Fear conditioned responses and PTSD symptoms in children: Sex differences in fear-related symptoms

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Kaitlyn Gamwell, Emory University; Maria Nylocks, Emory University; Dorthie Cross, Emory University; Bekh Bradley-Davino, Emory University; Seth Norrholm, Emory University; Tanja Jovanovic, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2015-11-01
• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dev.21313
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Developmental Psychobiology
• ISSN: 0012-1630
• Volume: 57
• Issue: 7
• Start Page: 799
• End Page: 808
• Grant/Funding Information: We thank the research staff of the Mom and Kids study of the Grady Trauma Project. This work was supported by funding from NARSAD (TJ) and NIH (MH100122 to TJ; HD071982 to BB).
• Keywords: CHILDHOOD ANXIETY DISORDERS; Science & Technology; POTENTIATED STARTLE; ADOLESCENTS; stress; EXTINCTION; PREVALENCE; conditioning; sex differences; EMOTION; Psychology; PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY; POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER; AMYGDALA; Social Sciences; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Developmental Biology; INHIBITION
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Mental Health; Psychology, Physiological; Psychology, Clinical

Abstract

Fear conditioning studies in adults have found that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with heightened fear responses and impaired discrimination. The objective of the current study was to examine the association between PTSD symptoms and fear conditioned responses in children from a highly traumatized urban population. Children between 8 and 13 years old participated in a fear conditioning study in addition to providing information about their trauma history and PTSD symptoms. Results showed that females showed less discrimination between danger and safety signals during conditioning compared to age-matched males. In boys, intrusive symptoms were predictive of fear responses, even after controlling for trauma exposure. However, in girls, conditioned fear to the danger cue was predictive of self-blame and fear of repeated trauma. This study suggests there are early sex differences in the patterns of fear conditioning and that these sex differences may translate to differential risk for trauma-related psychopathology.