2024 Associates Meeting - Posters

A team of researchers collaborated with contemplative experts to analyze how mindfulness manifests in teaching, identifying eight key qualities that range from low to high levels of mindful awareness. Through studying 90 classroom experiences from 45 diverse teachers, they developed a more nuanced and context-specific understanding of teacher mindfulness that includes both personal and interpersonal aspects. The findings are being used to develop an AI-powered tool to measure teacher mindfulness more objectively and efficiently. This work aims to improve teacher mindfulness training and make it more individualized and time-effective.

Almut Zieher (Associate Research Scientist) <almut.zieher@yale.edu>

A new framework for teaching Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in schools shifts focus from what is taught to how these important skills are delivered in the classroom. The framework identifies five key teaching approaches (pedagogies) that educators can use to help students develop different types of SEL knowledge - including factual information, how-to skills, and understanding when to use these skills. While SEL programs have traditionally focused on content, this framework emphasizes that the teaching methods themselves are crucial for effective learning. The framework also serves as the foundation for a new observation checklist tool (SELOC-E) being developed for elementary schools.

Almut Zieher (Associate Research Scientist) <almut.zieher@yale.edu>

An analysis of intensive in-school mental health services reveals significant positive outcomes for students receiving care. With one in five U.S. children diagnosed with behavioral health conditions and nearly half lacking needed treatment, Effective School Solutions (ESS) provided mental health services directly in schools. The results showed notable improvements: students experienced a 30% increase in GPA, 50% decrease in absences, and 85% of high-risk students were able to remain in their schools rather than requiring out-of-district placement. Additionally, the program led to a 56% reduction in hospitalization stays and 23% fewer intensive outpatient referrals, demonstrating that providing mental health services within schools can effectively support at-risk students.

Amanda Dettmer (Research Scientist) <amanda.dettmer@yale.edu>

A study of 105 fathers in substance-use treatment explored how self-reported intimate partner violence (IPV) relates to their responses in simulated conflict situations, while also examining their use of emotion regulation strategies. The researchers found only a weak correlation between self-reported psychological aggression and responses to simulated scenarios, suggesting that using multiple assessment methods might better identify IPV risk. Notably, fathers who actively engaged in the simulation task were more likely to acknowledge psychological aggression, while those who used cognitive reappraisal (a healthy emotion regulation strategy) reported less aggression. The study also revealed that fathers were more likely to use cognitive reappraisal in scenarios involving co-parenting conflicts compared to other relationship conflicts, suggesting that fatherhood might motivate better emotional control.

Satvika Char (Postgraduate Research Associate) <satvika.char@yale.edu>

A study of 50 young people aged 8-15 examined how a small brain structure called the habenula, which is involved in processing rewards, relates to irritability in children and teenagers. The researchers discovered that the relationship between habenula size and irritability was influenced by parenting consistency. Specifically, in children whose parents used inconsistent discipline, larger left habenula volume was associated with higher levels of frustration when expected rewards were withheld. This is the first study to examine how the habenula's role in youth irritability might be affected by parenting practices, suggesting that interventions targeting both neurobiological factors and parenting consistency might be more effective in helping young people manage irritability.

Gihyun Kim (Postgraduate Research Associate) <gihyun.kim@yale.edu>

A study examining emotion recognition in 132 adults found distinct patterns of difficulty between autistic adults and those with schizophrenia. When viewing images of eyes expressing different emotions, autistic adults showed more difficulty identifying positive emotions compared to neurotypical adults, while those with schizophrenia struggled more with recognizing negative emotions. These findings suggest that social communication challenges may manifest differently in the two conditions - autistic individuals' reduced social motivation may lead to less experience with positive emotional expressions, while people with schizophrenia may misinterpret different types of negative emotions. This research reveals important differences in how these groups process emotional information, which could have implications for developing targeted social skills interventions.

Lauren Robinson (Postgraduate Research Associate) <lauren.robinson@yale.edu>

A study of 29 children aged 5-13 examined the relationship between brain structure and emotion regulation in youth with disruptive behavior problems. The researchers found that difficulty regulating emotions predicted disruptive behaviors similarly in both boys and girls. However, they discovered interesting sex differences in brain structure: in girls, larger surface area in the right insula (a brain region involved in emotion) was associated with greater emotion regulation difficulties, while boys showed the opposite pattern, with smaller right insula surface area linked to more regulation problems. These findings suggest that the brain mechanisms underlying emotion regulation may differ between boys and girls, which could have important implications for developing more personalized treatments for children with behavioral problems.

