Andreas Dahl

• Thorsen, Anders Lillevik; Boehmisch, Florence Friederike; Alnæs, Dag; Dahl, Andreas; Westlye, Lars Tjelta & Ousdal, Olga Therese (2025). Associations between early life adversity and the development of gray matter macrostructure and microstructure. Psychological Medicine. ISSN 0033-2917. 55. doi: 10.1017/S0033291725102651. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background: Early life adversity (ELA) is common and cross-sectionally associated with brain gray matter structure, including cortical thickness, cortical surface area, and subcortical volumes in childhood. However, to which degree ELA influences the trajectory of gray matter macrostructural and microstructural development during childhood and adolescence remains largely unexplored. Methods: We included 6414 participants from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study at ages 9–11, where 1923 were followed to ages 11–13. We used linear mixed-effects models to test for associations between MRI-derived longitudinal measures of gray matter macro- (cortical thickness, surface area, subcortical volume) or microstructure (T1w/T2w ratio) and trauma exposure, parental acceptance, household abuse, and being resilient or susceptible to trauma in terms of developing an internalizing disorder. Results: At ages 9–11, higher levels of parental acceptance, trauma exposure, and being trauma resilient were associated with lower levels of cortical thickness. In contrast, being trauma susceptible was negatively related to hippocampal volume and cortical surface area. Longitudinally, more parental acceptance at baseline was associated with more cortical thinning between ages 9–11 and 11–13, while more household abuse was associated with less change in T1w/T2w ratio over time. Conclusions: Parental acceptance and trauma resilience are linked to accelerated pace of apparent cortical thinning in youth aged 9–13 years, while household abuse is associated with slower microstructural development, as reflected by smaller longitudinal changes in the T1w/T2w ratio. Threat and deprivation may be distinctly associated with gray matter developmental trajectories in late childhood.

• Frogner, Erik R.; Dahl, Andreas; Kjelkenes, Rikka; Moberget, Torgeir; Collins, Anne G.E. & Westlye, Lars Tjelta [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2025). Linking reinforcement learning, working memory, and choice dynamics to age and symptoms of anxiety and depression in adolescence. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. ISSN 1878-9293. 76. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101626. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Norbom, Linn B.; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Dahl, Andreas; Karl, Valerie; Westlye, Lars Tjelta & Tamnes, Christian K. (2025). Socioeconomic context influences the heritability of child cortical structure. Communications Biology. 8. doi: 10.1038/s42003-025-09022-7. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Children differ in brain cortical morphometry and microstructure, which together form the structural foundation for cognition. Cortical structure is highly heritable, but whether heritability varies across socioeconomic status (SES) is unknown. In this preregistered study, we estimated single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based heritability of cortical thickness, surface area, sulcal depth, and grey-/white-matter contrast (GWC) among 9,080 US 10-year-olds. We then tested whether genetic and environmental contributions were moderated by parental SES, defined as a composite of income, education, and neighbourhood deprivation. Cortical thickness and surface area showed high heritability, while sulcal depth and GWC exhibited moderate heritability. However, among children from lower-SES backgrounds, cortical differences were less genetically related and more uniquely environmentally related, at times exceeding genetic contributions. These findings suggest that in contexts of socioeconomic disadvantage, children’s brain structure reflect lived experience more strongly than previously recognized.

