Identifying the neural substrates of callous-unemotional traits in adolescents

描述（由申请人提供）：青少年的行为问题是一个严重的问题：青少年犯罪的可能性是青春期前儿童或成年人的三倍多，包括暴力犯罪。但是，青少年的行为问题仍然知之甚少，需要更有效的风险评估和预防战略。一套气质和行为特征，被称为冷酷无情的特征，共同构成了行为问题严重程度和频率增加的强烈风险因素，并可能持续到成年。冷酷无情的特征包括无所畏惧、缺乏同理心和冷漠的行为，比如攻击性。然而，知识差距仍然存在，因为没有研究评估有行为问题的儿童冷酷无情特征的神经基础。研究人员的长期目标是确定人类大脑中共情的神经基础，并了解将个体置于反社会行为高风险中的共情缺陷是如何出现的。本应用程序的目的是描述具有行为问题的儿童的冷酷无情特征的神经功能模式，并评估这些神经激活模式与共情的关系。第一个具体目标是在有行为问题的儿童的情绪处理任务中确定与冷酷无情特征相关的神经功能模式。功能磁共振成像（fMRI）将被用来测量健康儿童和有行为问题的儿童的神经活动，当他们看到可怕的面部表情时，他们的冷酷无情特征有所不同。先前的研究将冷酷无情的特征与处理恐惧相关刺激的障碍联系起来，比如恐惧的表情，这已被证明会引发同理心。第二个具体目标是确定与具有冷酷无情特征和行为问题的儿童共情反应相关的神经功能模式。当有行为问题的儿童和健康儿童完成一项任务时，将再次使用功能磁共振成像扫描来测量神经活动，该任务评估他们对在简短的书面场景中经历中度恐惧的角色的共情反应。我们假设，在共情相关刺激下，杏仁核和腹内侧前额叶皮层的低激活以及这些结构之间功能连接的减少与行为问题儿童的冷酷无情特征有关。这项拟议的研究不仅建立在PI之前的研究基础上，而且包括两个创新的新方向：1)识别神经活动和连接的差异，这些差异是有行为问题的儿童冷酷无情特征的基础；2)确定这些差异与移情缺陷的关系。这一点很重要，因为冷酷无情的性格特征是行为问题严重程度和持续时间显著增加的一个风险因素，因为只有在确定了青少年行为问题的明显原因后，才能成功地进行早期风险评估和预防。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Conduct problems in adolescence are a serious concern: adolescents are more than three times as likely to commit crimes, including violent crimes, than either pre-adolescent children or adults. But conduct problems in adolescents remain poorly understood and more effective risk assessment and prevention strategies are needed. A suite of temperamental and behavioral traits, referred to as callous-unemotional traits, together constitute a strong risk factor for increases in the severity and frequency of conduct problems and the likelihood that they will persist into adulthood. Callous-unemotional traits include fearlessness, a lack of empathy, and uncaring behaviors like aggression. However, a knowledge gap persists, in that no research has assessed the neural basis of callous-unemotional traits among children with conduct problems. The researchers' long-term goal is to identify the neural basis of empathy in the human brain, and to understand how empathy deficits emerge that place individuals at high risk for antisocial behavior. The objective of this application is to characterize the patterns of neural function that underlie callous-unemotional traits among children with conduct problems, and assess how these neural activation patterns relate to empathy. The first specific aim is to identify the patterns of neural functioning associated with callous-unemotional traits during an emotion processing task among children with conduct problems. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be used to measure neural activation in healthy children and in children with conduct problems who vary in callous-unemotional traits while the children view fearful facial expressions. Prior research links callous-unemotional traits with impairments in processing fear-relevant stimuli like fearful expressions, which have been demonstrated to elicit empathy. The second specific aim is to identify the patterns of neural functioning associated with empathic responding among children with callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems. fMRI scanning will again be used to measure neural activation while children with conduct problems and healthy children complete a task that assesses their empathic responses to characters experiencing moderate fear in short written scenarios. It is hypothesized that hypoactivation in the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex and reduced functional connectivity between these structures in response to empathy-relevant stimuli will be correlated with callous-unemotional traits among children with conduct problems. The proposed study not only builds upon the PI's previous research but includes two innovative new directions: 1) identifying differences in neural activity and connectivity that underlie callous-unemotional traits among children with conduct problems, and 2) determining how these differences are related to deficits in empathy. This is important because callous-unemotional traits represent a risk factor for significance increases in the severity and duration of conduct problems, and because success in early risk assessment and prevention can only occur if the distinct causes of conduct problems in adolescence are identified. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed research is expected to have a positive impact on the understanding of the causes of conduct problems in children and adolescents. It will be the first to identify the patterns of neural functioning that are associated with callous-unemotional traits, which constitute a risk factor for increases in the severity, duration, and resistance to treatment of conduct problems. This is a critical step towards identifying the cause of severe conduct problems in adolescence, which is in turn critical to success in the early risk assessment and prevention of conduct problems.