Abstract
Abnormalities in reward and punishment processing are implicated in the development of conduct problems (CP), particularly among youth with callous-unemotional (CU) traits. However, no studies have examined whether CP children with high versus low CU traits exhibit differences in the neural response to reward and punishment. A clinic-referred sample of CP boys with high versus low CU traits (ages 8–11; n = 37) and healthy controls (HC; n = 27) completed a fMRI task assessing reward and punishment processing. CP boys also completed a randomized control trial examining the effectiveness of an empirically-supported intervention (i.e., Stop-Now-And-Plan; SNAP). Primary analyses examined pre-treatment differences in neural activation to reward and punishment, and exploratory analyses assessed whether these differences predicted treatment outcome. Results demonstrated associations between CP and reduced amygdala activation to punishment independent of age, race, IQ and co-occurring ADHD and internalizing symptoms. CU traits were not associated with reward or punishment processing after accounting for covariates and no differences were found between CP boys with high versus low CU traits. While boys assigned to SNAP showed a greater reduction in CP, differences in neural activation were not associated with treatment response. Findings suggest that reduced sensitivity to punishment is associated with early-onset CP in boys regardless of the level of CU traits.
Highlights
Childhood-onset conduct problems (CP) have been consistently associated with the development of severe and chronic antisocial behavior, many children who exhibit severe CP do not engage in severe delinquency during adolescence or adulthood (Moffitt, 1993; Byrd et al, 2012)
CP youth were recruited from a larger treatment study (Burke and Loeber, 2014) and deemed eligible if they presented with clinically significant behavior problems according to the Child-Behavior Checklist (CBC-L; Achenbach, 1991) For further details on inclusion and exclusion of CP youth, see Burke and Loeber (2015)
healthy controls (HC) had higher IQ scores than CP only youth, though there were no differences between CP and high CU (CPCU) youth and either of the other groups
Summary
Childhood-onset conduct problems (CP) have been consistently associated with the development of severe and chronic antisocial behavior, many children who exhibit severe CP do not engage in severe delinquency during adolescence or adulthood (Moffitt, 1993; Byrd et al, 2012). There is some evidence to suggest that these deficits are most pronounced among CP youth with high CU traits (Budhani and Blair, 2005; Frick et al, 2013, 2003; Byrd et al, 2013) These studies assess ‘overall performance’ using behavioral tasks that include aspects of both reward and punishment processing, limiting our ability to disentangle whether the observed performance differences are due to abnormalities in processing reward, punishment, or both. The current study sought expand on previous research by focusing on potential differences in reward/punishment processing between subgroups of pre-adolescent youth with CP and high versus low CU traits
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