Excessive hair cortisol concentration as an indicator of psychological disorders in children.

Cortisol in hair is a new biomarker assessing long-term hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, which is related to emotion regulation. We compare hair cortisol concentrations (HCC), in clinically referred children with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) (n = 19), children with other types of psychological disorders (n = 48), and healthy subjects (n = 36). We also investigate the association between HCC and irritability, age, and sex.

Child internalizing and externalizing behaviors: Interplay between maternal depressive symptoms and child inhibitory control.

Maternal depression is a risk factor for child internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Aiming to investigate the moderating role of child inhibitory control on this relationship, we invited a sub-sample of dyads from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort study (MoBa) for a lab-based assessment ( = 92,  = 68 months, Range = 59-80, 50% girls). Maternal depression was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), while child behaviors were measured using the Child Behavior Check List, and inhibitory control using a child friendly version of the Flanker-task.

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder in a Norwegian Clinical Child Population.

Background: Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder was included in DSM-5 to accommodate new research addressing aspects of emotional dysregulation in children suffering from disruptive behavior problems. Despite growing interest in Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, few studies have looked at prevalence rates in European clinical populations. The primary objective of this study was to examine the prevalence and characteristics associated with Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder in a Norwegian clinical sample.

Neuropsychological mechanisms of social difficulties in disruptive mood dysregulation disorder versus oppositional defiant disorder.

Children with Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) or Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) are characterized by irritability and social difficulties. However, the mechanisms underlying these disorders could be different. This study explores differences in social cognition and executive function (EF) across DMDD and ODD and the influence of these factors and their interaction on social problems in both groups.

Executive function in children with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder compared to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder, and in children with different irritability levels.

Addressing current challenges in research on disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), this study aims to compare executive function in children with DMDD, children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and children with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). We also explore associations between irritability, a key DMDD characteristic, and executive function in a clinical sample regardless of diagnosis. Our sample include children (6-12 years) referred to child psychiatric clinics.

Infant behavioural effects of smartphone interrupted parent-infant interaction.

Infants are vulnerable to changes in the dyadic synchrony with their caregivers, as demonstrated in numerous experiments employing the still-face paradigm. The sudden lack of attunement causes infant stress reactions and the still-face literature have suggested potential long-term costs of this in terms of development of social, emotional and cognitive skills. Acknowledging the rapid technological development accompanied by altered practices in the parent-infant interaction, the current study investigates infant behavioural reactions in a similar experimental paradigm, manipulating parental responsiveness and sensitivity in a slightly different manner.

Underlying mechanisms of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder in children: A systematic review by means of research domain criteria.

Background: A systematic overview of underlying mechanisms in the new disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) diagnosis is needed. The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) represent a system of six domains of human functioning, which aims to structure the understanding of the nature of mental illnesses. By means of the RDoC framework, the objective of this systematic review is to synthesize available data on children and youths <18 years suffering from DMDD as reported in peer reviewed papers.

Affective decision-making in children prenatally exposed to opioids.

Although opioid maintenance therapy (OMT) is currently recommended for pregnant opioid-dependent women, potential effects on children's long-term development are still largely unknown. The current study assessed the long-term cognitive development of children born to women in OMT. Particularly, children's decision-making performance was assessed with a child-friendly version of the Iowa Gambling Task.

The association of PTSD symptom severity with amygdala nuclei volumes in traumatized youths.

The amygdala is a core component in neurobiological models of stress and stress-related pathologies, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While numerous studies have reported increased amygdala activity following traumatic stress exposure and in PTSD, the findings regarding amygdala volume have been mixed. One reason for these mixed findings may be that the amygdala has been considered as a homogenous entity, while it in fact consists of several nuclei with unique cellular and connectivity profiles.

Salivary cortisol levels relate to cognitive performance in children prenatally exposed to methadone or buprenorphine.

Opioid maintenance therapy (OMT) is generally recommended for pregnant opioid-dependent women. However, much is still unknown about the potential long-term effects of prenatal methadone and buprenorphine exposure. This study explored the long-term effects of prenatal methadone and buprenorphine exposure in a cohort (n = 41) of children, aged 9-11 years, using the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) to measure cognitive development and salivary cortisol samples to measure HPA-axis activity.

Prefrontal glutamate levels predict altered amygdala-prefrontal connectivity in traumatized youths.

Background: Neurobiological models of stress and stress-related mental illness, including post-traumatic stress disorder, converge on the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex (PFC). While a surge of research has reported altered structural and functional connectivity between amygdala and the medial PFC following severe stress, few have addressed the underlying neurochemistry.

Methods: We combined resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging measures of amygdala connectivity with in vivo MR-spectroscopy (1H-MRS) measurements of glutamate in 26 survivors from the 2011 Norwegian terror attack and 34 control subjects.

ERP correlates of cognitive control in children prenatally exposed to methadone or buprenorphine.

Much is still unknown about the potential long-term effects of prenatal methadone and buprenorphine exposure. We examined neural correlates of cognitive control in 19 prenatally methadone and buprenorphine exposed and 21 nondrug exposed children, aged 9-11 years. Children performed a modified version of the Eriksen Flanker task, which taps into selective attention, conflict response, and response inhibition mechanisms.

