Browsing by Author "White, Stuart F."

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    Alcohol Use Disorder and Cannabis Use Disorder symptomatology in adolescents is associated with dysfunction in neural processing of future events
    (Wiley, 2021) Aloi, Joseph; Blair, Karina S.; Meffert, Harma; White, Stuart F.; Hwang, Soonjo; Tyler, Patrick M.; Crum, Kathleen I.; Thornton, Laura C.; Mobley, Alita; Killanin, Abraham D.; Filbey, Francesca M.; Pope, Kayla; Blair, R. James; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Two of the most commonly used substances by adolescents in the United States are cannabis and alcohol. Cannabis use disorder (CUD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are associated with impairments in decision-making processes. One mechanism for impaired decision-making in these individuals is thought to be an inability to adequately represent future events during decision-making. In the current study involving 112 adolescents, we used a comparative optimism task to examine the relationship between relative severity of CUD/AUD (as indexed by the CUD/AUD Identification Tests [CUDIT/AUDIT]) and atypical function within neural systems underlying affect-based neural represenation future events. Greater CUDIT scores were negatively related to responses within subgenual anterior and posterior cingulate cortex when processing high-intensity potential future positive and negative events. There was also a particularly marked negative relationship between CUD symptoms and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses within visual and premotor cortices to high-intensity, negatively valenced potential future events. However, AUD symptom severity was not associated with dysfunction within these brain regions. These data indicate that relative risk/severity of CUD is associated with reduced responsiveness to future high-intensity events. This may impair decision-making where future significant consequences should guide response choice.
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    Reduced top‐down attentional control in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder
    (Wiley, 2021) Bashford-Largo, Johannah; Aloi, Joseph; Lukoff, Jennie; Johnson, Kimberly; White, Stuart F.; Dobbertin, Matthew; Blair, Robert James; Blair, Karina S.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Background: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) can significantly impair quality of life and is associated with a relatively poor long-term prognosis. Anxiety disorders are often associated with hyper-responsiveness to threat, perhaps coupled with impaired executive functioning. However, GAD, particularly adolescent GAD, has been the focus of little functional neuroimaging work compared to other anxiety disorders. Here, we examine the neural association of adolescent GAD with responsiveness to threat and response control. Methods: The study involved 35 adolescents with GAD and 34 healthy comparison individuals (N = 69) matched on age, gender, and IQ. Participants were scanned during an affective number Stroop task. Results: We found significant Group-by-Task Condition interactions in regions involved in response control/motor responding (bilateral precentral gyri and cerebellum) and/or cognitive control/attention (dorsomedial and lateral frontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, cuneus, and precuneus). In line with predictions, the youth with GAD showed significantly less recruitment during task trials than the healthy comparison individuals. However, no indications of specific heightened responses to threat were seen. Conclusions: GAD involves reduced capacity for engaging regions involved in response control/motor responding and/or cognitive control/attention. This might reflect either a secondary consequence of the patient's worry or an early risk factor for the development of worry.