Biology subjects

Blakemore, S.-J.

Publications and source records attributed to Blakemore, S.-J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Associations between the environment, brain, mental health, and cognition across adolescence

Adolescence is a critical period for the development of the brain, cognition, and mental health, which are shaped by a wide range of environmental factors. In the present study, we analysed the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) dataset to examine how a range of proximal (e.g., socioeconomic status, familial circumstances) and distal (e.g., neighbourhood conditions, access to healthcare and education) environmental factors are associated with changes in centile-based measures of brain structure, and whether these brain differences subsequently mediate variations in cognition and mental health. We analysed these associations both at baseline (N = 6,911; 3,605 M, 3,606 F; mean age = 9.93) and longitudinally across three timepoints (N = 1,628; 879 M, 749 F; ages 8-15). At baseline, a more advantaged proximal and distal environment was associated with larger volumes across the whole brain relative to age- and sex-matched peers, which, in turn, mediated better mental health outcomes and cognitive performance. In the longitudinal analysis, the childhood environment predicted changes in brain structure across adolescence, and these structural changes predicted changes in mental health and cognition. The childhood environment also predicted cognitive but not mental health changes across adolescence, suggesting that these associations may already be established early in adolescence. These findings provide insight into how environmental and neural factors shape adolescent mental health and cognition, with potential implications for early intervention strategies aimed at promoting positive developmental outcomes.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Risk taking to obtain reward: gender differences and associations with emotional and depressive symptoms in a nationally representative cohort of UK adolescents.

BackgroundLarge population-based studies of neuropsychological factors that characterize or precede depressive symptoms are rare and we know little about gender differences in these associations.\n\nMethodsThe Millennium Cohort is a representative UK birth cohort of children born between 2000 and 2002. The Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT) was completed at ages 11 (n=12,355) and 14 (n=10,578). Our main exposure was proportion of points gambled, when odds of winning were above chance (risk taking to obtain reward). We also examined how much adolescents adjusted bets as odds of winning increased (risk adjustment). Outcomes were emotional symptoms at age 11 (SDQ) and depressive symptoms at age 14 (sMFQ). We calculated cross-sectional associations, and a longitudinal association from age 11 to 14, using linear regressions before and after adjusting for confounders.\n\nResultsFemales were less risk taking than males (e.g. females bet 9.22, 95% CI 8.65 to 9.80, percentage points lower at age 11). In univariable models there were cross-sectional associations between risk taking and emotional (age 11) or depressive (age 14) symptoms (e.g. at age 14, a 20-percentage point increase in risk taking was associated with a 0.52 reduction in sMFQ points, 95% CI -.71 to -.33). However, cross-sectional associations were explained by gender differences (at age 14 the association adjusted for gender was: .05, 95% CI -.15 to .25). Longitudinally, there was weak evidence of an association between risk taking and depressive symptoms in females only (a 20-point increase in risk taking at age 11 was associated with a reduction of 0.31 sMFQ points at age 14 (95% CI -.60 to -.02).\n\nConclusionsWe found evidence that adolescent females were less likely to take risks than adolescent males. There was no strong evidence of an association between risk taking and emotional and depressive symptoms, after accounting for gender.\n\nAbbreviationsCGT: Millennium Cohort Study (MCS); Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT); Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ); sMFQ: short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire.

epidemiology↗

bioRxiv2016

Confirmation bias in human reinforcement learning: evidence from counterfactual feedback processing

Previous studies suggest that factual learning, that is learning from obtained outcomes, is biased, such that participants preferentially take into account positive, as compared to negative, prediction errors. However, whether or not the prediction error valence also affects counterfactual learning, that is, learning from forgone outcomes, is unknown. To address this question, we analysed the performance of two cohorts of participants on reinforcement learning tasks using a computational model that was adapted to test if prediction error valance influences learning. Concerning factual learning, we replicated previous findings of a valence-induced bias, whereby participants learned preferentially from positive, relative to negative, prediction errors. In contrast, for counterfactual learning, we found the opposite valence-induced bias: negative prediction errors were preferentially taken into account relative to positive ones. When considering valence-induced bias in the context of both factual and counterfactual learning, it appears that people tend to preferentially take into account information that confirms their current choice. By documenting these valence-induced learning biases, our findings demonstrate the presence of a confirmation bias in human reinforcement learning.

animal behavior and cognition↗