Behavioral and neural responses to social rejection: Individual differences in developmental trajectories across childhood and adolescence

Dealing with social rejection is challenging, especially during childhood when behavioral and neural responses to social rejection are still developing. In the current longitudinal study, we used a Bayesian multilevel growth curve model to describe individual differences in the development of behavioral and neural responses to social rejection in a large sample (n > 500). We found a peak in aggression following negative feedback (compared to neutral feedback) during late childhood, as well as individual differences during this developmental phase, possibly suggesting a sensitive window for dealing with social rejection across late childhood. Moreover, we found evidence for individual differences in the linear development of neural responses to social rejection in our three brain regions of interest: The anterior insula, the medial prefrontal cortex, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In addition to providing insights in the individual trajectories of dealing with social rejection during childhood, this study also makes a meaningful methodological contribution: Our statistical analysis strategy (and online supplementary information) can be used as an example on how to take into account the many complexities of developmental neuroimaging datasets, while still enabling researchers to answer interesting questions about individual-level relationships

Developmental patterns and individual differences in responding to social feedback: A longitudinal fMRI study from childhood to adolescence

Learning to control behavior when receiving feedback underlies social adaptation in childhood and adolescence,and is potentially strengthened by environmental support factors, such as parents. This study examined theneural development of responding to social feedback from childhood to adolescence, and effects of parentalsensitivity on this development. We studied these questions in a 3-wave longitudinal fMRI sample (ages 7–13years, n = 512). We measured responses to feedback using the fMRI Social Network Aggression Task throughnoise blasts following peer feedback and associated neural activity, and parental sensitivity using observations ofparent-child interactions during Etch-a-Sketch. Results revealed largest reductions in noise blasts followingpositive feedback between middle and late childhood and following negative feedback between late childhoodand early adolescence. Additionally, brain-behavior associations between dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation and noise blast durations became more differentiated across development. Parental sensitivity was onlyassociated with noise blast duration following positive feedback in childhood, but not in adolescence. There wasno relation between parental sensitivity and neural activity. Our findings contribute to our understanding ofneural development and individual differences in responding to social feedback, and the role of parenting insupporting children’s adaption to social feedback

Development of social feedback processing and responses in childhood:an fMRI test-replication design in two age cohorts

This study investigated behavioral and neural correlates underlying social feedback processing and subsequent aggressive behaviors in childhood in two age cohorts (test sample: n = 509/n = 385 and replication sample: n = 354/n = 195, 7-9 years old). Using a previously validated Social Network Aggression Task, we showed that negative social feedback resulted in most behavioral aggression, followed by less aggression after neutral and least aggression after positive feedback. Receiving positive and negative social feedback was associated with increased activity in the insula, medial prefrontal cortex and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Responding to feedback was associated with additional activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) following positive feedback. This DLPFC activation correlated negatively with aggression. Furthermore, age analyses showed that older children showed larger reductions in aggression following positive feedback and more neural activation in the DLPFC when responding to positive feedback compared to younger children. To assess the robustness of our results, we examined these processes in two independent behavioral/functional magnetic resonance imaging samples using equivalence testing, thereby contributing to replicable reports. Together, these findings demonstrate an important role of social saliency and regulatory processes where regulation of aggression rapidly develops between the ages of 7 and 9 years.</p

Neural and behavioral signatures of social evaluation and adaptation in childhood and adolescence: The Leiden consortium on individual development (L-CID)

The transition period between early childhood and late adolescence is characterized by pronounced changes in social competence, or the capacity for flexible social adaptation. Here, we propose that two processes, self-control and prosociality, are crucial for social adaptation following social evaluation. We present a neurobehavioral model showing commonalities in neural responses to experiences of social acceptance and rejection, and multiple pathways for responding to social context. The Leiden Consortium on Individual Development (L-CID) provides a comprehensive approach towards understanding the longitudinal developmental pathways of, and social enrichment effects on, social competence, taking into account potential differential effects of such enrichment. Using Neurosynth based brain maps we point towards the medial prefrontal cortex as an important region integrating social cognition, self-referential processing and self-control for learning to respond flexibly to changing social contexts. Based on their role in social evaluation processing, we suggest to examine medial prefrontal cortex connections with lateral prefrontal cortex and the ventral striatum as potential neural differential susceptibility markers, in addition to previously established markers of differential susceptibility

Dobbelaar et al., Development of retaliatory responses in childhood

Region of interest from the noise blast even in the MCC test sample. Reported in: Dobbelaar, S., Achterberg, M., Van Drunen, L., Van Duijvenvoorde, A.C.K., Van IJzendoorn, M.H., &amp; Crone, E.A. Development of retaliatory responses in childhood: an fMRI test-replication design in two age cohorts

A bi-dimensional taxonomy of social responsivity in middle childhood: Prosociality and reactive aggression predict externalizing behavior over time

Simone Dobbelaar, Anna C.K. van Duijvenvoorde, Michelle Achterberg, Mara van der Meulen, Eveline A. Crone. Frontiers in Psychology

Behavioral and neural responses to social rejection:Individual differences in developmental trajectories across childhood and adolescence

Dealing with social rejection is challenging, especially during childhood when behavioral and neural responses to social rejection are still developing. In the current longitudinal study, we used a Bayesian multilevel growth curve model to describe individual differences in the development of behavioral and neural responses to social rejection in a large sample (n &gt; 500). We found a peak in aggression following negative feedback (compared to neutral feedback) during late childhood, as well as individual differences during this developmental phase, possibly suggesting a sensitive window for dealing with social rejection across late childhood. Moreover, we found evidence for individual differences in the linear development of neural responses to social rejection in our three brain regions of interest: The anterior insula, the medial prefrontal cortex, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In addition to providing insights in the individual trajectories of dealing with social rejection during childhood, this study also makes a meaningful methodological contribution: Our statistical analysis strategy (and online supplementary information) can be used as an example on how to take into account the many complexities of developmental neuroimaging datasets, while still enabling researchers to answer interesting questions about individual-level relationships.</p

Genetic and environmental influences on structural brain development from childhood to adolescence: A longitudinal twin study on cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volume

The human brain undergoes structural development from childhood to adolescence, with specific regions in the sensorimotor, social, and affective networks continuing to grow into adulthood. Genetic and environmental factors may lead to individual differences in these brain trajectories, but it is understudied to what extent. The present longitudinal study used up to three biennial MRI scans (n=485) to assess the extent of genetic and environmental effects on brain structure (age 7) and development (ages 7-14) in sensorimotor, social, and affective network regions. Heritability estimates varied across brain regions. All regions were genetically influenced (ranging from 18-59%), with additional shared environmental factors affecting the primary motor cortex (30%), somatosensory cortex (35%), DLPFC (5%), TPJ (17%), STS (17%), precuneus (10%), hippocampus (22%), amygdala (5%), and nucleus accumbens (10%). Surface area was more genetically driven (38%) compared to cortical thickness (14%). Longitudinal brain changes were primarily driven by genetics (ranging from 1-29%), though shared environment factors (additionally) influenced the somatosensory cortex (11%), DLPFC (7%), cerebellum (28%), TPJ (16%), STS (20%), and hippocampus (17%). Surface area development had a higher shared environmental contribution (12%) than cortical thickness (6%). These findings underscore the need for further exploration of brain-behavior associations and the role of enriched and deprived environments from childhood to adolescence. Ultimately, our study can inform interventions to support children's development

Preregistration: Genetic and environmental influences on structural brain development: A longitudinal twin study of changes in cortical thickness, surface area and subcortical volume

The human brain shows structural growth between childhood and adolescence, the timing of these developmental trajectories vary regionally. However, although individual differences in developmental patterns are observed it is not fully understood to what extent brain developmental trajectories of these regions are influenced by genetic and environmental factors and how these may change of the course of development. The present preregistered study will include a longitudinal twin sample using up to three MRI assessments of 7-14-year-olds. We will assess whether different morphological aspects of brain regions in the social, affective and sensorimotor network vary in heritability estimates of brain structure in childhood