title: Early-Childhood Social Reticence Predicts Brain Function in Preadolescent Youths During Distinct Forms of Peer Evaluation.
abstract: Social reticence is expressed as shy, anxiously avoidant behavior in early childhood. With development, overt signs of social reticence may diminish but could still manifest themselves in neural responses to peers. We obtained measures of social reticence across 2 to 7 years of age. At age 11, preadolescents previously characterized as high (n = 30) or low (n = 23) in social reticence completed a novel functional-MRI-based peer-interaction task that quantifies neural responses to the anticipation and receipt of distinct forms of social evaluation. High (but not low) social reticence in early childhood predicted greater activity in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and left and right insula, brain regions implicated in processing salience and distress, when participants anticipated unpredictable compared with predictable feedback. High social reticence was also associated with negative functional connectivity between insula and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a region commonly implicated in affect regulation. Finally, among participants with high social reticence, negative evaluation was associated with increased amygdala activity, but only during feedback from unpredictable peers.
authors.affiliation: Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University johanna.jarcho@stonybrook.edu.
authors.forename: Johanna M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Jarcho
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
authors.forename: Megan M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Haifa.
authors.forename: Tomer
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shechner
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development, University of Maryland, College Park.
authors.forename: Kathryn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Degnan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo.
authors.forename: Heather A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.affiliation: Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health.
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stoddard
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development, University of Maryland, College Park.
authors.forename: Nathan A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.affiliation: Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Leibenluft
authors.affiliation: Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health.
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Pine
authors.affiliation: Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health Center for Biobehavioral Health, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio Department of Pediatrics, Ohio State University.
authors.forename: Eric E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Nelson
mesh_terms: D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D063132:Connectome / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012792:Shyness; D012938:Social Perception
keywords: adolescent development; brain; neuroimaging; social cognition; social interaction