Browsing by Author "Hulvershorn, Leslie A."
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Item Abnormal Amygdala Functional Connectivity Associated With Emotional Lability in Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(Elsevier, 2014-03) Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Mennes, Maarten; Castellanos, F. Xavier; Di Martino, Adriana; Milham, Michael P.; Hummer, Tom A.; Roy, Amy Krain; Department of Psychiatry, IU School of MedicineObjective A substantial proportion of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also display emotion regulation deficits manifesting as chronic irritability, severe temper outbursts, and aggression. The amygdala is implicated in emotion regulation, but its connectivity and relation to emotion regulation in ADHD has yet to be explored. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) of amygdala circuits and emotion regulation deficits in youth with ADHD. Method Bilateral amygdala iFC was examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging in 63 children with ADHD, aged 6 to 13 years. First, we examined the relationship between amygdala IFC and parent ratings of emotional lability (EL) in children with ADHD. Second, we compared amygdala iFC across subgroups of children with ADHD and high EL (n = 18), ADHD and low EL (n = 20), and typically developing children (TDC), all with low EL (n = 19). Results Higher EL ratings were associated with greater positive iFC between the amygdala and rostral anterior cingulate cortex in youth with ADHD. EL scores were also negatively associated with iFC between bilateral amygdala and posterior insula/superior temporal gyrus. Patterns of amygdala-cortical iFC in ADHD participants with low EL were not different from the comparison group, and the effect sizes for these comparisons were smaller than those for the trend-level differences observed between the high-EL and TDC groups. Conclusions In children with ADHD and a range of EL, deficits in emotion regulation were associated with altered amygdala–cortical iFC. When comparing groups that differed on ADHD status but not EL, differences in amygdala iFC were small and nonsignificant, highlighting the specificity of this finding to emotional deficits, independent of other ADHD symptoms.Item Alliances to disseminate addiction prevention and treatment (ADAPT): A statewide learning health system to reduce substance use among justice-involved youth in rural communities(Elsevier, 2021) Aalsma, Matthew C.; Aarons, Gregory A.; Adams, Zachary W.; Alton, Madison D.; Boustani, Malaz; Dir, Allyson L.; Embi, Peter J.; Grannis, Shaun; Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Huntsinger, Douglas; Lewis, Cara C.; Monahan, Patrick; Saldana, Lisa; Schwartz, Katherine; Simon, Kosali I.; Terry, Nicolas; Wiehe, Sarah E.; Zapolski, Tamika C. B.; Pediatrics, School of MedicineBackground: Youth in the justice system (YJS) are more likely than youth who have never been arrested to have mental health and substance use problems. However, a low percentage of YJS receive SUD services during their justice system involvement. The SUD care cascade can identify potential missed opportunities for treatment for YJS. Steps along the continuum of the cascade include identification of treatment need, referral to services, and treatment engagement. To address gaps in care for YJS, we will (1) implement a learning health system (LHS) to develop, or improve upon, alliances between juvenile justice (JJ) agencies and community mental health centers (CMHC) and (2) present local cascade data during continuous quality improvement cycles within the LHS alliances. Methods/design: ADAPT is a hybrid Type II effectiveness implementation trial. We will collaborate with JJ and CMHCs in eight Indiana counties. Application of the EPIS (exploration, preparation, implementation, and sustainment) framework will guide the implementation of the LHS alliances. The study team will review local cascade data quarterly with the alliances to identify gaps along the continuum. The study will collect self-report survey measures longitudinally at each site regarding readiness for change, implementation climate, organizational leadership, and program sustainability. The study will use the Stages of Implementation Completion (SIC) tool to assess the process of implementation across interventions. Additionally, the study team will conduct focus groups and qualitative interviews with JJ and CMHC personnel across the intervention period to assess for impact. Discussion: Findings have the potential to increase SUD need identification, referral to services, and treatment for YJS.Item Association Between Head Impact Exposure, Psychological Needs, and Indicators of Mental Health Among U.S. High School Tackle Football Players(Elsevier, 2023) Kercher, Kyle A.; Steinfeldt, Jesse A.; Rettke, Devin J.; Zuidema, Taylor R.; Walker, Miata J.; (Martinez) Kercher, Vanessa M.; Silveyra, Patricia; Seo, Dong-Chul; Macy, Jonathan T.; Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Kawata, Keisuke; Psychiatry, School of MedicinePurpose: Age of first exposure to tackle football and head impact kinematics have been used to examine the effect of head impacts on mental health outcomes. These measures coupled with retrospective and cross-sectional designs have contributed to conflicting results. The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of one season