Dimensions of Early Adversity as Distinct Predictors of Adolescent Brain Development

[摘要] Understanding the development of neural circuitry underlying socioemotional function, as well as how this development may be altered by early adversity, is essential for informing prevention and intervention approaches that can be used to improve outcomes for children and families. The aim of this dissertation is to explore the relations between brain structure and function across levels of socioemotional function, as well as the distinct effects of childhood violence exposure and social deprivation on adolescent brain function and internalizing psychopathology. The first chapter reviews what is currently known about the development of neural circuitry underlying socioemotional function in adolescence, as well potential neural mechanisms linking early adversity to later mental health and the contributions of this work to policy and practice. The following two chapters provide original research examining how brain structure and function are related and how this brain function is impacted by qualitatively different early adverse experiences. The second chapter characterizes how structural connectivity of the uncinate fasciculus is related to amygdala habituation. The third chapter explores the unique effects of childhood violence exposure and victimization on adolescent threat-related brain function and childhood social deprivation on adolescent reward-related brain function.Importantly, both studies use data from a large, socioeconomically diverse sample of youth. In the fourth chapter, I discuss how this original research informs our understanding of the impacts of early adversity on socioemotional and neural development in adolescence and what this suggests for policy and practice.

[发布机构] University of Michigan

[效力级别] fMRI

[关键词] Early Adversity;fMRI;Psychology;Social Sciences;Psychology