The developmental course of illicit substance use from age 12 to 22: links with depressive, anxiety, and behavior disorders at age 18

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72027/1/j.1469-7610.2008.01915.x.pd

The effects of verbal information and approach-avoidance training on children's fear-related responses.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES This study examined the effects of verbal information and approach-avoidance training on fear-related cognitive and behavioural responses about novel animals. METHODS One hundred and sixty children (7-11 years) were randomly allocated to receive: a) positive verbal information about one novel animal and threat information about a second novel animal (verbal information condition); b) approach-avoidance training in which they repeatedly pushed away (avoid) or pulled closer (approach) pictures of the animals (approach-avoidance training), c) a combined condition in which verbal information was given prior to approach-avoidance training (verbal information + approach-avoidance training) and d) a combined condition in which approach-avoidance training was given prior to verbal information (approach-avoidance training + verbal information). RESULTS Threat and positive information significantly increased and decreased fear beliefs and avoidance behaviour respectively. Approach-avoidance training was successful in training the desired behavioural responses but had limited effects on fear-related responses. Verbal information and both combined conditions resulted in significantly larger effects than approach-avoidance training. We found no evidence for an additive effect of these pathways. LIMITATIONS This study used a non-clinical sample and focused on novel animals rather than animals about which children already had experience or established fears. The study also compared positive information/approach with threat information/avoid training, limiting specific conclusions regarding the independent effects of these conditions. CONCLUSIONS The present study finds little evidence in support of a possible causal role for behavioural response training in the aetiology of childhood fear. However, the provision of verbal information appears to be an important pathway involved in the aetiology of childhood fear

Peer Victimization and Neurobiological Models: Building Toward Comprehensive Developmental Theories

The articles in this special issue represent progress toward a more comprehensive developmental model of peer victimization and neurobiology. In this commentary, we highlight features of each article that reveal nuances in such a developmental model as related to sex, form of peer victimization, developmental course and period, and neurobiological response system and stimulus. We also encourage further research with an emphasis on longitudinal studies that cross developmental periods and elucidate directions of causality and mechanisms of change, expanded attention to individual and environmental variables that may explain or contextualize effects, assessments of multiple neurobiological systems, and tests of replication, as well as innovation. We acknowledge the challenges of such research and thank the authors for their important contributions to the literature on peer victimization and neurobiology

Parasympathetic functioning and sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of parasympathetic nervous system activity, has been linked with sleep quality among children with neurotypical development. The current study extended examination of these processes to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a group at considerable risk for sleep problems. Participants included 54 children with ASD (aged 6-10 years, 43% Hispanic). RSA data were collected via a wired MindWare system during a 3-min baseline and a 3-min challenge task. Parents reported on their childrens sleep problems and sleep duration using the Childrens Sleep Habits Questionnaire, Abbreviated. Although no significant correlations emerged between RSA indices and parent-reported child sleep, baseline RSA and RSA reactivity interacted in the prediction of sleep problems. For children with higher RSA reactivity, higher baseline RSA was associated with fewer sleep problems, but for children with lower RSA reactivity, baseline RSA was not predictive. No main effects or interactions of RSA predicted sleep duration. Findings suggest resilience against sleep problems for children with ASD presenting with higher baseline RSA and higher RSA reactivity. Implications of these results center upon directly targeting psychophysiology (i.e., parasympathetic nervous system regulation) as a possible mechanism to improve sleep in children with ASD, and developing personalized interventions based on physiological markers of risk and resilience

Neurophysiological differences in the adolescent brain following a single night of restricted sleep – A 7T fMRI study

Sleep deprivation in youth has garnered international attention in recent years, as correlational studies have demonstrated significant relationships between lack of sleep and detrimental behavioral and academic outcomes. However, no study to date has systematically examined the neurophysiological consequences of a single night of sleep restriction (i.e., 4 h) in adolescents using ultra-high field functional neuroimaging. Much of what we know regarding the neural consequences of sleep deprivation has come from the adult literature, and among those studies, the majority use region of interest (ROI) approaches, thus disregarding the dynamic mechanisms that may subserve the behavioral effects of sleep restriction. Leveraging a crossover within-subjects design, we demonstrate that pivotal brain regions involved in the default mode and limbic regulatory centers have disrupted functioning following a night of restricted sleep compared to a night of “normal sleep”. Specifically, a normal night (i.e., 8 h) of sleep led to increased global and local efficiency of bilateral amygdala, and less efficiency in the posterior cingulate, as measured by graph theory, compared to a night of sleep restriction. Furthermore, aberrant functional connectivity patterns were identified in key fronto-limbic circuitry, suggesting a potential pathophysiological mechanism underlying the widespread effects of sleep deprivation in youth