of head impact exposure, age of first exposure to football, and psychological need satisfaction on acute mental health outcomes in adolescent football players. Methods: This prospective single-season cohort study used sensor-installed mouthguards to collect head impact exposure along with surveys to assess age of first exposure to football, psychological satisfaction, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and thriving from football players at four high schools (n = 91). Linear regression was used to test the association of head impact exposure, age of first exposure, and psychological satisfaction with acute mental health outcomes. Results: A total of 9,428 impacts were recorded with a mean of 102 ± 113 impacts/player. Cumulative head impact exposure and age of first exposure were not associated with acute mental health outcomes at postseason or change scores from preseason to postseason. Greater psychological satisfaction was associated with fewer depressive symptoms (β = -0.035, SE = 0.008, p = < .001), fewer anxiety symptoms (β = -0.021, SE = 0.008, p = .010), and greater thriving scores (β = 0.278, SE = 0.040, p = < .001) at postseason. Discussion: This study does not support the premise that greater single-season head impact exposure or earlier age of first exposure to tackle football is associated with worse acute mental health indicators over the course of a single season in adolescent football players.Item Attitudes toward and training in medications for opioid use disorders: a descriptive analysis among employees in the youth legal system and community mental health centers(Springer Nature, 2024-06-21) O’Reilly, Lauren M.; Schwartz, Katherine; Brown, Steven A.; Dir, Allyson; Gillenwater, Logan; Adams, Zachary; Zapolski, Tamika; Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Aalsma, Matthew; Pediatrics, School of MedicineBackground: Research demonstrates gaps in medications for opioid use disorder uptake (MOUDs; methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone) especially among adolescents. These gaps may be partly attributable to attitudes about and training in MOUDs among youth-serving professionals. We extended prior research by conducting descriptive analyses of attitudes regarding effectiveness and acceptability of MOUDs, as well as training in MOUDs, among youth legal system (YLS) employees and community mental health center (CMHC) personnel who interface professionally with youth. Methods: Using survey data from participants (n = 181) recruited from eight Midwest counties, we examined: (1) differences in MOUD attitudes/training by MOUD type and (2) by respondent demographics, and (3) prediction of MOUD attitudes/training by participant-reported initiatives to implement evidence-based practices (EBPs), workplace culture around EBPs, and workplace stress. Attitudes and training were measured in reference to five MOUD types (methadone, oral buprenorphine, injectable buprenorphine, oral naltrexone, injectable naltrexone) on three subscales (effectiveness, acceptability, training). Results: Wilcoxon signed-rank tests demonstrated that most outcomes differed significantly by MOUD type (differences observed among 22 of 30 tests). Kruskal-Wallis tests suggested MOUD differences based on demographics. For methadone, CMHC providers endorsed greater perceived effectiveness than YLS providers and age explained significant differences in perceived effectiveness. For buprenorphine, CHMC providers viewed oral or injectable buprenorphine as more effective than YLS employees, respondents from more rural counties viewed oral buprenorphine as more effective than those from less rural counties, and age explained differences in perceived effectiveness. For naltrexone, perceived gender differed by gender. Hierarchical ordinal logistic regression analysis did not find an association between personal initiatives to implement EBPs, workplace culture supporting EBPs, or workplace stress and effectiveness or acceptability of MOUDs. However, personal initiatives to implement EBPs was associated with training in each MOUD. Conclusions: These results highlight a few key findings: effectiveness/acceptability of and training in MOUDs largely differ by MOUD type; setting, rurality, age, gender, and education explain group differences in perceived effectiveness of and training in MOUDs; and implementing EBPs is associated with training in MOUDs. Future research would benefit from examining what predicts change in MOUD attitudes longitudinally.Item Atypical Cortical Activation during Risky Decision-making in Disruptive Behavior Disordered Youth with Histories of Suicidal Ideation(Elsevier, 2020) Dir, Allyson L.; Allebach, Christian L.; Hummer, Tom A.; Adams, Zachary; Aalsma, Matthew C.; Finn, Peter R.; Nurnberger, John I.; Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Psychiatry, School of MedicineBackground: Suicidality is a leading cause of death among adolescents. In addition to other psychiatric conditions, youths with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) are at heightened risk for suicide. Decision-making deficits are a hallmark symptom of ADHD and DBDs and are also implicated in suicidal behavior. We examined behavioral and neural differences in decision making among youths with ADHD and DBDs with (SI+) and without (SI-) histories of suicidal ideation. Methods: The Balloon Analog Risk Task, a risky