Multimodal Neuroimaging of Cognitive and Emotional Networks in Young Adults Exposed to 9/11 as Children

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cycowicz YM ; Hoven CW ; Rodriguez Moreno D
• Description:
  Children and adolescents who experienced the trauma of the 9/11 WTC terrorist attack continue to face neuropsychological and emotional challenges as they transition into adulthood. Previous NIOSH-funded Studies (S&W Studies: U01OH010414; U01OH011308, PI Hoven) conducted a comprehensive assessment of a representative sample (N= 1,000) of youth who were under 18 years of age on 9/11. These studies revealed that 15 years after 9/11, highly exposed individuals were 4 times more likely to have anxiety disorders compared to non-exposed controls. Anxiety disorders are associated with deficiencies in several neuronal networks, including those involved in emotional regulation, cognitive control and memory. These neurobiological circuits undergo significant development during childhood and adolescence, rendering them particularly vulnerable to trauma during this period. Yet, despite this vulnerability, there is a lack of neuroimaging studies examining these neuronal networks in young adults who were exposed to 9/11 trauma as children. As these individuals transition into adulthood with potential alternations in brain development, we investigated the neural underpinnings of emotion processing and cognitive control of memory using event related potentials (ERPs) and multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 57 young adults (mean age 32.8) across the following 3 subgroups: 1) 9/11 highly exposed with a life time anxiety disorder (HEAnx+; N=21); 2) 9/11 highly exposed with no anxiety disorder (HEAnx-; N=23); and 3) no 9/11 exposure with no anxiety disorder (NEAnx-; N=13). We used 2 tasks, one the assess emotional memory using the directed forgetting paradigm, and the other emotional reactivity employing the NPU paradigm. Our results indicated that the HEAnx+ group had the lowest memory performance and show the greatest difficulty in suppressing memory to the 9/11 related stimuli compared to the other groups. These behavioral results were also manifested in the ERPs demonstrating more engagement in the trauma related stimuli compared to neutral stimuli in participants in the HEAnx+ group. The fMRI findings revealed that individuals who experienced the 9/11 events and also grapple with mental health disorders exhibited heightened activation in frontal control regions in response to TBF compared to New stimuli, and to New compared to TBR stimuli. This heightened activation may reflect the challenges they face in suppressing memory for TBF, as evidenced by their poorer performance. It suggests that their brain activity is influenced by stimuli that ideally should not be remembered. There were no performance differences across groups in the NPU task. However, both the ERPs and the MRI brain activation indicated subtle, yet noteworthy differences among the groups in attentional processing of stimuli under different threat conditions. By comparing performance, brain structure, function, and connectivity between these 3 groups, we demonstrated differences in emotional reactivity and interaction of trauma memory and cognitive control processes. This study contributes to a deeper and broader neurobehavioral understanding of our unique 9/11 cohort of young adults exposed to 9/11 during childhood or adolescence. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Mental Health Occupational Health Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks
• Keywords:
  Adolescents Brain Function Children Electroencephalography Imaging Techniques Magnetic Resonance Imaging MRI Psychological Effects World Trade Center WTC
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Final Cooperative Agreement Report
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069969
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U01-OH-011694, 2024 Mar; :1-8
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  New York State Psychiatric Institute DBA Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20180701
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20210630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cacc66b2b3499eee63b53cf591c505e70fec487fbf39b834c71873186dbf908269cd3e95d690685e9732a756da5ff1f0eb1bd5278b89d94903be6fef1f996bc3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/219267/cdc_219267_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 181.43 KB ]