Dimensions Of Psychopathology Research Articles

Motivation and Cognitive Abilities as Mediators Between Polygenic Scores and Psychopathology in Children.

Fundamental questions in biological psychiatry concern the mechanisms that mediate between genetic liability and psychiatric symptoms. Genetic liability for many common psychiatric disorders often confers transdiagnostic risk to develop a wide variety of psychopathological symptoms through yet unknown pathways. This study examined the psychological and cognitive pathways that might mediate the relationship between genetic liability (indexed by polygenic scores; PS) and broad psychopathology (indexed by p factor and its underlying dimensions). First, which of the common psychiatric PSs (major depressive disorder [MDD], attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism) that were associated with p factor were identified. Then focused was shifted to 3 pathways: punishment sensitivity (reflected by behavioral inhibition system), reward sensitivity (reflected by behavioral activation system), and cognitive abilities (reflected by g factor based on 10 neurocognitive tasks). We applied structural equation modeling on the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study dataset (n= 4,814; 2,263 girls; 9-10 years old). MDD and ADHD PSs were associated with p factor. The association between MDD PS and psychopathology was partially mediated by punishment sensitivity and cognitive abilities (proportion mediated= 22.35%). Conversely, the influence of ADHD PS on psychopathology was partially mediated by reward sensitivity and cognitive abilities (proportion mediated= 30.04%). The mediating role of punishment sensitivity was specific to emotional/internalizing. The mediating role of both reward sensitivity and cognitive abilities was specific to behavioral/externalizing and neurodevelopmental dimensions of psychopathology. This study provides a better understanding of how genetic risks for MDD and ADHD confer risks for psychopathology and suggests potential prevention/intervention targets for children at risk.

The level of depressive, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive psychopathological dimensions in symptomatic versus asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infected pregnant women

IntroductionThe neurotropic valence of SARS-CoV-2 has been revealed in several studies. Depressive and anxiety symptoms are more frequent in the perinatal period leading to maternal and neonatal negative outcomes. Accordingly, depressive and anxiety symptoms are more frequent in the perinatal period leading to negative consequences in both mothers and their neonates.ObjectivesTo determine the level of depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms depending on the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection of pregnant women.MethodsBased on the RT-PCR test, thirty-eight pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalized in Bega Clinic in Timisoara, were assessed concerning the presence of psychopathology. The severity of infection was dichotomized based on the presence or absence of the symptoms. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, State and Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory were administered to all participants.ResultsOf 38 recruited pregnant women, 12 (31,5%) had symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infected pregnant women had a higher average score of depression (p = 0.001) and state and trait anxiety (p = 0.002 and p < 0.001, respectively) compared to their asymptomatic counterparts. There were no differences in obsessive-compulsive symptoms (p > 0.05) in relation to the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection.ConclusionsThe SARS-CoV-2 infection significantly interferes with the psychological status, thus jeopardizing the mental health of pregnant women. Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 infection should be considered an additional risk factor for anxiety and affective disorders during pregnancy.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Mediating role of the default mode network on parental acceptance/warmth and psychopathology in youth.

Humans are reliant on their caregivers for an extended period of time, offering numerous opportunities for environmental factors, such as parental attitudes and behaviors, to impact brain development. The default mode network is a neural system encompassing the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and temporo-parietal junction, which is implicated in aspects of cognition and psychopathology. Delayed default mode network maturation in children and adolescents has been associated with greater general dimensional psychopathology, and positive parenting behaviors have been suggested to serve as protective mechanisms against atypical default mode network development. The current study aimed to extend the existing research by examining whether within- default mode network resting-state functional connectivity would mediate the relation between parental acceptance/warmth and youth psychopathology. Data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study, which included a community sample of 9,366 children ages 8.9-10.9years, were analyzed to test this prediction. Results demonstrated a significant mediation, where greater parental acceptance/warmth predicted greater within- default mode network resting-state functional connectivity, which in turn predicted lower externalizing, but not internalizing symptoms, at baseline and 1-year later. Our study provides preliminary support for the notion that positive parenting behaviors may reduce the risk for psychopathology in youth through their influence on the default mode network.

