Low prosocial behavior in childhood has been consistently linked to later psychopathology, with evidence supporting the influence of both genetic and environmental factors on its development.... Show moreLow prosocial behavior in childhood has been consistently linked to later psychopathology, with evidence supporting the influence of both genetic and environmental factors on its development. Although neonatal DNA methylation (DNAm) has been found to prospectively associate with a range of psychological traits in childhood, its potential role in prosocial development has yet to be investigated. This study investigated prospective associations between cord blood DNAm at birth and low prosocial behavior within and across four longitudinal birth cohorts from the Pregnancy And Childhood Epigenetics (PACE) Consortium. We examined (a) developmental trajectories of "chronic-low" versus "typical" prosocial behavior across childhood in a case-control design (N = 2,095), and (b) continuous "low prosocial" scores at comparable cross-cohort time-points (N = 2,121). Meta-analyses were performed to examine differentially methylated positions and regions. At the cohort-specific level, three CpGs were found to associate with chronic low prosocial behavior; however, none of these associations was replicated in another cohort. Meta-analysis revealed no epigenome-wide significant CpGs or regions. Overall, we found no evidence for associations between DNAm patterns at birth and low prosocial behavior across childhood. Findings highlight the importance of employing multi-cohort approaches to replicate epigenetic associations and reduce the risk of false positive discoveries. Show less
The social relationships we form with other individuals are a fundamental part of human development. In order to establish these relationships it is of key importance for children to develop social... Show moreThe social relationships we form with other individuals are a fundamental part of human development. In order to establish these relationships it is of key importance for children to develop social competence (e.g. the ability to fulfill both others’ and own needs in a social context). The main goal of this thesis was to understand individual differences in social competence in middle childhood, by employing a combination of behavioral, neuroimaging and behavioral genetic approaches. Findings demonstrated that adults and children display social competence by showing helping behavior as a response to observed social exclusion. Additionally, in both adults and children social competence was associated with an integrated set of brain regions involved in socio-cognitive and affective processing, indicating that the neural architecture underlying social competence is already well established in middle childhood. Results on heritability of social competence indicate that individual differences in prosocial tendencies and brain structure might be partly influenced by genetic factors, but that neural and behavioral responses in a specific social context are largely shaped by an individual’s experiences in the (social) environment. This thesis highlights middle childhood as a possible window of opportunity for increasing social competence through training or intervention. Show less
A unique feature of adolescent social re-orientation is heightened sensitivity to peer influence when taking risks. However, positive peer influence effects are not yet well understood. The present... Show moreA unique feature of adolescent social re-orientation is heightened sensitivity to peer influence when taking risks. However, positive peer influence effects are not yet well understood. The present fMRI study tested a novel hypothesis, by examining neural correlates of prosocial peer influence on donation decisions in adolescence. Participants (age 12–16 years; N ¼ 61) made decisions in anonymous groups about the allocation of tokens between themselves and the group in a public goods game. Two spectator groups of same-age peers—in fact youth actors—were allegedly online during some of the decisions.The task had a within-subjects design with three conditions: (1) Evaluation: spectators evaluated decisions with likes for large donations to the group, (2) Spectator: spectators were present but no evaluative feedback was displayed and (3) Alone: no spectators nor feedback. Results showed that prosocial behavior increased in the presence of peers, and even more when participants received evaluative feedback from peers. Peer presence resulted in enhanced activity in several social brain regions including medial prefrontal cortex, temporal parietal junction (TPJ), precuneus and superior temporal sulcus.TPJ activity correlated with donations, which suggests similar networks for prosocial behavior and sensitivity to peers.These findings highlight the importance of peers in fostering prosocial development throughout adolescence. Show less
