Khalifeh: Midlife-onset alcohol dependence: Testing prospective and adult correlates in a longitudinal cohort study

Prior research has identified a group of individuals who first develop alcohol dependence in middle adulthood. However, the existing literature concerning this group is limited by reliance on retrospective recall, use of selected samples, failure to evaluate early-life predictors, and consideration of a limited range of psychosocial and diagnostic correlates. We addressed these gaps through a comprehensive prospective analysis of the developmental epidemiology of midlife-onset alcohol dependence. Using data from a population-representative birth cohort followed to age 45, we tested prospective predictors and adult correlates of midlife-onset alcohol dependence. Results indicated that the prevalence of midlife-onset alcohol dependence was approximately 5%. Individuals with midlife-onset alcohol dependence were characterized by a family history of alcohol dependence, dysregulation in adolescence, internalizing disorders and life-functioning impairment in adulthood, and reduced preparedness to manage later-life demands. These findings advance our understanding of the developmental profile of midlife-onset alcohol dependence, with implications to improve the early identification and prevention of alcohol-related problems in middle adulthood.

Bezek: Functional Brain Network Organization and Multi-domain Resilience to Neighborhood Disadvantage in Youth 

Resilience is a dynamic process defined as the ability to adapt positively in the face of adversity. Though a few recent studies have identified neural markers of resilience in cognitive and affective networks, limited work has been done in this area, and the broader network organization supporting resilient outcomes in youth remains unknown. Additionally, most previous work defines resilience as the absence of psychopathology, which does not account for behavioral research showing that resilience exists across multiple domains (e.g., social and academic). The present study utilized factor analytic and graph theoretical approaches to examine the functional brain network organization associated with multi-domain resilience (i.e., psychological, social, and academic resilience) in a sample of 704 twins from neighborhoods with above average levels of poverty. Multi-level models revealed differences in brain network organization at the whole-brain and network-specific levels across unique resilience domains. In youth with the highest levels of risk exposure, greater psychological resilience (i.e., better psychological functioning) was associated with reduced whole-brain network integration. Youth with high levels of risk exposure also exhibited an association between greater academic resilience and reduced network-level integration, specifically in a brain network involved in cognitive control. These findings support growing evidence for differential network connectivity in youth exhibiting resilient outcomes, while providing novel graph theoretical insights into the functional brain network organization supporting distinct resilience domains.