The default mode network is associated with changes in internalizing and externalizing problems differently in adolescent boys and girls.
Yoonji Lee, Rajpreet Chahal, Ian H Gotlib
Development and psychopathology February 27, 2023 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579423000111 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 128 |
| Population | Adolescents aged 9-14 years (73 females) |
| Duration | 2-year follow-up |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Nerve net Humans Magnetic resonance imaging Adolescent behavior Sex factors Sex characteristics Child Female Problem behavior Adolescence Sex differences Externalizing Internalizing Brain functional connectivity |
| Key findings | Baseline resting-state functional connectivity patterns predicted changes in internalizing and externalizing problems two years later, with different default mode network involvement in boys and girls. Internalizing changes were associated with the dorsal medial subsystem in boys and the medial temporal subsystem in girls; externalizing changes were predicted by default mode-frontoparietal hyperconnectivity in boys and default mode-affective network hypoconnectivity in girls. |
Abstract
Internalizing and externalizing problems that emerge during adolescence differentially increase boys' and girls' risk for developing psychiatric disorders. It is not clear, however, whether there are sex differences in the intrinsic functional architecture of the brain that underlie changes in the severity of internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents. Using resting-state fMRI data and self-reports of behavioral problems obtained from 128 adolescents (73 females; 9-14 years old) at two timepoints, we conducted multivoxel pattern analysis to identify resting-state functional connectivity markers at baseline that predict changes in the severity of internalizing and externalizing problems in boys and girls 2 years later. We found sex-differentiated involvement of the default mode network in changes in internalizing and externalizing problems. Whereas changes in internalizing problems were associated with the dorsal medial subsystem in boys and with the medial temporal subsystem in girls, changes in externalizing problems were predicted by hyperconnectivity between core nodes of the DMN and frontoparietal network in boys and hypoconnectivity between the DMN and affective networks in girls. Our results suggest that different neural mechanisms predict changes in internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescent boys and girls and offer insights concerning mechanisms that underlie sex differences in the expression of psychopathology in adolescence.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A default mode of brain function Normal adult human brain | 2001 | Observational study | |
| Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| The precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex plays a pivotal role in the default mode network: Evidence from a partial correlation network analysis Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study |