Does Feedback-Related Brain Response during Reinforcement Learning Predict Socio-motivational (In-)dependence in Adolescence?

This multi-methodological study applied functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate neural activation in a group of adolescent students (N = 88) during a probabilistic reinforcement learning task. We related patterns of emerging brain activity and individual learning rates to socio-motivational (in-)dependence manifested in four different motivation types (MTs): (1) peer-dependent MT, (2) teacher-dependent MT, (3) peer-and-teacher-dependent MT, (4) peer-and-teacher-independent MT. A multinomial regression analysis revealed that the individual learning rate predicts students’ membership to the independent MT, or the peer-and-teacher-dependent MT. Additionally, the striatum, a brain region associated with behavioral adaptation and flexibility, showed increased learning-related activation in students with motivational independence. Moreover, the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in behavioral control, was more active in students of the peer-and-teacher-dependent MT. Overall, this study offers new insights into the interplay of motivation and learning with (1) a focus on inter-individual differences in the role of peers and teachers as source of students’ individual motivation and (2) its potential neurobiological basis

Neural correlates of RDoC-specific cognitive processes in a high-functional autistic patient: a statistically validated case report

The level of functioning of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) varies widely. To better understand the neurobiological mechanism associated with high-functioning ASD, we studied the rare case of a female patient with an exceptional professional career in the highly competitive academic field of Mathematics. According to the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) approach, which proposes to describe the basic dimensions of functioning by integrating different levels of information, we conducted four fMRI experiments targeting the (1) social processes domain (Theory of mind (ToM) and face matching), (2) positive valence domain (reward processing), and (3) cognitive domain (N-back). Patient's data were compared to data of 14 healthy controls (HC). Additionally, we assessed the subjective experience of our case during the experiments. The patient showed increased response times during face matching and achieved a higher total gain in the Reward task, whereas her performance in N-back and ToM was similar to HC. Her brain function differed mainly in the positive valence and cognitive domains. During reward processing, she showed reduced activity in a left-hemispheric frontal network and cortical midline structures but increased connectivity within this network. During the working memory task patients' brain activity and connectivity in left-hemispheric temporo-frontal regions were elevated. In the ToM task, activity in posterior cingulate cortex and temporo-parietal junction was reduced. We suggest that the high level of functioning in our patient is rather related to the effects in brain connectivity than to local cortical information processing and that subjective report provides a fruitful framework for interpretation

Addiction Research Consortium: Losing and regaining control over drug intake (ReCoDe)—From trajectories to mechanisms and interventions

One of the major risk factors for global death and disability is alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use. While there is increasing knowledge with respect to individual factors promoting the initiation and maintenance of substance use disorders (SUDs), disease trajectories involved in losing and regaining control over drug intake (ReCoDe) are still not well described. Our newly formed German Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) on ReCoDe has an interdisciplinary approach funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with a 12-year perspective. The main goals of our research consortium are (i) to identify triggers and modifying factors that longitudinally modulate the trajectories of losing and regaining control over drug consumption in real life, (ii) to study underlying behavioral, cognitive, and neurobiological mechanisms, and (iii) to implicate mechanism-based interventions. These goals will be achieved by: (i) using mobile health (m-health) tools to longitudinally monitor the effects of triggers (drug cues, stressors, and priming doses) and modify factors (eg, age, gender, physical activity, and cognitive control) on drug consumption patterns in real-life conditions and in animal models of addiction; (ii) the identification and computational modeling of key mechanisms mediating the effects of such triggers and modifying factors on goal-directed, habitual, and compulsive aspects of behavior from human studies and animal models; and (iii) developing and testing interventions that specifically target the underlying mechanisms for regaining control over drug intake

