Poster #194 - Error processing in the adolescent brain: The impact of age and social context

• In Event: 1-061 - Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Section - Social Cognition

Integrative Statement

Background. One of the most notable changes during adolescence is an increased emphasis on peer relationships. Thus, much research focuses on the influence of peers on adolescent behaviors and cognitions. Previous research suggests that the presence of peers does not impact adolescents’ ability to effectively engage cognitive control (Smith et al., 2018). However, recent evidence suggests that the presence of peers may alter how younger, but not older, adolescents process lapses in cognitive control (i.e., errors; Barker et al., 2017). The present study extends these findings using fMRI to examine the joint impact of age and social context on brain responses to cognitive control errors during adolescence.

Method. In the current analysis, 20 youth (8-17 years old, M=13.75, SD=2.66) completed a modified version of the Erikson Flanker task during fMRI. In the Flanker task, participants were instructed to press a button indicating which direction a center arrow, flanked by two arrows on either side, was pointing. Analyses focused on neural responses to errors on incongruent trials (when the flanking arrows faced the opposite direction of the center arrow). Participants completed half of the task alone (alone condition) and half while they believed they were being observed by a same-age, same-sex peer (peer condition). In the peer condition, participants were told that another participant was observing them during the task and would be making predictions about their task performance (Smith, Chein, & Steinberg, 2014). Order of the social context manipulation was counterbalanced across participants. All neuroimaging data was analyzed using mixed-effects models. Participant age was entered as the continuous, between-subject variable and social context (peer, alone) and trial type (incongruent error, incongruent correct) as repeated, within-subject variables. Data collection is ongoing.

Results. Whole brain analyses (p>.005, k>89) revealed a significant age X social context X task condition interaction in inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), an integral part of the cognitive control network. Follow-up tests revealed that younger participants demonstrated greater IFG engagement when processing errors when they believed they were being observed by a peer, compared to making an error when completing the task alone. The opposite effect was seen in older adolescents.

Conclusions. These findings demonstrate the joint impact of age and social context on neural responses to errors in adolescents. Future analyses should examine the relationship between error-related brain responses and subsequent task performance in order to begin to understand the impact of heightened IFG engagement on cognitive control processes.

Authors

• Ashley Smith, National Institute of Mental Health
  Presenting Author

• Anita Harrewijn, National Institute of Mental Health
  Non-Presenting Author

• Quyen B Do, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author

• Marissa Yetter, National Institute of Mental Health
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elise Cardinale, National Institute of Mental Health
  Non-Presenting Author

• Melissa A Brotman, NIMH
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ellen Leibenluft, NIMH
  Non-Presenting Author

• Daniel Pine, NIMH
  Non-Presenting Author