Linking Individual Differences in Personalized Functional Network Topography to Psychopathology in Youth

BackgroundThe spatial layout of large-scale functional brain networks differs between individuals and is particularly variable in the association cortex, implicated in a broad range of psychiatric disorders. However, it remains unknown whether this variation in functional topography is related to major dimensions of psychopathology in youth. MethodsThe authors studied 790 youths ages 8 to 23 years who had 27 minutes of high-quality functional magnetic resonance imaging data as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort. Four correlated dimensions were estimated using a confirmatory correlated traits factor analysis on 112 item-level clinical symptoms, and one overall psychopathology factor with 4 orthogonal dimensions were extracted using a confirmatory factor analysis. Spatially regularized nonnegative matrix factorization was used to identify 17 individual-specific functional networks for each participant. Partial least square regression with split-half cross-validation was conducted to evaluate to what extent the topography of personalized functional networks encodes major dimensions of psychopathology. ResultsPersonalized functional network topography significantly predicted unseen individuals’ major dimensions of psychopathology, including fear, psychosis, externalizing, and anxious-misery. Reduced representation of association networks was among the most important features for the prediction of all 4 dimensions. Further analysis revealed that personalized functional network topography predicted overall psychopathology (r = 0.16, permutation testing p < .001), which drove prediction of the 4 correlated dimensions. ConclusionsThese results suggest that individual differences in functional network topography in association networks is related to overall psychopathology in youth. Such results underscore the importance of considering functional neuroanatomy for personalized diagnostics and therapeutics in psychiatry.

General and Specific Factors of Environmental Stress and Their Associations With Brain Structure and Dimensions of Psychopathology

BackgroundEarly-life stressors can adversely affect the developing brain. While hierarchical modeling has established the existence of a general factor of psychopathology, no studies have modeled a general factor of environmental stress and related this factor to brain development. Using a large sample of children from the ABCD (Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development) Study, the current study aimed to identify general and specific factors of environmental stress and test their associations with brain structure and psychopathology. MethodsIn a sample of 11,878 children, bifactor modeling and higher-order (second-order) modeling identified general and specific factors of environmental stress: family dynamics, interpersonal support, neighborhood socioeconomic status deprivation, and urbanicity. Structural equation modeling was performed to examine associations between these factors and regional gray matter volume (GMV) and cortical thickness as well as general and specific factors of psychopathology. ResultsThe general environmental stress factor was associated with globally smaller cortical and subcortical GMV as well as thinner cortices across widespread regions. Family dynamics and neighborhood socioeconomic status deprivation were associated with smaller GMV in focal regions. Urbanicity was associated with larger cortical and subcortical GMV and thicker cortices in frontotemporal regions. The environmental factors were associated with psychopathology in the expected directions. The general factors of environmental stress and psychopathology were both predictors of smaller GMV in children, while remaining distinct from each other. ConclusionsThis study reveals a unifying model of environmental influences that illustrates the inherent organization of environmental stressors and their relationship to brain structure and psychopathology.

A novel longitudinal clustering approach to psychopathology across diagnostic entities in the hospital-based PsyCourse study

Biological research and clinical management in psychiatry face two major impediments: the high degree of overlap in psychopathology between diagnoses and the inherent heterogeneity with regard to severity. Here, we aim to stratify cases into homogeneous transdiagnostic subgroups using psychometric information with the ultimate aim of identifying individuals with higher risk for severe illness.397 participants of the PsyCourse study with schizophrenia- or bipolar-spectrum diagnoses were prospectively phenotyped over 18 months. Factor analysis of mixed data of different rating scales and subsequent longitudinal clustering were used to cluster disease trajectories.Five clusters of longitudinal trajectories were identified in the psychopathologic dimensions. Clusters differed significantly with regard to Global Assessment of Functioning, disease course, and—in some cases—diagnosis while there were no significant differences regarding sex, age at baseline or onset, duration of illness, or polygenic burden for schizophrenia.Longitudinal clustering may aid in identifying transdiagnostic homogeneous subgroups of individuals with severe psychiatric disease.

Applying dimensional psychopathology: transdiagnostic prediction of executive cognition using brain connectivity and inflammatory biomarkers.

