Understanding patterns of emotional processing and reactivity in psychological disorders may aid in identifying mechanisms contributing to dysfunctional emotional processes and areas to target in interventions1,2. In addition, the identification of precursors for psychopathology is crucial for selecting individuals at highest risk and for implementing prevention efforts3, 4. Psychophysiological measures are particularly useful for studying emotion in order to identify processes that may not be observable through behavioral observations or self-report5. While research on emotion and psychopathology is growing, little work has been conducted from a developmental psychopathology perspective. Evidence suggests that depression may be associated with reduced emotional reactivity to pleasant and unpleasant emotional stimuli6, but at least some types of anxiety disorders appear to be associated with increased reactivity to unpleasant, particularly threatening, information7-9. The late positive potential (LPP) in an event-related potential component sensitive to emotional stimuli10. There is some evidence adult depression is associated with reduced LPPs to emotional stimuli11 and at least some forms of anxiety in adults are associated with increased LPPs12,13;however, research has yet to examine associations between the LPP and depressive and anxiety symptoms in children or as a function of risk for psychopathology. The proposed project is part of a larger longitudinal study and will measure electrocortical and behavioral responses to unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant images to examine associations with depressive and anxiety symptoms in nine-year-old children and associations with risk for affective disorders (i.e., parental history of depressive or anxiety disorders) while controlling for child symptoms. In addition, principle component analysis (PCA) techniques will be used to further examine the components specific to emotional stimuli in children and associations with depression and anxiety.

Public Health Relevance

The proposed study will examine neural markers of emotional reactivity in children with depressive and anxiety symptoms and in children at increased risk for developing mood and anxiety disorders. Research on the relationships between emotional processing and psychological disorders has the potential to lead to improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying these disorders and could aid in identifying target areas for intervention1, 2. In addition, studying patterns of emotional reactivity associated with depression and anxiety from a developmental perspective is essential for early recognition of individuals at highest risk and the implementation of prevention efforts3, 4.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F31)
Project #
5F31MH095307-02
Application #
8316608
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-F02A-J (20))
Program Officer
Anderson, Kathleen C
Project Start
2011-08-29
Project End
2014-12-28
Budget Start
2012-08-29
Budget End
2013-08-28
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$31,850
Indirect Cost
Name
State University New York Stony Brook
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
804878247
City
Stony Brook
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
11794
Kessel, Ellen M; Nelson, Brady D; Kujawa, Autumn et al. (2018) Hurricane Sandy Exposure Alters the Development of Neural Reactivity to Negative Stimuli in Children. Child Dev 89:339-348
Kessel, Ellen M; Kujawa, Autumn; Dougherty, Lea R et al. (2017) Neurophysiological Processing of Emotion in Children of Mothers with a History of Depression: the Moderating Role of Preschool Persistent Irritability. J Abnorm Child Psychol 45:1599-1608
Kessel, Ellen M; Kujawa, Autumn; Goldstein, Brandon et al. (2017) Behavioral observations of positive and negative valence systems in early childhood predict physiological measures of emotional processing three years later. J Affect Disord 216:70-77
Kujawa, Autumn; Hajcak, Greg; Danzig, Allison P et al. (2016) Neural Reactivity to Emotional Stimuli Prospectively Predicts the Impact of a Natural Disaster on Psychiatric Symptoms in Children. Biol Psychiatry 80:381-9
Kujawa, Autumn; Proudfit, Greg Hajcak; Kessel, Ellen M et al. (2015) Neural reactivity to monetary rewards and losses in childhood: longitudinal and concurrent associations with observed and self-reported positive emotionality. Biol Psychol 104:41-7
Proudfit, Greg Hajcak (2015) The reward positivity: from basic research on reward to a biomarker for depression. Psychophysiology 52:449-59
Kujawa, A; Glenn, C R; Hajcak, G et al. (2015) Affective modulation of the startle response among children at high and low risk for anxiety disorders. Psychol Med 45:2647-56
Proudfit, Greg Hajcak; Bress, Jennifer N; Foti, Dan et al. (2015) Depression and Event-related Potentials: Emotional disengagement and reward insensitivity. Curr Opin Psychol 4:110-113
Kujawa, Autumn; Proudfit, Greg H; Laptook, Rebecca et al. (2015) Early Parenting Moderates the Association between Parental Depression and Neural Reactivity to Rewards and Losses in Offspring. Clin Psychol Sci 3:503-515
Kujawa, Autumn; Proudfit, Greg Hajcak; Klein, Daniel N (2014) Neural reactivity to rewards and losses in offspring of mothers and fathers with histories of depressive and anxiety disorders. J Abnorm Psychol 123:287-297

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