Neural Correlates of Emotion Reactivity and Regulation and Suicidal Ideation and Behavior Among Girls

• In Event: Using Developmental Science to Identify Mechanisms and Reduce Adolescent Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors

Abstract

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents. Emotion reactivity and regulation are posited as key mechanisms underlying suicide risk, but prior research on neural mechanisms implicated in this process are limited. Initially, we found that youth with (vs without) suicidal ideation histories demonstrated decreased neural activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during passive viewing of negative stimuli (Miller et al., 2017). Here, we seek to extend this study by investigating neural mechanisms underlying emotion reactivity and regulation that may differ between girls at risk for suicide.

Girls (N=125), ages 9-16 (Mage=12.75), at increased risk for depression and suicide, completed a fMRI scan. At baseline, girls completed the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behavior Interview assessing suicidal ideation and behavior history. During the fMRI scan, girls completed a well-known reappraisal task, where they viewed negative and neutral images and rated emotional responses to images. Neutral images were always passively viewed (Look Neutral). For negative images, girls were asked to either passively view (Look Negative) or use cognitive reappraisal (Decrease Negative) to reduce their emotional reaction to the negative image. We compared brain activation during Look Negative>Look Neutral (Reactivity) and Decreased Negative>Look Negative (Regulation) trials. We conducted two whole brain analyses (FSL with cluster correction in AFNI, alpha=.05, p<.005) examining differences between girls with and without (1) suicidal ideation and (2) suicidal behavior. Models adjusted for age at scan.
Sixty-three (50.4%) and 31 (24.8%) girls reported a lifetime suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior history, respectively. No differences between groups were observed for behavioral ratings (p’s>.05).

Suicidal ideation. During reactivity, girls with (vs. without) suicidal ideation histories demonstrated greater activation in a) a cluster extending from the left superior parietal lobe into the postcentral gyrus and b)a cluster extending from the right frontal pole to middle frontal gyrus as well as reduced activation in a cluster extending into the precentral and postcentral gyrus. No differences were observed for regulation.
Suicidal behavior. During reactivity, girls with (vs. without) suicidal behavior histories demonstrated greater activation in a large bilateral cluster in the occipital cortex extending from the fusiform gyrus up to the precuneus. During regulation, girls with (vs. without) a history of suicidal behavior demonstrated reduced activation in three clusters, two in the left and right occipital cortex and one in the left precuneus.

Miller et al., 2017 found differences primarily in the dlPFC. In these preliminary analyses, we did not directly replicate the dlPFC differences in the initial study. Here, we find that girls with and without suicidal ideation histories appear to differentially recruit somatosensory and primary motor regions suggesting potential differences in perception of negative stimuli. For suicidal behavior, we find activation differences in regions implicated in viewing stimuli as well as coordinating emotional responses involving the self (e.g., precuneus). As additional research in this area acuumulates, these results could assist in identifying ways in which girls at risk for suicide differentially experience and regulate emotional responses to negative stimuill. More research is warranted given differences between studies.

Authors

• Adam Bryant Miller, RTI International
  Presenting Author

• Jessica L. Jenness, University of Washington
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kinjal Patel, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author

• Adrienne Bonar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author

• Matteo Giletta, Ghent University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Paul David Hastings, University of California - Davis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Matthew K. Nock, Harvard University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Karen Rudolph, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Non-Presenting Author

• George M Slavich, University of California, Los Angeles
  Non-Presenting Author

• Leah H. Somerville, Harvard University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Mitchell J Prinstein, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author

• Margaret A. Sheridan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author