• Kjelkenes, Rikka; Fernandez-Cabello, Sara; Voldsbekk, Irene; Holm, Madelene Christin; Dahl, Andreas & Lofthus, Ingvild S. [Vis alle 10 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2025). Linking Psychotic-Like Experiences and Brain White Matter Microstructure in Young Women. Brain and Behavior. 15(6), s. 1–12. doi: 10.1002/brb3.70587. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background Psychotic-like experiences (PLE) represent a risk factor for later psychotic disorders and a marker for general mental distress. The connectivity and microstructure of key brain white matter pathways, including fronto–temporal trajectories, have been implicated in psychosis and psychosis-risk. Although sex differences in PLE prevalence and characteristics have been reported, most neuroimaging studies of PLE have primarily included mixed-sex, samples and little research has been carried out in females only. This study examines the associations between PLE and white matter characteristics in young to middle-aged females. Methods We analyzed cross-sectional diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) and self-reported data from 661 females aged 9–44 years using the 15-item version of The Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) questionnaire. Associations between CAPE subscales and other psychopathology measures were tested. Using linked independent component analysis (LICA), we decomposed the voxel-wise data from 24 dMRI metrics across five different diffusion models into 10 spatially independent components. We then examined the association between the LICA subject weights and age. Next, we tested for associations between the LICA subject weights and both CAPE total and subscales scores using Bayesian statistics. Results PLE were broadly associated with various domains of psychopathology and psychosocial factors. Moderate evidence emerged for an association between PLE and an LICA component reflecting a broad and complex pattern of diffusivity in major pathways, including the inferior fronto– occipital fasciculus, anterior thalamic radiation, and forceps minor. The persecutory ideations subscale showed the strongest evidence of an effect. Conclusion PLE in young females are associated with a distinct multimodal white matter pattern reflecting microstructural characteristics in key commissural, association, and thalamocortical pathways in young females. The findings support that LICA is a valuable tool for fusing and decomposing advanced dMRI metrics to delineate white matter patterns that show sensitivity to PLE and mental distress.

• Tamnes, Christian Krog; Dahl, Andreas; Meer, Dennis van der; Agartz, Ingrid; Alnæs, Dag & Andreassen, Ole [Vis alle 13 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2025). Relationships between wellbeing polygenic scores, brain structure, and psychopathology in children. Personality and Individual Differences. ISSN 0191-8869. 246. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2025.113313. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Wellbeing is shaped by an interplay of genetic and environmental factors and is associated with both health and functioning. It remains unclear whether genetic influences on wellbeing are linked to brain structure and, in turn, early-life psychopathology. Here, we investigated associations between wellbeing polygenic scores (PGS), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived measures of brain structure, and parent-reported measures of child psychopathology in a large cross-sectional sample of children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (n = 8844; 8.9–11.0 years old). Preregistered analyses revealed no significant associations between wellbeing PGS and regional cortical thickness or subcortical volumes and only a small negative association with surface area of the parahippocampal cortex (β = −0.03, p = .002), while an exploratory analysis identified a small positive association with intracranial volume (ICV; β = 0.04, p < .001). Preregistered analyses showed small negative associations between wellbeing PGS and general psychopathology (β = −0.09, p < .001) and both internalizing (β = −0.09, p < .001) and externalizing problems (β = −0.07, p < .001). ICV partially mediated the relationships between wellbeing PGS and psychopathology, accounting for 1.3–3.3 % of these relationships. The findings suggest that while wellbeing PGS have limited associations with regional brain structure in children, they exhibit small protective effects against psychopathology.

• Berthet, Pierre; Haatveit, Beathe; Kjelkenes, Rikka; Worker, Amanda; Kia, Seyed Mostafa & Wolfers, Thomas [Vis alle 21 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2024). A 10-Year Longitudinal Study of Brain Cortical Thickness in People with First-Episode Psychosis Using Normative Models. Schizophrenia Bulletin. ISSN 0586-7614. 51(1), s. 95–107. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbae107. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background Clinical forecasting models have potential to optimize treatment and improve outcomes in psychosis, but predicting long-term outcomes is challenging and long-term follow-up data are scarce. In this 10-year longitudinal study, we aimed to characterize the temporal evolution of cortical correlates of psychosis and their associations with symptoms. Design Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from people with first-episode psychosis and controls (n = 79 and 218) were obtained at enrollment, after 12 months (n = 67 and 197), and 10 years (n = 23 and 77), within the Thematically Organized Psychosis (TOP) study. Normative models for cortical thickness estimated on public MRI datasets (n = 42 983) were applied to TOP data to obtain deviation scores for each region and timepoint. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores were acquired at each timepoint along with registry data. Linear mixed effects models assessed effects of diagnosis, time, and their interactions on cortical deviations plus associations with symptoms. Results LMEs revealed conditional main effects of diagnosis and time × diagnosis interactions in a distributed cortical network, where negative deviations in patients attenuate over time. In patients, symptoms also attenuate over time. LMEs revealed effects of anterior cingulate on PANSS total, and insular and orbitofrontal regions on PANSS negative scores. Conclusions This long-term longitudinal study revealed a distributed pattern of cortical differences which attenuated over time together with a reduction in symptoms. These findings are not in line with a simple neurodegenerative account of schizophrenia, and deviations from normative models offer a promising avenue to develop biomarkers to track clinical trajectories over time.

