Clarifying the Link Between Amygdala Functioning During Emotion Processing and Antisocial Behaviors Versus Callous-Unemotional Traits Within a Population-Based Community Sample.
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SUBMITTER: Dotterer HL
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8341395 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Recent neuroimaging studies have suggested divergent relationships between antisocial behavior (AB) and callous-unemotional (CU) traits and amygdala reactivity to fearful and angry facial expressions in adolescents. However, little work has examined if these findings extend to dimensional measures of behavior in ethnically diverse, non-clinical samples, or if participant sex, ethnicity, pubertal stage, and age moderate associations. We examined links between amygdala reactivity and dimensions of AB and CU traits in 220 Hispanic and non-Hispanic Caucasian adolescents (age 11-15; 49.5% female; 38.2% Hispanic), half of whom had a family history for depression and thus were at relatively elevated risk for late starting, emotionally dysregulated AB. We found that AB was significantly related to increased right amygdala reactivity to angry facial expressions independent of sex, ethnicity, pubertal stage, age, and familial risk status for depression. CU traits were not related to fear- or anger-related amygdala reactivity. The present study further demonstrates that AB is related to increased amygdala reactivity to interpersonal threat cues in adolescents, and that this relationship generalizes across sex, ethnicity, pubertal stage, age, and familial risk status for depression.
| S-EPMC5429212 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveCallous-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.MethodIn 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.ResultsDespite 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.ConclusionsThe 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.
| S-EPMC5008992 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Individuals involved in antisocial behavior often engage in excessive reward-driven behavior even in the face of severe punishments including incarceration. However, the neural mechanisms of reward processing in antisocial behavior have not been examined while considering the heterogeneity of antisocial behavior and specific phases of reward and loss processing. In this study, we investigate the relationship between antisocial behavior, callous-unemotional traits, and neural activity during the anticipation and receipt of rewards and losses.A community sample of 144 low income, racially diverse, urban males at risk for antisocial behavior completed self-report measures, a clinical interview, and an fMRI scan at age 20. Neural response during the anticipation and receipt of monetary rewards and losses was linked to antisocial behavior and callous-unemotional traits using a priori ventral striatum region of interest analyses and exploratory whole brain analyses.Antisocial behavior, but not callous-unemotional traits, was related to less ventral striatum response during reward anticipation. There were no significant relationships between neural reactivity and antisocial behavior or callous-unemotional traits during reward or loss outcomes. Antisocial behavior was also related to less ventrolateral prefrontal cortex reactivity during reward and loss anticipation.These findings support a hypo-reactivity model of reward and loss anticipation in antisocial behavior. Lower striatal reactivity to cues of reward and lower prefrontal-regulatory recruitment during reward and loss anticipation may contribute to maladaptive reward-related behavior found in antisocial behavior.
| S-EPMC5606223 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Callous-unemotional traits are considered to be precursors of psychopathy, and are related to behaviors such as aggression, delinquency, antisocial behavior, and bullying in adolescents. For this reason, it is important to study these traits in childhood and adolescence with appropriate and reliable instruments. The aim of the current study is to develop a Mexican adaptation of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits and Antisocial Behavior (INCA) because few questionnaires in Spanish assess these traits, and even fewer have been validated for the Mexican population. The INCA questionnaire, developed in Spain, assesses the same three factors as the ICU questionnaire (unemotional, callousness, and uncaring), and it includes an additional factor of antisocial behavior with items on challenging authority and breaking social rules. It controls two response biases: social desirability and acquiescence. We administered the Mexican adaptation, named INCA-M, to 699 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years old. Factor analysis yielded three dimensions, because most of the items referring to uncaring and antisocial behavior loaded on a common factor, which can be explained by cultural differences. We decided to remove these items of antisocial behavior so as to maintain the same three factors assessed by the ICU questionnaire. The results suggest that the INCA-M has good psychometric properties, with high factor simplicity and good reliability. Moreover, we found the expected correlations with impulsivity and the Big Five subscales, and also with the equivalent subscales assessed by the ICU questionnaire.
| S-EPMC7247810 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe serotonin system is thought to play a role in the aetiology of antisocial and aggressive behaviour in both adults and children however previous findings have been inconsistent. Recently, research has suggested that the function of the serotonin system may be specifically altered in a sub-set of antisocial populations - those with psychopathic (callous-unemotional) personality traits. We explored the relationships between callous-unemotional traits and functional polymorphisms of selected serotonin-system genes, and tested the association between callous-unemotional traits and serum serotonin levels independently of antisocial and aggressive behaviour.MethodParticipants were boys with antisocial behaviour problems aged 3-16 years referred to University of New South Wales Child Behaviour Research Clinics. Participants volunteered either a blood or saliva sample from which levels of serum serotonin (N?=?66) and/or serotonin-system single nucleotide polymorphisms (N?=?157) were assayed.ResultsFunctional single nucleotide polymorphisms from the serotonin 1b receptor gene (HTR1B) and 2a receptor gene (HTR2A) were found to be associated with callous-unemotional traits. Serum serotonin level was a significant predictor of callous-unemotional traits; levels were significantly lower in boys with high callous-unemotional traits than in boys with low callous-unemotional traits.ConclusionResults provide support to the emerging literature that argues for a genetically-driven system-wide alteration in serotonin function in the aetiology of callous-unemotional traits. The findings should be interpreted as preliminary and future research that aims to replicate and further investigate these results is required.
