Faculty Collaboration Database

Imaging decision about whether to benefit self by harming others: Adolescents with conduct and substance problems, with or without callous-unemotionality, or developing typically. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2017 May 30;263:103-112

Date

04/04/2017

Pubmed ID

28371655

Pubmed Central ID

PMC5705947

DOI

10.1016/j.pscychresns.2017.03.004

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85016461907 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   13 Citations

Abstract

We sought to identify brain activation differences in conduct-problem youth with limited prosocial emotions (LPE) compared to conduct-problem youth without LPE and community adolescents, and to test associations between brain activation and severity of callous-unemotional traits. We utilized a novel task, which asks subjects to repeatedly decide whether to accept offers where they will benefit but a beneficent other will be harmed. Behavior on this task has been previously associated with levels of prosocial emotions and severity of callous-unemotional traits, and is related to empathic concern. During fMRI acquisition, 66 male adolescents (21 conduct-problem patients with LPE, 21 without, and 24 typically-developing controls) played this novel game. Within typically-developing controls, we identified a network engaged during decision involving bilateral insula, and inferior parietal and medial frontal cortices, among other regions. Group comparisons using non-parametric (distribution-free) permutation tests demonstrated LPE patients had lower activation estimates than typically-developing adolescents in right anterior insula. Additional significant group differences emerged with our a priori parametric cluster-wise inference threshold. These results suggest measurable functional brain activation differences in conduct-problem adolescents with LPE compared to typically-developing adolescents. Such differences may underscore differential treatment needs for conduct-problem males with and without LPE.

Author List

Sakai JT, Dalwani MS, Mikulich-Gilbertson SK, Raymond K, McWilliams S, Tanabe J, Rojas D, Regner M, Banich MT, Crowley TJ

Author

Michael Regner MD Associate Professor in the Radiology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior
Brain
Cerebral Cortex
Conduct Disorder
Decision Making
Emotions
Empathy
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Photic Stimulation