Neural connectivity underlying adolescent social learning in sibling dyads.

Social learning theory posits that adolescents learn to adopt social norms by observing the behaviors of others and internalizing the associated outcomes. However, the underlying neural processes by which social learning occurs is less well-understood, despite extensive neurobiological reorganization and a peak in social influence sensitivity during adolescence. Forty-four adolescents (Mage = 12.2 years) completed an fMRI scan while observing their older sibling within four years of age (Mage = 14.3 years) of age complete a risky decision-making task. Group iterative multiple model estimation (GIMME) was used to examine patterns of directional brain region connectivity supporting social learning. We identified group-level neural pathways underlying social observation including the anterior insula to the anterior cingulate cortex and mentalizing regions to social cognition regions. We also found neural states based on adolescent sensitivity to social learning via age, gender, modeling, differentiation, and behavior. Adolescents who were more likely to be influenced elicited neurological up-regulation whereas adolescents who were less likely to be socially influenced elicited neurological down-regulation during risk-taking. These findings highlight patterns of how adolescents process information while a salient influencer takes risks, as well as salient neural pathways that are dependent on similarity factors associated with social learning theory.

Integrating dynamic and developmental time scales: Emotion-specific autonomic coordination predicts baseline functioning over time.

Autonomic nervous system activity flexibly shifts and modulates behavior at multiple time scales, with some work suggesting that patterns of short-term reactivity contribute to long-term developmental change. However, previous work has largely considered sympathetic and parasympathetic systems independently, even though both systems contribute dynamically to the regulation of physiological arousal. Using physiological data obtained from 313 children in kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade we examined whether within-person autonomic coordination during an emotion-inducing film task in kindergarten was associated with developmental change in resting autonomic activity. On average, these kindergarteners exhibited reciprocal coordination during the approach-oriented emotion (angry, happy) condition and a lack of coordination during the avoidance-oriented emotion (fear, sad) condition. Alignment with these patterns was associated with more typical autonomic development, specifically an increase in resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and a decrease in resting skin conductance (SCR) from kindergarten to 2nd grade; while lack of coordination during the approach condition was associated with a relatively delayed increase in resting RSA and a steeper decline in SCR, and reciprocal coordination during the avoidance condition was associated with a lack of RSA increase. Findings highlight the need for additional consideration of how moment-to-moment dynamics of autonomic coordination influence longer-term development, and suggest that early patterns of atypical arousal may portend dysregulation of developing physiological systems.

Developmental changes in external and internal performance monitoring across middle childhood: An ERP study.

Performance monitoring is critical for learning and behavioral adaption and is supported by both externally and internally sourced information. Cross-sectional studies indicate an increase in internal error processing across childhood, suggesting a potential developmental transition from reliance on external information to reliance on internally developed models. However, little research has examined the association between these constructs longitudinally. Data from 339 children assessed annually from kindergarten to 2nd grade were examined to determine the developmental trajectory of ERP indices of performance monitoring, and whether the association between these indices changes across time. EEG data were recorded during an incentivized Go/No-Go task and ERP component amplitudes were extracted as peak measures at Fz. Despite small increases in magnitude, no significant changes were observed in any of the ERPs. Multi-level regression analyses indicated that in kindergarten a more negative feedback-related negativity (FRN) was associated with a more negative error-related negativity (ERN) and a more negative error positivity (Pe). Further, the association between the FRN and Pe changed over time, such that in 2nd grade the FRN and Pe decoupled from one another and were no longer associated. These results suggest that the development of performance monitoring through middle childhood may be a phasic process. More specifically, matured external feedback monitoring processes may first facilitate the development of conscious error recognition, and then the development of internal error monitoring processes. Once internal models of error monitoring are well-established, children may then reduce their utilization of external feedback.

Association Between Dynamic Parasympathetic Reactivity to Frustration and Children's Social Success with Peers in Kindergarten.

