BRAIN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION ASSOCIATED WITH EMOTION DYSREGULATION IN TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT AND NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS

Abstract

Subcortical and cortical brain regions mature at different rates, which vary across individuals, contributing to problems like emotion dysregulation (ED). However, the neurobiology underlying ED in the typically developing children and adolescents (TD) and the clinical populations such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) remained unclear. In two studies, neuroimaging techniques were employed to explore the association of ED with grey matter volume (GMV) and resting state functional connectivity (FC) in TD (study 1), and in boys with ADHD, ASD, and ADHD comorbid ASD (study 2). In study 1, gender moderated the association of ED with both GMV and FC in insula and inferior parietal gyrus among TD. In study 2, FC and GMV in ventral medial prefrontal cortex were associated with ED among clinical populations. These findings highlighted the gender differences in the neurobiology of ED and the neurodevelopmental disorder contribution to ED.