Sex differences in the development of emotion circuitry in adolescents at risk for substance abuse: A longitudinal fMRI study.

Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2017 Feb 21;:

Authors: Hardee JE, Cope LM, Munier EC, Welsh RC, Zucker RA, Heitzeg MM

Abstract
There is substantial evidence for behavioral sex differences in risk trajectories for alcohol and substance use disorders (SUDs), with internalizing factors such as negative affectivity contributing more to female risk. Because the neural development of emotion circuitry varies between males and females across adolescence, it represents a potential mechanism by which underlying neurobiology contributes to SUD risk. Longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was conducted in males and females (n = 18 each) with a family history of alcohol use disorders starting at ages 8-13yrs. Participants performed an affective emotional word task during fMRI at 1- to 2-yr intervals, covering the age range of 8.5-17.6yrs (3-4 scans per participant). Significant age-related sex differences were found in the right amygdala and right precentral gyrus for the negative versus neutral word condition. Males showed a significant decrease in both amygdala and precentral gyrus activation with age, while the response in females persisted. The subjective experience of internalizing symptomatology significantly increased with age for females but not for males. Taken together, these results reveal sex differences in negative affect processing in at-risk adolescents, and offer longitudinal neural evidence for females SUD risk through internalizing pathways.

PMID: 28338724 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]