A chronometric study of the posterior cerebellum's function in emotional processing.

The posterior cerebellum is a recently discovered hub of the affective and social brain, with different subsectors contributing to different social functions. However, very little is known about when the posterior cerebellum plays a critical role in social processing. Due to its location and anatomy, it has been difficult to use traditional approaches to directly study the chronometry of the cerebellum. To address this gap in cerebellar knowledge, here we investigated the causal contribution of the posterior cerebellum to social processing using a chronometric transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) approach. We show that the posterior cerebellum is recruited at an early stage of emotional processing (starting from 100 ms after stimulus onset), simultaneously with the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), a key node of the social brain. Moreover, using a condition-and-perturb TMS approach, we found that the recruitment of the pSTS in emotional processing is dependent on cerebellar activation. Our results are the first to shed light on chronometric aspects of cerebellar function and its causal functional connectivity with other nodes of the social brain.

Corrigendum: Attachment style, emotional feedback, and neural processing: investigating the influence of attachment on the P200 and P400 components of event-related potentials.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1249978.].

Increased sensitivity for negative emotional images in individuals with problematic pornography use.

Background: Despite the frequent comorbidity of affective and addictive disorders, the significance of affective dysregulation in problematic pornography use (PPU) is commonly disregarded. The objective of this study is to investigate whether individuals with PPU demonstrate increased sensitivity to negative emotional stimuli in comparison to healthy controls (HCs). Methods: Electrophysiological responses were captured via event-related potentials (ERPs) from 27 individuals with PPU and 29 HCs. They completed an oddball task involving the presentation of deviant stimuli in the form of highly negative (HN), moderately negative (MN), and neutral images, with a standard stimulus being a neutral kettle image. To evaluate participants' subjective feelings of valence and arousal, the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) was employed. Results: Regarding subjective evaluations, individuals with PPU indicated diminished valence ratings for HN images as opposed to HCs. Concerning electrophysiological assessments, those with PPU manifested elevated N2 amplitudes in response to both HN and MN images when contrasted against neutral images. Additionally, PPU participants displayed an intensified P3 response to HN images in contrast to MN images, a distinction not evident within the HCs. Discussion: These outcomes suggest that individuals with PPU exhibited heightened reactivity toward negative stimuli. This increased sensitivity to negative cues could potentially play a role in the propensity of PPU individuals to resort to pornography as a coping mechanism for managing stress regulation.

Morphological heterogeneity of neurons in the human central amygdaloid nucleus.

The central amygdaloid nucleus (CeA) has an ancient phylogenetic development and functions relevant for animal survival. Local cells receive intrinsic amygdaloidal information that codes emotional stimuli of fear, integrate them, and send cortical and subcortical output projections that prompt rapid visceral and social behavior responses. We aimed to describe the morphology of the neurons that compose the human CeA (N = 8 adult men). Cells within CeA coronal borders were identified using the thionine staining and were further analyzed using the "single-section" Golgi method followed by open-source software procedures for two-dimensional and three-dimensional image reconstructions. Our results evidenced varied neuronal cell body features, number and thickness of primary shafts, dendritic branching patterns, and density and shape of dendritic spines. Based on these criteria, we propose the existence of 12 morphologically different spiny neurons in the human CeA and discuss the variability in the dendritic architecture within cellular types, including likely interneurons. Some dendritic shafts were long and straight, displayed few collaterals, and had planar radiation within the coronal neuropil volume. Most of the sampled neurons showed a few to moderate density of small stubby/wide spines. Long spines (thin and mushroom) were observed occasionally. These novel data address the synaptic processing and plasticity in the human CeA. Our morphological description can be combined with further transcriptomic, immunohistochemical, and electrophysiological/connectional approaches. It serves also to investigate how neurons are altered in neurological and psychiatric disorders with hindered emotional perception, in anxiety, following atrophy in schizophrenia, and along different stages of Alzheimer's disease.

A network analysis of ICD-11 Complex PTSD, emotional processing, and dissociative experiences in the context of psychological trauma at different developmental stages.

Objective: Traumatic experiences are a significant risk factor for psychological disturbances, including disorders such as complex posttraumatic stress disorder, emotion-processing problems, and trauma-related dissociative experiences. The present investigation examined the coexistence of these symptoms using a network analysis model. Method: This study included a sample of 406 people referred to comprehensive health centers in Tehran from September to December 2023 with psychopathological syndromes. Variables were assessed using The International Trauma Questionnaire, International Measurement of Exposure to Traumatic Event checklist, Baker Emotional Processing Questionnaire, and Dissociative Experiences. A regularized partial correlation network and Glasso algorithm, in combination with Extended Bayesian information criteria, were applied to estimate the network structure. Results: Signs of unprocessed emotions and disturbance in self-organization symptoms were the most important symptoms in the symptom network, forming strong connections with other nodes. Thereby, these two symptoms can be regarded as the most important clinical manifestations in the symptom network following traumatic experiences. Three distinct symptom communities were identified: the community of traumatic experiences (childhood, adolescence, adulthood), the community of dissociative experiences (amnesia, depersonalization/derealization, and absorption), and the community of emotional processing (suppression, unpleasant emotional experience, Signs of unprocessed emotions, avoidance, and emotional control, posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and disturbance in self-organization symptoms). The strongest edges observed were between childhood trauma-adolescence trauma (0.473) in the community of traumatic experiences, between amnesia and depersonalization/derealization (0.644) in the community of dissociative experiences, and between disturbance in self-organization symptoms and unprocessed emotions (0.324) in the community of emotional processing, indicating the recurrent occurrence of these symptoms. Conclusion: In this study, disturbance in self-organization symptoms was identified as the central psychopathologic symptom in individuals experiencing traumas at different developmental stages. It seems that adolescent trauma and not childhood trauma plays a more decisive role in the symptoms that a person manifests after traumatic experiences. Also, posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and disturbance in self-organization symptoms were recognized in the cluster of emotional processing symptoms and can have substantial roles in prioritizing therapeutic measures.

Associations of rumination with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts amongst individuals with major depressive disorder: A 12-month longitudinal study in China.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to explore the longitudinal associations of rumination with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS: Participants were derived from the Depression Cohort in China study (DCC). Those who completed at least one follow-up visit during the 12 months were included in the analysis. Dimensions of rumination including brooding and reflection were each measured using five items of the Ruminative Responses Scale. Suicidal ideation was assessed using the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation. Suicide attempts were also assessed and all were analyzed with generalized estimating equations. RESULTS: Our final sample included 532 participants aged 18 to 59 years (mean [SD], 26.91 [6.94] years) consisting of 148 (27.8%) males and 384 (72.2%) females. After adjusting for temporal trend and potential confounders, individuals with higher levels of reflection were more likely to report suicidal ideation (AOR =1.11, 95% CI:1.01-1.22). However, no statistically significant association was found between brooding and suicidal ideation (AOR =1.06, 95% CI:0.96-1.17). Conversely, individuals with higher levels of brooding were more likely to report suicide attempts (AOR =1.13, 95% CI:1.02-1.24), while no statistically significant association was observed between reflection and suicide attempts (AOR =0.91, 95% CI:0.82-1.01). CONCLUSION: Rumination reflects a disturbance in cognitive emotional processing and manifests in different dimensions. Our findings suggest that high levels of reflection and brooding may be associated with a higher likelihood of having suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, respectively. However, it should be interpreted with caution, given that effect sizes are small.

Childhood abuse and craving in methamphetamine-dependent individuals: the mediating role of alexithymia.

Individuals with a history of childhood abuse (CA, including neglect and abuse by caregivers before the age of 18 years) have more severe substance dependence problems than those without a history of childhood abuse. However, whether a history of CA exacerbates craving and the mechanism of this effect remain largely unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the role of alexithymia in the effects of CA on craving in a large sample of methamphetamine-dependent individuals based on latent vulnerability theory. A total of 324 methamphetamine-dependent individuals who met DSM-5 criteria for substance use disorder were recruited. CA, alexithymia, and craving data were collected from the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, and the Obsessive Compulsive Drug Use Scale, respectively. t tests and ANCOVA were conducted to compare variables between the CA and non-CA groups, while partial correlation and mediation analyses were conducted to examine the potential mediating role of alexithymia in the relationship between CA and craving. Abused methamphetamine-dependent individuals reported higher levels of craving and higher levels of alexithymia than those of non-abused methamphetamine-dependent individuals. Alexithymia partially mediated the link between CA and craving, especially the effect of CA on craving frequency was fully mediated by alexithymia. Our findings reveal that a history of childhood abuse has a lasting effect on craving in stimulant-dependent individuals, and alexithymia contributes to some extent to the severity of substance abuse problems in abused methamphetamine-dependent individuals.

