title: Chronic Childhood Peer Rejection is Associated with Heightened Neural Responses to Social Exclusion During Adolescence.
abstract: This functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) study examined subjective and neural responses to social exclusion in adolescents (age 12-15) who either had a stable accepted (n = 27; 14 males) or a chronic rejected (n = 19; 12 males) status among peers from age 6 to 12. Both groups of adolescents reported similar increases in distress after being excluded in a virtual ball-tossing game (Cyberball), but adolescents with a history of chronic peer rejection showed higher activity in brain regions previously linked to the detection of, and the distress caused by, social exclusion. Specifically, compared with stably accepted adolescents, chronically rejected adolescents displayed: 1) higher activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) during social exclusion and 2) higher activity in the dACC and anterior prefrontal cortex when they were incidentally excluded in a social interaction in which they were overall included. These findings demonstrate that chronic childhood peer rejection is associated with heightened neural responses to social exclusion during adolescence, which has implications for understanding the processes through which peer rejection may lead to adverse effects on mental health over time.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333, AK, Leiden, The Netherlands. g.j.will@fsw.leidenuniv.nl.|Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9600, 2300, RC, Leiden, The Netherlands. g.j.will@fsw.leidenuniv.nl.
authors.forename: Geert-Jan
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Will
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Psychology, VU University, Van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081, BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Pol A C
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: van Lier
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333, AK, Leiden, The Netherlands.|Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9600, 2300, RC, Leiden, The Netherlands.|Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Weesperplein 4, 1018 XA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Eveline A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Crone
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333, AK, Leiden, The Netherlands.|Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9600, 2300, RC, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Berna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Güroğlu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012059:Rejection, Psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D013177:Sports / Q000523:psychology; D018910:Video Games / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Anterior cingulate cortex; Cyberball; Ostracism; Peer relations; Peer status; fMRI