The association between executive dysfunction, brain dysconnectivity, and inflammation is a prominent feature across major psychiatric disorders (MPDs), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. A dimensional approach is warranted to delineate their mechanistic interplay across MPDs. This single site study included a total of 1543 participants (1058 patients and 485 controls). In total, 1169 participants underwent diffusion tensor and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (745 patients and 379 controls completed the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test). Fractional anisotropy (FA) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) assessed structural and functional connectivity, respectively. Pro-inflammatory cytokine levels [interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α] were obtained in 325 participants using blood samples collected with 24 h of scanning. Group differences were determined for main measures, and correlation and mediation analyses and machine learning prediction modeling were performed. Executive deficits were associated with decreased FA, increased ReHo, and elevated IL-1β and IL-6 levels across MPDs, compared to controls. FA and ReHo alterations in fronto-limbic-striatal regions contributed to executive deficits. IL-1β mediated the association between FA and cognition, and IL-6 mediated the relationship between ReHo and cognition. Executive cognition was better predicted by both brain connectivity and cytokine measures than either one alone for FA-IL-1β and ReHo-IL-6. Transdiagnostic associations among brain connectivity, inflammation, and executive cognition exist across MPDs, implicating common neurobiological substrates and mechanisms for executive deficits in MPDs. Further, inflammation-related brain dysconnectivity within fronto-limbic-striatal regions may represent a transdiagnostic dimension underlying executive dysfunction that could be leveraged to advance treatment.

A process-based analysis of the pathways model of problem gambling through clinical case formulations

ABSTRACT Blaszczynski and Nower conceptualized in 2002 an integrative Pathways Model leading to gambling disorder by postulating three subtypes of individuals with problem gambling characterized by common and specific characteristics (sociodemographic features, comorbidities, psychological factors). Here we propose a clinical illustration that fits each subtype. For each pathway, we (1) describe a corresponding clinical case, (2) propose a symptom-based clinical description, and (3) elaborate a process-based case formulation to explain the development and maintenance of the problematic gambling behavior. We argue that the clinical work with patients benefited from this two-level approach (symptoms vs. psychological processes) combined with a more holistic approach that takes into account intrapersonal (e.g. personality), interpersonal (e.g. family functioning), and environmental variables (e.g. life events). Crucially, our approach not only considers psychopathological dimensions (e.g. symptoms, diagnostic criteria), but it also views as central individual differences (personality traits) and cognitive and affective processes postulated to mediate relationships between biopsychosocial antecedents and psychopathological symptoms. In the current paper, we aim to demonstrate how the Pathways Model can be used as a framework to embrace a holistic perspective that promotes individualized and process-centered psychological interventions for individuals with gambling problems.

Reliability and validity of bifactor models of dimensional psychopathology in youth.

Bifactor models are a promising strategy to parse general from specific aspects of psychopathology in youth. Currently, there are multiple configurations of bifactor models originating from different theoretical and empirical perspectives. We aimed to test the reliability, validity, measurement invariance, and the correlation of different bifactor models of psychopathology using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). We used data from the Reproducible Brain Charts (RBC) initiative (N = 7,011, ages 5 to 22 years, 40.2% females). Factor models were tested using the baseline data. To address our aim, we (a) searched for the published item-level bifactor models using the CBCL; (b) tested their global model fit; (c) calculated model-based reliability indices; (d) tested associations with symptoms' impact in everyday life; (e) tested measurement invariance across many characteristics, and (f) analyzed the observed factor correlation across the models. We found 11 bifactor models ranging from 39 to 116 items. Their global model fit was broadly similar. Factor determinacy and H index were acceptable for the p-factors, internalizing, externalizing, and somatic specific factors in most models. However, only the p- and attention factors predicted daily life symptoms' impact in all models. Models were broadly invariant across different characteristics. P-factors were highly correlated across models (r = .88 to .99) and homotypic specific factors were highly correlated. These results suggest that regardless of item selection and strategy to compose CBCL bifactor models, they assess very similar constructs. Taken together, our results support the robustness of the p-factor across distinct bifactor models and studies of distinct characteristics. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

P432. Dynamic Resting State Connectivity is Associated With Trait Anxiety in a Transdiagnostic Pediatric Sample

Anxiety is a dimension of psychopathology that is comorbid across psychiatric diagnoses. While neuroimaging has identified that features of average resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) vary with anxiety, whether the same is true about its temporal dynamics is unknown. We examined this question in a transdiagnostic pediatric sample.

