Parenting behavior and child ADHD

Objective: Parenting behavior is a well-established correlate of offspring ADHD. Yet, little is known about how parenting exerts its effects on offspring ADHD. We examined whether prospective associations between positive and negative parenting behaviors and child ADHD symptoms are mediated by deficits in child executive function (EF) and reward responsivity (RR). Method: A total of 135 children, with and without ADHD were assessed at mean ages 6 and 8. Children completed tasks on EF, and parents completed questionnaires about their parenting, and their children’s RR and children’s ADHD symptoms. Results: Negative parenting (but not positive parenting) was indirectly associated with offspring ADHD subtypes via the effects of Wave 1 EF and RR at Wave 2. Conclusion: Individual differences in EF and RR during the early childhood years may constitute a potential pathway by which negative parenting behaviors exerts its effects on subsequent offspring ADHD. Treatment implications are discussed.

Examining the Neurobiology of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Children and Adolescents: The Role of Reward Responsivity

Although prior work has shown heightened response to negative outcomes and reduced response to positive outcomes in youth with a history of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), little is known about the neural processes underlying these responses. Thus, this study examined associations between NSSI engagement and functional activation in specific regions of interest (ROIs) and whole-brain connectivity between striatal, frontal, and limbic region seeds during monetary and social reward tasks. To test for specificity of the influence of NSSI, analyses were conducted with and without depressive symptoms as a covariate. We found that NSSI was associated with decreased activation following monetary gains in all ROIs, even after controlling for depressive symptoms. Exploratory connectivity analyses found that NSSI was associated with differential connectivity between regions including the DS, vmPFC, insula, and parietal operculum cortex when controlling for depressive symptoms. Disrupted connectivity between these regions could suggest altered inhibitory control of emotions and pain processing in individuals with NSSI. Findings suggest dysfunctional reward processes in youth with NSSI, even very early in the course of the behavior.

Adapting a neuroscience-informed intervention to alter reward mechanisms of anorexia nervosa: a novel direction for future research

Accumulating psychobiological data implicate reward disturbances in the persistence of anorexia nervosa (AN). Evidence suggests that individuals with AN demonstrate decision-making deficits similar to those with mood and anxiety disorders that cause them to under-respond to many conventionally rewarding experiences (e.g., eating, interacting socially). In contrast, unlike individuals with other psychiatric disorders, individuals with AN simultaneously over-respond to rewards associated with eating-disorder behaviors (e.g., restrictive eating, exercising). This pattern of reward processing likely perpetuates eating-disorder symptoms, as the rewards derived from eating-disorder behaviors provide temporary relief from the anhedonia associated with limited responsivity to other rewards. Positive Affect Treatment (PAT) is a cognitive-behavioral intervention designed to target reward deficits that contribute to anhedonia in mood and anxiety disorders, including problems with reward anticipation, experiencing, and learning. PAT has been found to promote reward responsivity and clinical improvement in mood and anxiety disorders. This manuscript will: (1) present empirical evidence supporting the promise of PAT as an intervention for AN; (2) highlight nuances in the maintaining processes of AN that necessitate adaptations of PAT for this population; and (3) suggest future directions in research on PAT and other reward-based treatments that aim to enhance clinical outcomes for AN.

085 Effort Exertion and Good Sleep Interactively Increase the Subjective Value of the Future

Introduction The present study examined how habitual variation in sleep quality shapes reward responsivity following effort exertion. Behavioural and neuroscientific theory and research suggest that expending effort leads to compensatory increases in reward responsivity. Converging evidence links the preference for larger-but-delayed rewards to increases in reward sensitivity in psychophysiological, psychopharmacological, and animal studies. Accordingly, we hypothesized that exerting mental effort would increase the preference for larger-but-delayed rewards (i.e., the subjective value of the future) insofar as these preferences reflect elevated reward responsivity. Furthermore, given that sleep shapes perceptions of effort and preferences for larger-but-delayed rewards, we hypothesized that this finding would be moderated by habitual variation in sleep quality, with the strongest effects apparent among participants reporting habitually good sleep. Methods To test these hypotheses, we recruited 79 participants to complete a 10-minute effortful (vs. control) writing task followed by a delay discounting task and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Results As hypothesized, the effortful writing task (vs. control) participants demonstrated a greater preference for larger-but-delayed rewards (vs. smaller-but-immediate rewards). This effect was moderated by sleep quality with those high but not low in sleep quality showing the hypothesized effect. Conclusion Ultimately, we found that exerting mental effort increases the subjective value of the future, particularly among participants who habitually report good sleep. These results suggest that good sleep quality helps us contend with the effortful demands of daily life in a way that promotes long-term goal pursuit. Support (if any):

Predictors of Long-Term Extinction of Fear in Humans

Faster extinction rate predicts less long-term fear in rodents. However, this has scarcely been studied in humans. The present report investigated the association between extinction rate and long-term fear in humans. We additionally evaluated specificity of extinction rate by including other fear conditioning values as predictors, and we evaluated “who” had less long-term fear with trait variables. Results show that faster extinction rate predicted less long-term fear. However, when including other fear conditioning variables, extinction rate no longer predicted long-term fear. Instead, greater fear at the beginning of extinction was the most robust predictor of greater long-term fear, followed by maximum fear during acquisition, and fear at the beginning of acquisition. Additionally, trait reward responsivity predicted less long-term fear. The results suggest that the magnitude of fear prior to extinction is an important predictor of long-term fear, and individuals who have high trait reward responsivity may be protected from fear. This report has relevance for improving our understanding and treatment of anxiety disorders via exposure therapy.

Risk and Resilience in an Acute Stress Paradigm: Evidence From Salivary Cortisol and Time-Frequency Analysis of the Reward Positivity

Both abnormal stress and reward responsivity are consistently linked to multiple forms of psychopathology; however, the nature of the associations between stress and reward sensitivity remains poorly understood. In the present study, we examined associations between the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis stress response and event-related potentials sensitive to the receipt of reward-related feedback in a pre–post experimental paradigm. Neural responses were recorded while male participants completed a simple monetary-reward guessing task before and after the Montreal Imaging Stress Task. Results demonstrated that acute psychosocial stress significantly reduced the magnitude of neural responses to feedback in the reward-sensitive delta-frequency band but not the loss-sensitive theta-frequency band. In addition, a larger delta-frequency response to rewards at baseline predicted reduced overall cortisol response in the stress condition. These findings suggest, therefore, that neural reward circuitry may be associated with both risk for and resilience to stress-related psychopathology.