Longitudinal Links Between Adolescent Emotion-related Brain Activity and Adolescent Internalizing Symptoms During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Topic - Biological Processes: Neuroscience and Genetics

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended nearly all aspects of daily life, with consequences for child and adolescent development likely unfolding over several years. Research indicates adolescents are experiencing high levels of depression, anxiety, and hopelessness during the pandemic (Zhou et al., 2020). Emotion regulation abilities have been shown to relate to adolescent mental health during uncontrollable stressors (Buckner et al., 2009), yet little is known regarding the neurobiology underlying this relationship. This longitudinal study examined associations between adolescent emotion-related brain activity during an emotion processing task and adolescent internalizing symptoms two years later, during the pandemic. The sample consisted of 28 adolescents (M age = 14.82[at Time 1], range = 14-16 years, 54% female). At Time 1, adolescents completed the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) and Screen for Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) to assess depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Adolescents also completed the Emotion Processing (EP) task, adapted for use in adolescents (McRae et al., 2012), during fMRI scanning. During the EP task, adolescents viewed neutral and negative pictures. Each image was preceeded with either the cue ‘look’ or ‘decrease’. During the ‘look’ condition, adolescents were instructed to passively view the pictures. During the ‘decrease’ condition, adolescents were instructed to use cognitive reappraisal to downregulate their negative emotions. At Time 2 (two years later, during the pandemic), adolescents completed the MFQ and SCARED again. A region-based Bayesian multilevel approach (Chen et al., 2019) was used to examine the relationship between adolescent emotion regulation (response to negative pictures during ‘decrease’) and reactivity (response to negative pictures during ‘look’) at Time 1 and depression and anxiety at Time 2. Regions-of-interest (ROI) were chosen a priori based on their role in emotion processing and included the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), anterior insula (AI), and amygdala. The AFNI program RBA was used to test associations with depression and anxiety at Time 2 for each ROI. Controlling for depression and anxiety at Time 1, effects for the emotion regulation condition revealed moderate evidence (within 90% quantile) for positive associations between activation in the bilateral dlPFC and depressive symptoms. Additionally, moderate evidence for positive associations between activation in the bilateral AI and depressive symptoms, and between activation in the right amygdala and depressive symptoms, were found during the emotion regulation condition. No evidence for effects was found between activation during the emotion regulation condition and anxiety or during the emotion reactivity condition and depression and anxiety. These findings indicate heightened adolescent brain responses during regulation of negative emotions predicts greater depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hyperactivation in the dlPFC, AI, and amygdala have been found in adolescents with depression, compared to healthy controls, when processing negative emotional stimuli (Miller et al., 2015). It may be that increased activation in these areas when attempting to regulate negative emotions increases susceptibility to later depressive symptoms, and this may be especially impactful during the pandemic, as adolescents are overwhelmed with negative emotional stimuli. Additional research on adolescent emotion-related neurobiology is needed to increase our understanding of this relationship.

Authors

• Erin Ratliff, Oklahoma State University - Tulsa
  Presenting Author

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

• Chase Antonacci, University of Cambridge
  Non-Presenting Author

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

• Danielle DeVille, Laureate Institute for Brain Research
  Non-Presenting Author

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

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

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

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