title: Imaging decision about whether to benefit self by harming others: Adolescents with conduct and substance problems, with or without callous-unemotionality, or developing typically.
abstract: We sought to identify brain activation differences in conduct-problem youth with limited prosocial emotions (LPE) compared to conduct-problem youth without LPE and community adolescents, and to test associations between brain activation and severity of callous-unemotional traits. We utilized a novel task, which asks subjects to repeatedly decide whether to accept offers where they will benefit but a beneficent other will be harmed. Behavior on this task has been previously associated with levels of prosocial emotions and severity of callous-unemotional traits, and is related to empathic concern. During fMRI acquisition, 66 male adolescents (21 conduct-problem patients with LPE, 21 without, and 24 typically-developing controls) played this novel game. Within typically-developing controls, we identified a network engaged during decision involving bilateral insula, and inferior parietal and medial frontal cortices, among other regions. Group comparisons using non-parametric (distribution-free) permutation tests demonstrated LPE patients had lower activation estimates than typically-developing adolescents in right anterior insula. Additional significant group differences emerged with our a priori parametric cluster-wise inference threshold. These results suggest measurable functional brain activation differences in conduct-problem adolescents with LPE compared to typically-developing adolescents. Such differences may underscore differential treatment needs for conduct-problem males with and without LPE.
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Aurora, CO, USA. Electronic address: Joseph.sakai@ucdenver.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Manish S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Dalwani
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Susan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Mikulich-Gilbertson
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Raymond
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Shannon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McWilliams
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Jody
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.affiliation: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Don
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Regner
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado Boulder, Institute of Cognitive Science, Boulder, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Marie T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Banich
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Crowley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D004645:Empathy / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods
keywords: Antisocial; Callous; Drug abuse; Imaging; Prosocial