Shyness and Trajectories of Functional Network Connectivity Over Early Adolescence

Abstract

High shyness during early adolescence is associated with impaired peer relationships and risk for psychiatric disorders. Little is known, however, about the relation between shyness and trajectories of brain development over early adolescence. The current study longitudinally examined trajectories of resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) within four brain networks in 147 adolescents. Subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging at three different time points, at average ages 10.5 (range = 7.8-13.0), 11.7 (range = 9.3-14.1), and 12.9 years (range = 10.1-15.2). Multilevel linear modeling indicated that high shyness was associated with a less steep negative slope of default mode network (DMN) rs-fc over early adolescence relative to low shyness. Less steep decreases in DMN rs-fc may relate to increased self-focus in adolescents with high shyness.

Brain and Cognitive Development in Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa: A Systematic Review of fMRI Studies

“…Medial prefrontal cortex has also been reported to be active during emotional reappraisal [60], however its activity seems to be dependent also on personality traits. Shy individuals show a blunted decrease in medial prefrontal cortex connectivity toward the precuneus compared with less shy individuals [63]. Overall, however, AN patients exhibited lower neural processing of emotional stimuli compared with controls, though they did not differ on the ratings of emotional stimuli [34].…”

Opportunities for Neurodevelopmental Plasticity From Infancy Through Early Adulthood

“…who examined adolescents. To study change in adolescence and early adulthood, five studies used either fMRI while participants were at rest (Sylvester et al., ) or when paired with a task (Lauharatanahirun et al., ; Qu, Pomerantz, McCormick, & Telzer, ; Schreuders et al., ; Vilgis et al., ). Finally, two studies assessed brain structure using MRI to quantify the volume of specific brain regions or the thickness and surface of cortical areas (Becht et al., ; Ferschmann et al., ).…”

“…Sylvester et al. () examined whether shyness predicted change in resting state neural connectivity across three time points in middle childhood and early adolescence in 147 youth. Temperamental shyness is an early appearing individual trait that is relatively stable over time and, when coupled with specific additional risk factors, can lead to a marked increase in risk for anxiety (Pérez‐Edgar & Guyer, ).…”

“…To assess brain reactivity and connectivity, the studies presented in this section used EEG (Lahat et al, 2018;MacNeill, Ram, Bell, Fox, & P erez-Edgar, 2018) and event-related potentials (ERPs; Brooker, 2018;Pickron, Iyer, Fava, & Scott, 2017) in early development, with the exception of Lahat et al who examined adolescents. To study change in adolescence and early adulthood, five studies used either fMRI while participants were at rest (Sylvester et al, 2017) or when paired with a task (Lauharatanahirun et al, 2018;Qu, Pomerantz, McCormick, & Telzer, 2018;Schreuders et al, 2018;Vilgis et al, 2018). Finally, two studies assessed brain structure using MRI to quantify the volume of specific brain regions or the thickness and surface of cortical areas (Becht et al, 2018;Ferschmann et al, 2018).…”

“…Two articles in the special section assessed neural connectivity at rest in order to understand the associations between shyness, evolving brain profiles at rest, and socioemotional development. Sylvester et al (2017) examined whether shyness predicted change in resting state neural connectivity across three time points in middle childhood and early adolescence in 147 youth. Temperamental shyness is an early appearing individual trait that is relatively stable over time and, when coupled with specific additional risk factors, can lead to a marked increase in risk for anxiety (P erez-Edgar & Guyer, 2014).…”