Poster #15 - White Matter Correlates of Emotional Control in Early Childhood

• In Event: 1-061 - Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Section - Biological Processes: Neuroscience and Genetics

Integrative Statement

A child’s ability to control his or her emotions, especially in the face of new or challenging situations, is crucial for the development of a wide range of social, cognitive, and adaptive functions. Further, deficits in emotional self-control may be a precursor to later psychopathology. Though researchers agree on the importance of this behavior, little research has attempted to explore the neurobiological mechanisms associated with emotional control in the early childhood years in typically-developing samples. In adults, however, a number of specific white matter tracts have been linked to emotional control behaviors (e.g. Depue et al., 2016; Keedwell et al., 2016; Pisner et al., 2016). The goal of this study was to explore associations between emotional self-control and white matter microstructure in 4-year old children. A better understanding of these associations in childhood would be beneficial in efforts to improve long-term correlates of early emotional control.
Data for this study are from a longitudinal study of early brain and behavior development and include both single-born and twin children. A subset of these children (n=154) was used for the current analyses, including those with valid diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and behavioral data at 4 years of age. We used DTI to explore the microstructural properties of tracts selected a priori based on findings in the adult literature. A pediatric-specific, quantitative tractography pipeline was used to generate DTI tract profiles for FA, AD, and RD (Verde et al., 2013). Emotional control was measured via the Emotional Self-Control and Negative Emotionality scales of the Behavior Assessment System for Children – 2nd edition (BASC-2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004). Mixed linear regression models were used with twins as repeated measures, and analyses controlled for a number of environmental and birth-related variables.
Parent-reported emotional control was associated with widespread white matter microstructure (FA and RD, but not AD) of many tracts associated with emotional control in older populations (superior and inferior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, uncinate, and cingulum), such that better ratings of both emotional self-control and negative emotionality (i.e. lower scores for both scales) were associated with higher FA and lower RD. Results largely held when controlling for general cognitive abilities. In order to check for specificity, we looked at associations between white matter microstructure and other distinct BASC-2 variables thought to tap different behaviors, such as bullying or resiliency. There were no significant associations, pointing to the importance of these tracts for emotional control specifically.
There is a large gap in the literature in regards to neurobiological correlates of early emotional control. This behavior is hugely important in regards to a range of social, cognitive, and academic abilities as well as its links to the development of psychopathology. A better understanding of the early mechanisms supporting emotional control during crucial developmental windows has the potential to inform efforts to improve early emotional control skills, leading to better long-term outcomes.

Authors

• Rebecca L. Stephens, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Presenting Author

• Sarah J. Short, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  Non-Presenting Author

• Barbara Davis Goldman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author

• Martin A. Styner, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author

• John H. Gilmore, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author