| S-EPMC3574002 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Emotion recognition difficulties are linked to callous-unemotional (CU) traits, which predict risk for severe antisocial behavior. However, few studies have investigated how stimulus characteristics influence emotion recognition performance, which could give insight into the mechanisms underpinning CU traits. To address this knowledge gap, children aged 7-10 years old (N = 45; 53% female, 47% male; 46.3% Black/African-American, 25.9% White, 16.7% Mixed race or Other, 9.3% Asian) completed an emotion recognition task featuring static facial stimuli from child and adult models and facial and full-body dynamic stimuli from adult models. Parents reported on CU traits of children in the sample. Children showed better emotion recognition for dynamic than static faces. Higher CU traits were associated with worse emotion recognition, particularly for sad and neutral expressions. Stimulus characteristics did not impact associations between CU traits and emotion recognition.
| S-EPMC11229013 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveCallous-unemotional (CU) traits are associated with a more severe and chronic trajectory of antisocial behavior. The present study aimed to identify different classes of CU and anxiety and to compare these classes on overt and covert antisocial behavior and several clinical correlates.MethodIn a prospective high-risk cohort of adolescents (N = 679; mean age = 14.77, SD = 0.81), latent profile analysis was conducted using CU traits and anxiety symptoms as indicators, and multi-informant aggressive and rule breaking behavior as distal outcomes. Post-hoc analyses with binary logistic regression and a series of ANCOVA were performed on identified classes assessing violent aggression, property offending, and clinical correlates.ResultsThree classes were found, a reference group (low CU, low anxiety; N = 500), a high CU-low anxiety group (N = 98), and an intermediate CU-high anxious group (N = 81). The high CU-low anxiety group scored highest on property offenses, while the intermediate CU-high anxious group scored highest on aggressive behavior. The intermediate CU-high anxious group scored highest on psychotic experiences, while the high CU group scored highest on internet gaming addiction problems and bullying victimization.ConclusionThese findings provide further evidence for diverse variants of CU traits in a high-risk community sample. Future prospective studies should point out whether and to what extent adolescents with CU traits with and without anxiety develop criminal careers and psychiatric disorders in adulthood.
| S-EPMC9297635 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Antisocial behavior (AB) in adolescence predicts problematic outcomes in adulthood. However, researchers have noted marked heterogeneity within the broad group of youth engaging in these destructive behaviors and have attempted to identify those with distinct etiologies and different trajectories of symptoms. In the present study, we evaluate 3 prominent AB subtyping approaches: age of onset, presence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits, and aggressive versus rule-breaking symptoms. We examined the overlap of these subtypes and their predictive validity in a diverse sample of 268 low-income young men followed prospectively from adolescence into emerging adulthood. We found that those with early starting AB were uniquely high on aggressive symptoms but not on CU traits. Early starting AB and both aggression and rule breaking measured during adolescence predicted most subsequent psychiatric and AB outcomes in early adulthood in univariate models, whereas CU traits were only predictive of adolescent arrests, later substance dependence diagnosis, and later CU traits. Finally, after accounting for shared variance among predictor variables, we found that aggressive symptoms explained the most unique variance in predicting several later outcomes (e.g., antisocial personality disorder) over and above other subtyping approaches. Results are discussed in relation to of the use of existing subtyping approaches to AB, noting that aggression and age of onset but not CU traits appear to be the best at predicting later negative outcome.
| S-EPMC4428963 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The serotonin system is thought to play a role in the aetiology of callous-unemotional (CU) traits in children. Previous research identified a functional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) from the promoter region of the serotonin 1B receptor gene as being associated with CU traits in boys with antisocial behaviour problems. This research tested the hypothesis that CU traits are associated with reduced methylation of the promoter region of the serotonin 1B receptor gene due to the influence of methylation on gene expression. Participants (N = 117) were boys with antisocial behaviour problems aged 3-16 years referred to University of New South Wales Child Behaviour Research Clinics. Participants volunteered a saliva sample from which the genotype of a SNP from the promoter region of the serotonin 1B receptor gene and the methylation levels of 30 CpG sites from 3 CpG regions surrounding the location of this polymorphism were assayed. Lower levels of serotonin 1B receptor gene methylation were associated with higher levels of CU traits. This relationship, however, was found to be moderated by genotype and carried exclusively by two CpG sites for which levels of methylation were negatively associated with overall methylation levels in this region of the gene. Results provide support to the emerging literature that argues for a genetically-driven system-wide alteration in serotonin function in the aetiology of CU traits. Furthermore, the results suggest that there may be two pathways to CU traits that involve methylation of the serotonin 1B receptor gene; one that is driven by a genotypic risk and another that is associated with risk for generally increased levels of methylation. Future research that aims to replicate and further investigate these results is required.
| S-EPMC4436296 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The aim of this study was to compare callous-unemotional (CU) traits versus the multidimensional psychopathy construct in their ability to predict future and stable antisocial behavior. At baseline, a community sample of 996 Cypriot 12-year old adolescents (52% girls) completed measures that tap conduct problems (CP) and psychopathic traits, including CU. CP, aggression, and substance use were self-reported at 1-3 year follow-ups. Youths were assigned to six mutually exclusive groups based on their baseline levels of CP and psychopathic traits. Youth with CP scoring high on all three psychopathic traits dimensions (Psychopathic Personality + CP) showed the most robust and highest risk for future and stable CP, aggression, and substance use, followed by youth who were high on all three psychopathic traits dimensions but displayed no concurrent CP (Psychopathic Personality Only) and CP youth with low levels of psychopathic traits (CP Only). Youth with CP who merely manifested callous-unemotional traits (Callous-Unemotional + CP) were only at risk for future CP. The findings suggest that the CU traits-based approach for subtyping children with CP is less informative compared to a subtyping approach using various psychopathic traits dimensions in predicting future and stable forms of various antisocial outcomes. These findings and their consistency with prior work indicate the need for additional research to examine the various psychopathic traits dimensions rather than focusing solely on CU traits, especially for CP subtyping purposes.
| S-EPMC5860126 | biostudies-literature