TY - JOUR
T1 - Negative life experiences contribute to racial differences in the neural response to threat
AU - Harnett, Nathaniel G.
AU - Wheelock, Muriah D.
AU - Wood, Kimberly H.
AU - Goodman, Adam M.
AU - Mrug, Sylvie
AU - Elliott, Marc N.
AU - Schuster, Mark A.
AU - Tortolero, Susan
AU - Knight, David C.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank Danielle Hurst, Benjamin Pody, Kristina Bell, Juliann Purcell, Heather Dark, and Jordan Ladnier for assistance with this manuscript. The original Healthy Passages Study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through cooperative agreements ( CCU409679 , CCU609653 , CCU915773 , U48DP000046 , U48DP000057 , U48DP000056 , U19DP002663 , U19DP002664 , and U19DP002665 ). This research was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health R01MH098348 (S. M. & D. C. K.), the University of Alabama at Birmingham Office for Equity and Diversity (N. G. H.), and the Ford Foundation (N. G. H.).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2019/11/15
Y1 - 2019/11/15
N2 - Threat-related emotional function is supported by a neural circuit that includes the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, and amygdala. The function of this neural circuit is altered by negative life experiences, which can potentially affect threat-related emotional processes. Notably, Black-American individuals disproportionately endure negative life experiences compared to White-American individuals. However, the relationships among negative life experiences, race, and the neural substrates that support threat-related emotional function remains unclear. Therefore, the current study investigated whether the brain function that supports threat-related emotional processes varies with racial differences in negative life experiences. In the present study, adolescent violence exposure, family income, and neighborhood disadvantage were measured prospectively (i.e., at 11–19 years of age) for Black-American and White-American volunteers. Participants then, as young adults (i.e., 18–23 years of age), completed a Pavlovian fear conditioning task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Cued and non-cued threats were presented during the conditioning task and behavioral (threat expectancy) and psychophysiological responses (skin conductance response; SCR) were recorded simultaneously with fMRI. Racial differences were observed in neural (fMRI activity), behavioral (threat expectancy), and psychophysiological (SCR) responses to threat. These threat-elicited responses also varied with negative life experiences (violence exposure, family income, and neighborhood disadvantage). Notably, racial differences in brain activity to threat were smaller after accounting for negative life experiences. The present findings suggest that racial differences in the neural and behavioral response to threat are due, in part, to exposure to negative life experiences and may provide new insight into the mechanisms underlying racial disparities in mental health.
AB - Threat-related emotional function is supported by a neural circuit that includes the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, and amygdala. The function of this neural circuit is altered by negative life experiences, which can potentially affect threat-related emotional processes. Notably, Black-American individuals disproportionately endure negative life experiences compared to White-American individuals. However, the relationships among negative life experiences, race, and the neural substrates that support threat-related emotional function remains unclear. Therefore, the current study investigated whether the brain function that supports threat-related emotional processes varies with racial differences in negative life experiences. In the present study, adolescent violence exposure, family income, and neighborhood disadvantage were measured prospectively (i.e., at 11–19 years of age) for Black-American and White-American volunteers. Participants then, as young adults (i.e., 18–23 years of age), completed a Pavlovian fear conditioning task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Cued and non-cued threats were presented during the conditioning task and behavioral (threat expectancy) and psychophysiological responses (skin conductance response; SCR) were recorded simultaneously with fMRI. Racial differences were observed in neural (fMRI activity), behavioral (threat expectancy), and psychophysiological (SCR) responses to threat. These threat-elicited responses also varied with negative life experiences (violence exposure, family income, and neighborhood disadvantage). Notably, racial differences in brain activity to threat were smaller after accounting for negative life experiences. The present findings suggest that racial differences in the neural and behavioral response to threat are due, in part, to exposure to negative life experiences and may provide new insight into the mechanisms underlying racial disparities in mental health.
KW - Brain imaging
KW - Fear
KW - Health disparities
KW - Race differences
KW - Social neuroscience
KW - Stress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85070577948&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116086
DO - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116086
M3 - Article
C2 - 31401241
AN - SCOPUS:85070577948
SN - 1053-8119
VL - 202
JO - NeuroImage
JF - NeuroImage
M1 - 116086
ER -