3-134 - Neuro-Sensitivity to the Early Environment: Neurobiological Markers of Differential Susceptibility

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

According to the Differential Susceptibility (Belsky & Pluess, 2009) framework individuals differ in the degree they are affected by environmental influences with some being generally more and some generally less sensitive to not only negative but also positive experiences. Empirical studies suggest that such differences in environmental sensitivity emerge as a function of psychological (e.g., infant difficult temperament), physiological (e.g., cortisol reactivity), and genetic (e.g., dopamine receptor D4 gene) factors. Although knowledge regarding the specific mechanisms underlying differential susceptibility is limited, it has been suggested that high susceptible individuals may be characterised by a more sensitive central nervous system. According to this “Neuro-Sensitivity” hypothesis differences in brain structure and function may be responsible for observed differential susceptibility to environmental influences.
All four papers included in this symposium feature magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data in order to investigate questions related to “Neuro-Sensitivity” as a mechanism of differential susceptibility. Two of the papers examine whether amygdala and hippocampus volume moderate effects of the early social and material environment on both adaptive and maladaptive psychological outcomes in infancy and middle childhood. The third paper adds a molecular genetic dimension by testing whether differences in hippocampus volume mediate the observed association between a genetic polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and increased sensitivity to parenting quality. The fourth paper considers the role of epigenetic factors, investigating whether methylation mediates the association between a genetic polymorphism in the HTR1A gene and amygdala reactivity while also testing genetic moderation of environmental factors on HTR1A methylation.

Sub Unit

• Developmental Psychopathology

Chair

• Michael Pluess, Queen Mary University of London

Individual Presentations

• Newborn limbic structure volumes modulate differential susceptibility to the postnatal environment - Presenting Author: Claudia Buss, Charité, Department of Medical Psychology, University Medicine Berlin, Germany; Sonja Entringer, Charité, Department of Medical Psychology, University Medicine Berlin, Germany; Jerod Rasmussen, Development, Health and Disease Research Program, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA; Kirsten Zaldarriaga Consing, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; John H Gilmore, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Martin Styner, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Pathik D. Wadhwa, UC Irvine

• Differential Susceptibility to the Early Environment as a Function of Individual Differences in Brain Structure - Presenting Author: Michael Pluess, Queen Mary University of London; Stephane Alexandre De Brito, University of London; Alice Jones, Goldsmiths; Eamon McCrory, University College London; Essi M Viding, Institute of Psychology

• Linking 5-HTTLPR, Family Environments, Brain Structure and Depression: Biological Bases of Differential Susceptibility - Presenting Author: Keriann Little, University of Melbourne; Craig A Olsson, Deakin University; Sarah Lauren Whittle, University of Melbourne; George J Youssef, Monash University; Julian Guy Simmons, University of Melbourne; Lisa Sheeber, Oregon Research Institute; Debra L Foley, University of Melbourne; Nicholas Allen, University of Oregon

• HTR1A methylation predicts threat-related amygdala reactivity: Modulation by rs6295 genotype and early environment - Presenting Author: Yuliya S Nikolova, Laboratory of NeuroGenetics, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University; Karestan Koenen, Columbia University; Sandro Galea, Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University; Ahmad Hariri, Duke University