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Moderation of prior exposure to trauma on the inverse relationship between callous-unemotional traits and amygdala responses to fearful expressions: an exploratory study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Previous work has shown that amygdala responsiveness to fearful expressions is inversely related to level of callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e. reduced guilt and empathy) in youth with conduct problems. However, some research has suggested that the relationship between pathophysiology and CU traits may be different in those youth with significant prior trauma exposure. METHODS:In experiment 1, 72 youth with varying levels of disruptive behavior and trauma exposure performed a gender discrimination task while viewing morphed fear expressions (0, 50, 100, 150 fear) and Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent responses were recorded. In experiment 2, 66 of these youth performed the Social Goals Task, which measures self-reports of the importance of specific social goals to the participant in provoking social situations. RESULTS:In experiment 1, a significant CU traits-by-trauma exposure interaction was observed within right amygdala; fear intensity-modulated amygdala responses negatively predicted CU traits for those youth with low levels of trauma but positively predicted CU traits for those with high levels of trauma. In experiment 2, a bootstrapped model revealed that the indirect effect of fear intensity amygdala response on social goal importance through CU traits is moderated by prior trauma exposure. CONCLUSIONS:This study, while exploratory, indicates that the pathophysiology associated with CU traits differs in youth as a function of prior trauma exposure. These data suggest that prior trauma exposure should be considered when evaluating potential interventions for youth with high CU traits.

SUBMITTER: Meffert H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6087685 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Moderation of prior exposure to trauma on the inverse relationship between callous-unemotional traits and amygdala responses to fearful expressions: an exploratory study.

Meffert Harma H Thornton Laura C LC Tyler Patrick M PM Botkin Mary L ML Erway Anna K AK Kolli Venkata V Pope Kayla K White Stuart F SF Blair R James R RJR

Psychological medicine 20180212 15

<h4>Background</h4>Previous work has shown that amygdala responsiveness to fearful expressions is inversely related to level of callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e. reduced guilt and empathy) in youth with conduct problems. However, some research has suggested that the relationship between pathophysiology and CU traits may be different in those youth with significant prior trauma exposure.<h4>Methods</h4>In experiment 1, 72 youth with varying levels of disruptive behavior and trauma exposure pe ...[more]

PMID: 29428004

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Project description:OBJECTIVE:Callous-unemotional behaviors in early childhood signal higher risk for trajectories of antisocial behavior and callous-unemotional traits that culminate in later diagnoses of conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and psychopathy. Studies demonstrate high heritability of callous-unemotional traits, but little research has examined specific heritable pathways to early callous-unemotional behaviors. Studies also indicate that positive parenting protects against the development of callous-unemotional traits, but genetically informed designs have not been used to confirm that these relationships are not the product of gene-environment correlations. In a sample of adopted children and their biological and adoptive mothers, the authors tested novel heritable and nonheritable pathways to preschool callous-unemotional behaviors. METHOD:In an adoption cohort of 561 families, history of severe antisocial behavior assessed in biological mothers and observations of adoptive mother positive reinforcement at 18 months were examined as predictors of callous-unemotional behaviors at 27 months. RESULTS:Despite limited or no contact with offspring, biological mother antisocial behavior predicted early callous-unemotional behaviors. Adoptive mother positive reinforcement protected against early callous-unemotional behaviors. High levels of adoptive mother positive reinforcement buffered the effects of heritable risk for callous-unemotional behaviors posed by biological mother antisocial behavior. CONCLUSIONS:The findings elucidate heritable and nonheritable pathways to early callous-unemotional behaviors. The results provide a specific heritable pathway to callous-unemotional behaviors and compelling evidence that parenting is an important nonheritable factor in the development of callous-unemotional behaviors. The finding that positive reinforcement buffered heritable risk for callous-unemotional behaviors has important translational implications for the prevention of trajectories to serious antisocial behavior.

Project description:Among youths with conduct problems, callous-unemotional (CU) traits are known to be an important determinant of symptom severity, prognosis, and treatment responsiveness. But positive correlations between conduct problems and CU traits result in suppressor effects that may mask important neurobiological distinctions among subgroups of children with conduct problems.To assess the unique neurobiological covariates of CU traits and externalizing behaviors in youths with conduct problems and determine whether neural dysfunction linked to CU traits mediates the link between callousness and proactive aggression.This cross-sectional case-control study involved behavioral testing and neuroimaging that were conducted at a university research institution. Neuroimaging was conducted using a 3-T Siemens magnetic resonance imaging scanner. It included 46 community-recruited male and female juveniles aged 10 to 17 years, including 16 healthy control participants and 30 youths with conduct problems with both low and high levels of CU traits.Blood oxygenation level-dependent signal as measured via functional magnetic resonance imaging during an implicit face-emotion processing task and analyzed using whole-brain and region of interest-based analysis of variance and multiple-regression analyses.Analysis of variance revealed no group differences in the amygdala. By contrast, consistent with the existence of suppressor effects, multiple-regression analysis found amygdala responses to fearful expressions to be negatively associated with CU traits (x = 26, y = 0, z =?-12; k = 1) and positively associated with externalizing behavior (x = 24, y = 0, z =?-14; k = 8) when both variables were modeled simultaneously. Reduced amygdala responses mediated the relationship between CU traits and proactive aggression.The results linked proactive aggression in youths with CU traits to hypoactive amygdala responses to emotional distress cues, consistent with theories that externalizing behaviors, particularly proactive aggression, in youths with these traits stem from deficient empathic responses to distress. Amygdala hypoactivity may represent an intermediate phenotype, offering new insights into effective treatment strategies for conduct problems.

Dataset Information

Moderation of prior exposure to trauma on the inverse relationship between callous-unemotional traits and amygdala responses to fearful expressions: an exploratory study.

Publications

Moderation of prior exposure to trauma on the inverse relationship between callous-unemotional traits and amygdala responses to fearful expressions: an exploratory study.

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