The inability to regulate affective arousal in the context of frustration may jeopardize children's ability to form successful friendships, especially as new peer groups are formed during the transition to kindergarten. While substantial research has utilized teacher reports of children's socioemotional behavior, there is less empirical evidence on the peer perspective. The present study utilized data from n = 235 kindergarteners (54% high in disruptive behavior) recruited for a multicomponent intervention. We examined whether physiological reactivity to frustration was associated with children's social success. Peer nominations of liking or disliking to play with the child were used to compute a social preference score, where negative values reflect greater rejection than acceptance. Multilevel growth modeling was employed to capture changes in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity across a manipulated inhibitory control task administered in 3 blocks, with differing algorithms embedded to induce affect: points were earned in the 1st and 3rd blocks (reward) and lost during the 2nd block (frustration). Groups did not differ in RSA reactivity during the 1st block, but children who experience greater peer rejection showed significant decreases in RSA (increases in arousal) across frustration. This increased arousal persisted across the 3rd block despite the reinstatement of reward, indicating a greater degree of reactivity and a lack of recovery relative to peer-accepted children. Teacher screenings of disruptive behavior only partially aligned with peer ratings of acceptance, highlighting the benefits of leveraging peer report to capture regulatory functioning and identify children for intervention recruitment.

Association between EEG asymmetry and the error-related negativity across middle childhood.

Resting frontal EEG alpha asymmetry has been extensively examined as a marker of motivational disposition. Recent research has examined how this trait-level marker of motivation influences an individual's internal error monitoring (indexed by the error-related negativity; ERN), with mixed findings as to whether more negative ERNs are associated with greater left or right alpha power. Data from 339 children who completed an incentivized Go/No-Go task annually from Kindergarten through 2nd grade were examined for an association between ERN amplitude and EEG asymmetry, and for whether the association was developmentally stable. Results indicate an association between left-dominant activation and a more negative amplitude in Kindergarten, with an inversion of this association emerging by 2nd grade, such that a more negative ERNs were associated with right-dominant activation. We suggest that the association between EEG asymmetry and ERN amplitude is likely modulated by task condition (e.g., incentivization) and experience over time (e.g., habituation).

Siblings as buffers: Social problems and internalizing and externalizing behaviors across early adolescence.

Youth who struggle to maintain positive peer relationships are more likely to display emotional and behavioral problems, particularly during adolescence. Alternative avenues of social support may buffer against these maladaptive outcomes, particularly sibling relations, as they oftentimes predict adolescent outcomes above and beyond that of parents and peers. The present study examined the role of objective sibling warmth on the longitudinal association between social problems and maladjustment in a sample of 45 adolescent sibling dyads, further testing how effects varied between younger (Mage = 12.1; 24 females) and older (Mage = 14.5; 21 females) siblings. Sibling interactions were observed during cooperative and stressful problem-solving tasks, and later coded for expressions of warmth directed from one sibling to the other. Adolescent social problems and internalizing and externalizing behaviors were collected by multi-informant report and at a 1-year follow-up. Multilevel analyses indicated that adolescents with older siblings who exhibited more warmth were buffered against the effect of social problems on externalizing behaviors, with marginal effects for internalizing symptoms. Younger sibling warmth did not serve as a buffer for older sibling maladjustment. These findings emphasize the importance of considering how multiple dimensions of social support operate to influence functioning, particularly early in adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Where You Lead, I Will Follow: Exploring Sibling Similarity in Brain and Behavior During Risky Decision Making.

This exploratory study examined whether social learning increases similarity in adolescent siblings' behavior and neural patterns during risky decision making. Participants included 86 adolescents (43 sibling dyads; younger siblings: Mage  = 12.2 years; 22 females; older siblings: Mage  = 14.6 years; 20 females) who completed questionnaires, and a decision-making task during an fMRI scan. Younger siblings became more similar to their older siblings' risky decision making after observing their older sibling take risks). Younger siblings who reported greater modeling of their older sibling, and less differentiation from them, showed increased neural similarity to their older siblings in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and the right anterior insula and ventral striatum, respectively. These findings highlight siblings as salient social agents in how adolescents process risky decision making.