Jaanvi Reddy Muchanthla
Research Mentor: Luke Hyde
Mentor Department: Psychology, LSA
Author(s): Jaanvi Reddy Muchanthla, Hannah Dees, Luke Hyde
Session: Session 4 (1:00 PM – 1:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 100
Abstract
There is a growing body of literature in developmental psychopathology on the associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and brain development in adolescence. One brain region that appears to be impacted by low SES is the amygdala, with lower SES being associated with higher amygdala reactivity. This review will explore this relationship by focusing on the SAND (Study of Adolescent Neural Development) longitudinal study, which follows a group of individuals born in major American cities and from low-income backgrounds, and its neuroimaging findings in a cohort of 15 year olds. Two recent studies utilizing this data have focused on measuring amygdala reactivity and development. In the first study, dMRI imaging of amygdala-preofrontal cortex white matter connectivity was associated with material economic hardship (Hardi et al., 2022). Researchers found that greater material hardship during age 15 relates to greater amygdala–subgenual anterior cingulate cortex connectivity. In the second study, fMRI imaging of amygdala activation was measured by the Faces task and its association with salivary cortisol levels was explored (Roberts et al., 2022). This study revealed that greater amygdala activity to fearful and neutral faces was associated with greater cortisol activation in the adolescents. When considering the results of both papers, it is evident that adolescents experiencing lower SES may be at risk for heightened amygdala reactivity and cortisol levels in response to psychosocial stressors. The SAND study and its neuroimaging data is important due to its racially and socioeconomically diverse sample, which allows for psychological research to be done with populations that have historically been underrepresented. Delineating these relationships can predict increased likelihood for future adult psychopathology in low-income cohorts, potentially emphasizing disparities related to economic hardship. References: Hardi, F. A., Goetschius, L. G., Peckins, M. K., Brooks-Gunn, J., McLanahan, S. S., McLoyd, V., Lopez-Duran, N. L., Mitchell, C., Hyde, L. W., & Monk, C. S. (2022). Differential developmental associations of material hardship exposure and adolescent amygdala–prefrontal cortex white matter connectivity. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 34(10), 1866–1891. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01801 Roberts, A. G., Peckins, M. K., Gard, A. M., Hein, T. C., Hardi, F. A., Mitchell, C., Monk, C. S., Hyde, L. W., & Lopez-Duran, N. L. (2022). Amygdala reactivity during socioemotional processing and cortisol reactivity to a psychosocial stressor. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 144, 105855. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105855