Maltreatment and trauma symptoms: Does type of maltreatment matter?

Objective: Children frequently report a heightened experience of psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, aggression, and posttraumatic stress disorder in response to maltreatment. However, in recent years, scholars have suggested that different types of maltreatment may be associated with different symptomatology in children.

Method: In the present study, we employ the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC) to investigate whether children who have experienced different types of maltreatment reveal different profiles of symptomatology.

Life Threat and Sleep Disturbances in Adolescents: A Two-Year Follow-Up of Survivors From the 2011 Utøya, Norway, Terror Attack.

A significant number of adolescents have been exposed to traumatic life events. However, knowledge about the specific sleep disturbance that occurs in individuals after trauma exposure is predominantly based on studies of adults. This study reports specific sleep disturbance in 42 survivors of the 2011 mass shooting at a youth summer camp on the Norwegian island Utøya, mean age = 20.

Positive events protect children from causal false memories for scripted events.

Adults produce fewer inferential false memories for scripted events when their conclusions are emotionally charged than when they are neutral, but it is not clear whether the same effect is also found in children. In the present study, we examined this issue in a sample of 132 children aged 6-12 years (mean 9 years, 3 months). Participants encoded photographs depicting six script-like events that had a positively, negatively, or a neutral valenced ending.

Perceptual interference processing in preschool children, with and without prenatal exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

Background: Prenatal exposure to maternal depression, with or without maternal medical antidepressant treatment, may pose a risk to the child's cognitive and behavioral development. Targeting one of the core functions of behavioral regulation, we investigated both behavioral and neural indices of interference suppression in both exposed and control participants at preschool age.

Methods: Children (N = 80, M = 68.

Emotional conflict processing in adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome: A pilot study using functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Introduction: Studies of neurocognition suggest that abnormalities in cognitive control contribute to the pathophysiology of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in adolescents, yet these abnormalities remain poorly understood at the neurobiological level. Reports indicate that adolescents with CFS are significantly impaired in conflict processing, a primary element of cognitive control.

Method: In this study, we examine whether emotional conflict processing is altered on behavioral and neural levels in adolescents with CFS and a healthy comparison group.

Mother-child interaction and cognitive development in children prenatally exposed to methadone or buprenorphine.

Objective: To assess the influence of mother-child interaction on children's cognitive development in a group of children prenatally exposed to methadone or buprenorphine.

Study Design: The study is part of a prospective longitudinal project investigating the development of children born to women in opioid maintenance therapy (OMT). The sample includes 67 children born between 2005 and 2007, 35 of which prenatally exposed to either methadone or buprenorphine and 32 non-exposed comparison children.

Aberrant Resting-State Functional Connectivity in the Salience Network of Adolescent Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Neural network investigations are currently absent in adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). In this study, we examine whether the core intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) are altered in adolescent CFS patients. Eighteen adolescent patients with CFS and 18 aged matched healthy adolescent control subjects underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rfMRI).

The Emotional Child Witness Effect Survives Presentation Mode.

The emotional witness effect - the phenomenon whereby people are affected by the emotional manner in which a witness presents testimony - constitutes a possible source of wrongful decisions in legal contexts. One stereotypical view of abused children is that they should be sad when talking about their experiences of maltreatment, whereas children may in fact express a variety of emotional expressions when talking about abusive events. This raises the question as to whether there is an optimal mode in which to present child victim testimony that could reduce the possible influence of displayed emotions.

Behavior and inhibitory control in children with prenatal exposure to antidepressants and medically untreated depression.

Purpose: The present study investigates child development following prenatal exposure to maternal use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs; N = 28), versus prenatal exposure to medically untreated depression (N = 42), and no exposure (N = 33).

Methods: When the children reached 5-6 years of age, child cognitive abilities were measured using selected tests from Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-r), Neuropsychological Assessment II (NEPSY-II), and the Attention Network Test. Maternal reports of child behavioral problems were collected using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).

Maltreated and non-maltreated children's true and false memories of neutral and emotional word lists in the Deese/Roediger-McDermott task.

Maltreated (n=26) and non-maltreated (n=31) 7- to 12-year-old children were tested on the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) false memory task using emotional and neutral word lists. True recall was significantly better for non-maltreated than maltreated children regardless of list valence. The proportion of false recall for neutral lists was comparable regardless of maltreatment status.

Associations between executive functions and long-term stress reactions after extreme trauma: A two-year follow-up of the Utøya survivors.

Terror attacks cause variation in everyday functioning across several domains. This paper focuses on the individual long-term costs in terms of clinical symptoms and cognitive (e.g.

Visual selective attention is impaired in children prenatally exposed to opioid agonist medication.

Aims: To examine whether prenatal exposure to opioid agonist medication is associated with visual selective attention and general attention problems in early childhood.

Method: Twenty-two children (mean age = 52.17 months, SD = 1.

The developmental trajectory of pointing perception in the first year of life.

The present study investigated the development of the neural basis of pointing perception in 6-month- and 13-month-old infants. In a spatial-cueing paradigm, infants were presented with a peripheral target followed by a hand pointing toward (congruent condition) or away (incongruent condition) from the previously cued location. EEG responses to the presentation of the hand were measured.