3-141 - Neural Reward Reactivity and Adolescent Psychopathology and Substance Use: fMRI and ERP Studies

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

During adolescence, there is significant development of reward circuitry. Changes in reward system function may represent a trans-diagnostic factor underlying the increases in substance use and psychopathology seen in adolescence (Galvan et al., 2006). This symposium includes papers from four groups which examine the role of adolescent neural responses to reward in anxiety, depression, and substance use. The presentations examine responses to two types of reward (monetary and social), use diverse methods (fMRI, ERP, EMA), and include youth from under-studied groups (e.g., Latino adolescents, sexual minority adolescents).
Paper 1 found that higher ERP response to social reward (unexpected peer acceptance) was associated with clinically-elevated social anxiety symptoms in Latino and non-Latino adolescents. Paper 2 examined whether neural responses to social reward would moderate effects of daily peer interactions (measured with EMA) on internalizing symptoms in girls. They found that girls with high caudate responses to social reward had a greater association between daily experiences of social threat and depression and anxiety symptoms. Paper 3 also examined moderation of stress-psychopathology associations by fMRI response to reward, with sexual minority adolescents. They found that the association between sexual orientation stress and higher depressive symptoms was stronger for youth with lower ventral striatal reactivity to monetary reward. Finally, Paper 4 found that striatal reactivity to monetary reward predicted future substance use behavior for adolescent boys but not girls. Together, these papers highlight the importance of adolescent reward system function as risk factors for psychopathology and as moderators that can exacerbate risk.

Sub Unit

• Developmental Psychopathology

Chair

• Tara Chaplin, George Mason University

Individual Presentations

• Neural Response to Peer Feedback is Associated with Social Anxiety Severity in Adolescents - Presenting Author: Amy Rapp, UCLA; Non-Presenting Author: Denise Chavira, UCLA; Non-Presenting Author: William J Gehring, University of Michigan; Non-Presenting Author: Jennie Grammer, UCLA; Non-Presenting Author: Gregory A Miller, UCLA; Non-Presenting Author: Patricia Tan, UCLA, Semel Institute

• Interactions between Neural Activation to Social Reward and Experiences of Social Threat in Adolescent Girls - Presenting Author: Stefanie L Sequeira, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Cecile D Ladouceur, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Neil P. Jones, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Jennifer Silk, University of Pittsburgh

• High Ventral Striatal Reward Reactivity Protects Against Depressive Symptoms in Sexual Minority Adolescents - Presenting Author: Kristen Eckstrand, 1University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Luis Flores, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Melissa Nance, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Brian Thoma, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Michael P Marshal, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Erika Forbes, University of Pittsburgh

• Striatal Reward Sensitivity Predicts Substance Use for Adolescent Boys but not Girls - Presenting Author: Tara Chaplin, George Mason University; Non-Presenting Author: Jennifer (Jenny) Ann Poon, George Mason University; Non-Presenting Author: Caitlin Turpyn, George Mason University; Non-Presenting Author: James Thompson, George Mason University