Two decades of research have been conducted to examine the veracity of using the P3 event-related brain potential (i.e., P3-ERP) as an indicator for substance use disorder (SUD). If established as a neurobiological marker, P3 would be the first laboratory measure for these heterogeneous conditions, allowing for early risk detection thus increasing executive function and decreasing SUD prevalence. However, there are limitations that can be repeatedly observed. For instance, many studies use clinic-referred samples which may consist of particularly severe or malignant versions of the disorder, thus limiting generalizability. Further, P3 studies commonly implement simplified, two-stimulus designs (i.e., targets vs. non-targets) that are reductionistic, not accounting for the unpredictable and random nature of real-world stimuli. Finally, most visual P3 studies require active motor responses (e.g., pressing a button) when target stimuli are observed, excluding certain populations from participating. To address these issues, we examined this association by recruiting college-aged participants who had electroencephalogram (EEG) data recorded simultaneously while passively viewing stimuli used to elicit a P3-ERP response. In contrast to popular designs, the target stimuli utilized in the current study consisted of butterfly images that were displayed infrequently, while also embedded amongst morphologically diverse images presented upright or inverted. Our analysis will examine the association between both P3 amplitude and latency coupled with participants’ self-reported substance use behaviors. Overall, we hypothesize that people who abuse substances will also have lower P3 amplitude and further hypothesize that P3 latency would be reduced to a statistically significant degree.

Adolescence is a critical period of development with significant changes in both cortical and subcortical areas of the brain that occur within the context of environmental supports and challenges that may influence neurodevelopment. Neighborhood deprivation (limited access to environmental resources) has emerged as a potentially key contextual influence on adolescent brain development. Using the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study database of over 11,000 adolescents, we will examine associations between neighborhood deprivation in late childhood and the volume and thickness of brain regions linked to emotion regulation, including the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens, in early adolescence. In addition, we will examine whether greater school engagement or community cohesion may moderate negative associations. Neighborhood deprivation was measured using the Area Deprivation Index, a commonly used measure of socioeconomic disadvantage based on income, education, employment, and housing quality. School engagement was measured using the self-reported ABCD School Risk and Protective Factors Survey involvement and disengagement subscales. Community cohesion was measured using the PhenX Neighborhood Collective Efficacy - Community Cohesion and Informal Social Control measures. Structural MRI data were acquired on a 3T scanner. The results of this study could help inform future policies on funding and allocating resources in areas without them and develop interventions that target neighborhood deprivation.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the result of injuries to the head which cause damage to the brain, and has a variable symptom profile with the possibility of cognitive, emotional, and physical impairments. A prevalent symptom reported by many people post-TBI is a heightened experience of effort, such that things that were easy before the injury now require more cognitive resources. Thus far, cognitive effort has been measured via self-report, which is inherently subjective due to individual differences. Pupillometry, the tracking and measurement of pupil size, has been empirically shown to be an objective measure of effort in studies of listening effort in hearing aid and cochlear implant users. The current study will employ pupillometry during a listening task . In addition, participants will complete five ecological momentary assessment (EMA) surveys per day for a week addressing their recent activities and corresponding experience of effort. We aim to enroll 25 participants with mild TBI, 25 participants with moderate-severe TBI, and 50 demographically-matched neurotypical comparison participants. With these data, a conclusion may be drawn as to whether pupillometry can measure momentary effort allocation in patients with TBI. Comparisons between groups may illuminate changes in moment-to-moment experience of listening effort post-TBI. EMA survey data will provide insight to patients’ lived experience of effort across the span of a day and a week, and while engaged in various daily activities. This presentation will detail the background and methods of the study, with possible preliminary results.

Background: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can lead to long term deficits in physical, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional abilities. These deficits can affect an individual's ability to understand and respond to others’ emotions, impacting social interactions and overall quality of life (QOL). Due to these significant impairments, this study aimed to examine age differences and emotion recognition following TBI, and the mediating role of empathy in the relationship between age at injury and QOL. Method: Adults with moderate-severe TBI completed a facial emotion recognition task to assess participants’ ability to correctly identify emotions. Correlational analyses will be used to examine the relationship between age and emotion recognition. Discussion: We expect that emotion recognition abilities will differ among younger and older participants following TBI. Because identifying and recognizing emotions are critical in understanding the feelings of others and having appropriate social interactions, empathy and social functioning need to be further examined regarding emotion recognition and age. Following additional IRB approval, we will examine individuals’ social functioning and the mediating role of empathy in the relationship between age at injury and QOL. The findings of this study will increase our awareness about the long-term effects of TBI and QOL outcomes. This is an important area of research as it can help rehabilitation facilities implement treatment plans aimed at community reintegration to improve the QOL for those living with TBI.