Structural and functional correlates of neural emotion processing

Emotionen beeinflussen maßgeblich unsere menschliche Interaktion, Störungen der Emotionsverarbeitung zeigen sich bei vielen psychischen Erkrankungen wie z. B. Depressionen. In der Ätiologie von Depressionen geht man von verschiedenen Vulnerabilitätsfaktoren wie genetischen Faktoren, negativen frühkindlichen Erfahrungen oder Schwierigkeiten in sozialen Beziehungen aus, wobei die vorliegende Dissertation die neurobiologischen Grundlagen der Emotionsverarbeitung in Hinblick auf diese Einflussfaktoren im Hochrisiko- sowie normalpsychologischen Spektrum untersucht. Bei gesunden Angehörigen ersten Grades depressiver Patienten, die somit ein erhöhtes genetisches Risiko aufweisen an Depression zu erkranken, zeigte sich dabei ein erhöhtes Amygdalavolumen als ein möglicher Vulnerabilitätsmarker für Depressionen. Die Untersuchung normalpsychologischer Einflüsse auf neuronale Emotionsverarbeitungsprozesse in einer Gruppe gesunder Adoleszenter zeigte zudem, dass ein geringeres Ausmaß an mütterlicher Wärme und Unterstützung mit einer stärkeren Aktivität der Amygdala bei der Verarbeitung von Angst assoziiert war – ein Muster, dass man auch häufig in Patienten mit posttraumatischen Belastungsstörungen und Depressionen findet. Zudem konnte gezeigt werden, dass selbstreferentielle Prozesse während der Adoleszenz andere neuronale Netzwerke aktivieren als bisherige Befunde bei Erwachsenen nahelegen. Die zerebralen Aktivierungsmuster bieten zudem ein Erklärungsmodell für den starken Einfluss der Peer-Gruppe und die erhöhte Sensitivität für Zurückweisung während der Adoleszenz. Die vorliegenden Studien geben Hinweise auf mögliche Einflussfaktoren auf das emotionale Erleben und damit assoziierter Areale im Gehirn und bilden eine wichtige Grundlage für die Erklärung pathologischer Veränderungen bei psychiatrischen Erkrankungen.Emotions are at the basis of human interactions and disturbances in emotion processing are core features of many psychiatric disorders such as depression. A variety of vulnerability factors such as genetic factors, negative childhood experiences or difficulties in social relationships have been discussed in depression etiology. The present dissertation focused on the neurobiological basis of emotion processing with regard to these vulnerability factors in high risk adult as well as healthy adolescent samples. In a sample of healthy first degree relatives of depressed patients with an assumed higher risk of experiencing a depressive episode, we found an increased amygdala volume which might function as an intermediate phenotype for major depressive disorder. The second study examined the influence of normative variations of maternal parenting behavior on neural emotion processing within a sample of healthy adolescents. A higher amygdala activity was observed in response to fearful faces - a neural activation pattern that was previously found in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder and depression. The third study focused on self- referential processes in adolescents and points to differential neural activation patterns in adolescents compared to adults. Here, our findings might provide an explanatory model for the strong influence of the peer group in general as well as the increased sensitivity for peer rejection during adolescence. In summary, the present studies expand existing findings on influencing factors associated with emotion experiences and provide an important foundation for the explanation of emotion-related, pathological changes in brain functioning

Adolescents’ Personality Development – A Question of Psychosocial Stress

Following the relational-developmental systems approach, this three-wave study examines whether acute stress (T2) mediates the relationship between the development of personality traits from the beginning of 8th grade (T1, Mage = 15.63, SD = 0.59; 22 girls) to the end of 9th grade (T3). Using the Montréal Imaging Stress Task, which is a task that provokes acute social stress by negative social feedback, this study combined the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), heart rate, and longitudinal survey data of 41 adolescents. Mediation analysis revealed that stress-induced left insula activation partially mediates the longitudinal stability of conscientiousness. These results highlight the impact of negative social feedback during stress on students’ personality development

Do Belonging and Social Exclusion at School Affect Structural Brain Development During Adolescence?

Students’ sense of belonging presents an essential resource for academic and health outcomes, whereas social exclusion at school negatively impacts students’ well‐being and academic performance. Aiming to understand how feelings of school‐related belonging and exclusion shape the structural brain development, this study applied longitudinal questionnaire‐based data and MRI data from 71 adolescent students (37 females, Mage at t1 = 15.0; t2 = 16.1 years). All were white participants from Germany. Voxel‐based morphometry revealed only an association of social exclusion (and not of belonging) and gray matter volume in the left anterior insula: From t1 to t2, there was less gray matter decrease, the more social exclusion students perceived. School‐related social exclusion and disturbed neurodevelopment are thus significantly associated