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Individual differences in reward functioning have been associated with numerous disorders in adolescence. Given relations with multiple forms of psychopathology, it is unclear whether these associations are disorder specific or reflective of shared variance across multiple disorders. In a sample of adolescents (N = 418), we examined associations between neural and self-reported indices of early reward functioning (age 12) with different levels of a hierarchical psychopathology model assessed later in adolescence (age 18). We examined whether prospective relationships between reward functioning are specific to individual disorders or better explained by transdiagnostic dimensions. We found modest results for prospective associations between reward indices and different dimensions of psychopathology, with most significant associations not surviving correction for multiple comparisons. We discuss the benefits and limitations of the modeling approach used to examine dimension-specific associations that future work can build on. Overall, more work is needed to better understand how reward functioning is specifically associated with different forms of and hierarchical levels of psychopathology. General Scientific Summary: Adolescent reward functioning is associated with numerous forms of psychopathology, leaving uncertainty whether the relationships are disorder specific or better explained by transdiagnostic factors. Here, we examined prospective relationships between early adolescent reward functioning and a psychopathology hierarchy measured later in adolescence. We found modest results and discuss implications that future work can build on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although prevalence rates of substance use in adolescence have remained steady or declined in recent years, there is a concerning increase in overdose deaths in the last decade. Given the significant burden associated with substance use disorders, systematic screening and assessment are important to identify substance use risk and diagnose substance use disorders. Youth with mood disorders are at an increased risk of developing a substance use disorder. Understanding risk factors is critical to effective screening and assessment as well as early identification and intervention. In the present review, we discuss current research on risk factors of comorbid substance use disorders in youth with mood disorders and provide a brief review of commonly used screening and assessment tools for use with adolescents. Finally, we conclude with considerations for next steps following screening and assessment of comorbid substance use disorders in youth with mood disorders. [Psychiatr Ann. 2024;54(9):e248–e252.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electroencephalography (EEG) data processing to derive event‐related potentials (ERPs) follows a standard set of procedures to maximize signal‐to‐noise ratio. This often includes ocular correction, which corrects for artifacts introduced by eye movements, typically measured by electrooculogram (EOG) using facial electrodes near the eyes. Yet, attaching electrodes to the face may be uncomfortable for some populations, best to avoid in some situations, and contribute to data loss. Eye movements can also be measured using electrodes in a standard 10–20 EEG cap. An examination of the impact of electrode selection on ERPs is needed to inform best practices. The present study examined data quality when using different electrodes to measure eye movements for ocular correction (i.e., facial electrodes, cap electrodes, and no ocular correction) for two well‐established and widely studied ERP components (i.e., reward positivity, RewP; and late positive potential, LPP) elicited in adolescents (N = 34). Results revealed comparable split‐half reliability and standardized measurement error (SME) between facial and cap electrode approaches, with lower SME for the RewP with facial or cap electrodes compared to no ocular correction. Few significant differences in mean amplitude of ERPs were observed, but the LPP to positive images differed when using facial compared to cap electrodes. Findings provide preliminary evidence of the ability to collect high‐quality ERP data without facial electrodes. However, when using cap electrodes for EOG measurement and ocular correction, it is recommended to use consistent procedures across the sample or statistically examine the impact of ocular correction procedures on results. This study examines the effects of using cap compared to facial electrodes to measure eye movements for ocular correction in event‐related potential (ERP) research. We tested the impact of electrode selection on data quality and mean amplitudes of reward‐ and emotion‐related ERPs in adolescents. Findings revealed comparable data quality but some differences in overall ERP magnitude, suggesting cap electrodes may be used if needed. A consistent approach to ocular correction within a study is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maladaptive responses to peer acceptance and rejection arise in numerous psychiatric disorders in adolescence; yet, homogeneity and heterogeneity across disorders suggest common and unique mechanisms of impaired social function. We tested the hypothesis that social feedback is processed similarly to other forms of feedback (e.g., monetary) by examining the correspondence between the brain's response to social acceptance and rejection and behavioral performance on a separate reward and loss task. We also examined the relationship between these brain responses and depression and social anxiety severity. The sample consisted of one hundred and thirteen 16–21‐year olds who received virtual peer acceptance/rejection feedback in an event‐related potential (ERP) task. We used temporospatial principal component analysis and identified a component consistent with the reward positivity (RewP) or feedback negativity (FN). RewP to social acceptance was not significantly related to reward bias or the FN to social rejection related to loss avoidance. The relationship between RewP and depression severity, while nonsignificant, was of a similar magnitude to prior studies. Exploratory analyses yielded a significant relationship between lower socioeconomic status (SES) and blunted RewP and between lower SES and heightened loss avoidance and blunted reward bias. These findings build on prior work to improve our understanding of the function of the brain's response to social feedback, while also suggesting a pathway for further study, whereby poverty leads to depression via social and reward learning mechanisms. The current study identifies yet unexplored links between socioeconomic status, brain responses to social acceptance, and reward learning. This study also provides rigorous, multimethod tests of preregistered hypotheses on the relationship between social feedback processing and behavioral reward and loss system function. These findings have the potential to inform a neural and behavioral pathway through which low socioeconomic status confers risk for depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]