Innovative approaches for studying dyadic emotion regulation: Cross-brain associations between parents and adolescents using fMRI

• In Event: Novel perspectives on the neurodevelopment of emotion regulation

Abstract

Emotion regulation difficulties have been identified as a core vulnerability that underlies adjustment problems that emerge during adolescence. Numerous studies have found developmental changes in brain activity related to emotion reactivity and regulation across adolescence. In general, adolescence is characterized by increased emotional reactivity paired with more slowly developing regulatory processes subserved by cortical areas, but relatively less attention has been paid to the social context of emotion regulation in neuroimaging. A greater understanding of the influence of social factors, specifically relationships with parents, on emotion-related neurocircuitry during adolescence will add to our knowledge regarding developmental trajectories of mental health and will help identify potential points for intervention during this critical period.

In this symposium, we will present findings from two innovative fMRI tasks examining cross-brain associations between parents and adolescents (see Figures 1&2). First, we will discuss findings from the Testing Emotional Attunement and Mutuality (TEAM) task (Kerr et al., 2019), where dyads play a cooperative game intended to examine brain activity when either member of the dyad makes a costly error while undergoing simultaneous scanning. The task includes preprogrammed trials in which each member of the dyad believes the other has made an error resulting in the loss of five dollars for the dyad. Second, we will discuss findings from the Hyperscanning Conflict Discussion Task (Ratliff et al., 2020). In this task, parent-adolescent dyads identify their three most common conflicts prior to scanning. They then complete the task together during fMRI hyerscanning (simultaneous scanning of two individuals in separate scanners) and discuss each of the conflicts for two minutes and then attempt to solve the conflict for two minutes. A validated ‘de-noising’ procedure was used to remove speech-related artifacts (Xu et al., 2014), and conversations were transcribed and reliably coded for positive, negative, and neutral statements. Participants also completed surveys assessing emotion regulation and parenting.

Data for both tasks came from a sample of psychiatrically healthy adolescents (ages 14-16 years, 60% female, 30% ethnic minority) and their parents, primarily mothers. The number of dyads in analyses ranged from 27 to 35. Whole brain analyses were coupled with small volume corrections in regions-of-interest (ROIs) selected a priori for their involvement in emotion regulation and reactivity: anterior insula (aINS), amygdala, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Findings from the costly error condition of the TEAM task indicate negative parenting was associated adolescent activity in emotion processing (e.g., aINS) and regulation (e.g., dlFPC) regions; and parent and adolescent brain responses were associated with self-reported mental health symptoms of the other dyad member (cross-brain associations). Findings from the hyperscanning study revealed patterns of parent-adolescent cross-brain connectivity (CBC; analyzed similar to resting-state connectivity) between multiple emotion-related brain regions across dyads (e.g., amygdala, dlPFC, aINS). Exploratory analyses indicated CBC is associated with parent emotion socialization practices and adolescent depressive symptoms.

Findings from both tasks reveal patterns of cross-brain associations in brain regions involved in emotion processing and regulation. The strengths and limitations of the use of such tasks during neuroimaging will be discussed.

Authors

• Amanda Sheffield Morris, Oklahoma State University - Tulsa
  Presenting Author

• Erin Ratliff, Oklahoma State University - Tulsa
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kelly Cosgrove, Laureate Institute for Brain Research
  Non-Presenting Author

• Masaya Misaki, Laureate Institute for Brain Research
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jerzy Bodurka, Laureate Institute for Brain Research
  Non-Presenting Author

• W. Kyle Simmons, Oklahoma State University-Stillwater
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kara Kerr, Oklahoma State University - Stillwater
  Non-Presenting Author