Fear of Neighborhood Violence During Adolescence Predicts Development of Obesity a Decade Later: Gender Differences Among African Americans

Assari, Shervin; Lankarani, Maryam Moghani; Caldwell, Cleopatra Howard; Zimmerman, Marc A.

doi:10.5812/atr.31475

Cited by 49 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Childhood trauma survivors who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at high risk for developing obesity and metabolic disorders (Assari et al, 2016;Brewerton and ONeil, 2016;Llabre and Hadi, 2009;Ramirez and Milan, 2016;Roenholt et al, 2012). We reported evidence in support of these observations while demonstrating a novel directionality in the relationship between early-life posttraumatic stress reactivity and diet-induced obesity (DIO) (Kalyan-Masih et al, 2016;Vega-Torres et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Early maturational emergence of adult-like emotional reactivity and anxiety after brief exposure to an obesogenic diet

Vega-Torres

Azadian

Rios-Orsini

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Emerging evidence demonstrates that diet-induced obesity disrupts corticolimbic circuits underlying emotional regulation. Studies directed at understanding how obesity alters brain and behavior are easily confounded by a myriad of complications related to obesity. This study investigated the early neurobiological stress response triggered by an obesogenic diet. Furthermore, this study directly determined the combined impact of a short-term obesogenic diet and adolescence on critical behavioral and molecular substrates implicated in emotion regulation and stress.Methods: Adolescent (postnatal day 31) or adult (postnatal day 81) Lewis rats were fed for one week with an experimental Western-like high-saturated fat diet (WD, 41% kcal from fat) or a matched control diet (CD, 13% kcal from fat). We used the acoustic fear-potentiated startle (FPS) paradigm to determine the effects of the WD on cued fear conditioning and fear extinction. We used c-Fos mapping to determine the functional influence of the diet and stress on corticolimbic circuits. Results:We report that one-week WD consumption was sufficient to induce fear extinction deficits in adolescent rats, but not in adult rats. We identify fear-induced alterations in corticolimbic neuronal activation and demonstrate increased prefrontal cortex CRHR1 mRNA levels in the rats that consumed the WD. Conclusions:Our findings demonstrate that short-term consumption of an obesogenic diet during adolescence heightens behavioral and molecular vulnerabilities associated with risk for anxiety and stress-related disorders. Given that fear extinction promotes resilience, and that fear extinction principles are the Vega-Torres et. al., 3 foundation of psychological treatments for PTSD, understanding how obesogenic environments interact with the adolescent period to affect the acquisition and expression of fear extinction memories is of tremendous clinical relevance. KEYWORDS PTSD, diet-induced obesity, adolescence, anxiety, fear-potentiated startle, CRHR1 HIGHLIGHTS • Short-term WD consumption during adolescence impairs cued fear extinction memory retention in a fear-potentiated startle paradigm.• Short-term WD consumption during adolescence attenuates neuronal activation to electric footshock stress in the basomedial nuclei of the amygdala.• Short-term WD consumption increases CRHR1 mRNA levels in the medial prefrontal cortex.• Adult LEW rats exhibit increased basal HPA axis tone and heightened emotional reactivity to footshock stress relative to adolescent rats.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Early maturational emergence of adult-like emotional reactivity and anxiety after brief exposure to an obesogenic diet

Vega-Torres

Azadian

Rios-Orsini

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Childhood trauma survivors who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at high risk for developing obesity and metabolic disorders (Assari et al, 2016;Brewerton and ONeil, 2016;Llabre and Hadi, 2009;Ramirez and Milan, 2016;Roenholt et al, 2012). Previous studies support these observations while demonstrating a novel directionality in the relationship between early-life posttraumatic stress reactivity and diet-induced obesity (DIO) (Kalyan-Masih et al, 2016;Vega-Torres et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Developmental regulation of fear memories by an obesogenic high-saturated fat/high-sugar diet

