Brain morphology of childhood aggressive behavior: A multi-informant study in school-age children

Objective: Few studies have focused on the neuroanatomy of aggressive behavior in children younger than 10 years. Here, we explored the neuroanatomical correlates of aggression in a population-based sample of 6- to 9-year-old children using a multiple-informant approach. Methods: Magnetic resonance (MR) scans were acquired from 566 children from the Generation R study who participated in the Berkeley Puppet Interview and whose parents had completed the Child Behavior Checklist. Linear regression analyses were used to examine associations between aggression and amygdala and hippocampal volume. We performed surface-based analyses to study the association between aggression and cortical thickness, surface area, and gyrification. Results: Aggressive behavior was associated with smaller amygdala (p <.05) but not hippocampal volume. Aggression was associated with a thinner cortex in the left precentral cortex (p <.01) and in a cluster including the right inferior parietal, supramarginal, and postcentral cortex (p <.001). Gender moderated the association between aggression and cortical thickness in the right medial posterior cortex (p =.001) and the right prefrontal cortex (p <.001). Aggression was associated with decreased gyrification in a large cluster including the right precentral, postcentral, frontal, and parietal cortex (p =.01). Moreover, aggression was associated with decreased gyrification in the right occipital and parietal cortex (p =.02). Conclusion: We found novel evidence that childhood aggressive behavior is related to decreased amygdala volume, decreased sensorimotor cortical thickness, and decreased global right hemisphere gyrification. Aggression is related to cortical thickness in regions associated with the default mode network, with negative associations in boys and positive associations in girls

Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) regulates shedding of TNF-α receptor 1 by the metalloprotease-disintegrin ADAM8: evidence for a protease-regulated feedback loop in neuroprotection

Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) is a potent cytokine in neurodegenerative disorders, but its precise role in particular brain disorders is ambiguous. In motor neuron (MN) disease of the mouse, exemplified by the model wobbler (WR), TNF-α causes upregulation of the metalloprotease-disintegrin ADAM8 (A8) in affected brain regions, spinal cord, and brainstem. The functional role of A8 during MN degeneration in the wobbler CNS was investigated by crossing WR with A8-deficient mice: a severely aggravated neuropathology was observed for A8-deficient WR compared with WR A8+/− mice, judged by drastically reduced survival [7 vs 81% survival at postnatal day 50 (P50)], accelerated force loss in the forelimbs, and terminal akinesis. In vitro protease assays using soluble A8 indicated specific cleavage of a TNF-α receptor 1 (p55 TNF-R1) but not a TNF-R2 peptide. Cleavage of TNF-R1 was confirmed in situ, because levels of soluble TNF-R1 were increased in spinal cords of standard WR compared with wild-type mice but not in A8-deficient WR mice. In isolated primary neurons and microglia, TNF-α-induced TNF-R1 shedding was dependent on the A8 gene dosage. Furthermore, exogenous TNF-α showed higher toxicity for cultured neurons from A8-deficient than for those from wild-type mice, demonstrating that TNF-R1 shedding by A8 is neuroprotective. Our results indicate an essential role for ADAM8 in modulating TNF-α signaling in CNS diseases: a feedback loop integrating TNF-α, ADAM8, and TNF-R1 shedding as a plausible mechanism for TNF-α mediated neuroprotection in situ and a rationale for therapeutic intervention

Neuroanatomical correlates of donating behavior in middle childhood

The neurobiological correlates of prosocial behavior are largely unknown. We examined brain structure and functional connectivity correlates of donating to a charity, a specific, costly, form of prosocial behavior. In 163 children, donating was measured using a promotional clip for a charity including a call for donations. Children could decide privately whether and how much they wanted to donate from money they had received earlier. Whole brain structural MRI scans were obtained to study associations between cortical thickness and donating behavior. In addition, resting state functional MRI scans were obtained to study whole brain functional connectivity and to examine functional connectivity between regions identified using structural MRI. In the lateral orbitofrontal cortex/pars orbitalis and pre-/postcentral cortex, a thicker cortex was associated with higher donations. Functional connectivity with these regions was not associated with donating behavior. These results suggest that donating behavior is not only situationally driven, but is also related brain morphology. The absence of functional connectivity correlates might imply that the associations with cortical thickness are involved in different underlying mechanisms of donating

Anxiety and Social Responsiveness Moderate the Effect of Situational Demands on Children’s Donating Behavior

This study examined dispositional and situational correlates of donating behavior in a sample of 221 eight-year-old children. Children were shown a promotional clip for a charity, including a donation call. For a random half of the children, the video fragment ended with a probe of a same-sex peer donating money to the charity. Seeing a peer donate was associated with higher donations. Empathy and inhibition were not related to donating. Anxiety and social responsiveness moderated the effect of the situational manipulation on donating. Anxious children and children with less social responsiveness problems donated more after seeing the donating peer than did less anxious children and children with more social responsiveness problems. Moreover, in absence of the donating peer, anxious children donated less money than did less anxious children. Our results indicate that donating behavior is dependent on situational demands, and the situational effect differs depending on children’s levels of anxiety or social responsiveness

The honest truth about deception: Demographic, cognitive, and neural correlates of child repeated deceptive behavior

Development Psychopathology in context: famil

Brain morphology of childhood aggressive behavior: A multi-informant study in school-age children

Objective: Few studies have focused on the neuroanatomy of aggressive behavior in children younger than 10 years. Here, we explored the neuroanatomical correlates of aggression in a population-based sample of 6- to 9-year-old children using a multiple-informant approach. Methods: Magnetic resonance (MR) scans were acquired from 566 children from the Generation R study who participated in the Berkeley Puppet Interview and whose parents had completed the Child Behavior Checklist. Linear regression analyses were used to examine associations between aggression and amygdala and hippocampal volume. We performed surface-based analyses to study the association between aggression and cortical thickness, surface area, and gyrification. Results: Aggressive behavior was associated with smaller amygdala (p <.05) but not hippocampal volume. Aggression was associated with a thinner cortex in the left precentral cortex (p <.01) and in a cluster including the right inferior parietal, supramarginal, and postcentral cortex (p <.001). Gender moderated the association between aggression and cortical thickness in the right medial posterior cortex (p =.001) and the right prefrontal cortex (p <.001). Aggression was associated with decreased gyrification in a large cluster including the right precentral, postcentral, frontal, and parietal cortex (p =.01). Moreover, aggression was associated with decreased gyrification in the right occipital and parietal cortex (p =.02). Conclusion: We found novel evidence that childhood aggressive behavior is related to decreased amygdala volume, decreased sensorimotor cortical thickness, and decreased global right hemisphere gyrification. Aggression is related to cortical thickness in regions associated with the default mode network, with negative associations in boys and positive associations in girls

Cortical Structures Associated With Sports Participation in Children: A Population-Based Study

<p>We studied cortical morphology in relation to sports participation and type of sport using a large sample of healthy children (<i>n</i> = 911). Sports participation data was collected through a parent-reported questionnaire. Magnetic resonance scans were acquired, and different morphological brain features were quantified. Global volumetric measures were not associated with sports participation. We observed thicker cortex in motor and premotor areas associated with sports participation. In boys, team sports participation, relative to individual sports, was related to thinner cortex in prefrontal brain areas involved in the regulation of behaviors. This study showed a relationship between sports participation and brain maturation.</p