Search for: All records

Abstract Study ObjectivesTo investigate associations between social jet lag and the developing adolescent brain. MethodsN = 3507 youth (median (IQR) age = 12.0 (1.1) years; 50.9% females) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development cohort were studied. Social jet lag (adjusted for sleep debt [SJLSC] vs. nonadjusted [SJL]), topological properties and intrinsic dynamics of resting-state networks, and morphometric brain characteristics were analyzed. ResultsOver 35% of participants had SJLSC ≥ 2.0 h. Boys, Hispanic and Black non-Hispanic youth, and/or those at later pubertal stages had longer SJLSC (β = 0.06–0.68, CI = [0.02, 0.83], p ≤ .02), which was also associated with higher Body Mass Index (BMI) (β = 0.13, CI = [0.08, 0.18], p < .01). SJLSC and SJL were associated with lower strength of thalamic connections (β = −0.22, CI = [−0.39, −0.05], p = .03). Longer SJLSC was also associated with lower topological resilience and lower connectivity of the salience network (β = −0.04, CI = [−0.08, −0.01], p = .04), and lower thickness and/or volume of structures overlapping with this and other networks supporting emotional and reward processing and social function (β =−0.08 to −0.05, CI = [−0.12, −0.01], p < .05). Longer SJL was associated with lower connectivity and efficiency of the dorsal attention network (β = −0.05, CI = [−0.10, −0.01], p < .05). Finally, SJLSC and SJL were associated with alterations in spontaneously coordinated brain activity and lower information transfer between regions supporting sensorimotor integration, social function, and emotion regulation (β = −0.07 to −0.05, CI = [−0.12, −0.01], p < .04). ConclusionsMisaligned sleep is associated with widespread alterations in adolescent brain structures, circuit organization, and dynamics of regions that play critical roles in cognitive (including social) function, and emotion and reward regulation. 

The COVID-19 pandemic had profound effects on developing adolescents that, to date, remain incompletely understood. Youth with preexisting mental health problems and associated brain alterations were at increased risk for higher stress and poor mental health. This study investigated impacts of adolescent pre-pandemic mental health problems and their neural correlates on stress, negative emotions and poor mental health during the first 15 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. N = 2,641 adolescents (median age = 12.0 years) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) cohort were studied, who had pre-pandemic data on anxiety, depression, and behavioral (attention, aggression, social withdrawal, internalizing, externalizing) problems, longitudinal survey data on mental health, stress and emotions during the first 15 months following the outbreak, structural MRI, and resting-state fMRI. Data were analyzed using mixed effects mediation and moderation models. Preexisting mental health and behavioral problems predicted higher stress, negative affect and negative emotions (β = 0.09–0.21, CI=[0.03,0.32]), and lower positive affect (β = −0.21 to −0.09, CI=[−0.31,-0.01]) during the first ~6 months of the outbreak. Pre-pandemic structural characteristics of brain regions supporting social function and emotional processing (insula, superior temporal gyrus, orbitofrontal cortex, and the cerebellum) mediated some of these relationships (β = 0.10–0.15, CI=[0.01,0.24]). The organization of pre-pandemic brain circuits moderated (attenuated) associations between preexisting mental health and pandemic stress and negative emotions (β = −0.17 to −0.06, CI=[−0.27,-0.01]). Preexisting mental health problems and their structural brain correlates were risk factors for youth stress and negative emotions during the early months of the outbreak. In addition, the organization of some brain circuits was protective and attenuated the effects of preexisting mental health issues on youth responses to the pandemic’s stressors. 

Abstract Social isolation during development, especially in adolescence, has detrimental but incompletely understood effects on the brain. This study investigated the neural correlates of preference for solitude and social withdrawal in a sample of 2809 youth [median (IQR) age = 12.0 (1.1) years, 1440 (51.26%) females] from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study. Older youth whose parents had mental health issues more frequently preferred solitude and/or were socially withdrawn (β = 0.04 to 0.14, CI = [0.002, 0.19], P < 0.05), both of which were associated with internalizing and externalizing behaviors, depression, and anxiety (β = 0.25 to 0.45, CI = [0.20, 0.49], P < 0.05). Youth who preferred solitude and/or were socially withdrawn had lower cortical thickness in regions involved in social function (cuneus, insula, anterior cingulate, and superior temporal gyri) and/or mental health (β = −0.09 to −0.02, CI = [−0.14, −0.003], P < 0.05), and higher amygdala, entorhinal cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, and basal ganglia volume (β = 2.62 to 668.10, CI = [0.13, 668.10], P < 0.05). Youth who often preferred solitude had more topologically segregated dorsal attention, temporoparietal, and social networks (β = 0.07 to 0.10, CI = [0.02, 0.14], P ≤ 0.03). Socially withdrawn youth had a less topologically robust and efficient (β = −0.05 to −0.80, CI = [−1.34,−0.01], P < 0.03) and more fragile cerebellum (β = 0.04, CI = [0.01, 0.07], P < 0.05). These findings suggest that social isolation in adolescence may be a risk factor for widespread alterations in brain regions supporting social function and mental health.