Brain Responses During Face Processing in Conduct Disorder: Considering Sex and Callous-Unemotional Traits

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Stephane A De Brito - , University of Birmingham (Author)
  • Jack C Rogers - , University of Birmingham (Author)
  • Ruth Pauli - , University of Birmingham (Author)
  • Gregor Kohls - , Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ) - Partner Site Leipzig/Dresden (Author)
  • Nora M Raschle - , University of Zurich (Author)
  • Anne Martinelli - , University Hospital Frankfurt, Fresenius University of Applied Sciences Idstein (Author)
  • Areti Smaragdi - , Child Development Institute (Author)
  • Karen Gonzalez-Madruga - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Harriet Cornwell - , University of Bath (Author)
  • Christina Stadler - , University Psychiatric Clinics Basel (UPK) (Author)
  • Kerstin Konrad - , JARA-Brain Institute II Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (Author)
  • Christine M Freitag - , University Hospital Frankfurt (Author)
  • Graeme Fairchild - , University of Bath (Author)

Abstract

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of conduct disorder (CD) have mostly been limited to males. Here, we examined whether male and female youth with CD showed similar or distinct alterations in brain responses to emotional faces, using a large, mixed-sex sample of youths with CD. We also investigated the influence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits. Brain responses to angry, fearful, and neutral faces were assessed in 161 CD youths (74 females) and 241 typically-developing (TD) youths (139 females) aged 9-18 years. Categorical analyses tested for diagnosis effects (CD vs. TD and CD with high [CD/HCU] vs. low [CD/LCU] levels of CU traits vs. TD) and sex-by-diagnosis interactions. When processing faces in general (all faces versus baseline), youths with CD exhibited lower amygdala responses compared to TD youths, which appeared driven by the CD/HCU subgroup. Sex-by-CU subgroups interactions were identified in the amygdala (CD/LCU females<TD females; CD/LCU males>TD males) and insula (CD/HCU females>CD/LCU females; CD/HCU males<CD/LCU males). The findings for males support an influential neurocognitive model of CD. However, the association between CU traits and brain response to facial expressions differed in females and males with CD, suggesting distinct pathophysiological processes.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)894-903
Number of pages10
JournalBiological psychiatry
Volume98
Issue number12
Early online date8 May 2025
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 8 May 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0003-2408-2939/work/187563093
Scopus 105011366231

Keywords