decision-making task, was completed by 57 youths with ADHD and DBDs (38% SI+) during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Mean stop wager (mean wager at which youths bank money) was the primary measure of risk taking. We conducted whole-brain and region-of-interest analyses in the anterior cingulate cortex and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) during choice (win vs. inflate) and outcome (inflate vs. explode) contrasts using parametric modulators accounting for probability of balloon explosion. Results: There were no differences between SI+ and SI- youths in Balloon Analog Risk Task performance. SI+ youths showed decreasing activation in the right medial frontal gyrus when choosing inflate as explosion probability increased compared with SI- youths. During explosions, SI- youths showed increasing activation in the left OFC as explosions became more likely. SI+ showed increasing left medial OFC activity in response to inflations as explosion probability increased. Conclusions: SI+ youths may show heightened sensitivity to immediate reward and decreased sensitivity to potential loss as evidenced by medial frontal gyrus activity. OFC findings suggest that SI+ youths may be drawn to reward even when there is high probability of loss.Item Brain responses during delay discounting in youth at high-risk for substance use disorders(Elsevier, 2021) Butcher, Tarah J.; Dzemidzic, Mario; Harezlak, Jaroslaw; Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Oberlin, Brandon G.; Psychiatry, School of MedicineOffspring of parents with substance use disorders (SUD) discount future rewards at a steeper rate on the monetary delay discounting task (DD) than typically developing youth. However, brain activation during DD has yet to be studied in drug naïve youth with a family history (FH) of SUD. Here, we investigate brain activation differences in high-risk youth during DD. We recruited substance naïve youth, aged 11–12, into three groups to compare brain activation during DD: (1) High-risk youth (n = 35) with a FH of SUD and externalizing psychiatric disorders, (2) psychiatric controls (n = 25) who had no FH of SUD, but with equivalent externalizing psychiatric disorders as high-risk youth, and (3) a healthy control group (n = 24) with no FH of SUD and minimal psychopathology. A whole-brain voxel wise analysis of the [Delay > Baseline], [Immediate > Baseline], and [Control > Baseline] contrasts identified functional regions of interest, from which extracted parameter estimates were tested for significant group differences. Relative to control youth, high-risk youth showed stronger activation in the left posterior insula and thalamus when making delayed choices, and stronger activation of the parahippocampal gyrus when making both delayed and control choices (ps < 0.05). Activation in the left posterior insula negatively correlated with both subscales of the Emotion Regulation Checklist, and positively correlated with the Stroop interference effect (ps < 0.05). Our findings suggest possible heritable SUD risk neural markers that distinguish drug naïve high-risk youth from psychiatric and healthy controls.Item Cannabis Use and the Developing Brain: Highs and Lows(Frontiers Media, 2023) Hurd, Yasmin L.; Ferland, Jacqueline-Marie N.; Nomura, Yoko; Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Gray, Kevin M.; Thurstone, Christian; Psychiatry, School of MedicineAlthough cannabis is a naturally occurring plant with a long history of use by humans, the chemicals it contains, called cannabinoids, can act on the human body in many ways. Use of cannabis during important periods of development, such as during pregnancy and adolescence, can have a long-lasting impact on the way the brain forms and develops its systems to control emotions and other functions. This article gives an overview of some of the effects of cannabinoids on the developing brain, before birth and as teenagers, and provides information about how young people can prevent or minimize the negative effects of cannabis on their brains.Item Causal effects of psychostimulants on neural connectivity: a mechanistic, randomized clinical trial(Wiley, 2022) Wang, Yun; Kessel, Ellen; Lee, Seonjoo; Hong, Susie; Raffanello, Elizabeth; Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Margolis, Amy; Peterson, Bradley S.; Posner, Jonathan; Psychiatry, School of MedicineBackground: Psychostimulants are frequently used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but side effects are common leading to many patients discontinuing treatment. Identifying neural mechanisms by which psychostimulants attenuate symptoms may guide the development of more refined and tolerable therapeutics. Methods: We conducted a 12-week, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (RCT) of a long-acting amphetamine, lisdexamfetamine (LDEX), in patients with ADHD, ages 6-25 years old. Of the 58 participants who participated in the RCT, 49 completed pre- and post-RCT magnetic resonance imaging scanning with adequate data quality. Healthy controls (HCs; n = 46) were included for comparison. Treatment effects on striatal and thalamic functional connectivity (FC) were identified using static (time-averaged) and dynamic (time-varying) measures and then correlated with symptom improvement. Analyses were repeated in independent samples from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (n = 103) and