General and Specific Factors of Environmental Stress and Their Associations With Brain Structure and Dimensions of Psychopathology

Early life stressors can adversely affect the developing brain. While hierarchical modeling has established the existence of a general factor of psychopathology, no studies have modeled a general factor of environmental stress and related this factor to brain development. Using a large sample of children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM Study (ABCD Study®), the current study aimed to identify general and specific factors of environmental stress and test their associations with brain structure and psychopathology.

P440. Investigation of Multivariate Associations Between Brain Volume and Dimensions of Psychopathology in Children

Psychopathology can be conceptualized as a hierarchy of dimensional symptom domains, with common and dissociable neural substrates. While many studies of brain-behavior relationships rely on univariate analyses, multivariate approaches allow us to examine relationships between psychopathology and neural substrates simultaneously. There are multiple multivariate approaches to consider. Each approach has important effects on the interpretation of the results; however, there are few studies illustrating their potential differences.

P158. A Hierarchical Bayesian Approach Reveals Latent Factors Associated With Psychopathology Dimensions and Treatment Response

Comorbidity is common in traditional symptom-based diagnostic groups, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, it is unclear how to decompose neural mechanisms of co-occurring symptoms across diagnoses.

P590. Predicting General Psychopathology With Multi-Modal Speech and Language Features

Computational advances and developments in automated speech and language analysis allow for the exploration of automated prediction of symptom expression and clinical phenotypes. In this study, we used multimodal speech and language features to predict general dimensions of psychopathology across a cross-diagnostic sample.

P419. Brain Structural Alterations as Predictors of the Trajectory of Transdiagnostic Psychopathology Dimensions in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study®

A general psychopathology (‘p’) factor captures shared variation across mental disorders. Structural neural alterations have been associated with p concurrently, but less is known about whether early brain structural alterations predict within-person change in p.

P476. Bifactor Models of Psychopathology Using Multi-Informant and Multi-Instrument Dimensional Measures in the ABCD Study

While factor analytic studies investigating dimensional psychopathology structure in children have shown evidence for a general ‘p’ factor linked to common variance across symptoms, detailed psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms are typically not included. We aimed to better understand relationships among wide-ranging psychopathology measures with PLEs and ASD symptoms.

The Latent Structure of Child and Adolescent Psychopathology and its Association with Different Forms of Trauma and Suicidality and Self-Harm

The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) is a multidimensional and hierarchical model of the latent structure of psychopathology. While HiTOP has received much support in child/adolescent community samples, fewer studies have assessed this model in clinical samples of children/adolescents. Here, we modelled the latent structure of 45 symptoms of psychopathology from a clinical sample of children/adolescents and assessed how dimensions of psychopathology were related to specific forms of trauma and suicidality/self-harm. Clinician-derived assessments were obtained from 507 people aged 7–18 years. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the optimal fitting model, and structural equation modelling was used to estimate associations with trauma exposure and suicidality/self-harm. The best fitting model(s) included five first-order factors reflecting Fear, Distress, Externalizing, Thought Disorder, and Traumatic Stress, with a higher-order general factor (p) accounting for the covariation between these factors. Unique associations were identified between specific forms of trauma and each dimension of psychopathology. p was strongly associated with suicidality/self-harm, and of the first-order factors, Distress was most strongly associated with suicidality/self-harm. Findings support the predictions of HiTOP that the latent structure of child/adolescent psychopathology can be effectively described by a multidimensional and hierarchal model. Moreover, we found tentative evidence for a unique dimension of Traumatic Stress psychopathology. Our findings also highlight the unique associations between specific forms of early life trauma and specific dimensions of psychopathology, and the importance of Distress related psychopathology for suicidality/self-harm in children and adolescents.

Mathematics Difficulties and Psychopathology in School-Age Children

This study investigated the relationship between mathematics difficulties and psychopathology in a large community sample (N = 881) of youth (8–18 years of age) in the United States. The primary aims of the study were to (a) test the associations between mathematics difficulties and specific components of internalizing, externalizing, attention, and social problems; (b) examine potential age and gender differences; and (c) investigate the longitudinal relationship between mathematics and psychopathology using 5-year follow-up data. Results indicated that individuals with mathematics difficulties exhibited elevations in most dimensions of psychopathology, including anxiety, depression, externalizing behaviors, attention problems, and social problems. Furthermore, mathematics impairment was associated with internalizing problems, rule-breaking behaviors, inattention, and social problems even after controlling for comorbid reading difficulties. Results suggested that the associations between mathematics and psychopathology are generally similar in males and females. Finally, preliminary longitudinal evidence suggested that initial mathematics difficulties predicted elevations of conduct disorder, rule-breaking behavior, inattention, hyperactivity, and social problems at follow-up, with several of these associations remaining significant even after controlling for initial reading. In contrast, there was no significant association between initial mathematics ability and internalizing symptoms at follow-up, demonstrating some amelioration of internalizing symptoms over time.

