We recently investigated brain functioning during the processing of monetary reward. In this study, we investigated sensitivity in response to reward anticipation and receipt among youths with disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs), with and without callous-unemotional traits. We found that in anticipation of a reward, youths in the overall DBD group (with and without callous-unemotional traits) showed decreased dorsal ACC activation compared to typically developing youths. The DBD-only group exhibited reduced ventral and dorsal striatal activity compared with the DBD+CU and typically developing groups. During reward receipt, youths with DBDs showed increased cortical and subcortical regional activation compared to typically developing youths. The DBD+CU group demonstrated greater activation in several regions compared with those in the typically developing and DBD-only groups. At the network level, the DBD-only group showed reduced anticipatory reward activation compared with the typically developing and DBD+CU groups, whereas youths in the DBD+CU group showed increased activation during reward receipt compared with those in the typically developing group. These findings advance our understanding of unique neuro-etiologic pathways to DBDs and callous-unemotional traits.

 

Relevant peer-reviewed publications