• Norbom, Linn Bonaventure; Rokicki, Jaroslav; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Wiker, Thea; Hanson, Jamie & Dahl, Andreas [Vis alle 13 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2024). Parental education and income are linked to offspring cortical brain structure and psychopathology at 9–11 years. JCPP Advances. 4(1). doi: 10.1002/jcv2.12220. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background A child's socioeconomic environment can shape central aspects of their life, including vulnerability to mental disorders. Negative environmental influences in youth may interfere with the extensive and dynamic brain development occurring at this time. Indeed, there are numerous yet diverging reports of associations between parental socioeconomic status (SES) and child cortical brain morphometry. Most of these studies have used single metric- or unimodal analyses of standard cortical morphometry that downplay the probable scenario where numerous biological pathways in sum account for SES-related cortical differences in youth. Methods To comprehensively capture such variability, using data from 9758 children aged 8.9–11.1 years from the ABCD Study®, we employed linked independent component analysis (LICA) and fused vertex-wise cortical thickness, surface area, curvature and grey-/white-matter contrast (GWC). LICA revealed 70 uni- and multimodal components. We then assessed the linear relationships between parental education, parental income and each of the cortical components, controlling for age, sex, genetic ancestry, and family relatedness. We also assessed whether cortical structure moderated the negative relationships between parental SES and child general psychopathology. Results Parental education and income were both associated with larger surface area and higher GWC globally, in addition to local increases in surface area and to a lesser extent bidirectional GWC and cortical thickness patterns. The negative relation between parental income and child psychopathology were attenuated in children with a multimodal pattern of larger frontal- and smaller occipital surface area, and lower medial occipital thickness and GWC. Conclusion Structural brain MRI is sensitive to SES diversity in childhood, with GWC emerging as a particularly relevant marker together with surface area. In low-income families, having a more developed cortex across MRI metrics, appears beneficial for mental health.

• Dahl, Andreas; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Cabello, Sara Fernandez Rodriguez; Norbom, Linn B.; Tandberg, Anneli Desire & Leonardsen, Esten [Vis alle 11 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2024). Genetic and brain similarity independently predict childhood anthropometrics and neighborhood socioeconomic conditions. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. ISSN 1878-9293. 65. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101339. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Linking the developing brain with individual differences in clinical and demographic traits is challenging due to the substantial interindividual heterogeneity of brain anatomy and organization. Here we employ an integrative approach that parses individual differences in both cortical thickness and common genetic variants, and assess their effects on a wide set of childhood traits. The approach uses a linear mixed model framework to obtain the unique effects of each type of similarity, as well as their covariance. We employ this approach in a sample of 7760 unrelated children in the ABCD cohort baseline sample (mean age 9.9, 46.8% female). In general, associations between cortical thickness similarity and traits were limited to anthropometrics such as height, weight, and birth weight, as well as a marker of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions. Common genetic variants explained significant proportions of variance across nearly all included outcomes, although estimates were somewhat lower than previous reports. No significant covariance of the effects of genetic and cortical thickness similarity was found. The present findings highlight the connection between anthropometrics as well as neighborhood socioeconomic conditions and the developing brain, which appear to be independent from individual differences in common genetic variants in this population-based sample.