Olivia Ciocca (summer intern) <karim.ibrahim@yale.edu>

A large-scale study of over 9,000 children aged 9-10 from the ABCD Study examined how different behavioral symptoms affect brain scan quality. The research revealed that children with more severe attention problems showed increased head movement across all types of brain scans, while those with disruptive behaviors showed more movement specifically during resting-state and emotional task scans. Interestingly, children with more internalizing problems (anxiety/depression) actually showed less movement during these same scans. These findings highlight how different behavioral challenges can impact brain imaging data quality in distinct ways, emphasizing the need for better methods to manage participant movement during scanning to ensure brain research can effectively represent all children, including those with various behavioral and emotional challenges.

Zhiyuan Zack Liu (Graduate Research Assistant)

A study examining mothers' narratives during pregnancy and early parenthood found an unexpected connection between emotional expression and infant stress responses. Researchers analyzed how 50 mothers described their expectations of parenthood during pregnancy and their actual experiences at 4 months after birth, while also measuring their infants' stress hormones (cortisol). Surprisingly, when mothers expressed more negative sentiments while comparing their expectations to reality at 4 months postpartum, their infants showed lower stress reactivity. The researchers suggest that in low-risk populations, mothers' ability to openly reflect on differences between expectations and reality might actually help support their infants' stress regulation.

Amorine Adobo (Postgraduate Research Associate) <amorine.adodo@yale.edu>

Racial and ethnic representation in maternal brain research shows concerning gaps, according to a comprehensive review of 186 studies across 24 countries. The analysis revealed that 63% of studies failed to report participants' racial or ethnic information, and among those that did, over half of participants were White/Caucasian. While the studies spanned six continents, most racial and ethnic data came from the Americas, with minimal reporting from other regions. These findings highlight a significant bias in our understanding of how pregnancy and early motherhood affect the brain, suggesting that current research may not accurately represent mothers of all racial and ethnic backgrounds and emphasizing the urgent need for more inclusive recruitment in future studies.

Kathryn Wall (Graduate Student) <kathryn.wall@yale.edu>

A study examining 94 postpartum mothers and their infants revealed that higher levels of maternal psychological risk factors (including anxiety, depression, and substance use) were significantly associated with lower social-emotional development in infants. While other aspects of infant development, such as cognitive, language, motor skills, and adaptive behavior, showed no significant relationship with maternal mental health challenges, the findings underscore how multiple psychological risk factors in mothers may specifically impact their infants' social-emotional growth. This research highlights the need to consider multiple forms of maternal mental health symptoms together, rather than in isolation, when studying child development and designing interventions.

Kathryn Wall (Graduate Student) <kathryn.wall@yale.edu>

A study of 51 pregnant people in their third trimester found that objectively measured fetal movement was positively associated with maternal-fetal attachment. Using specialized monitoring equipment, researchers discovered that higher frequencies of fetal movement were linked to stronger maternal feelings of connection, including increased imagination about the baby, a stronger sense of the baby's individuality, and more frequent interactions with the unborn child. These findings validate previous research that relied on mothers' subjective perceptions of fetal movement and suggest that fetal movement serves as an important communication signal that may influence future parenting behaviors and parent-child relationships.

Kathy Ayala (Graduate Student) <kathy.ayala@yale.edu>

A study of 76 postpartum mothers and their infants investigated how substance use affects mothers' brain activity and caregiving behaviors. Using EEG measurements and behavioral observations, researchers found that increased maternal substance use was linked to both more intrusive parenting behaviors and decreased brain connectivity in the frontopolar region, an area important for attention and executive function. While the analysis initially suggested that changes in brain connectivity might explain the relationship between substance use and intrusive parenting, this connection became less clear after accounting for factors like maternal age and income. The findings highlight how substance use may impact both brain function and parenting behavior in new mothers, though larger studies are needed to fully understand these relationships.

Zoe Howell (Postgraduate Research Associate)

A study of 155 children with clinical anxiety examined how parenting styles relate to children's confidence in managing their emotions and their anxiety symptoms. The research revealed that when parents showed acceptance of their children's feelings, the children had more confidence in handling their emotions and showed lower anxiety levels. While controlling parenting behaviors were directly linked to higher anxiety in children, this wasn't related to the children's emotional confidence as initially expected. The findings, which were similar for both mothers and fathers, suggest that increasing parental acceptance could be particularly beneficial in treating childhood anxiety disorders by helping children feel more capable of managing their emotions.

