Neural activation during processing of emotional faces as a function of resilience in adolescents

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 34, pp. 2943–2955

Abstract

Neuroimaging studies suggest that resilience to adversity is linked to reduced emotional reactivity or enhanced emotion regulation. However, such studies are scarce and mainly use adult samples and categorical definitions of resilience. Using a novel, data-driven approach to define resilience dimensionally, based on cumulative adversity exposure across childhood and psychopathology, we investigated associations between resilience and brain activation during facial emotion processing in youth. We also tested for sex differences in the relationship between resilience and brain activation. fMRI data were acquired from 208 youths (aged 9-18 years; Mean age = 13.28), while viewing angry, fearful, and neutral faces. Whole-brain analyses were performed, followed by region-of-interest analyses focusing on the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. Resilience was positively correlated with bilateral inferior frontal gyrus responses to fearful (versus neutral) faces, and negatively correlated with right superior temporal gyrus, left hippocampal, and right inferior frontal gyrus responses to neutral faces (versus fixation). Sex-by-resilience interactions were observed in the medial prefrontal cortex: males showed positive, while females showed negative, associations between resilience and brain activation, though these results did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. These findings provide further evidence that resilience in youth is associated with enhanced emotion regulation at a neural level.

Authors 17

1. Steve Eaton corresponding

   University of Bath

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychology, University of Bath, 10 West, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK. eatons@cardiff.ac.uk

2. Harriet Cornwell

   University of Bath

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychology, University of Bath, 10 West, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK

3. Jack C Rogers

   University of Birmingham

   Affiliation as printed

   School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

4. Stéphane A. De Brito

   University of Birmingham

   Affiliation as printed

   School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

5. Nicola Toschi

   University of Rome Tor Vergata

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome 'Tor Vergata', Rome, Italy

6. Christina Stadler

   University of Zurich

   Affiliation as printed

   Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

7. Nora Maria Raschle

   University of Zurich

   Affiliation as printed

   Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

8. Kerstin Konrad Aachen Child Neuropsychology Section Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

   Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany

9. Gregor Kohls

   Technische Universität Dresden

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TUD Dresden University of Technology, German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ), Partner site Leipzig/Dresden, Dresden, Germany

10. Areti Smaragdi
    Affiliation as printed

    Child Development Institute, Toronto, Canada

11. Karen González-Madruga

    King's College London

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK

12. Maaike Oosterling

    University of Bath

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Psychology, University of Bath, 10 West, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK

13. Anne Martinelli

    Goethe University Frankfurt · University Hospital Frankfurt · Hochschule Fresenius

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany

    School of Psychology, Fresenius University of Applied Sciences, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany

14. Anka Bernhard

    Goethe University Frankfurt · University Hospital Frankfurt

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany

15. Christine Margarete Freitag

    Goethe University Frankfurt · University Hospital Frankfurt

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany

16. Catherine E. Hamilton-Giachritsis

    University of Bath

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Psychology, University of Bath, 10 West, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK

17. Graeme F. Fairchild

    University of Bath

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Psychology, University of Bath, 10 West, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK