Neural Impact of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage in Traumatically Injured Adults

Nearly 14 percent of Americans live in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood. Lower individual socioeconomic position (iSEP) has been linked to increased exposure to trauma and stress, as well as to alterations in brain structure and function; however, the neural effects of neighborhood SEP (nSEP) factors, such as neighborhood disadvantage, are unclear. Using a multi-modal approach with participants who recently experienced a traumatic injury (N = 185), we investigated the impact of neighborhood disadvantage, acute post-traumatic stress symptoms, and iSEP on brain structure and functional connectivity at rest. After controlling for iSEP, demographic variables, and acute PTSD symptoms, nSEP was associated with decreased volume and alterations of resting-state functional connectivity in structures implicated in affective processing, including the insula, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus. Even in individuals who have recently experienced a traumatic injury, and after accounting for iSEP, the impact of living in a disadvantaged neighborhood is apparent, particularly in brain regions critical for experiencing and regulating emotion. These results should inform future research investigating how various levels of socioeconomic circumstances may impact recovery after a traumatic injury as well as policies and community-developed interventions aimed at reducing the impact of socioeconomic stressors

Urban Sci

Background: Aim:To examine racial/ethnic variations in the effect of parents\u2019 subjective neighborhood safety on children\u2019s cognitive performance.Methods:This cross-sectional study included 10,027 children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The exposure variable was parents\u2019 subjective neighborhood safety. The outcomes were three domains of children\u2019s cognitive performance: general cognitive performance, executive functioning, and learning/memory. We used mixed-effects regression models for data analysis.Results:Overall, parents\u2019 subjective neighborhood safety was positively associated with children\u2019s executive functioning, but not general cognitive performance or learning/memory. Higher parents\u2019 subjective neighborhood safety had a more positive influence on the executive functioning of non-Hispanic White than Asian American children. Higher parents\u2019 subjective neighborhood safety was associated with higher general cognitive performance and learning/memory for non-White children relative to non-Hispanic White children.Conclusion:The race/ethnicity of children moderates the association between neighborhood safety and cognitive performance. This becomes more complicated, as the patterns seem to differ across race/ethnicity and cognitive domains. It is unknown whether the observed racial/ethnic variations in the effect of neighborhood safety on cognitive performance are due to neighborhood characteristics such as residential segregation. Addressing neighborhood inequalities is needed if we wish to reduce racial/ethnic inequities in the cognitive development of children.U24 DA041147/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/U01 DA041120/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/R01 DA035811/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/U01 DA041089/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/U01 DA041106/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/U01 DA041117/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/U01 DA041148/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/U54 MD008149/MD/NIMHD NIH HHSUnited States/U01 DA041174/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/U01 DA041093/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/R01 CA201415/CA/NCI NIH HHSUnited States/U24 DA041123/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/U54 MD007598/MD/NIMHD NIH HHSUnited States/U01 DA041134/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/U54 CA229974/CA/NCI NIH HHSUnited States/U01 CE002698/CE/NCIPC CDC HHSUnited States/U01 DA041156/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/U01 DA041028/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/U01 DA041048/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States

Neuroscience

Exposure to violence during childhood can lead to functional changes in brain regions that are important for emotion expression and regulation, which may increase susceptibility to internalizing disorders in adulthood. Specifically, childhood violence exposure can disrupt the functional connectivity among brain regions that include the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, and amygdala. Together, these regions are important for modulating autonomic responses to stress. However, it is unclear to what extent changes in brain connectivity relate to autonomic stress reactivity and how the relationship between brain connectivity and autonomic responses to stress varies with childhood violence exposure. Thus, the present study examined whether stress-induced changes in autonomic responses (e.g., heart rate, skin conductance level (SCL)) varied with amygdala-, hippocampus-, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)-whole brain resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) as a function of violence exposure. Two hundred and ninety-seven participants completed two resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans prior to (pre-stress) and after (post-stress) a psychosocial stress task. Heart rate and SCL were recorded during each scan. Post-stress heart rate varied negatively with post-stress amygdala-inferior parietal lobule rsFC and positively with post-stress hippocampus-anterior cingulate cortex rsFC among those exposed to high, but not low, levels of violence. Results from the present study suggest that post-stress fronto-limbic and parieto-limbic rsFC modulates heart rate and may underlie differences in the stress response among those exposed to high levels of violence.U19 DP002664/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/U48 DP000046/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/U19 DP002665/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/U48 DP000057/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/U19 DP002663/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/U48 DP000056/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/R01 MH098348/MH/NIMH NIH HHSUnited States

Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci

Chronic childhood stress is linked to greater susceptibility to internalizing disorders in adulthood. Specifically, chronic stress leads to changes in brain connectivity patterns, and, in turn, affects psychological functioning. Violence exposure, a chronic stressor, increases stress reactivity and disrupts emotion regulation processes. However, it is unclear to what extent violence exposure affects the neural circuitry underlying emotion regulation. Individual differences in affective style also moderate the impact of stress on psychological function and can thus alter the relationship between violence exposure and brain function. Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) is an index of intrinsic brain activity. Stress-induced changes in rsFC between the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex (PFC) are associated with emotion dysregulation and may elucidate how affective style modulates the relationship between violence exposure and brain connectivity. Therefore, the present study examined the impact of violence exposure and affective style on stress-induced changes in rsFC. Participants (n = 233) completed two 6-minute resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans, one before (pre-stress) and one after (post-stress) a psychosocial stress task. The bilateral amygdala, hippocampus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) were used as seed regions for rsFC analyses. Significant stress-induced changes in the prefrontal, fronto-limbic, and parieto-limbic rsFC were observed. Further, pre-stress to post-stress differences in rsFC varied with violence exposure and affective style. These findings suggest that prefrontal, fronto-limbic, and parieto-limbic connectivity is associated with the emotional response to stress and provide new insight into the neural mechanisms through which affective style moderates the impact violence exposure has on the brain.R01 MH098348/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesU48DP000057/CC/CDC HHS/United StatesMH098348/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States2021-12-01T00:00:00Z33000367PMC77183838772vault:3623

Neuroscience

Neighborhood disadvantage and community violence are common in poor, urban communities and are risk factors for emotional dysfunction. Emotional processes are supported by neural circuitry that includes the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus. These brain regions are connected by white matter pathways that include the cingulum bundle, uncinate fasciculus, stria terminalis, and fornix. Emotional function varies with the microstructure of these white matter pathways. However, it is not clear whether the microstructure of these pathways varies with risk factors for emotional dysfunction (e.g., neighborhood disadvantage and violence exposure). Therefore, determining the relationships between neighborhood disadvantage, violence exposure, and white matter microstructure may offer insight into the neural mechanisms by which adverse life experiences alter developing neural systems. The current study investigated the association that exposure to neighborhood disadvantage and violence have with the quantitative anisotropy (QA), a measure of the amount of directional water diffusion, of the cingulum bundle, uncinate fasciculus, stria terminalis, and fornix. Neighborhood disadvantage (M|\ua0=\ua011.20) and violence exposure (M|\ua0=\ua011.20; M|\ua0=\ua013.05; M|\ua0=\ua016.20; M|\ua0=\ua019.25) were assessed during adolescence and participants returned for magnetic resonance imaging as young adults (N\ua0=\ua0303; M|\ua0=\ua020.25, SD\ua0=\ua01.55), during which diffusion weighted brain images were collected. The QA of the cingulum bundle, uncinate fasciculus, and stria terminalis/fornix varied negatively with neighborhood disadvantage such that the QA of these white matter tracts decreased as neighborhood disadvantage increased. Violence exposure was not related to QA in any tract (i.e., cingulum bundle, uncinate fasciculus, and stria terminalis/fornix) after correction for multiple comparisons. These results suggest that an adolescent's neighborhood may play an important role in the microstructure (i.e., QA) of white matter pathways that connect brain regions that support emotional function.20212022-07-01T00:00:00ZU19 DP002664/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/U48 DP000046/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/U19 DP002663/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/U48 DP000056/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/R01 MH098348/MH/NIMH NIH HHSUnited States/U19 DP002665/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/F31 AA027137/AA/NIAAA NIH HHSUnited States/T32 NS061788/NS/NINDS NIH HHSUnited States/U48 DP000057/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/34004262PMC82173371158

An examination of the verbal behaviour of intergroup discrimination

This thesis examined relationships between psychological flexibility, psychological inflexibility, prejudicial attitudes, and dehumanization across three cross-sectional studies with an additional proposed experimental study. Psychological flexibility refers to mindful attention to the present moment, willing acceptance of private experiences, and engaging in behaviours congruent with one’s freely chosen values. Inflexibility, on the other hand, indicates a tendency to suppress unwanted thoughts and emotions, entanglement with one’s thoughts, and rigid behavioural patterns. Study 1 found limited correlations between inflexibility and sexism, racism, homonegativity, and dehumanization. Study 2 demonstrated more consistent positive associations between inflexibility and prejudice. And Study 3 controlled for right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, finding inflexibility predicted hostile sexism and racism beyond these factors. While showing some relationships, particularly with sexism and racism, psychological inflexibility did not consistently correlate with varied prejudices across studies. The proposed randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention to reduce sexism through enhanced psychological flexibility. Overall, findings provide mixed support for the utility of flexibility-based skills in addressing complex societal prejudices. Research should continue examining flexibility integrated with socio-cultural approaches to promote equity