Selective Amygdala Hypoactivity to Fear in Boys With Persistent Conduct Problems After Parent Training

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  • Arjun Sethi
  • Suzanne O'Brien
  • Blair, James
  • Essi Viding
  • Mitul Mehta
  • Christine Ecker
  • Nigel Blackwood
  • Moira Doolan
  • Marco Catani
  • Stephen Scott
  • Declan G.M. Murphy
  • Michael C. Craig

Background: Parenting interventions reduce antisocial behavior (ASB) in some children with conduct problems (CPs), but not others. Understanding the neural basis for this disparity is important because persistent ASB is associated with lifelong morbidity and places a huge burden on our health and criminal justice systems. One of the most highly replicated neural correlates of ASB is amygdala hypoactivity to another person's fear. We aimed to assess whether amygdala hypoactivity to fear in children with CPs is remediated following reduction in ASB after successful treatment and/or if it is a marker for persistent ASB. Methods: We conducted a prospective, case-control study of boys with CPs and typically developing (TD) boys. Both groups (ages 5–10 years) completed 2 magnetic resonance imaging sessions (18 ± 5.8 weeks apart) with ASB assessed at each visit. Participants included boys with CPs following referral to a parenting intervention group and TD boys recruited from the same schools and geographical regions. Final functional magnetic resonance imaging data were available for 36 TD boys and 57 boys with CPs. Boys with CPs were divided into those whose ASB improved (n = 27) or persisted (n = 30) following the intervention. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data assessing fear reactivity were then analyzed using a longitudinal group (TD/improving CPs/persistent CPs) × time point (pre/post) design. Results: Amygdala hypoactivity to fear was observed only in boys with CPs who had persistent ASB and was absent in those whose ASB improved following intervention. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that amygdala hypoactivity to fear is a marker for ASB that is resistant to change following a parenting intervention and a putative target for future treatments.

Original languageEnglish
JournalBiological Psychiatry
Volume94
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)50-56
Number of pages7
ISSN0006-3223
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We would like to acknowledge the MRC (MR/M013588) for funding the study. We would also like to acknowledge and thank Raj Seraya Bhatoa, Iruni Wanigasekara, and Laura Lennuyeux-Comnene for their assistance with the study.

Funding Information:
This study was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) (Grant No. MR/M013588 [to MCC] ).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Society of Biological Psychiatry

    Research areas

  • Amygdala, Antisocial behavior (ASB), Conduct problems, Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Hypoactivity, Parent training

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