• Tandberg, Anneli Desire; Dahl, Andreas; Norbom, Linn Bonaventure; Westlye, Lars Tjelta; Ystrøm, Eivind & Tamnes, Christian Krog [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2024). Individual differences in internalizing symptoms in late childhood: A variance decomposition into cortical thickness, genetic and environmental differences. Developmental Science. ISSN 1363-755X. 27. doi: 10.1111/desc.13537. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The brain undergoes extensive development during late childhood and early adolescence. Cortical thinning is a prominent feature of this development, and some researchers have suggested that differences in cortical thickness may be related to internalizing symptoms, which typically increase during the same period. However, research has yielded inconclusive results. We utilized a new method that estimates the combined effect of individual differences in vertex-wise cortical thickness on internalizing symptoms. This approach allows for many small effects to be distributed across the cortex and avoids the necessity of correcting for multiple tests. Using a sample of 8763 children aged 8.9 to 11.1 from the ABCD study, we decomposed the total variation in caregiver-reported internalizing symptoms into differences in cortical thickness, additive genetics, and shared family environmental factors and unique environmental factors. Our results indicated that individual differences in cortical thickness accounted for less than 0.5% of the variation in internalizing symptoms. In contrast, the analysis revealed a substantial effect of additive genetics and family environmental factors on the different components of internalizing symptoms, ranging from 06% to 48% and from 0% to 34%, respectively. Overall, while this study found a minimal association between cortical thickness and internalizing symptoms, additive genetics, and familial environmental factors appear to be of importance for describing differences in internalizing symptoms in late childhood.

• Wiker, Thea; Pedersen, Mads Lund; Ferschmann, Lia; Beck, Dani; Norbom, Linn Christin Bonaventure & Dahl, Andreas [Vis alle 13 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2023). Assessing the Longitudinal Associations Between Decision-Making Processes and Attention Problems in Early Adolescence. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. ISSN 2730-7166. 52, s. 803–817. doi: 10.1007/s10802-023-01148-8. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Abstract Cognitive functions and psychopathology develop in parallel in childhood and adolescence, but the temporal dynamics of their associations are poorly understood. The present study sought to elucidate the intertwined development of decision-making processes and attention problems using longitudinal data from late childhood (9–10 years) to mid-adolescence (11–13 years) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (n = 8918). We utilised hierarchical drift-diffusion modelling of behavioural data from the stop-signal task, parent-reported attention problems from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and multigroup univariate and bivariate latent change score models. The results showed faster drift rate was associated with lower levels of inattention at baseline, as well as a greater reduction of inattention over time. Moreover, baseline drift rate negatively predicted change in attention problems in females, and baseline attention problems negatively predicted change in drift rate. Neither response caution (decision threshold) nor encoding- and responding processes (non-decision time) were significantly associated with attention problems. There were no significant sex differences in the associations between decision-making processes and attention problems. The study supports previous findings of reduced evidence accumulation in attention problems and additionally shows that development of this aspect of decision-making plays a role in developmental changes in attention problems in youth.

• Voldsbekk, Irene; Kjelkenes, Rikka; Dahl, Andreas; Holm, Madelene Christin; Lund, Martina Jonette & Kaufmann, Tobias Herbert [Vis alle 10 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2023). Delineating disorder-general and disorder-specific dimensions of psychopathology from functional brain networks in a developmental clinical sample. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. ISSN 1878-9293. 62. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101271. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The interplay between functional brain network maturation and psychopathology during development remains elusive. To establish the structure of psychopathology and its neurobiological mechanisms, mapping of both shared and unique functional connectivity patterns across developmental clinical populations is needed. We investigated shared associations between resting-state functional connectivity and psychopathology in children and adolescents aged 5–21 (n =1689). Specifically, we used partial least squares (PLS) to identify latent variables (LV) between connectivity and both symptom scores and diagnostic information. We also investigated associations between connectivity and each diagnosis specifically, controlling for other diagnosis categories. PLS identified five significant LVs between connectivity and symptoms, mapping onto the psychopathology hierarchy. The first LV resembled a general psychopathology factor, followed by dimensions of internalising- externalising, neurodevelopment, somatic complaints, and thought problems. Another PLS with diagnostic data revealed one significant LV, resembling a cross-diagnostic case-control pattern. The diagnosis-specific PLS identified a unique connectivity pattern for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). All LVs were associated with distinct patterns of functional connectivity. These dimensions largely replicated in an independent sample (n = 420) from the same dataset, as well as to an independent cohort (n =3504). This suggests that covariance in developmental functional brain networks supports transdiagnostic dimensions of psychopathology.