Measurement of event-related potentials from electroencephalography to evaluate emotional processing in Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The present systematic review and meta-analysis intended to: 1) determine the extent of abnormalities in emotional processing linked to emotional event-related potentials (ERPs) in Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) and 2) integrate data from similar emotional tasks into a meta-analysis to clearly demonstrate the scientific and clinical value of measuring emotional ERPs by electroencephalography (EEG) in FMS. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing emotional processing indicated by ERPs in FMS patients and healthy controls was conducted. Fifteen articles were included in the systematic review after applying the eligibility criteria. RESULTS: Nine articles demonstrated disturbances in emotional processing in FMS. These emotional disturbances were distributed over the whole range of ERP latencies, mainly over central, parietal, temporal and occipital areas. Despite of this, quantitative analysis revealed only significant differences in N250 and LPP/LPC between FMS patients and healthy controls, with smaller LPP/LPC and greater N250 seen in FMS. DISCUSSION: N250 and LPP/LPC seem to be the ERPs with the greatest potential to determine emotional alterations in FMS. These ERPs are related to complex cognitive processes such as decoding features relevant to affect recognition (N250) as well differentiation between emotions, persistent engagement, conflict resolution or evaluation of emotional intensity (LPC/LPP). However, differences in task setup had an important impact on the variation of ERP outcomes. Systematization of protocols and tasks is indispensable for future studies.

How Primary Care Clinicians Process Patient Death: Logistics, Emotions, and Opportunities for Structural Support.

BACKGROUND: Navigating the logistics and emotional processing of a patient's death is an inevitable part of many physicians' roles. While research has primarily examined how inpatient clinicians cope with patient loss, little work has explored how primary care clinicians (PCCs) handle patient death in the outpatient setting, and what support resources could help PCCs process loss. OBJECTIVE: To explore PCCs' experiences with the logistics and emotional processing of patient deaths and suggestions for supportive resources. DESIGN: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews conducted between March and May 2023. PARTICIPANTS: Recruitment emails were sent to 136 PCCs (physicians and nurse practitioners) at three San Francisco academic primary care clinics. Twelve clinicians participated in the study. APPROACH: This study used a template analysis approach. Interview transcripts were analyzed in an iterative fashion to identify themes for how PCCs navigate patient death. RESULTS: Participants (n=12) described outpatient death notification as inconsistent, delayed, and rife with uncertainty regarding subsequent actions. They felt various emotions, notably sadness and guilt, especially with deaths of young, vulnerable patients or those from preventable illnesses. Participants identified strategies for emotional processing and recommended improvements including clear procedural guidance, peer debriefings, and formal acknowledgements of deceased patients. CONCLUSIONS: Interviewing PCCs about their experiences following a patient death revealed key themes in logistical and emotional processing, and clinic resource recommendations to better support PCCs. Given the distinct characteristics of primary care-such as enduring patient relationships, greater isolation in ambulatory settings compared to inpatient environments, and rising burnout rates-enhancing guidance and support for PCCs is crucial to mitigate administrative burdens and grief after patient loss.

Emotional processing impairments in patients with insula lesions following stroke.

Functional imaging has helped to understand the role of the human insula as a major processing network for integrating input with the current state of the body. However, these studies remain at a correlative level. Studies that have examined insula damage show lesion-specific performance deficits. Case reports have provided anecdotal evidence for deficits following insula damage, but group lesion studies offer a number of advances in providing evidence for functional representation of the insula. We conducted a systematic literature search to review group studies of patients with insula damage after stroke and identified 23 studies that tested emotional processing performance in these patients. Eight of these studies assessed emotional processing of visual (most commonly IAPS), auditory (e.g., prosody), somatosensory (emotional touch) and autonomic function (heart rate variability). Fifteen other studies looked at social processing, including emotional face recognition, gaming tasks and tests of empathy. Overall, there was a bias towards testing only patients with right-hemispheric lesions, making it difficult to consider hemisphere specificity. Although many studies included an overlay of lesion maps to characterise their patients, most did not differentiate lesion statistics between insula subunits and/or applied voxel-based associations between lesion location and impairment. This is probably due to small group sizes, which limit statistical comparisons. We conclude that multicentre analyses of lesion studies with comparable patients and performance tests are needed to definitively test the specific function of parts of the insula in emotional processing and social interaction.

Effects of anxiety state on N400 event-related brain potential response to unexpected semantic stimuli.

Emotional states can influence how people use meaningful context to make predictions about what comes next. To measure whether state anxiety influences such prediction, we used the N400 event-related brain potential (ERP) response to semantic stimuli, whose amplitude is smaller (less negative) when the stimulus is more predicted based on preceding context. Participants (n = 28) were randomized to one of two groups, who underwent either an "anxious-uncertainty" procedure previously shown to increase anxiety, or a control procedure. Both before and after this procedure, participants' ERPs were recorded while they viewed category definitions (e.g., "a type of fruit"), each followed by a target word that was either a high-typicality category exemplar ("apple"), low-typicality exemplar ("cherry"), or non-exemplar ("clamp") of the category. Participants' task was to respond by pressing one of two buttons to indicate whether the target represented a member of the category. As expected, based on previous work, overall, N400 amplitudes were largest (most negative) in response to non-exemplars, intermediate to low-typicality exemplars, and smallest to high-typicality exemplars. N400 amplitudes were larger to non-exemplars after the anxious-uncertainty procedure than after the control procedure. N400 amplitudes to both types of exemplars did not differ after the anxious-uncertainty procedure versus the control procedure. The results are consistent with participants devoting more neural resources to processing contextually unexpected items under anxious states, rather than anxiety facilitating processing of expected items.

Onscreen presence of instructors in video lectures affects learners' neural synchrony and visual attention during multimedia learning.

COVID-19 forced students to rely on online learning using multimedia tools, and multimedia learning continues to impact education beyond the pandemic. In this study, we combined behavioral, eye-tracking, and neuroimaging paradigms to identify multimedia learning processes and outcomes. College students viewed four video lectures including slides with either an onscreen human instructor, an animated instructor, or no onscreen instructor. Brain activity was recorded via fMRI, visual attention was recorded via eye-tracking, and learning outcome was assessed via post-tests. Onscreen presence of instructor, compared with no instructor presence, resulted in superior post-test performance, less visual attention on the slide, more synchronized eye movements during learning, and higher neural synchronization in cortical networks associated with socio-emotional processing and working memory. Individual variation in cognitive and socio-emotional abilities and intersubject neural synchronization revealed different levels of cognitive and socio-emotional processing in different learning conditions. The instructor-present condition evoked increased synchronization, likely reflecting extra processing demands in attentional control, working memory engagement, and socio-emotional processing. Although human instructors and animated instructors led to comparable learning outcomes, the effects were due to the dynamic interplay of information processing vs. attentional distraction. These findings reflect a benefit-cost trade-off where multimedia learning outcome is enhanced only when the cognitive benefits motivated by the social presence of onscreen instructor outweigh the cognitive costs brought about by concurrent attentional distraction unrelated to learning.

Multilevel analysis of positive emotional induction: Which is the role of gender and valence on cognitive control processes?

How emotions are processed affects people's cognition and behavior. One of the most used measures to study the physiological component of emotions is heart rate (HR), where greater HR variation (range) implies greater emotional processing. Several investigations established the importance of gender modulation of these processes due to the different cultural treatment given to emotions among genders. However, very heterogeneous results are reported today, and few studies incorporated these parameters when investigating emotion modulation of cognitive processes according to individual factors. The present work consists of two studies. In a pilot study, 97 young adults, through the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM), ranged the valence and arousal to select two positive and neutral videos. The second study analyses the role of gender and valence in the variation of subjective (SAM) and physiological (HR) indicators of emotional processing associated with performance in two cognitive tasks (Stroop and Tower of London) under two different emotional conditions. Participants were 60 adults, who were randomly assigned to positive or neutral video visualization, and their HR was registered. There was a tendency for women to have higher HR during positive videos than in neutral. While the subjective reports indicated variances in the appraisal of the videos, the heart rate did not exhibit differences across the experimental conditions. Few studies integrate emotional and cognitive components, and include physiological and subjective measures of emotional processing. These findings illustrate the importance of including various measures of emotional and cognitive processing.

Theory of Mind impairment in childhood narcolepsy type 1: a case-control study.

