Developmental Variation in the Amygdala: Normative Pathways Across Puberty and Stress- Linked Deviations Justin D
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Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2018 Developmental variation in the amygdala: Normative pathways across puberty and stress- linked deviations Justin D. Russell Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Russell, Justin D., "Developmental variation in the amygdala: Normative pathways across puberty and stress-linked deviations" (2018). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 17304. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/17304 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Developmental variation in the amygdala: Normative pathways across puberty and stress- linked deviations by Justin D. Russell A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Psychology Program of Study Committee: Monica A. Marsee, Co-major Professor Carl F. Weems., Co-major Professor Craig A. Anderson Douglas A. Gentile Elizabeth A. Shirtcliff The student author, whose presentation of the scholarship herein was approved by the program of study committee, is solely responsible for the content of this dissertation. The Graduate College will ensure this dissertation is globally accessible and will not permit alterations after a degree is conferred. Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2018 Copyright © Justin D. Russell, 2018. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iv CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2. THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE AMYGDALA: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ...................................................................................................... 4 Overview ................................................................................................................................... 4 A Brief Neuroanatomical Description of the Amygdala ........................................................... 4 Anatomical Structure ............................................................................................................ 4 Neural and Somatic Connections ......................................................................................... 5 Investigation through Lesioning and Stimulation ..................................................................... 7 Animal Subjects Research .................................................................................................... 7 Human Subjects Research .................................................................................................... 9 Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Investigations of the Human Amygdala ............... 12 Unconditioned Amygdala Stimulation .................................................................................... 13 Generally Aversive Stimuli ................................................................................................ 13 Emotional Faces ................................................................................................................. 15 Conditioned Amygdala Stimulation ........................................................................................ 17 CHAPTER 3. AMYGDALA DEVELOPMENT ......................................................................... 20 Early Small Sample Studies .................................................................................................... 20 Giedd and Colleagues Examine Large Samples of Healthy Youth ......................................... 21 Contemporary Studies of Neurodevelopment ......................................................................... 25 Puberty as an Index of Development ....................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 4. STRESS AND AMYGDALA DEVELOPMENT................................................. 35 Stress and the Brain ................................................................................................................. 36 Stress and the Developing Amygdala ...................................................................................... 39 Socioeconomic Disadvantage .................................................................................................. 43 CHAPTER 5. SUMMATION ....................................................................................................... 46 Normative Change in the Amygdala across Development ...................................................... 46 CHAPTER 6. METHODS ............................................................................................................ 57 Participants .............................................................................................................................. 57 Recruitment ........................................................................................................................ 57 Measures .................................................................................................................................. 60 Socioeconomic Status......................................................................................................... 60 Pubertal Status .................................................................................................................... 61 MRI .................................................................................................................................... 61 Data Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 67 CHAPTER 7. RESULTS .............................................................................................................. 74 Normative Development .......................................................................................................... 74 Effect of Socioeconomic Status ............................................................................................... 75 iii Pubertal Development Model .................................................................................................. 76 Normative Development .................................................................................................... 76 Effects of Socioeconomic Status ........................................................................................ 76 Combined Model ..................................................................................................................... 77 Model Comparisons ................................................................................................................. 79 CHAPTER 8. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 81 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 88 APPENDIX – SUPPLEMENTAL TABLES.............................................................................. 122 iv ABSTRACT Psychologists and neuroscientists have long accepted that the brain changes in size and shape throughout the course of child development . These changes are by no means uniform – the underlying processes of myelination and pruning vary in pace across brain regions (Lenroot & Giedd, 2006). Conversely, trends in regional development are likely uniform across our species (Stiles & Jernigan, 2010). In fact, deviations from normative trends in neurodevelopment are thought to be a core factor underlying psychopathology across the lifespan (Giedd et al., 2008; Giedd & Rapoport, 2010). This assertion, however, presumes a well-defined reference for “normal” brain development – common trends in the growth of individual brain regions across the time course of child development. Yet, despite a decades-old call to inform the study of what is abnormal in psychology with knowledge of what is normal (Cicchetti, 1984), our collective knowledge of the typical course of neural development is strikingly limited. The proposed study aims to enhance knowledge about normative brain maturation by examining longitudinal trends in the development of the amygdala, a region with important implications for a wide range of developmental processes. CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION Psychologists and neuroscientists have long accepted that the brain changes in size and shape throughout the course of child development (Giedd et al., 1999; Reiss, Abrams, Singer, Ross, & Denckla, 1996). These changes are by no means uniform – the underlying processes of myelination and pruning vary in pace across brain regions (Lenroot & Giedd, 2006). Conversely, trends in regional development are likely uniform across our species (Stiles & Jernigan, 2010). In fact, deviations from normative trends in neurodevelopment are thought to be a core factor underlying psychopathology across the lifespan (Giedd et al., 2008; Giedd & Rapoport, 2010). This assertion, however, presumes a well-defined reference for “normal” brain development