• Schijven, Dick; Postema, Merel C.; Fukunaga, Masaki; Matsumoto, Junya; Miura, Kenichiro & Zwarte, Sonja M.C. de [Vis alle 149 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2023). Large-scale analysis of structural brain asymmetries in schizophrenia via the ENIGMA consortium. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). ISSN 0027-8424. 120(14). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2213880120. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Left–right asymmetry is an important organizing feature of the healthy brain that may be altered in schizophrenia, but most studies have used relatively small samples and heterogeneous approaches, resulting in equivocal findings. We carried out the largest case–control study of structural brain asymmetries in schizophrenia, with MRI data from 5,080 affected individuals and 6,015 controls across 46 datasets, using a single image analysis protocol. Asymmetry indexes were calculated for global and regional cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volume measures. Differences of asymmetry were calculated between affected individuals and controls per dataset, and effect sizes were meta-analyzed across datasets. Small average case–control differences were observed for thickness asymmetries of the rostral anterior cingulate and the middle temporal gyrus, both driven by thinner left-hemispheric cortices in schizophrenia. Analyses of these asymmetries with respect to the use of antipsychotic medication and other clinical variables did not show any significant associations. Assessment of age- and sex-specific effects revealed a stronger average leftward asymmetry of pallidum volume between older cases and controls. Case–control differences in a multivariate context were assessed in a subset of the data (N = 2,029), which revealed that 7% of the variance across all structural asymmetries was explained by case–control status. Subtle case–control differences of brain macrostructural asymmetry may reflect differences at the molecular, cytoarchitectonic, or circuit levels that have functional relevance for the disorder. Reduced left middle temporal cortical thickness is consistent with altered left-hemisphere language network organization in schizophrenia.

• Wiker, Thea; Norbom, Linn B.; Beck, Dani; Agartz, Ingrid; Andreassen, Ole A. & Alnæs, Dag [Vis alle 14 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2023). Reaction Time Variability in Children Is Specifically Associated With Attention Problems and Regional White Matter Microstructure. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. ISSN 2451-9022. 8(8), s. 832–840. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.03.010. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background Increased intraindividual variability (IIV) in reaction times (RTs) has been suggested as a key cognitive and behavioral marker of attention problems, but findings for other dimensions of psychopathology are less consistent. Moreover, while studies have linked IIV to brain white matter microstructure, large studies testing the robustness of these associations are needed. Methods We used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study baseline assessment to test the associations between IIV and psychopathology (n = 8622, age = 8.9–11.1 years) and IIV and white matter microstructure (n = 7958, age = 8.9–11.1 years). IIV was investigated using an ex-Gaussian distribution analysis of RTs in correct response go trials in the stop signal task. Psychopathology was measured by the Child Behavior Checklist and a bifactor structural equation model was performed to extract a general p factor and specific factors reflecting internalizing, externalizing, and attention problems. To investigate white matter microstructure, fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity, and radial diffusivity were examined in 23 atlas-based tracts. Results Increased IIV in both short and long RTs was positively associated with the specific attention problems factor (Cohen’s d = 0.13 and d = 0.15, respectively). Increased IIV in long RTs was also positively associated with radial diffusivity in the left and right corticospinal tract (both tracts, d = 0.12). Conclusions Using a large sample and a data-driven dimensional approach to psychopathology, the results provide novel evidence for a small but specific association between IIV and attention problems in children and support previous findings on the relevance of white matter microstructure for IIV.

