Anxiety, fear extinction, and threat-related amygdala reactivity in children exposed to urban trauma
Introduction Childhood trauma is strongly associated with fear-related psychopathology, like anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Atypical fear extinction and neural responses to social threat (i.e., negative emotional faces) may serve as intermediate phenotypes preceding the emergence...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Journal of Experimental Psychopathology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20438087221132501 |
| _version_ | 1811182252873220096 |
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| author | John M. France BS Mariam Reda BS Hilary A. Marusak PhD Manessa Riser BS Charis N. Wiltshire BS William M. Davie BS Lana Ruvolo Grasser PhD Cassandra P. Wanna BS Anaïs F. Stenson PhD Timothy D. Ely BS Seth D. Norrholm PhD Jennifer S. Stevens PhD Tanja Jovanovic PhD |
| author_facet | John M. France BS Mariam Reda BS Hilary A. Marusak PhD Manessa Riser BS Charis N. Wiltshire BS William M. Davie BS Lana Ruvolo Grasser PhD Cassandra P. Wanna BS Anaïs F. Stenson PhD Timothy D. Ely BS Seth D. Norrholm PhD Jennifer S. Stevens PhD Tanja Jovanovic PhD |
| author_sort | John M. France BS |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction Childhood trauma is strongly associated with fear-related psychopathology, like anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Atypical fear extinction and neural responses to social threat (i.e., negative emotional faces) may serve as intermediate phenotypes preceding the emergence of fear-related psychopathology during childhood and adolescence. However, few studies have examined associations among these phenotypes in trauma-exposed youth. Methods 29 9-year-old children with high rates of trauma exposure (Mdn = 4, min = 0, max= 14 total events) completed a fear-potentiated startle paradigm assessing fear conditioning and extinction and an emotional faces functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task assessing neural responses to fearful and neutral faces. Results Overall amygdala response was positively associated with anxiety (peak coordinates: x = −30, y = −6, z = −24; Z = 3.54; pFWE corrected = 0.011; k = 24 voxels) and fear-potentiated startle during early extinction (peak coordinates x = 28, y = −6, z = −18; Z = 3.50; pFWE corrected = 0.012; k = 19 voxels). Across the session, amygdala reactivity to fearful faces increased (F(1, 29) = 4.427, p = .044) and was positively associated with fear-potentiated startle during early extinction (r = .56, p = .002). Conclusions We found a positive association between increasing amygdala response to threatening faces and fear load, that is, heightened fear-potentiated startle during early extinction, in trauma-exposed children. These fear-based intermediate phenotypes may share underlying amygdala circuits, such that hyperactivity may represent an early marker of anxiety risk in trauma-exposed youth. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:29:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ef51c84f8c8d4da6b4599a8df40e961f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2043-8087 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:29:34Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Experimental Psychopathology |
| spelling | doaj.art-ef51c84f8c8d4da6b4599a8df40e961f2022-12-22T04:31:57ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Experimental Psychopathology2043-80872022-10-011310.1177/20438087221132501Anxiety, fear extinction, and threat-related amygdala reactivity in children exposed to urban traumaJohn M. France BSMariam Reda BSHilary A. Marusak PhDManessa Riser BSCharis N. Wiltshire BSWilliam M. Davie BSLana Ruvolo Grasser PhDCassandra P. Wanna BSAnaïs F. Stenson PhDTimothy D. Ely BSSeth D. Norrholm PhDJennifer S. Stevens PhDTanja Jovanovic PhDIntroduction Childhood trauma is strongly associated with fear-related psychopathology, like anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Atypical fear extinction and neural responses to social threat (i.e., negative emotional faces) may serve as intermediate phenotypes preceding the emergence of fear-related psychopathology during childhood and adolescence. However, few studies have examined associations among these phenotypes in trauma-exposed youth. Methods 29 9-year-old children with high rates of trauma exposure (Mdn = 4, min = 0, max= 14 total events) completed a fear-potentiated startle paradigm assessing fear conditioning and extinction and an emotional faces functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task assessing neural responses to fearful and neutral faces. Results Overall amygdala response was positively associated with anxiety (peak coordinates: x = −30, y = −6, z = −24; Z = 3.54; pFWE corrected = 0.011; k = 24 voxels) and fear-potentiated startle during early extinction (peak coordinates x = 28, y = −6, z = −18; Z = 3.50; pFWE corrected = 0.012; k = 19 voxels). Across the session, amygdala reactivity to fearful faces increased (F(1, 29) = 4.427, p = .044) and was positively associated with fear-potentiated startle during early extinction (r = .56, p = .002). Conclusions We found a positive association between increasing amygdala response to threatening faces and fear load, that is, heightened fear-potentiated startle during early extinction, in trauma-exposed children. These fear-based intermediate phenotypes may share underlying amygdala circuits, such that hyperactivity may represent an early marker of anxiety risk in trauma-exposed youth.https://doi.org/10.1177/20438087221132501 |
| spellingShingle | John M. France BS Mariam Reda BS Hilary A. Marusak PhD Manessa Riser BS Charis N. Wiltshire BS William M. Davie BS Lana Ruvolo Grasser PhD Cassandra P. Wanna BS Anaïs F. Stenson PhD Timothy D. Ely BS Seth D. Norrholm PhD Jennifer S. Stevens PhD Tanja Jovanovic PhD Anxiety, fear extinction, and threat-related amygdala reactivity in children exposed to urban trauma Journal of Experimental Psychopathology |
| title | Anxiety, fear extinction, and threat-related amygdala reactivity in children exposed to urban trauma |
| title_full | Anxiety, fear extinction, and threat-related amygdala reactivity in children exposed to urban trauma |
| title_fullStr | Anxiety, fear extinction, and threat-related amygdala reactivity in children exposed to urban trauma |
| title_full_unstemmed | Anxiety, fear extinction, and threat-related amygdala reactivity in children exposed to urban trauma |
| title_short | Anxiety, fear extinction, and threat-related amygdala reactivity in children exposed to urban trauma |
| title_sort | anxiety fear extinction and threat related amygdala reactivity in children exposed to urban trauma |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20438087221132501 |
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