title: Incentive Processing in Persistent Disruptive Behavior and Psychopathic Traits: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study in Adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Children with early-onset disruptive behavior disorder (DBD), especially those with callous-unemotional traits, are at risk of developing persistent and severe adult antisocial behavior. One possible underlying mechanism for persistence is deficient reward and loss sensitivity, i.e., deficient incentive processing. However, little is known about the relation between deficient incentive processing and persistence of antisocial behavior into adulthood or its relation with callous-unemotional and other psychopathic traits. In this study, we investigate the relationship between the neural correlates of incentive processing and both DBD persistence and psychopathic traits.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a sample of 128 adolescents (mean age 17.7) with a history of criminal offending before age 12, functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed during a monetary incentive delay task designed to assess neural responses during incentive processing. Neural activation during incentive processing was then associated with DBD persistence and psychopathic traits, measured with the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with both healthy control subjects and youths who had desisted from DBD, persistent DBD subjects showed lower neural responses in the ventral striatum during reward outcomes and higher neural responses in the amygdala during loss outcomes. Callous-unemotional traits were related to lower neural responses in the amygdala during reward outcomes, while other psychopathic traits were not related to incentive processing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the current study, aberrant incentive processing is related to persistence of childhood antisocial behavior into late adolescence and to callous-unemotional traits. This mechanism may underlie treatment resistance in a subgroup of antisocial youth and provide a target for intervention.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam. Electronic address: m.cohn@debascule.com.
authors.forename: Moran D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Cohn
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Dick J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Veltman
authors.affiliation: Departments of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Louise E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Pape
authors.affiliation: Departments of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: van Lith
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Curium-Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden.
authors.forename: Robert R J M
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Vermeiren
authors.affiliation: Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: van den Brink
authors.affiliation: Departments of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Theo A H
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Doreleijers
authors.affiliation: Departments of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam; Institute of Criminal Law & Criminology, Faculty of Law, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Popma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D059031:Anticipation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D057237:Criminals; D030141:Feedback, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012201:Reward
keywords: Antisocial behavior; Callous-unemotional; Persistence; Psychopathy; Reward; fMRI