Anastasia Rose (Postgraduate Associate) <anastasia.rose@yale.edu>

A study of 350 children with clinical anxiety and their mothers examined how family accommodation (when family members change their behavior to help avoid triggering a child's anxiety) relates to children's fear of uncertainty and overall anxiety levels. The research found that when families more frequently accommodated their children's anxiety, the children showed both greater intolerance of uncertainty and higher anxiety levels. These relationships were consistently reported by both children and their mothers, suggesting that while families may try to help by avoiding anxiety-triggering situations, this approach might actually increase children's difficulty handling uncertainty and worsen their anxiety. The findings suggest that addressing both family accommodation and fear of uncertainty could be important targets in treating childhood anxiety.

Doris Chen (Postgraduate Research Associate)

Understanding how brain connections relate to anxiety in young people has been a key challenge in neuroscience. Researchers examined brain scans from 1,462 children and adolescents (ages 6-21) to see if patterns of brain connectivity could predict anxiety levels. Using resting-state functional MRI, they found that connections between brain regions involved in emotion control and cognitive processing were linked to anxiety severity. The study revealed that several brain networks, including those responsible for cognitive control, social functioning, and emotion generation, showed distinct connectivity patterns in anxious youth. While the predictive relationship was modest (correlation of 0.09), the findings highlight how disrupted communication between brain regions involved in emotional regulation may contribute to anxiety in young people, potentially helping inform future targeted treatments.

Gladys Venegas (Postgraduate Research Associate) <gladys.venegas@yale.edu>

Researchers at Yale and McGill conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to better understand how irritability relates to suicide risk across different populations. After reviewing 43 new studies from nine countries (combined with 39 studies from a previous 2018 review), they found that 72% of studies showed a positive link between irritability and suicide-related outcomes. The research is particularly significant because irritability is the most common reason families seek mental health care for children, and suicide remains the second leading cause of death among adolescents. While the analysis is still ongoing, early findings suggest that irritability may be better at predicting certain types of suicidal behaviors than others, potentially offering a pathway for identifying at-risk individuals and improving suicide prevention efforts.

Hailing Ding (Postgraduate Research Associate) <hailing.ding@yale.edu>

A genetic study of 389 families examined how Tourette Syndrome (TS) might be connected to immune system function at the genetic level. By analyzing genetic risk scores in children with TS and their unaffected parents, researchers found that children inherited higher genetic risk not only for TS but also for certain immune-related markers, particularly interleukin-8. There were also suggestions of increased genetic risk transmission for other immune markers and autoimmune conditions, though these didn't reach statistical significance. These findings suggest that the immune system problems often seen in TS patients may share common genetic roots with the disorder itself, providing new insights into how TS develops and potentially pointing toward new treatment approaches.

Enock Teefe (Graduate Student)

A genetic study of 152 parents and their children with ADHD has revealed new insights into the disorder's biological basis. The research found that children with ADHD have more spontaneous genetic changes (called de novo variants) that damage genes compared to children without ADHD. The study identified KDM5B as a high-confidence risk gene for ADHD and discovered that affected genes are involved in early brain development pathways. These findings not only enhance our understanding of ADHD's genetic architecture but also suggest that approaches successful in identifying autism risk genes may be valuable for discovering ADHD risk genes, potentially leading to new therapeutic targets.

Emily Olfson, MD, PhD (Assistant Professor) <emily.olfson@yale.edu>

We applied whole-exome DNA sequencing of two large multiplex families (multiple individuals affected with OCD) to identify genes and biological processes contributing to risk. We prioritized several genes as candidates for contributing OCD risk and identified calcium signaling as a candidate pathway in these families. Although our findings require confirmation in larger OCD cohorts, this study demonstrates the potential for identifying risk genes and biological systems by studying rare inherited variants in multiplex families.

Kiran Masroor (Postgraduate Associate) <thomas.fernandez@yale.edu>

A comprehensive meta-analysis of 50 randomized controlled trials involving 4,545 participants revealed significant insights about placebo effects in Tourette Syndrome (TS) treatment studies. Analyzing data from 1,633 placebo recipients, researchers found that TS shows a substantial placebo response, comparable to other childhood psychiatric disorders. While several study characteristics were associated with stronger placebo responses - including study location, funding source, and number of participating sites - these factors also corresponded with stronger medication responses and did not impact the overall difference between drug and placebo effects. This suggests that manipulating study design elements to minimize placebo response may not necessarily improve the ability to detect medication effectiveness in TS clinical trials.