• Voldsbekk, Irene; Kjelkenes, Rikka; Wolfers, Thomas; Dahl, Andreas; Lund, Martina Jonette & Kaufmann, Tobias [Vis alle 12 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2023). Shared pattern of impaired social communication and cognitive ability in the youth brain across diagnostic boundaries. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. ISSN 1878-9293. 60. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101219. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background Abnormalities in brain structure are shared across diagnostic categories. Given the high rate of comorbidity, the interplay of relevant behavioural factors may also cross these classic boundaries. Methods We aimed to detect brain-based dimensions of behavioural factors using canonical correlation and independent component analysis in a clinical youth sample (n = 1732, 64 % male, age: 5–21 years). Results We identified two correlated patterns of brain structure and behavioural factors. The first mode reflected physical and cognitive maturation (r = 0.92, p = .005). The second mode reflected lower cognitive ability, poorer social skills, and psychological difficulties (r = 0.92, p = .006). Elevated scores on the second mode were a common feature across all diagnostic boundaries and linked to the number of comorbid diagnoses independently of age. Critically, this brain pattern predicted normative cognitive deviations in an independent population-based sample (n = 1253, 54 % female, age: 8–21 years), supporting the generalisability and external validity of the reported brain-behaviour relationships. Conclusions These results reveal dimensions of brain-behaviour associations across diagnostic boundaries, highlighting potent disorder-general patterns as the most prominent. In addition to providing biologically informed patterns of relevant behavioural factors for mental illness, this contributes to a growing body of evidence in favour of transdiagnostic approaches to prevention and intervention.

• Holm, Madelene Christin; Leonardsen, Esten Høyland; Beck, Dani; Dahl, Andreas; Kjelkenes, Rikka & Lange, Ann-Marie Glasø de [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2023). Linking brain maturation and puberty during early adolescence using longitudinal brain age prediction in the ABCD cohort. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. ISSN 1878-9293. 60. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101220. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The temporal characteristics of adolescent neurodevelopment are shaped by a complex interplay of genetic, biological, and environmental factors. Using a large longitudinal dataset of children aged 9–13 from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study we tested the associations between pubertal status and brain maturation. Brain maturation was assessed using brain age prediction based on convolutional neural networks and minimally processed T1-weighted structural MRI data. Brain age prediction provided highly accurate and reliable estimates of individual age, with an overall mean absolute error of 0.7 and 1.4 years at the two timepoints respectively, and an intraclass correlation of 0.65. Linear mixed effects (LME) models accounting for age and sex showed that on average, a one unit increase in pubertal maturational level was associated with a 2.22 months higher brain age across time points (β = 0.10, p < .001). Moreover, annualized change in pubertal development was weakly related to the rate of change in brain age (β = .047, p = 0.04). These results demonstrate a link between sexual development and brain maturation in early adolescence, and provides a basis for further investigations of the complex sociobiological impacts of puberty on life outcomes.

• Kjelkenes, Rikka; Wolfers, Thomas; Alnæs, Dag; Meer, Dennis van der; Pedersen, Mads Lund & Dahl, Andreas [Vis alle 12 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2023). Mapping Normative Trajectories of Cognitive Function and Its Relation to Psychopathology Symptoms and Genetic Risk in Youth. Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science. 3(2), s. 255–263. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2022.01.007. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background Adolescence hosts a sharp increase in the incidence of mental disorders. The prodromal phases are often characterized by cognitive deficits that predate disease onset by several years. Characterization of cognitive performance in relation to normative trajectories may have value for early risk assessment and monitoring. Methods Youth aged 8 to 21 years (N = 6481) from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort were included. Performance scores from a computerized neurocognitive battery were decomposed using principal component analysis, yielding a general cognitive score. Items reflecting various aspects of psychopathology from self-report questionnaires and collateral caregiver information were decomposed using independent component analysis, providing individual domain scores. Using normative modeling and Bayesian statistics, we estimated normative trajectories of cognitive function and tested for associations between cognitive deviance and psychopathological domain scores. In addition, we tested for associations with polygenic scores for mental and behavioral disorders often involving cognition, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease. Results More negative normative cognitive deviations were associated with higher general psychopathology burden and domains reflecting positive and prodromal psychosis, attention problems, norm-violating behavior, and anxiety. In addition, better performance was associated with higher joint burden of depression, suicidal ideation, and negative psychosis symptoms. The analyses revealed no evidence for associations with polygenic scores. Conclusions Our results show that cognitive performance is associated with general and specific domains of psychopathology in youth. These findings support the close links between cognition and psychopathology in youth and highlight the potential of normative modeling for early risk assessment.

