Biology subjects

Malins, J. G.

Publications and source records attributed to Malins, J. G..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

Sex-specific Associations Between Traumatic Experiences and Resting-state Functional Connectivity in the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort

BackgroundTraumatic experiences during childhood or adolescence are a significant risk factor for multiple psychiatric disorders and adversely affect cognitive functions. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging has been used to investigate the effects of traumatic experiences on functional connectivity, but the impact of sex differences has not been well documented. This study investigated sex-specific associations between resting-state functional connectivity and traumatic experiences in typically developing youth. MethodsThe sample comprised 1395 participants, ages 8 to 21 years, from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort. Resting-state functional connectivity was characterized by voxel-wise intrinsic connectivity distribution parameter values derived from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Traumatic experiences were assessed based on a structured psychiatric evaluation. Sex, the number of traumatic events, and their interaction were regressed onto voxel-wise intrinsic connectivity distribution parameter values. Brain regions that passed cluster correction were used as seeds to define resting-state networks. ResultsAfter quality control, the final sample included 914 participants (mean (SD) age, 14.6 (3.3) years; 529 (57.8%) females; 437 (47.8%) experienced at least one kind of traumatic event). Four discrete anatomical clusters showed decreased functional connectivity as the number of traumatic events increased. The resting-state networks defined by using these four clusters as seeds corresponded with the somatomotor network. Sex-specific associations were identified in another four clusters for which males showed increased connectivity, and females showed decreased connectivity as the number of traumatic events increased. The resting-state networks defined by the four sex-specific clusters corresponded with the default mode network. ConclusionsTraumatic experiences are associated with an alteration of resting-state functional connectivity in the somatomotor network in youth without psychiatric diagnoses. The associations differ in direction between males and females in the default mode network, suggesting sex-specific responses to early exposure to trauma.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

Dual language experience enhances neural activation variability during an fMRI reading and language task

Previous work has shown that experience speaking more than one language in childhood is associated with decreased intra-individual neural variability in electrophysiological responses during a low-level speech perception task. However, no study has yet evaluated the impact of dual language experience on variability in fMRI responses during a higher-level spoken and written language processing task. In the current study, we calculated trial-by-trial variability in neural activation during an fMRI task that involved deciding whether spoken or printed English words matched pictures of items. We compared trial-by-trial neural activation variability between two groups of 8-15 year-old children: a group of dual language learners (N = 24; 11 female) who were Spanish-dominant and acquiring English, and a group of monolingual learners who were English-dominant (N = 17; 9 female). We found that when controlling for a variety of language, general cognitive, and demographic measures, neural activation variability for printed words was greater in the dual language learners compared to the monolingual learners in the right middle frontal gyrus, a brain region previously associated with attentional control. This finding highlights how neural variability offers a window of opportunity to examine experience-dependent mechanisms during human development, and motivates future research on bilingual language processing.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2017

Cortical area and subcortical volume mediate the effect of parental education and adverse experiences on cognitive performance in youth

Early adversity and socioeconomic disadvantage are risk factors associated with diminished cognitive outcomes during development. Recent studies also provide evidence that upbringings characterized by stressful experiences and markers of disadvantage during childhood, such as lower parental education or household income, are associated with variation in brain structure. Although disadvantage often confers adversity, these are distinct risk factors whose differential influences on neurodevelopment and neurocognitive outcomes are not well characterized. We examined pathways linking parental education, adverse experiences, brain structure, and cognitive performances through an analysis of 1,413 typically-developing youth, ages 8 through 21, in the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort. Parental education and adverse experiences had unique associations with cortical surface area and subcortical volume as well as cognitive performance across several domains. Associations between parental education and several cognitive tasks were explained, in part, by variation in cortical surface area. In contrast, associations between adversity and cognitive tasks were explained primarily by variation in subcortical volume. A composite neurodevelopmental factor derived from principal component analysis of cortical thickness, cortical surface area, and subcortical volume mediated independent associations between both parental education and adverse experiences with reading, geometric reasoning, verbal reasoning, attention, and emotional differentiation tasks. Our analysis provides novel evidence that socioeconomic disadvantage and adversity influence neurodevelopmental pathways associated with cognitive outcomes through independent mechanisms.

developmental biology↗