Luis Farhat (Visiting Research Fellow) <luiscfarhat@gmail.com>

A study comparing brain connectivity patterns in children with Tourette syndrome (TS), ADHD, or both conditions revealed distinct neurobiological effects. Examining 137 children aged 10-14 using EEG recordings, researchers found that TS and ADHD separately decreased brain connectivity in different neural networks, suggesting these conditions affect the brain in additive rather than interactive ways. However, when looking at behavioral problems, children with both conditions showed unique patterns of brain connectivity compared to those with either condition alone. These findings suggest that while TS and ADHD may have separate basic effects on brain function, they interact in more complex ways when it comes to behavioral outcomes, potentially explaining why children with both conditions often experience greater difficulties.

Simon Morand-Beaulieu <denis.sukhodolsky@yale.edu>

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD) is a rare, severe, late-onset form of autistic regression. Although CDD is rare, regression is commonly described in autism, affecting a third of individuals. Studying CDD provides valuable insights into autistic regression in general. Because of Yale's long-standing expertise in CDD, we developed an international reputation for studying this disorder and characterized the largest known cohort in the world. We published the first neurogenetic analysis, revealing important differences between CDD and other forms of autism. Therefore, treating CDD and autistic regression may require different approaches from the broader spectrum.

Abha Gupta (Associate Professor)

A study examining brain activity patterns in 280 autistic children aged 6-11 investigated how attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and related medications might affect their brain's electrical patterns. While previous research suggested that both autism and ADHD are associated with certain brain activity patterns, this study found that ADHD symptoms alone did not predict these patterns. However, they discovered that children taking certain ADHD medications (alpha agonists) showed different brain activity patterns when they had higher levels of inattention symptoms. These findings suggest that medications, rather than ADHD symptoms themselves, may influence brain activity patterns in autistic children, though the researchers recommend future studies to confirm these effects.

Bridget Walicki (Postgraduate Research Associate) <bridget.walicki@yale.edu>

A study of 107 autistic youth revealed important relationships between specific repetitive behaviors and irritability, while finding no significant connection between social communication challenges and irritability. Specifically, youth who showed greater resistance to changes in routine and more stereotypic behaviors experienced higher levels of irritability, while those with stronger restricted interests actually showed lower levels of irritability. These findings suggest that certain repetitive behaviors may serve as either stress indicators or coping mechanisms, with special interests potentially playing a calming role. The research emphasizes the importance of examining specific autism characteristics individually rather than viewing them as a single category when planning mental health treatment for autistic youth.

Michelle Menezes (Postdoctoral Associate) <michelle.menezes@yale.edu>

A study of 117 children examined the relationship between motor skills and core features of autism. Analyzing data from children aged 3-15 who were diagnosed with autism, researchers found that lower motor abilities were specifically associated with increased restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs), particularly complex motor mannerisms, even after accounting for differences in IQ. Surprisingly, and in contrast to previous research, they found no significant relationship between motor skills and social communication abilities. These findings suggest that the connection between motor abilities and autism features may be more specific to repetitive behaviors than previously thought, which could have implications for understanding how motor development relates to different aspects of autism.

Sara Silber (Postgraduate Research Associate) <sara.silber@yale.edu>

A large multisite study examined brain responses to visual stimuli in 236 autistic children ages 6-11, investigating how attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms relate to visual processing. Surprisingly, parent-reported ADHD symptoms showed no significant relationship with visual brain responses. However, children's actual on-task behavior during testing was linked to both the strength and timing of their brain responses, with more attentive children showing stronger and faster visual processing. This relationship held true even when accounting for autism symptom severity, though children with more severe autism symptoms tended to show less on-task behavior. These findings suggest that direct observation of attention during testing may be more informative than parent reports for understanding how attention affects visual processing in autistic children.

Shreya Kannan (Postgraduate Research Associate) <shreya.kannan@yale.edu>

A study of 111 autistic youth aged 8-19 investigated how irritability affects their quality of life (QoL). While higher levels of irritability showed a trend toward lower overall quality of life, the relationship was most pronounced specifically in emotional functioning. After controlling for factors like age, sex, race, IQ, and autism severity, researchers found that increased irritable mood was significantly associated with poorer emotional functioning, though it did not significantly impact other areas of quality of life. These findings suggest that targeting and treating irritability might be an effective way to improve emotional well-being in autistic youth, providing a potential focus for therapeutic interventions.

Sydney Anderson (Postgraduate Research Associate) <sydney.anderson@yale.edu>