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Abstract

Objective:

Discrimination exposure has a detrimental impact on mental health, increasing the risk of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. The impact discrimination exposure has on mental health is likely mediated by neural processes associated with emotion expression and regulation. However, the specific neural processes that mediate the relationship between discrimination exposure and mental health remain to be determined. The present study investigated the relationship adolescent discrimination exposure has with stress-elicited brain activity and mental health symptoms in young adulthood.

Methods:

A total of 301 participants completed the Montreal Imaging Stress Task while functional MRI data were collected. Discrimination exposure was measured four times from ages 11 to 19, and stress-elicited brain activity and psychological distress (depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress) were assessed in young adulthood (age 20).

Results:

Stress-elicited dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (PFC), inferior parietal lobule (IPL), and hippocampal activity varied with discrimination exposure. Activity within these brain regions varied with the cumulative amount and trajectory of discrimination exposure across adolescence (initial exposure, change in exposure, and acceleration of exposure). Depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms varied with discrimination exposure. Stress-elicited activity within the dorsolateral PFC and the IPL statistically mediated the relationship between discrimination exposure and psychological distress.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest that adolescent discrimination exposure may alter the neural response to future stressors (i.e., within regions associated with emotion expression and regulation), which may in turn modify susceptibility and resilience to psychological distress. Thus, differences in stress-elicited neural reactivity may represent an important neurobiological mechanism underlying discrimination-related mental health disparities.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to American Journal of Psychiatry
Go to American Journal of Psychiatry
American Journal of Psychiatry
PubMed: 39473266

History

Received: 20 October 2022
Revision received: 14 August 2023
Revision received: 12 February 2024
Revision received: 2 May 2024
Accepted: 13 June 2024
Published online: 30 October 2024

Keywords

  1. Sociopolitical Issues
  2. Stigma/Discrimination
  3. Neuroimaging
  4. Stress

Authors

Details

Devon K. Grey, B.S.
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (Grey, Purcell, Buford, Mrug, Knight); Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA (Schuster); RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA (Elliott); UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, Houston (Emery).
Juliann B. Purcell, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (Grey, Purcell, Buford, Mrug, Knight); Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA (Schuster); RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA (Elliott); UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, Houston (Emery).
Kristen N. Buford, M.S.
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (Grey, Purcell, Buford, Mrug, Knight); Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA (Schuster); RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA (Elliott); UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, Houston (Emery).
Mark A. Schuster, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (Grey, Purcell, Buford, Mrug, Knight); Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA (Schuster); RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA (Elliott); UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, Houston (Emery).
Marc N. Elliott, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (Grey, Purcell, Buford, Mrug, Knight); Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA (Schuster); RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA (Elliott); UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, Houston (Emery).
Susan Tortolero Emery, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (Grey, Purcell, Buford, Mrug, Knight); Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA (Schuster); RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA (Elliott); UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, Houston (Emery).
Sylvie Mrug, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (Grey, Purcell, Buford, Mrug, Knight); Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA (Schuster); RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA (Elliott); UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, Houston (Emery).
David C. Knight, Ph.D. [email protected]
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (Grey, Purcell, Buford, Mrug, Knight); Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA (Schuster); RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA (Elliott); UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, Houston (Emery).

Notes

Send correspondence to Dr. Knight ([email protected]).
Presented at the Society for Neuroscience 2021 (virtual; November 8–11) and 2023 (November 11–15) annual meetings and the Organization for Human Brain Mapping 2022 annual meeting (virtual; June 7–8).

Competing Interests

The authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

Funding Information

Supported by NIMH grant R01MH098348 to Drs. Knight and Mrug.

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