Phosphatidylethanolamine Deficiency and Triglyceride Overload in Perilesional Cortex Contribute to Non-Goal-Directed Hyperactivity after Traumatic Brain Injury in Mice.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often complicated by long-lasting disabilities, including headache, fatigue, insomnia, hyperactivity, and cognitive deficits. In a previous study in mice, we showed that persistent non-goal-directed hyperactivity is a characteristic post-TBI behavior that was associated with low levels of endocannabinoids in the perilesional cortex. We now analyzed lipidome patterns in the brain and plasma in TBI versus sham mice in association with key behavioral parameters and endocannabinoids. Lipidome profiles in the plasma and subcortical ipsilateral and contralateral brain were astonishingly equal in sham and TBI mice, but the ipsilateral perilesional cortex revealed a strong increase in neutral lipids represented by 30 species of triacylglycerols (TGs) of different chain lengths and saturation. The accumulation of TG was localized predominantly to perilesional border cells as revealed by Oil Red O staining. In addition, hexosylceramides (HexCer) and phosphatidylethanolamines (PE and ether-linked PE-O) were reduced. They are precursors of gangliosides and endocannabinoids, respectively. High TG, low HexCer, and low PE/PE-O showed a linear association with non-goal-directed nighttime hyperactivity but not with the loss of avoidance memory. The analyses suggest that TG overload and HexCer and PE deficiencies contributed to behavioral dimensions of post-TBI psychopathology.

Neurobiological, familial and genetic risk factors for dimensional psychopathology in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study.

Adolescence is a key period for brain development and the emergence of psychopathology. The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study was created to study the biopsychosocial factors underlying healthy and pathological brain development during this period, and comprises the world's largest youth cohort with neuroimaging, family history and genetic data. We examined 9856 unrelated 9-to-10-year-old participants in the ABCD study drawn from 21 sites across the United States, of which 7662 had multimodalmagnetic resonance imaging scans passing quality control, and 4447 were non-Hispanic white and used for polygenic risk score analyses. Using data available at baseline, we associated eight 'syndrome scale scores' from the Child Behavior Checklist-summarizing anxious/depressed symptoms, withdrawn/depressed symptoms, somatic complaints, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, rule-breaking behavior, and aggressive behavior-with resting-state functional and structural brain magnetic resonance imaging measures; eight indicators of family history of psychopathology; and polygenic risk scores for major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anorexia nervosa. As a sensitivity analysis, we excluded participants with clinically significant (>97th percentile) or borderline (93rd-97th percentile) scores for each dimension. Most Child Behavior Checklist dimensions were associated with reduced functional connectivity within one or more of four large-scale brain networks-default mode, cingulo-parietal, dorsal attention, and retrosplenial-temporal. Several dimensions were also associated with increased functional connectivity between the default mode, dorsal attention, ventral attention and cingulo-opercular networks. Conversely, almost no global or regional brain structural measures were associated with any of the dimensions. Every family history indicator was associated with every dimension. Major depression polygenic risk was associated with six of the eight dimensions, whereas ADHD polygenic risk was exclusively associated with attention problems and externalizing behavior (rule-breaking and aggressive behavior). Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and anorexia nervosa polygenic risk were not associated with any of the dimensions. Many associations remained statistically significant even after excluding participants with clinically significant or borderline psychopathology, suggesting that the same risk factors that contribute to clinically significant psychopathology also contribute to continuous variation within the clinically normal range. This study codifies neurobiological, familial and genetic risk factors for dimensional psychopathology across a population-scale cohort of community-dwelling preadolescents. Future efforts are needed to understand how these multiple modalities of risk intersect to influence trajectories of psychopathology into late adolescence and adulthood.