Narcolepsy type 1 is a central disorder of hypersomnolence characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy and other rapid eye movement sleep-related manifestations. Neurophysiological studies suggest that narcolepsy type 1 patients may experience impairment in emotional processing due to structural and functional changes in limbic structures and associated areas. However, the only study exploring narcolepsy behavioural responses found no impairment in the ability to recognize emotions, possibly due to compensatory mechanisms. The present study was designed to fill this gap in the literature by investigating the behavioural impairment related to emotional processing focusing on an advanced socio-cognitive skill, namely Theory of Mind, in paediatric narcolepsy type 1 patients. Twenty-two narcolepsy type 1 children and adolescents (six female; age range: 8.0-13.5) and 22 healthy controls matched for age and sex (six female; age range: 8.9-13.0) underwent a neuropsychological evaluation to assess socio-economic status, verbal abilities, working memory, social anxiety and Theory of Mind via a verbal task (i.e. Strange Stories task) and a visual task (i.e. Silent Films). Narcolepsy type 1 patients were also evaluated for disease severity. Patients exhibited impairment in Theory of Mind skills, as assessed both through both verbal (controls median = 8; patients median = 5; P = 0.009) and visual tasks (controls median = 8; patients median = 6; P = 0.003), compared to healthy controls. Correlation analyses showed that verbal and visual Theory of Mind was negatively related to narcolepsy severity (ρ = -0.45, P = 0.035 and ρ = -0.52, P = 0.012), and daytime sleepiness (ρ = -0.48, P = 0.025 and ρ = -0.45, P = 0.038). Our study shows a selective impairment in the Theory of Mind domain in children and adolescents with narcolepsy type 1. In addition, our results highlight a link between symptom severity and Theory of Mind, suggesting that lower Theory of Mind levels are associated with higher symptom severity. Further, longitudinal studies are needed to disentangle the direction of this relation and to disambiguate if narcolepsy severity impaired children's Theory of Mind or if Theory of Mind skills modulate the severity of narcolepsy symptoms by providing a greater ability to avoid cataplexy.

Emotional atypical arousal ratings for unpleasant stimuli in patients with Parkinson's disease.

INTRODUCTION: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms, including alteration in emotional processing and recognition of emotions. We explored the effects of PD on the emotional behavioral ratings using a battery of affective visual stimuli selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). METHODS: Twenty-two patients diagnosed with idiopathic PD and 22 healthy controls (HC), matched by age, gender, and education, were enrolled in the study. Following a clinical assessment, each participant was asked to evaluate the arousal and valence of affective visual stimuli, and response time was recorded. Disease-specific measures including the MDS Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS UPDRS) and the Non-Motor Symptom Scale (NMSS) were also collected. RESULTS: PD patients exhibited higher arousal responses compared to HC for negative/unpleasant pictures (scoring 7.32 ± 0.88 vs 5.43 ± 2.06, p < 0.001). The arousal response to negative/unpleasant pictures was correlated with measures of non-motor burden in PD (MDS UPDRS I and NMSS, rho = 0.480 and p = 0.023, rho = 0.533 and p = 0.010, respectively). CONCLUSION: Impaired emotional processing characterizes PD patients with mild disease and is related to the non-motor symptom burden. Given the importance of emotional processing for the development and maintenance of close interpersonal relationship and for coping with specific medical situations, it is crucial to direct PD patients towards therapeutic interventions focused on the recognition and processing of emotions.

Impairment of unconscious emotional processing after unilateral medial temporal structure resection.

The role of the amygdala in unconscious emotional processing remains a topic of debate. Past lesion studies have indicated that amygdala damage leads to impaired electrodermal activity in response to subliminally presented emotional stimuli. However, electrodermal activity can reflect both emotional and nonemotional processes. To provide behavioral evidence highlighting the critical role of the amygdala in unconscious emotional processing, we examined patients (n = 16) who had undergone unilateral resection of medial temporal lobe structures, including the amygdala. We utilized the subliminal affective priming paradigm in conjunction with unilateral visual presentation. Fearful or happy dynamic facial expressions were presented in unilateral visual fields for 30 ms, serving as negative or positive primes. Subsequently, neutral target faces were displayed, and participants were tasked with rating the valence of these targets. Positive primes, compared to negative ones, enhanced valence ratings of the target to a greater extent when they stimulated the intact hemisphere (i.e., were presented in the contralateral visual field of the intact hemisphere) than when they stimulated the resected hemisphere (i.e., were presented in the contralateral visual field of the resected hemisphere). These results suggest that the amygdala is causally involved in unconscious emotional processing.

Who are you after psychedelics? A systematic review and a meta-analysis of the magnitude of long-term effects of serotonergic psychedelics on cognition/creativity, emotional processing and personality.

