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Chronic stress and executive function in children: a neuroimaging study of twins

儿童的慢性压力和执行功能：双胞胎的神经影像学研究

基本信息

批准号：
9038394
负责人：
Jessica Alice Church-Lang
金额：
$ 19.29万
依托单位：
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2015
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2015-04-01 至 2018-03-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9038394
关键词：
Academic achievement Academic skills Accounting Achievement Adult Affect Attention Behavior Behavioral Genetics Biological Biological Markers Biological Neural Networks Brain Brain region Censuses Characteristics Child Childhood Chronic Chronic stress Conflict (Psychology)Data Data Set Development Dimensions Disadvantaged Discipline Dizygotic Twins Ecology Economics Employment Endocrine Endocrinology Environment Equation Exhibits Exploratory/Developmental Grant Exposure to Family Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Genes Genetic Genetic Models Genetic Variation Genetic screening method Glucocorticoid Receptor Goals Hair Health Hormones Human Hydrocortisone Impairment Individual Inequality Intervention Learning Life Cycle Stages Link Long-Term Effects MRI Scans Measures Mediating Mediation Mediator of activation protein Mental Health Methods Modeling Monozygotic twins Neighborhoods Neurosciences Outcome Parents Pathway interactions Patient Self-Report Pattern Perception Performance Persons Physiological Policies Population Population Heterogeneity Poverty Process Reporting Research Rest Risk Role Sampling Schools Shapes Short-Term Memory Signal Transduction Stimulus Stress Techniques Technology Testing Transcript Twin Multiple Birth Twin Studies Update Variant base biological adaptation to stress deprivation design early childhood endophenotype executive function experience genetic analysis hydrocortisone receptor hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis indexing innovation neurobiological mechanism neuroimaging neuropsychological novel physical conditioning receptor density relating to nervous system response social steroid hormone stress reactivity stressor

项目摘要

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The experience of chronic stressors in early childhood, such as family poverty, neighborhood and school chaos, and family conflict have substantial negative consequences for life course physical and mental health, academic achievement, and ultimate social, educational, and economic attainment. With this proposal, we focus on neurobiological mechanisms that link chronic stress associated with family, neighborhood, and school disadvantage to impaired academic achievement. We hypothesize that the association between chronic stress and academic achievement is mediated by the effects of cortisol on executive functions. Executive functions are regulatory processes that support the acquisition of academic skills by allowing the learner to store information temporarily, adapt to task demands, and pay attention to relevant stimuli. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies indicate that the child brain exhibits characteristic patterns of activation during executive functioning tasks. Many of these same regions have high concentrations of glucocorticoid receptors. Thus, stress-related disruptions in cortisol function are likely to affect the neural bases of executive functions. Cortisol is typically conceptualized s a mediator of the effects of environmental stress; however, genes also influence cortisol function. No previous study has comprehensively tested whether mechanisms underlying cortisol-achievement associations are purely environmental and whether, additionally or alternatively, cortisol is a physiological endophenotype that mediates genetic influences on executive functions and academic achievement. The proposed research will combine cutting-edge methods and technologies from endocrinology and neuroscience with well-developed methods from human ecology and behavioral genetics to explore the associations between chronic stress, cortisol, executive functions, and achievement. We will collect socioecological data, hair cortisol samples, executive function data, and school transcript achievement outcomes from a diverse and population-representative sample of 300 twins (150 pairs, 50% monozygotic) in grade 3, half of whom (N=150 twins from 75 pairs) will participate in fMRI scanning during performance of executive function tasks. This highly innovative and cross-disciplinary approach will allow us to: (1) Test the magnitude and shape of associations between hair cortisol and key study variables - socioecological stress, executive functions, and academic achievement; (2)Test a multivariate model of the mediating roles of cortisol and executive functions on the association between stress and achievement; and (3) Estimate the extent to which key pathways identified in the mediation model occur via genetic and/or environmental mechanisms.