Browsing by Author "Bounoua, Nadia"
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Item Assessing the utility of a novel cortical marker of delay discounting (C-DD) in two independent samples of early adolescents: Links with externalizing pathology(PLoS ONE, 2023-09-27) Bounoua, Nadia; Church, Leah D.; Matyi, Melanie A.; Rudoler, Jeremy; Wieand, Kaleigh; Spielberg, Jeffrey M.Delay discounting is a well-established risk factor for risky behaviors and the development of externalizing spectrum disorders. Building upon recent work that developed a novel cortical marker of delay discounting (C-DD) in adult samples, the objective of this study was to test whether the C-DD relates to delay discounting and subsequently externalizing pathology in adolescent samples. The current study used two samples: 9992 early adolescents participating in the ABCD study (Mage = 9.93 years old, 48.7% female), and 56 early adolescents recruited from the community (Mage = 12.27 years old, 55.4% female). Cortical thickness was estimated using the FreeSurfer standard pipeline, and the cortical marker of delay discounting (C-DD) was calculated based on procedures outlined by the initial validation study. All data are cross-sectional in nature. As expected, C-DD was positively related to delay discounting in the ABCD sample, even after accounting for age, biological sex, collection site and data quality indicators. Moreover, results showed that C-DD was discriminately associated with externalizing, but not internalizing, symptoms in both samples of young adolescents. Findings replicate those found in adult samples, suggestive that C-DD may be a useful neuroanatomical marker of youth delay discounting. Replication of findings in other samples will be needed to determine whether C-DD has translational relevance to understanding externalizing psychopathology in adolescent samples.Item Caregivers' laboratory cortisol response: links to trauma exposure and adolescent attachment(University of Delaware, 2019) Bounoua, NadiaPrior studies have pointed to an association between a history of trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms, and cortisol response to lab-based stressors. Further, research has shown that the offspring of caregivers with a trauma history are also at risk for a host of psychosocial problems. In the current study, caregivers’ cortisol was measured at five time points during afternoon laboratory visits with a 15-year old adolescent child. We examined cortisol in two ways: first, using area-under-the-curve (AUC) analyses to assess for global cortisol response during the laboratory visit, and second, using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to test for cortisol response to a trauma interview. Regression and HLM analyses examined the extent to which caregivers’ cortisol response was associated with their own trauma history, perceived nurturance and adolescents’ Dismissing and Preoccupied attachment states of mind. Caregivers’ trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms were not significantly associated with their cortisol responses over the course of the lab visit. However, AUC analysis indicated that both caregiver nurturance and adolescents’ Dismissing states of mind were associated with caregivers’ cortisol response. HLM analyses further revealed that higher caregiver nurturance was associated with reduced reactivity to the trauma interview and that caregivers who were accompanied to the lab by more Dismissing adolescents had higher levels of cortisol during the trauma interview, greater cortisol reactivity to the interview, and slower decline in overall cortisol response throughout the laboratory visit. These findings are discussed in terms of potential directions of effects between caregivers’ cortisol response and adolescents’ Dismissing states of mind.Item Clarifying the synergistic effects of emotion dysregulation and inhibitory control on physical aggression(Human Brain Mapping, 2022-07-15) Bounoua, Nadia; Spielberg, Jeffrey M.; Sadeh, NaomiRising rates of violence underscore the need to better understand how systems that regulate distress and impulse control jointly modulate aggression risk. The goals of the current study were to investigate the unique and interactive effects of emotional dysregulation and inhibitory control on the perpetration of physical aggression. We recruited a high-risk community sample of 206 adults (M/SDage = 33.55/10.89 years old; 47.1% female) who reported a range of physically aggressive behaviors. All participants completed a self-report measure (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale), neuropsychological testing (Color Word Interference Test), and clinical interviewing (Lifetime History of Aggression Interview), and a subset of individuals (n = 134) underwent a neuroanatomical scan. As expected, the interplay of emotional and inhibitory control explained unique variance in physical aggression above and beyond their main effects. The positive association between emotion dysregulation and aggression strengthened as inhibitory control decreased. Cortical thickness in two right prefrontal clusters, one that peaked in the superior frontal gyrus and one that peaked in the caudal middle frontal gyrus, was also associated with the interactive effects of emotional dysregulation and inhibitory control. Notably, thickness in the superior frontal gyrus mediated the association between emotion dysregulation and physical aggression at low levels of inhibitory control. Using a multilevel and multimethod approach, the present study revealed neuroanatomical correlates of emotion–cognition interactions that have translational relevance to violence perpetration. These findings extend previous work primarily focused on functional-based neural assessments and point to the utility of examining neuroanatomical correlates of emotion–cognition interactions for understanding human aggression.Item Elevations in Blood Pressure Associated with Exposure to Violence are Mitigated by Pro-gun-Carrying Attitudes among Street-Identified Black Males and Females(Journal