This systematic review and a meta-analysis synthesised the results from contemporary, randomized and non-randomized controlled studies to assess lasting (one week minimum) changes on cognition/creativity, emotional processing and personality from serotonergic psychedelics. PubMed, Embase and PsycInfo were searched in July 2022. Risk of bias was assessed using Rob 2.0 and ROBINS-I. Ten studies met the eligibility criteria which involved 304 participants. No statistically significant effects were found for the majority outcome measures across the three constructs. A meta-analysis of emotional recognition outcomes found an overall significant effect for faster reaction times in the active treatment groups for disgust (SMD=-0.63, 95% CI=[-1.01 to -0.25], I2 = 65%) and sadness (SMD=-0.45, 95% CI=[-0.85 to -0.06], I2 = 60%). Future research should include larger samples, better control conditions, standardized doses and longer follow-up periods to confirm these preliminary findings.

Interoceptive technologies for psychiatric interventions: From diagnosis to clinical applications.

Interoception-the perception of internal bodily signals-has emerged as an area of interest due to its implications in emotion and the prevalence of dysfunctional interoceptive processes across psychopathological conditions. Despite the importance of interoception in cognitive neuroscience and psychiatry, its experimental manipulation remains technically challenging. This is due to the invasive nature of existing methods, the limitation of self-report and unimodal measures of interoception, and the absence of standardized approaches across disparate fields. This article integrates diverse research efforts from psychology, physiology, psychiatry, and engineering to address this oversight. Following a general introduction to the neurophysiology of interoception as hierarchical predictive processing, we review the existing paradigms for manipulating interoception (e.g., interoceptive modulation), their underlying mechanisms (e.g., interoceptive conditioning), and clinical applications (e.g., interoceptive exposure). We suggest a classification for interoceptive technologies and discuss their potential for diagnosing and treating mental health disorders. Despite promising results, considerable work is still needed to develop standardized, validated measures of interoceptive function across domains and before these technologies can translate safely and effectively to clinical settings.

Prenatal Exposure to Maternal Mood Entropy Is Associated With a Weakened and Inflexible Salience Network in Adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Fetal exposure to maternal mood dysregulation influences child cognitive and emotional development, which may have long-lasting implications for mental health. However, the neurobiological alterations associated with this dimension of adversity have yet to be explored. Here, we tested the hypothesis that fetal exposure to entropy, a novel index of dysregulated maternal mood, would predict the integrity of the salience network, which is involved in emotional processing. METHODS: A sample of 138 child-mother pairs (70 females) participated in this prospective longitudinal study. Maternal negative mood level and entropy (an index of variable and unpredictable mood) were assessed 5 times during pregnancy. Adolescents engaged in a functional magnetic resonance imaging task that was acquired between 2 resting-state scans. Changes in network integrity were analyzed using mixed-effect and latent growth curve models. The amplitude of low frequency fluctuations was analyzed to corroborate findings. RESULTS: Prenatal maternal mood entropy, but not mood level, was associated with salience network integrity. Both prenatal negative mood level and entropy were associated with the amplitude of low frequency fluctuations of the salience network. Latent class analysis yielded 2 profiles based on changes in network integrity across all functional magnetic resonance imaging sequences. The profile that exhibited little variation in network connectivity (i.e., inflexibility) consisted of adolescents who were exposed to higher negative maternal mood levels and more entropy. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that fetal exposure to maternal mood dysregulation is associated with a weakened and inflexible salience network. More broadly, they identify maternal mood entropy as a novel marker of early adversity that exhibits long-lasting associations with offspring brain development.

Aberrant Neurofunctional Responses During Emotional and Attentional Processing Differentiate ADHD Youth With and Without a Family History of Bipolar I Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To compare neurofunctional responses in emotional and attentional networks of psychostimulant-free ADHD youth with and without familial risk for bipolar I disorder (BD). METHODS: ADHD youth with (high-risk, HR, n = 48) and without (low-risk, LR, n = 50) a first-degree relative with BD and healthy controls (n = 46) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a continuous performance task with emotional distracters. Region-of-interest analyses were performed for bilateral amygdala (AMY), ventrolateral (VLPFC) and dorsolateral (DLPFC) prefrontal cortex, and anterior (ACC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). RESULTS: Compared with HC, HR, but not LR, exhibited predominantly left-lateralized AMY, VLPFC, DLPFC, PCC, and rostral ACC hyperactivation to emotional distractors, whereas LR exhibited right VLPFC and bilateral dorsal ACC hypoactivation to attentional targets. Regional responses correlated with emotional and attention symptoms. CONCLUSION: Aberrant neurofunctional responses during emotional and attentional processing differentiate ADHD youth with and without a family history of BD and correlate with relevant symptoms ratings.