• Patel, Yash; Shin, Jean; Abé, Christoph; Agartz, Ingrid; Alloza, Clara & Alnæs, Dag [Vis alle 51 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2022). Virtual Ontogeny of Cortical Growth Preceding Mental Illness. Biological Psychiatry. ISSN 0006-3223. 92(4), s. 299–313. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.02.959. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Fernandez-Cabello, Sara; Alnæs, Dag; Meer, Dennis van der; Dahl, Andreas; Holm, Madelene Christin & Kjelkenes, Rikka [Vis alle 12 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2022). Associations between brain imaging and polygenic scores of mental health and educational attainment in children aged 9–11. NeuroImage. ISSN 1053-8119. 263. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119611. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Psychiatric disorders are highly heritable and polygenic, and many have their peak onset in late childhood and adolescence, a period of tremendous changes. Although the neurodevelopmental antecedents of mental illness are widely acknowledged, research in youth population cohorts is still scarce, preventing our progress towards the early characterization of these disorders. We included 7,124 children (9–11 years old) from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study to map the associations of structural and diffusion brain imaging with common genetic variants and polygenic scores for psychiatric disorders and educational attainment. We used principal component analysis to derive imaging components, and calculated their heritability. We then assessed the relationship of imaging components with genetic and clinical psychiatric risk with univariate models and Canonical correlation analysis (CCA). Most imaging components had moderate heritability. Univariate models showed limited evidence and small associations of polygenic scores with brain structure at this age. CCA revealed two significant modes of covariation. The first mode linked higher polygenic scores for educational attainment with less externalizing problems and larger surface area. The second mode related higher polygenic scores for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism spectrum disorder to higher global cortical thickness, smaller white matter volumes of the fornix and cingulum, larger medial occipital surface area and smaller surface area of lateral and medial temporal regions. While cross-validation suggested limited generalizability, our results highlight the potential of multivariate models to better understand the transdiagnostic and distributed relationships between mental health and brain structure in late childhood.

• Kjelkenes, Rikka; Wolfers, Thomas; Alnæs, Dag; Norbom, Linn Christin Bonaventure; Voldsbekk, Irene & Holm, Madelene Christin [Vis alle 11 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2022). Deviations from normative brain white and gray matter structure are associated with psychopathology in youth. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. ISSN 1878-9293. 58. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101173. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Combining imaging modalities and metrics that are sensitive to various aspects of brain structure and maturation may help identify individuals that show deviations in relation to same-aged peers, and thus benefit early-risk-assessment for mental disorders. We used one timepoint multimodal brain imaging, cognitive, and questionnaire data from 1280 eight- to twenty-one-year-olds from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort. We estimated age-related gray and white matter properties and estimated individual deviation scores using normative modeling. Next, we tested for associations between the estimated deviation scores, and with psychopathology domain scores and cognition. More negative deviations in DTI-based fractional anisotropy (FA) and the first principal eigenvalue of the diffusion tensor (L1) were associated with higher scores on psychosis positive and prodromal symptoms and general psychopathology. A more negative deviation in cortical thickness (CT) was associated with a higher general psychopathology score. Negative deviations in global FA, surface area, L1 and CT were also associated with poorer cognitive performance. No robust associations were found between the deviation scores based on CT and DTI. The low correlations between the different multimodal magnetic resonance imaging-based deviation scores suggest that psychopathological burden in adolescence can be mapped onto partly distinct neurobiological features.

