for planful control. These findings reveal that early-life temperament, cognitive control, and anxiety remain interconnected across development, from toddlerhood to at least late adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

16.
Parent Sci Pract ; 24(1): 39-65, 2024.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38188653

ABSTRACT

Objective: Brief, reliable, and cost-effective methods to assess parenting are critical for advancing parenting research. Design: We adapted the Three Bags task and Parent Child Interaction Rating System (PCIRS) for rating online visits with 219 parent-child dyads (White, n = 104 [47.5%], Black, n = 115 [52.5%]) and combined the video data with survey data collected during pregnancy and when children were aged 1. Results: The PCIRS codes of positive regard, stimulation of child cognitive development, and sensitivity showed high reliability across the three parent-child interaction tasks. A latent positive parenting factor combining ratings across codes and tasks showed good model fit, which was similar regardless of parent self-identified race or ethnicity, age, socioeconomic disadvantage, marital/partnered status, and parity, as well as methodological factors relevant to the online video assessment method (e.g., phone vs. laptop/tablet). In support of construct validity, observed positive parenting was related to parent-reported positive parenting and child socioemotional development. Finally, parent reports of supportive relationships in pregnancy, but not neighborhood safety or pandemic worries, were prospectively related to higher positive parenting observed at age 1. With the exception of older parental age and married/partnered status, no other parent, child, sociodemographic, or methodological variables were related to higher overall video exclusions across tasks. Conclusions: PCIRS may provide a reliable approach to rate positive parenting at age 1, providing future avenues for developing more ecologically valid assessments and implementing interventions through online encounters that may be more acceptable, accessible, or preferred among parents of young children.

17.
Am J Psychiatry ; 181(3): 201-212, 2024 Mar 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38263879

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Anxiety disorders are prevalent among youths and are often highly impairing. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective first-line treatment. The authors investigated the brain mechanisms associated with symptom change following CBT. METHODS: Unmedicated youths diagnosed with an anxiety disorder underwent 12 weeks of CBT as part of two randomized clinical trials testing the efficacy of adjunctive computerized cognitive training. Across both trials, participants completed a threat-processing task during functional MRI before and after treatment. Age-matched healthy comparison youths completed two scans over the same time span. The mean age of the samples was 13.20 years (SD=2.68); 41% were male (youths with anxiety disorders, N=69; healthy comparison youths, N=62). An additional sample including youths at temperamental risk for anxiety (N=87; mean age, 10.51 years [SD=0.43]; 41% male) was utilized to test the stability of anxiety-related neural differences in the absence of treatment. Whole-brain regional activation changes (thresholded at p<0.001) were examined using task-based blood-oxygen-level-dependent response. RESULTS: Before treatment, patients with an anxiety disorder exhibited altered activation in fronto-parietal attention networks and limbic regions relative to healthy comparison children across all task conditions. Fronto-parietal hyperactivation normalized over the course of treatment, whereas limbic responses remained elevated after treatment. In the at-risk sample, overlapping clusters emerged between regions showing stable associations with anxiety over time and regions showing treatment-related changes. CONCLUSIONS: Activation in fronto-parietal networks may normalize after CBT in unmedicated pediatric anxiety patients. Limbic regions may be less amenable to acute CBT effects. Findings from the at-risk sample suggest that treatment-related changes may not be attributed solely to the passage of time.


Subject(s)
Anxiety Disorders , Cognitive Behavioral Therapy , Adolescent , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Anxiety , Anxiety Disorders/therapy , Brain , Health Status , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
18.
Neuropharmacology ; 224: 109355, 2023 02 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36442650

ABSTRACT

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorder. Therefore, elucidating brain mechanisms implicated in anxiety disorders is important avenue for developing novel treatments and improving care. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is thought to be critically involved in working memory processes (i.e. maintenance, manipulation, suppression, etc.). In addition, there is evidence that this region is involved in anxiety regulation. However, it is unclear how working memory related dlPFC processes contribute to anxiety regulation. Furthermore, we know that laterality plays an important role in working memory related dlPFC processing, however there is no current model of dlPFC mediated anxiety regulation that accounts for potential laterality effects. To address this gap, we propose a potential framework where the dlPFC contributes to emotion regulation via working memory processing. According to this framework, working memory is a fundamental process executed by the dlPFC. However, the domain of content differs across the left and right dlPFC, with the left dlPFC sensitive to primarily verbal content, and the right dlPFC sensitive to primarily non-verbal (affective content). Critically, working memory processes allow for both the retention and suppression of affective information in working memory and the overall net effect of processing on mood will depend on the balance of retention and suppression, the valence of the information being processed (positive vs. negative), and the domain of the information (verbal vs. non-verbal). If accurate, the proposed framework predicts that effects of neuromodulation targeting the dlPFC may be dependent upon the context during which the stimulation is presented. This article is part of the Special Issue on 'Fear, Anxiety and PTSD'.


Subject(s)
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex , Prefrontal Cortex , Humans , Prefrontal Cortex/physiology , Memory, Short-Term/physiology , Anxiety , Anxiety Disorders
19.
Int J Clin Health Psychol ; 23(4): 100385, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37006335

ABSTRACT

Our objective was to review the literature on the parietal cortex and intraparietal sulcus (IPS) in anxiety-related disorders, as well as opportunities for using neuromodulation to target this region and reduce anxiety. We provide an overview of prior research demonstrating: 1) the importance of the IPS in attention, vigilance, and anxious arousal, 2) the potential for neuromodulation of the IPS to reduce unnecessary attention toward threat and anxious arousal as demonstrated in healthy samples; and 3) limited data on the potential for neuromodulation of the IPS to reduce hyper-attention toward threat and anxious arousal among clinical samples with anxiety-related disorders. Future research should evaluate the efficacy of IPS neuromodulation in fully powered clinical trials, as well as the value in augmenting evidence-based treatments for anxiety with IPS neuromodulation.

20.
Res Sq ; 2023 Mar 22.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36993329

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to increased risk for perinatal anxiety and depression among parents, as well as negative consequences for child development. Less is known about how worries arising from the pandemic during pregnancy are related to later child development, nor if resilience factors buffer negative consequences. The current study addresses this question in a prospective longitudinal design. Data was collected from a sub-study ( n = 184) of a longitudinal study of pregnant individuals (total n = 1,173). During pregnancy (April 17-July 8, 2020) and the early postpartum period (August 11, 2020-March 2, 2021), participants completed online surveys. At 12 months postpartum (June 17, 2021-March 23, 2022), participants completed online surveys and a virtual laboratory visit, which included parent-child interaction tasks. We found more pregnancy-specific pandemic worries were prospectively related to lower levels of child socioemotional development based on parent report (B=-1.13, SE = .43, p = .007) and observer ratings (B=-0.13, SE = .07, p = .045), but not to parent-reported general developmental milestones. Parental emotion regulation in the early postpartum period moderated the association between pregnancy-specific pandemic worries and child socioemotional development such that pregnancy-specific pandemic worries did not related to worse child socioemotional development among parents with high (B=-.02, SE = .10, t=-.14, p = .89) levels of emotion regulation. Findings suggest the negative consequences of parental worry and distress during pregnancy on the early socioemotional development of children in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results highlight that parental emotion regulation may represent a target for intervention to promote parental resilience and support optimized child development.

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