BACKGROUND: Impairments in emotional processing may play an etiological role in the development of aggressive or antisocial behavior such as is seen in conduct disorder (CD). These findings may be developmentally sensitive, with neuropsychological impairments confined to those with the early-onset form of CD, which emerges in childhood. We investigated whether adolescents with early- or adolescence-onset CD would acquire fear conditioned responses to a visual conditioned stimulus and show a normal pattern of affective modulation of the startle reflex. METHODS: Electrodermal activity was measured during the fear conditioning process, and electromyographic recording methods were used to assess blink magnitudes elicited by acoustic startle probes during the viewing of emotionally valenced pictures. Forty-one early-onset CD, 28 adolescence-onset CD, and 54 healthy control adolescents participated in the study. RESULTS: Both CD groups showed impaired differential fear conditioning relative to control subjects, while retaining the ability to generate normal skin conductance responses to the aversive unconditioned stimulus. There was a similar relationship between emotional valence of the slides and startle magnitude in CD and control adolescents, but startle-elicited blinks were lower across all emotion categories in both CD subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: Fear conditioning deficits and reduced startle amplitudes were observed in participants with early- and adolescence-onset forms of CD. These findings are consistent with impairments in neural systems subserving emotion and involving the amygdala in CD, regardless of age of onset.
BACKGROUND:Impairments in emotional processing may play an etiological role in the development of aggressive or antisocial behavior such as is seen in conduct disorder (CD). These findings may be developmentally sensitive, with neuropsychological impairments confined to those with the early-onset form of CD, which emerges in childhood. We investigated whether adolescents with early- or adolescence-onset CD would acquire fear conditioned responses to a visual conditioned stimulus and show a normal pattern of affective modulation of the startle reflex. METHODS: Electrodermal activity was measured during the fear conditioning process, and electromyographic recording methods were used to assess blink magnitudes elicited by acoustic startle probes during the viewing of emotionally valenced pictures. Forty-one early-onset CD, 28 adolescence-onset CD, and 54 healthy control adolescents participated in the study. RESULTS: Both CD groups showed impaired differential fear conditioning relative to control subjects, while retaining the ability to generate normal skin conductance responses to the aversive unconditioned stimulus. There was a similar relationship between emotional valence of the slides and startle magnitude in CD and control adolescents, but startle-elicited blinks were lower across all emotion categories in both CD subtypes. CONCLUSIONS:Fear conditioning deficits and reduced startle amplitudes were observed in participants with early- and adolescence-onset forms of CD. These findings are consistent with impairments in neural systems subserving emotion and involving the amygdala in CD, regardless of age of onset.
Authors: Moran D Cohn; Koen van Lith; Merel Kindt; Louise E Pape; Theo A H Doreleijers; Wim van den Brink; Dick J Veltman; Arne Popma Journal: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci Date: 2015-06-05 Impact factor: 3.436
Authors: Stuart F White; Laura C Thornton; Joseph Leshin; Roberta Clanton; Stephen Sinclair; Dionne Coker-Appiah; Harma Meffert; Soonjo Hwang; James R Blair Journal: J Abnorm Child Psychol Date: 2018-05
Authors: Graeme Fairchild; Yvette Stobbe; Stephanie H M van Goozen; Andrew J Calder; Ian M Goodyer Journal: Biol Psychiatry Date: 2010-05-05 Impact factor: 13.382
Authors: Graeme Fairchild; Stephanie H M van Goozen; Sarah J Stollery; Michael R F Aitken; Justin Savage; Simon C Moore; Ian M Goodyer Journal: Biol Psychiatry Date: 2009-04-10 Impact factor: 13.382