Hardi:
Title: Early childhood household instability, adolescent structural neural network architecture, and young adulthood depression: a 21-year longitudinal study

Abstract: Unstable environments accelerate offspring growth at the cost of faster mortality in non-human animals, suggesting a trade-off resulting from developmental adaptation. In humans, although unstable early environments are associated with greater risk for psychopathology, less is known about how unstable environments impact brain development. Furthermore, no study to date has examined household instability and white matter even though myelination plays a crucial role in solidifying neural connections and limiting plasticity. Although white matter networks become more efficient with development, more densely connected networks may require increased maintenance cost, which could present vulnerability to stress if achieved too early. In this talk, I will present results suggesting structural network as a mechanism that links early instability and depression at young adulthood, highlighting the ways in which early adverse experiences can modulate neural development and mental health.

Suarez:
Title: Exposure to community violence as a mechanism linking neighborhood disadvantage to amygdala reactivity and the protective role of parental nurturance

Abstract: Recent research links neighborhood disadvantage to alterations in brain function within regions supporting socioemotional and threat processing. However, less is known about the proximal mechanisms through which neighborhood disadvantage is associated with brain function. One way that disadvantaged neighborhoods may confer risks for youth is by increasing their exposure to community violence. Still, neighborhood disadvantage and exposure to community violence do not predict psychopathology or brain development for all youth; many youth exhibit resilience, and nurturing parenting may play a critical role in these good outcomes. In this talk, I will present findings which show that exposure to community violence is an important mechanism explaining the link between neighborhood disadvantage and heightened amygdala reactivity to threat in a large sample of youth exposed to neighborhood disadvantage. Lastly, I will show that youth with highly nurturing parents are protected from the risks posed by living in a disadvantaged neighborhood. These findings elucidate a mechanism linking neighborhood disadvantage to brain function and highlight the role parents can play in protecting youth from the neural effects of exposure to adversity.