Benjamin Lahey

Background We used a polygenic score for externalizing behavior (extPGS) and structural MRI to examine potential pathways from genetic liability to conduct problems via the brain across the adolescent transition. Methods Three annual assessments of child conduct problems, attention‐deficit/hyperactivity problems, and internalizing problems were conducted across across 9–13 years of age among 4,475 children of European ancestry in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM Study (ABCD Study®). Results The extPGS predicted conduct problems in each wave (R2 = 2.0%–2.9%). Bifactor models revealed that the extPRS predicted variance specific to conduct problems (R2 = 1.7%–2.1%), but also variance that conduct problems shared with other measured problems (R2 = .8%–1.4%). Longitudinally, extPGS predicted levels of specific conduct problems (R2 = 2.0%), but not their slope of …

The Hurst exponent (H) isolated in fractal analyses of neuroimaging time series is implicated broadly in cognition. Within this literature, H is associated with multiple mental disorders, suggesting that H is transdimensionally associated with psychopathology. Here, we unify these results and demonstrate a pattern of decreased H with increased general psychopathology and attention-deficit/hyperactivity factor scores during a working memory task in 1,839 children. This pattern predicts current and future cognitive performance in children and some psychopathology in 703 adults. This pattern also defines psychological and functional axes associating psychopathology with an imbalance in resource allocation between fronto-parietal and sensorimotor regions, driven by reduced resource allocation to fronto-parietal regions. This suggests the hypothesis that impaired working memory function in psychopathology …

Background Many studies of brain-behavior relationships rely on univariate approaches where each variable of interest is tested independently, which does not allow for the simultaneous investigation of multiple correlated variables. Alternatively, multivariate approaches allow for examining relationships between psychopathology and neural substrates simultaneously. There are multiple multivariate methods to choose from that each have assumptions which can affect the results; however, many studies employ one method without a clear justification for its selection. Additionally, there are few studies illustrating how differences between methods manifest in examining brain-behavior relationships. The purpose of this study was to exemplify how the choice of multivariate approach can change brain-behavior interpretations. Method We used data from 9,027 9- to 10-year-old children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM Study (ABCD Study®) to examine brain-behavior relationships with three commonly used multivariate approaches: canonical correlation analysis (CCA), partial least squares correlation (PLSC), and partial least squares regression (PLSR). We examined the associations between psychopathology dimensions including general psychopathology, attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms, conduct problems, and internalizing symptoms with regional brain volumes. Results The results of CCA, PLSC, and PLSR showed both consistencies and differences in the relationship between psychopathology symptoms and brain structure. The leading significant component yielded by each method demonstrated similar …

BackgroundWhen brain networks deviate from typical development, this is thought to contribute to varying forms of psychopathology. However, research has been limited by the reliance on discrete diagnostic categories that overlook the potential for psychological comorbidity and the dimensional nature of symptoms.MethodsThis study examined the topology of functional networks in association with 4 bifactor-defined psychopathology dimensions—general psychopathology, internalizing symptoms, conduct problems, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms—via the Child Behavior Checklist in a sample of 3568 children from the ABCD (Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development) Study. Local and global graph theory metrics were calculated at rest and during tasks of reward processing, inhibition, and working memory.ResultsGreater attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms were associated with …

BackgroundEarly-life stressors can adversely affect the developing brain. While hierarchical modeling has established the existence of a general factor of psychopathology, no studies have modeled a general factor of environmental stress and related this factor to brain development. Using a large sample of children from the ABCD (Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development) Study, the current study aimed to identify general and specific factors of environmental stress and test their associations with brain structure and psychopathology.MethodsIn a sample of 11,878 children, bifactor modeling and higher-order (second-order) modeling identified general and specific factors of environmental stress: family dynamics, interpersonal support, neighborhood socioeconomic status deprivation, and urbanicity. Structural equation modeling was performed to examine associations between these factors and regional gray matter …

Studies of the genetic and environmental factors that make children more or less likely to develop distressing and impairing psychological problems, and studies of the psychobiological pathways through which these causal factors operate, have the goal of improving our understanding of the basic nature of psychological problems to develop better methods of prevention and treatment. For this reason, we have long had our eye on the prize of discovering the causes and psychobiological mechanisms underlying each dimension of psychological problems. There are compelling reasons, however, to seek a different and more achievable prize to understand psychological problems. Dimensions of psychological problems are both far too heterogeneous and too highly correlated to line up with distinct causal pathways. In contrast, a small number of orthogonal cognitive and socioemotional dispositional dimensions are …

A polygenic risk score (PRS) for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been found to be associated with ADHD in multiple studies, but also with many other dimensions of problems. Little is known, however, about the processes underlying these transdiagnostic associations. Using data from the baseline and 1-year follow-up assessments of 9- to 10-year-old children in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development™ (ABCD©) Study, associations were assessed between an ADHD PRS and both general and specific factors of psychological problems defined in bifactor modeling. Additionally, prospective mediated paths were tested from the ADHD PRS to dimensions of problems in the follow-up assessment through baseline measures of executive functioning (EF) and two facets of impulsivity: lower perseverance and greater impulsiveness in the presence of surgent positive emotions. Previous findings of …

Huth et al.(1) claim that our finding of lower depression rates in larger US cities (2) is “unwarranted.” Their argument is based on an oversight of our fundamental assumption articulating rates of depression to city size: that cities are socioeconomic networks mediated by built environments. Problematically, their analysis is based on a flawed definition of city boundaries. Here, we address each of these points. First, the issue of functional city definitions: The fundamental insight of urban science (3) is that cities are spatially aggregated socioeconomic networks with properties self-consistently shaped by their built infrastructure. Consequently, meaningful spatial city boundaries must capture—in a single unit of analysis—where people live, socialize, and work. In the United States, the well-tested definition that fits these criteria is the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) as delineated by the US Office of Management and …