The aim of this dissertation was to explore the biological correlates of child maltreatment in a family context. We used an extended family design to investigate intergenerational transmission of... Show moreThe aim of this dissertation was to explore the biological correlates of child maltreatment in a family context. We used an extended family design to investigate intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment, the role of heritability in child maltreatment, and the association of child maltreatment with parent-childresting state connectome similarity (RScs), hair glucocorticoids, and BMI. In sum, these studies show that child maltreatment (in particular abuse) runs in families– partly because of genetic factors, partly because of environmental factors – is associated with less dyadic RScs, and higher long-term hair cortisone levels andweight. Thus, four biological systems – genetic, neural activation, endocrine, metabolic – are implicated in child maltreatment at a family level. Show less
Meulen, M. van der; Wierenga, L.M.; Achterberg, M.; Drenth, N.; IJzendoorn, M.H. van; Crone, E.A. 2020
Prosocial behavior and empathy are important aspects of developing social relations in childhood. Prior studies showed protracted structural development of social brain regions associated with... Show moreProsocial behavior and empathy are important aspects of developing social relations in childhood. Prior studies showed protracted structural development of social brain regions associated with prosocial behavior. However, it remains unknown how structure of the social brain is influenced by genetic or environmental factors, and whether overlapping heritability factors explain covariance in structure of the social brain and behavior. The current study examined this hypothesis in a twin sample (aged 7-9-year; N = 512). Bilateral measures of surface area and cortical thickness of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), and precuneus were analyzed. Results showed genetic contributions to surface area and cortical thickness for all brain regions. We found additional shared environmental influences for TPJ, suggesting that this region might be relatively more sensitive to social experiences. Genetic factors also influenced parent-reported prosocial behavior (A = 45%) and empathy (A = 59%). We provided initial evidence that the precuneus shares genetically determined variance with empathy, suggesting a possible small genetic overlap (9%) in brain structure and empathy. These findings show that structure of the social brain and empathy are driven by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, with some factors overlapping for brain structure and behavior. Show less
Michelle Achterberg is a developmental neuroscientist with an interest in social emotional development. In her thesis, Michelle provides a comprehensive overview of the underlying mechanisms of... Show moreMichelle Achterberg is a developmental neuroscientist with an interest in social emotional development. In her thesis, Michelle provides a comprehensive overview of the underlying mechanisms of social emotion regulation in childhood. Her studies show that the brain is prone to signal for socially relevant information. She revealed that the network of social saliency is already present in childhood, indicating that this might be a core social mechanism.The thesis additionally shows that social rejection is often followed by behavioral aggression, and regulation of these retaliation emotions is related to control mechanisms of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Moreover, the results show that the vast architecture of functional subcortical-prefrontal brain connectivity is already in place in middle childhood and suggest fine tuning of (social evaluation) brain networks across childhood. These findings highlighting the need to incorporate childhood into developmental models of social emotion regulation.Neuroimaging research, specifically neuroimaging in children is prone to challenges and several methodological considerations need to be taken into account when studying the childhood brain. In spite of these difficulties, studying childhood brain development has the potential to provide important insights into a unique developmental window of opportunity. Show less
Meulen, M. van der; Steinbeis, N.A.J.; Achterberg, M.; IJzendoorn, M.H. van; Crone, E.A.M. 2018
Experiencing and observing social exclusion and inclusion, as well as prosocial behavior, are important aspects of social relationships in childhood. However, it is currently unknown to what extent... Show moreExperiencing and observing social exclusion and inclusion, as well as prosocial behavior, are important aspects of social relationships in childhood. However, it is currently unknown to what extent these processes and their neural correlates differ in heritability. We investigated influences of genetics and environment on experiencing social exclusion and compensating for social exclusion of others with the Prosocial Cyberball Game using fMRI in a twin sample (aged 7–9; N = 500). Neuroimaging analyses (N = 283) revealed that experiencing possible self-exclusion resulted in activity in inferior frontal gyrus and medial prefrontal cortex, which was influenced by genetics and unique environment. Experiencing self-inclusion was associated with activity in anterior cingulate cortex, insula and striatum, but this was not significantly explained by genetics or shared environment. We found that children show prosocial compensating behavior when observing social exclusion. Prosocial compensating behavior was associated with activity in posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus, and showed unique environmental effects or measurement error at both behavioral and neural level. Together, these findings show that in children neural activation for experiencing possible self-exclusion and self-inclusion, and for displaying prosocial compensating behavior, is accounted for by unique environmental factors and measurement error, with a small genetic effect on possible self-exclusion. Show less
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a painful disorder affecting one or more extremities. CRPS is characterized by various combinations of sensory, autonomic and motor disturbances. Genetic... Show moreComplex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a painful disorder affecting one or more extremities. CRPS is characterized by various combinations of sensory, autonomic and motor disturbances. Genetic factors are suggested to play a role in CRPS, but this has not been extensively studied. Therefore the aims of this thesis were to study the contribution and the size of the contribution of genetic factors in CRPS and to identify possible susceptibility and causative genes for CRPS. In our studies we have shown that CRPS may develop without a noxious event and it has been suggested that such patients have a larger genetic predisposition. Furthermore we have found that CRPS may occur in a familial form, but did not observe a clear inheritance pattern. We calculated a measure of familial aggregation. This study yielded no indications for a large overall increased risk of developing CRPS for siblings of CRPS patients. Significant associations were found with CRPS and dystonia and two HLA-B62 and HLA-DQ8. We also evaluated the presence of causative mutations in known primary dystonia genes and causative mutations in the SCN9A gene. No such mutations were identified, indicating that these genes do not seem to play a major role in CRPS. Show less
