2-075 - Neural Correlates of Peer Relations in Atypical Youth Populations

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Establishing successful peer relations is among the most critical tasks of development, especially in adolescence (Allen et al., 2015). Adolescents with neurodevelopmental or internalizing disorders are at especially high risk for social challenges, such as bullying and rejection (La Greca et al., 2005; Picci & Scherf, 2014). Given that such disorders are associated with biases in affect detection, processing, and evaluation of social stimuli (Beauchamp & Anderson, 2010), their impact on friendships is not surprising. However, the mechanisms by which these biases affect “real world’ social outcomes is poorly understood. This is especially the case when considering neural markers that may index the presence of a psychiatric disorder while promoting social processing deficits. Delineating such relations is an essential component of the NIMH’s current Research Domain Criteria framework (Insel et al., 2010), and is necessary to test fundamental models of the nature of social cognition, perception, and development (e.g., Hartup & Stevens, 1997).

This symposium presents cutting-edge findings that link neural markers of social information processing to peer relations. Presentations 1 and 2 describe alterations in fMRI-indexed brain response during the anticipation and receipt of peer evaluation in anxious and depressed adolescents. Presentation 3 examines how EEG-indexed face- and voice-processing impacts friendship-making in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder who have participated in a single group session with peers. Finally, the Discussant, a leader in the field of peer relations, will expound upon the implications of this work for both extant models of social development, and the future of the field.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chairs

• Matthew Daniel Lerner, Stony Brook University

• Johanna M Jarcho, Stony Brook University

Discussant

• Mitchell J. Prinstein, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Individual Presentations

• Dysregulated Neural Response During the Anticipation and Receipt of Peer Evolution In Adolescents with Social Anxiety Disorder - Presenting Author: Johanna M Jarcho, Stony Brook University; Ashley Smith, Washington University in St. Louis; Brent Rappaport, Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health; Tessa Clarkson, Stony Brook University; Mala Masson, Stony Brook University; Ellen Leibenluft, Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health; Daniel Pine, 1. Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, NIMH; Eric Nelson, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio

• Depression and peer victimization in childhood and adolescence predict late adolescent girls’ neural response to peer evaluation - Presenting Author: Amanda E Guyer, University of California, Davis; Justin Caouette, Oregon Health & Science University; Erika E Forbes, University of Pittsburgh; Alison Hipwell, University of Pittsburgh; Kathryn Keenan, University of Chicago

• Electrophysiological Markers of Social Information Processing Predict Friendship-Making in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Presenting Author: Matthew Daniel Lerner, Stony Brook University; Erin Kang, Stony Brook University; Tamara Rosen, Stony Brook University; Cara M Keifer, Stony Brook University; Rebecca J Weber, Stony Brook University