the ADHD-200 Consortium (n = 213). Results: In 49 participants (25 LDEX; 24 Placebo), LDEX increased static and decreased dynamic FC (DFC). However, only DFC was associated with the therapeutic effects of LDEX. Additionally, at baseline, DFC was elevated in unmedicated-ADHD participants relative to HCs. Independent samples yielded similar findings - ADHD was associated with increased DFC, and psychostimulants with reduced DFC. Static FC findings were inconsistent across samples. Conclusions: Changes in dynamic, but not static, FC were associated with the therapeutic effects of psychostimulants. While prior research has focused on static FC, DFC may offer a more reliable target for new ADHD interventions aimed at stabilizing network dynamics, though this needs confirmation with subsequent investigations.Item Clinical Perspective: Treatment of adolescent e-cigarette use – limitations of existing nicotine use disorder treatment and future directions for e-cigarette use cessation(Elsevier, 2021) Adams, Zachary W.; Kwon, Elizabeth; Aalsma, Matthew C.; Zapolski, Tamika C.B.; Dir, Allyson; Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Psychiatry, School of MedicineElectronic cigarette use ("vaping") has surged in the United States since the mid-2010s. From 2011 to 2018, current e-cigarette use among high school students escalated from 1.5% to 20.8% (∼3.05 million youths),1 countering downward trends in combustible nicotine product use (21.8% in 2011 to 13.9% in 2018).1 Although preventing the initial uptake of vaping is crucial, for the millions of adolescents who have taken up this behavior-many of whom express interest in quitting (eg, 44.5% of current, adolescent non-light e-cigarette users in one US national representative sample)2-it is critically important to help them quit vaping so as to curtail future substance use disorders and other health consequences. Here, we discuss several challenges around adolescent vaping treatment, and highlight research areas in urgent need of attention.Item Clinician Willingness to Prescribe Medications for Opioid Use Disorder to Adolescents in Indiana(American Medical Association, 2024-09-03) Aalsma, Matthew C.; Bell, Lauren A.; Schwartz, Katherine; Ouyang, Fangqian; Kolak, Marynia; Monahan, Patrick O.; Mermelstein, Sharon P.; Carson, Ian; Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Adams, Zachary W.; Psychiatry, School of MedicineImportance: Prescribing medications for opioid use disorders (MOUD), including buprenorphine, naltrexone, and methadone, to adolescents remains an underused evidence-based strategy for reducing harms associated with opioid use. Objective: To identify potential associations between clinician- and community-level characteristics regarding clinicians' self-reported willingness to prescribe MOUD to adolescents. Design, setting, and participants: This cross-sectional study included a phone survey of Indiana clinicians and spatial analysis of community-level characteristics. Clinicians were eligible for inclusion in analyses if actively providing health care and listed on the Buprenorphine Practitioner Locator website, a publicly available national registry of clinicians possessing a waiver to legally prescribe buprenorphine (ie, waivered clinicians). Exposures: Community-level characteristics, including total population, rurality or urbanicity, percentage with incomes below the federal poverty line, and racial or ethnic makeup. Main outcomes and measures: Clinicians were asked about their willingness to prescribe MOUD to adolescents younger than 18 years if clinically indicated. Responses were recorded as no, yes, or yes with conditions. Results: Among the 871 clinicians listed on the website as of July 2022, 832 were eligible for inclusion and contacted by phone. Among waivered clinicians, 759 (91.2%) reported being unwilling to prescribe MOUD to adolescents, 73 clinicians (8.8%) reported willingness to prescribe MOUD to adolescents, and only 24 (2.9%) would do so without conditions. A multivariable logistic regression model including spatially lagged community-level variables showed that, among areas with waivered clinicians, clinicians practicing in more populated areas were significantly less likely to prescribe to adolescents (β = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.49-0.87; P = .003). Similarly, those in more rural areas were significantly more likely to prescribe to adolescents (β = 1.27; 95% CI, 1.02-1.58; P = .03). Variation in clinician willingness to prescribe was not explained by other community-level characteristics. Among all waivered clinicians, advanced practice clinicians were less likely than physicians to report willingness to prescribe (β = 0.58; 95% CI, 0.35-0.97; P = .04), as were physicians without any specialty training relevant to MOUD prescribing when compared with family medicine clinicians (β = 0.40; 95% CI, 0.18-0.89; P = .03). A small subgroup of waivered clinicians had training in pediatrics (13 clinicians [1.6%]), and none were willing to prescribe MOUD to adolescents. Conclusions and relevance: From this cross-sectional study, it appears that Indiana adolescents continued to face gaps in access to MOUD treatment, despite its well-established efficacy. Programs that support primary care practitioners, including family medicine clinicians and pediatricians, in safe and appropriate use of MOUD in adolescents may bridge these gaps.