Novel research reveals how adversity shapes the developing brain and its connection to future health risks | Virginia Tech News

“Jungmeen and I get to tackle thorny problems while pursuing answers to questions that matter for promoting healthier youth development,” Deater-Deckard said. “Our team utilizes state-of-the-art quantitative modeling techniques to integrate complex arrays of data from many sources such as surveys, observations, and brain imaging. She has helped me understand the complex changes in health and functioning over time.”   

Researchers also annually observed adolescents with no prior history of substance use in the same study sample from ages 14 to 21 over a period of seven years. Their findings suggest brain connectivity — the pattern of connections between different parts of the brain — rather than cognitive control behavior — the ability to adapt your behavior to meet your goals, and to override automatic responses — was the stronger predictor of future substance use.

Specifically, stronger connectivity between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex — two brain regions that are crucial to cognitive control — was associated with delayed substance use onset, and this connectivity pattern showed a significant drop one year prior to substance use initiation.

Some of the group’s findings also illustrate the brain’s resiliency. Although cognitive control brain functioning is delayed in early adolescence following childhood maltreatment, the findings suggest it often “catches up” during middle to late adolescence, suggesting neural plasticity and opportunities to help these young people. 

“By conducting more research on neural plasticity during adolescence, we can shed light on the brain’s potential as a target for preventive interventions, aimed at promoting resilient functioning in young people facing adversity,” Kim-Spoon said.

Fueled by these results and supported by several grants from the National Institutes of Health to Kim-Spoon and Casas as well as the Virginia Tech Institute for Society, Culture and Environment, Kim-Spoon and the research team plans to continue this study for another five years. As the participants enter their 20s, the team will focus more on examining their relationships, networks, and social environments to understand how they contribute to the ways young people navigate unique challenges in early adulthood.    

“This longitudinal project has been very rewarding especially in terms of collaborating with brilliant minds within Virginia Tech and outside,” Kim-Spoon said. “It has been fun to look into the things we can do to help young people develop healthier, and it will be interesting to see what we will find in the next few years.”   

By expanding this research, Kim-Spoon and her collaborators can contribute to the development of effective resilience and protective strategies to help people at higher risk of developing mental health and addiction problems improve their future well-being. 

Kim-Spoon said she believes we are just beginning to better understand the factors affecting young people’s mental health, substance use, and well-being by examining how brain function and development interact with social and emotional dynamics, and spirituality.

“Adverse experiences, no matter how we view them, are tough, but there are things we can do to help these young people develop healthier, such as access to parental support, education, and positive experiences with peer groups,” Kim-Spoon said.