Vega-Torres

Reyes-Rivera

Figueroa

2019

Preprint

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Background: Anxiety and stress-related disorders are strongly linked with obesity and the consumption of obesogenic diets. Paralleling clinical findings, we showed that the consumption of an obesogenic diet during adolescence disrupts the structural integrity of amygdalar and prefrontal cortex circuits underlying emotional responses to stress. These abnormalities were associated with a PTSD-like phenotype, including heightened stress reactivity to predator odor trauma, anxietylike behaviors, and profound learning deficits. The present follow-up study investigates how an obesogenic diet alters aversion-related associative memories across adolescence. Methods: Adolescent Lewis rats were fed for eight weeks with an experimentalWestern-like high-saturated fat/high-sugar diet (WD, 41% kcal from fat) or a matched control diet (CD, 13% kcal from fat). Acoustic fear-potentiated startle (FPS) responses were assessed longitudinally at weeks 1, 4, and 8 after commencing the diets to determine the effects of the WD on cued fear conditioning, fear extinction learning, and fear extinction retention. Results:We found that the rats that consumed the WD exhibited substantial attenuation of fear extinction and fear extinction retention when remote memory was tested. One-week WD consumption was sufficient to induce impairments in fear extinction learning. This phenotype was associated with reduced dopamine receptor 1 mRNA levels in the prefrontal cortex. Interestingly, our reconditioning paradigm revealed that early-acquired fear memories were resistant to the disruptive effects of chronic WD consumption on cued fear learning. Vega-Torres et. al., 3Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that consumption of an obesogenic WD during adolescence heightens behavioral vulnerabilities associated with risk for anxiety and stress-related disorders. Given that fear extinction promotes resilience and that fear extinction principles are the foundation of psychological treatments for PTSD, understanding how obesity and obesogenic diets affect the acquisition and expression of fear extinction memories is of tremendous clinical relevance. HIGHLIGHTS• Acute WD consumption impairs cued fear extinction learning in a fearpotentiated startle paradigm.• WD consumption attenuates fear extinction memory retention • WD consumption during adolescence increases acoustic startle responsivity over time • Chronic WD consumption decreases dopamine receptor D1 mRNA levels in the prefrontal cortex.

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“…Similarly, White women hold lower levels of implicit bias against Blacks than White men. [64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73] There are some theoretical frameworks that may explain why males are main perpetrators and victims of racial bias. According to the subordinate male target hypothesis, minority men are subject to more experiences of discrimination than minority women.…”

Section: Assarimentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction Between Race and Gender and Effect on Implicit Racial Bias Against Blacks

Assari

2018

Int J Epidemiol Res

Self Cite

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Background and aims: Exposure and vulnerability to racial discrimination is not solely a function of race but the intersection of race and gender, with Black men experiencing more discrimination than Black women. This phenomenon is explained by the subordinate male target hypothesis, suggesting that majority men specifically target men of color. If that is the case, implicit bias would be most common among the majority men. The current cross-sectional study investigated race by gender differences in implicit bias against Blacks. Methods: Data came from Harvard University's Project Implicit, an online survey, conducted during 2006-2016. Data included 444 422 implicit association tests (IATs) which were taken by Blacks (n=56 384) and Whites (n=388 038). Using IAT, the dependent variable was implicit bias against Blacks. Independent variables were race, gender, and age. Using SPSS, linear regressions were utilized to test the additive and multiplicative effects of race and gender on implicit bias against Blacks. Results: Race (b = 0.39; 95% CI = 0.38-0.39) and gender (b = 0.05; 95% CI = 0.05-0.05) were associated with IAT score suggesting higher implicit bias against Blacks among Whites and men. A significant interaction was found between race and gender (b = 0.05; 95% CI = 0.04-0.07), suggesting the highest level of implicit bias against Blacks among White men. Conclusion: It is not solely race and gender but their intersection that shapes social distribution of implicit bias against Blacks. This finding extends the previous literature showing that not solely race or gender but their intersection influences exposure to discrimination.

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Fear of Neighborhood Violence During Adolescence Predicts Development of Obesity a Decade Later: Gender Differences Among African Americans

Cited by 49 publications

References 61 publications

Early maturational emergence of adult-like emotional reactivity and anxiety after brief exposure to an obesogenic diet

Early maturational emergence of adult-like emotional reactivity and anxiety after brief exposure to an obesogenic diet

Developmental regulation of fear memories by an obesogenic high-saturated fat/high-sugar diet

Interaction Between Race and Gender and Effect on Implicit Racial Bias Against Blacks

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