of Urban Health, 2023-10-13) Payne, Yasser Arafat; Sadeh, Naomi; Hitchens, Brooklynn K.; Bounoua, NadiaLiving in neighborhoods with elevated rates of violent crime, such as in many poor Black American communities, is a risk factor for a range of physical and mental health challenges. However, the individual different factors that influence health outcomes in these stressful environments remain poorly understood. This study examined relations between exposure to violence, gun-carrying attitudes, and blood pressure in a community sample of street-identified Black American boys/men and girls/women. Survey data and blood pressure were collected from 329 participants (ages 16–54; 57.1% male) recruited from two small urban neighborhoods with high rates of violence using street participatory action research methodology. Results revealed that systolic blood pressure was elevated in the sample as was exposure to severe forms of direct and vicarious violence (e.g., shootings, assault). Attitudes about carrying guns moderated associations between the degree of violence exposure endorsed by participants and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Specifically, the positive association between exposure to violence and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure at low levels of pro-gun-carrying attitudes was no longer apparent at high levels of pro-gun attitudes. Furthermore, pro-gun attitudes appeared to moderate the association between exposure to violence and systolic pressure for older participants but not younger participants. Results suggest that positive attitudes about carrying guns (presumably indicative of pro-gun-carrying behavior) weakened the link between violence exposure and blood pressure. These novel findings suggest that carrying a gun may protect against the harmful effects of chronic stress from violence exposure on physical health outcomes (i.e., hypertension) among street-identified Black Americans.Item Emotion dysregulation and reward responsiveness as predictors of autonomic reactivity to an infant cry task among substance-using pregnant and postpartum women(Developmental Psychobiology, 2023-12-14) Bounoua, Nadia; Tabachnick, Alexandra R.; Eiden, Rina D.; Labella, Madelyn H.; Dozier, MaryMaternal substance use may interfere with optimal parenting, lowering maternal responsiveness during interactions with their children. Previous work has identified maternal autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity to parenting-relevant stressors as a promising indicator of real-world parenting behaviors. However, less is known about the extent to which individual differences in emotion dysregulation and reward processing, two mechanisms of substance use, relate to maternal ANS reactivity in substance-using populations. The current study examined associations among emotion dysregulation, reward responsiveness, and ANS reactivity to an infant cry task among 77 low-income and substance-using women who were either pregnant (n = 63) or postpartum (n = 14). Two indicators of ANS functioning were collected during a 9 min computerized infant cry task (Crybaby task): respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and pre-ejection period. Mothers also completed self-reported measures of emotion dysregulation and reward responsiveness. Analyses revealed that trait emotion regulation was associated with RSA reactivity to the Crybaby task, such that greater emotion dysregulation was associated with greater RSA reduction during the infant cry task than lower emotion dysregulation. Reward responsiveness was not significantly associated with either indicator of ANS reactivity to the task. Findings revealed distinct patterns of associations linking emotion dysregulation with ANS reactivity during a parenting-related computerized task, suggesting that emotion regulation may be a key intervention target for substance-using mothers.Item A multidimensional examination of psychopathy traits and gray matter volume in adults(Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2021-12-08) Miglin, Rickie; Rodriguez, Samantha; Bounoua, Nadia; Sadeh, NaomiUncovering the neurobiological abnormalities that may contribute to the manifestation of psychopathic traits is an important step toward understanding the etiology of this disorder. Although many studies have examined gray matter volume (GMV) in relation to psychopathy, few have examined how dimensions of psychopathic traits interactively relate to GMV, an approach that holds promise for parsing heterogeneity in neurobiological risk factors for this disorder. The aim of this study was to investigate the affective-interpersonal (Factor 1) and impulsive-antisocial (Factor 2) dimensions of psychopathy in relation to cortical surface and subcortical GMV in a mixed-gender, high-risk community sample with significant justice-system involvement (N = 156, 50.0% men). Cortex-wide analysis indicated that (i) the Factor 1 traits correlated negatively with GMV in two cortical clusters, one in the right rostral middle frontal region and one in the occipital lobe, and (ii) the interaction of the affective-interpersonal and impulsive-antisocial traits was negatively associated with GMV bilaterally in the parietal lobe, such that individuals high on both trait dimensions evidenced reduced GMV relative to individuals high on only one psychopathy factor. An interactive effect also emerged for bilateral amygdalar and hippocampal GMV, such that Factor 1 psychopathic traits were significantly negatively associated with GMV only at high (but not low) levels of Factor 2 traits. Results extend prior research by demonstrating the neurobiological correlates of psychopathy differ based on the presentation of Factor 1 and 2 traits.Item Neurobiological metric of cortical delay discounting differentiates risk for self- and other-directed violence among trauma-exposed individuals(Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, 2023-09-07) Sheehan, Ana E.; Bounoua, Nadia; Stumps, Anna; Miglin, Rickie; Huerta, Wendy; Sadeh, NaomiSelf- and other-directed violence (SDV/ODV) contribute to elevated rates of mortality. Early trauma exposure shows robust positive associations with these forms of violence but alone does not distinguish those at heightened risk for later engagement in SDV/ODV. Novel assessment metrics could aid early identification efforts for individuals with vulnerabilities to violence perpetration. This study examined a novel neurobiological measure of impulsive choice for reward as a potential moderator of associations between childhood trauma exposure and lifetime SDV/ODV. A high-risk community sample of 177 adults (89 men; 50.3%) were assessed for childhood trauma exposure, engagement in SDV (e.g., suicide attempts), and ODV (e.g., assault). A cortical delay discounting (C-DD) measure was created using a multivariate additive model of gray matter thickness across both hemispheres, previously found to be positively associated with susceptibility to impulsivity and externalizing disorders. Childhood trauma exposure was positively associated with ODV and SDV; however, these relationships differed as a function of C-DD. Engagement in ODV increased as scores on C-DD increased, and SDV increased as scores on C-DD decreased. Furthermore, moderation revealed biological sex differences, as the association between childhood trauma and SDV depended on C-DD for women but not for men. Findings from the present work demonstrate that risk conferred by childhood trauma exposure to violence varied as a function of a C-DD. Together, these findings point to the utility of neurobiological markers of impulsive decision-making for differentiating risk for violence among individuals with a history of trauma exposure.Item Neurobiological sequelae of childhood maltreatment: potential mechanisms to risky, impulsive and self-destructive behaviors(University of Delaware, 2023) Bounoua, NadiaChildhood maltreatment has been identified as a robust risk factor for a myriad of poor psychological and health outcomes. Despite these advancements, significant gaps in our understanding still remain regarding mechanisms through which maltreatment confers risk for psychosocial problems that persist across the lifespan. To address this, recent theoretical models have advocated for dimensional approaches that specify how unique dimensions of adversity relate to psychological processes and neurobiological alterations that may clarify the equifinality and multifinality of poor outcomes following exposure to adversity. Based on these theories, the overarching objective of this dissertation was to examine psychological and neurobiological correlates of Childhood Deprivation (e.g., neglect) and Threat (e.g., physical abuse) in adulthood. First, I provide an overview of the existing literature, and present preliminary results from three completed studies that served as a foundation for my proposed dissertation project. Informed by the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), the specific aims of my dissertation project are to investigate how childhood maltreatment relates to risk-taking behaviors via: a) trait affective and motivational processes and b) brain activation during affectively-manipulated tasks of inhibitory control. Results provide initial support for dimensional models of childhood maltreatment. We found that childhood experiences of neglect and abuse were differentially associated with affective and inhibitory control processes observed at a behavioral and neural level. Specifically, findings suggest that disruptions in inhibitory control and both negative and positive processes are important in understanding self-regulation failure in the context of Childhood Deprivation, whereas negative affective processes appear to be particularly important in the context of Childhood Threat. Findings are discussed in the context of existing literature of childhood maltreatment, potential implications for clinical interventions, and areas for future research.Item Trait dimensions of anticipatory and consummatory reward relate differently to self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in a community adult sample(Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 2024-04-26) Huerta, Wendy; Bounoua, Nadia; Sadeh, NaomiBackground Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) are a major problem worldwide and continue to be a serious public health concern. Research investigating risk factors for suicide has shown that reward processes, such as the inability to feel pleasure, may confer risk for SITBs. However, less work has examined how different dimensions of trait reward relate to SITBs. Accordingly, the present study investigated the unique and interactive effects of trait anticipatory and consummatory reward for explaining SITBs. Methods 260 community adults ages 18–55 (M/SD = 32.79/10.54, females = 49.6 %, males = 50.4 %) completed an interview, neuropsychological tests, and questionnaires. We used hierarchical multivariate multiple regression analysis to assess cross-sectional associations between trait anticipatory and consummatory reward and different types of SITBs [self-injurious thoughts, nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), and suicide attempts] from the Risky, Impulsive, and Self-destructive Behavior Questionnaire. Results The unique variance associated with anticipatory and consummatory reward were differentially related to self-injurious thoughts but unrelated to self-injurious behaviors (NSSI/suicide attempts). The interaction of anticipatory and consummatory reward was associated with self-injurious behavior, such that the inability to experience both anticipatory and consummatory reward was associated with higher frequency of NSSI. Limitations Limitations of the study include its cross-sectional nature and reliance on self-reported measures. Conclusions Low anticipatory reward and high consummatory reward may confer risk for self-injurious thoughts. Low levels of both trait anticipatory and consummatory reward may confer risk for NSSI. Findings suggest reward sensitivity may be an understudied risk factor for a range of SITBs.