• Pedersen, Mads Lund; Alnæs, Dag; Meer, Dennis van der; Fernandez-Cabello, Sara; Berthet, Pierre Guillaume Raphael & Dahl, Andreas [Vis alle 12 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2022). Computational Modeling of the n-Back Task in the ABCD Study: Associations of Drift Diffusion Model Parameters to Polygenic Scores of Mental Disorders and Cardiometabolic Diseases. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. ISSN 2451-9022. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.03.012. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background Cognitive dysfunction is common in mental disorders and represents a potential risk factor in childhood. The nature and extent of associations between childhood cognitive function and polygenic risk for mental disorders is unclear. We applied computational modeling to gain insight into mechanistic processes underlying decision making and working memory in childhood and their associations with polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for mental disorders and comorbid cardiometabolic diseases. Methods We used the drift diffusion model to infer latent computational processes underlying decision making and working memory during the n-back task in 3707 children ages 9 to 10 years from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Single nucleotide polymorphism–based heritability was estimated for cognitive phenotypes, including computational parameters, aggregated n-back task performance, and neurocognitive assessments. PRSs were calculated for Alzheimer’s disease, bipolar disorder, coronary artery disease (CAD), major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and type 2 diabetes. Results Heritability estimates of cognitive phenotypes ranged from 12% to 38%. Bayesian mixed models revealed that slower accumulation of evidence was associated with higher PRSs for CAD and schizophrenia. Longer nondecision time was associated with higher PRSs for Alzheimer’s disease and lower PRSs for CAD. Narrower decision threshold was associated with higher PRSs for CAD. Load-dependent effects on nondecision time and decision threshold were associated with PRSs for Alzheimer’s disease and CAD, respectively. Aggregated neurocognitive test scores were not associated with PRSs for any of the mental or cardiometabolic phenotypes. Conclusions We identified distinct associations between computational cognitive processes and genetic risk for mental illness and cardiometabolic disease, which could represent childhood cognitive risk factors.

• Abé, Christoph; Ching, Christopher R.K.; Liberg, Benny; Lebedev, Alexander V.; Agartz, Ingrid & Akudjedu, Theophilus N. [Vis alle 72 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2021). Longitudinal Structural Brain Changes in Bipolar Disorder: A Multicenter Neuroimaging Study of 1232 Individuals by the ENIGMA Bipolar Disorder Working Group. Biological Psychiatry. ISSN 0006-3223. s. 1–11. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.09.008. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background Bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with cortical and subcortical structural brain abnormalities. It is unclear whether such alterations progressively change over time, and how this is related to the number of mood episodes. To address this question, we analyzed a large and diverse international sample with longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical data to examine structural brain changes over time in BD. Methods Longitudinal structural MRI and clinical data from the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) BD Working Group, including 307 patients with BD and 925 healthy control subjects, were collected from 14 sites worldwide. Male and female participants, aged 40 ± 17 years, underwent MRI at 2 time points. Cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volumes were estimated using FreeSurfer. Annualized change rates for each imaging phenotype were compared between patients with BD and healthy control subjects. Within patients, we related brain change rates to the number of mood episodes between time points and tested for effects of demographic and clinical variables. Results Compared with healthy control subjects, patients with BD showed faster enlargement of ventricular volumes and slower thinning of the fusiform and parahippocampal cortex (0.18 < d < 0.22). More (hypo)manic episodes were associated with faster cortical thinning, primarily in the prefrontal cortex. Conclusions In the hitherto largest longitudinal MRI study on BD, we did not detect accelerated cortical thinning but noted faster ventricular enlargements in BD. However, abnormal frontocortical thinning was observed in association with frequent manic episodes. Our study yields insights into disease progression in BD and highlights the importance of mania prevention in BD treatment.

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• Voldsbekk, Irene; Lund, Martina Jonette; Kaufmann, Tobias; Fernandez-Cabello, Sara; Kjelkenes, Rikka & Dahl, Andreas [Vis alle 9 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2022). Cross-Diagnostic Patterns of Socio-Cognitive Traits in the Developing Brain of Children and Adolescents. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

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