Baseline autonomic nervous system activity in female children and adolescents with conduct disorder: Psychophysiological findings from the FemNAT-CD study

Helena Oldenhof; Martin Prätzlich; Katharina Ackermann; Rosalind Baker; Molly Batchelor; Sarah Baumann; Anka Bernhard; Roberta Clanton; Dimitris Dikeos; Roberta Dochnal; Lynn Valérie Fehlbaum; Aranzazu Fernández-Rivas; Eco de Geus; Karen Gonzalez; Maider González de Artaza-Lavesa; Silvina Guijarro; Malou Gundlach; Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann; Amaia Hervas; Lucres Jansen; Linda Kersten; Gregor Kohls; Angeliki Konsta; Helen Lazaratou; Iñaki Kerexeta-Lizeaga; Anne Martinelli; Tisse van Nimwegen; Ignazio Puzzo; Nora Maria Raschle; Jack Rogers; Réka Siklósi; Areti Smaragdi; Martin Steppan; Stephane De Brito; Graeme Fairchild; Meinhard Kieser; Kerstin Konrad; Christine Freitag; Christina Stadler; Arne Popma

doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2018.05.011

Baseline autonomic nervous system activity in female children and adolescents with conduct disorder: Psychophysiological findings from the FemNAT-CD study

Helena Oldenhof, Martin Prätzlich, Katharina Ackermann, Rosalind Baker, Molly Batchelor, Sarah Baumann, Anka Bernhard, Roberta Clanton, Dimitris Dikeos, Roberta Dochnal, Lynn Valérie Fehlbaum, Aranzazu Fernández-Rivas, Eco de Geus, Karen Gonzalez, Maider González de Artaza-Lavesa, Silvina Guijarro, Malou Gundlach, Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann, Amaia Hervas, Lucres JansenLinda Kersten, Gregor Kohls, Angeliki Konsta, Helen Lazaratou, Iñaki Kerexeta-Lizeaga, Anne Martinelli, Tisse van Nimwegen, Ignazio Puzzo, Nora Maria Raschle, Jack Rogers, Réka Siklósi, Areti Smaragdi, Martin Steppan, Stephane De Brito, Graeme Fairchild, Meinhard Kieser, Kerstin Konrad, Christine Freitag, Christina Stadler, Arne Popma

Department of Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

18 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Purpose: Autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning has been widely studied in relation to antisocial behavior, such as Conduct Disorder (CD). However, research in females is scarce and findings are inconsistent. This study investigated baseline ANS activity in CD children and adolescents and tested for sex differences. Furthermore, subgroups of CD were investigated: +/‐ Limited Prosocial Emotions (LPE), +/‐ comorbid internalizing disorders (INT). Methods: Baseline ANS activity was measured by Heart Rate (HR), Heart Rate Variability (HRV; parasympathetic activity), Pre-Ejection Period (PEP; sympathetic activity), and Respiration Rate (RR). 659 females (296 CD, 363 controls) and 351 males (187 CD, 164 controls), aged 9–18 years participated. Results: Baseline HR, HRV and PEP did not differ between CD subjects and controls in both sexes. RR was higher in CD participants than controls amongst females, but not males. LPE was unrelated to ANS activity, whereas females with CD + INT presented lower HRV. Conclusions: These results suggest that baseline ANS activity is not a robust indicator for CD. However, deviant ANS activity – especially parasympathetic activity - was observed in CD females with internalizing comorbidity. The psychophysiological abnormalities observed in this subgroup are indicative of emotion regulation problems. Accordingly, this subgroup may require specific interventions.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of Criminal Justice
Early online date	1 Jun 2018
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2018.05.011
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 1 Jun 2018

Funding

The present study is part of the FemNAT-CD consortium (Neurobiology and Treatment of Adolescent Female Conduct Disorder; coordinated by Christine M. Freitag). This collaborative project is funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Health Program with Grant Agreement no. 602407 . We would like to thank all participants and their families for taking part in the study, all institutions that were willing to collaborate with us for this study, and all members of the FemNAT-CD consortium.

Keywords

Autonomic nervous system
Conduct disorder
Emotion regulation
Psychophysiology
Sex differences

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Psychology
Applied Psychology
Sociology and Political Science
Law

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10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2018.05.011

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Oldenhof, H., Prätzlich, M., Ackermann, K., Baker, R., Batchelor, M., Baumann, S., Bernhard, A., Clanton, R., Dikeos, D., Dochnal, R., Fehlbaum, L. V., Fernández-Rivas, A., de Geus, E., Gonzalez, K., de Artaza-Lavesa, M. G., Guijarro, S., Gundlach, M., Herpertz-Dahlmann, B., Hervas, A., ... Popma, A. (2018). Baseline autonomic nervous system activity in female children and adolescents with conduct disorder: Psychophysiological findings from the FemNAT-CD study. Journal of Criminal Justice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2018.05.011

Oldenhof, H, Prätzlich, M, Ackermann, K, Baker, R, Batchelor, M, Baumann, S, Bernhard, A, Clanton, R, Dikeos, D, Dochnal, R, Fehlbaum, LV, Fernández-Rivas, A, de Geus, E, Gonzalez, K, de Artaza-Lavesa, MG, Guijarro, S, Gundlach, M, Herpertz-Dahlmann, B, Hervas, A, Jansen, L, Kersten, L, Kohls, G, Konsta, A, Lazaratou, H, Kerexeta-Lizeaga, I, Martinelli, A, van Nimwegen, T, Puzzo, I, Raschle, NM, Rogers, J, Siklósi, R, Smaragdi, A, Steppan, M, De Brito, S, Fairchild, G, Kieser, M, Konrad, K, Freitag, C, Stadler, C & Popma, A 2018, 'Baseline autonomic nervous system activity in female children and adolescents with conduct disorder: Psychophysiological findings from the FemNAT-CD study', Journal of Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2018.05.011

@article{c39575dd4cf4428eaf76fdb110471d74,

title = "Baseline autonomic nervous system activity in female children and adolescents with conduct disorder: Psychophysiological findings from the FemNAT-CD study",

abstract = "Purpose: Autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning has been widely studied in relation to antisocial behavior, such as Conduct Disorder (CD). However, research in females is scarce and findings are inconsistent. This study investigated baseline ANS activity in CD children and adolescents and tested for sex differences. Furthermore, subgroups of CD were investigated: +/‐ Limited Prosocial Emotions (LPE), +/‐ comorbid internalizing disorders (INT). Methods: Baseline ANS activity was measured by Heart Rate (HR), Heart Rate Variability (HRV; parasympathetic activity), Pre-Ejection Period (PEP; sympathetic activity), and Respiration Rate (RR). 659 females (296 CD, 363 controls) and 351 males (187 CD, 164 controls), aged 9–18 years participated. Results: Baseline HR, HRV and PEP did not differ between CD subjects and controls in both sexes. RR was higher in CD participants than controls amongst females, but not males. LPE was unrelated to ANS activity, whereas females with CD + INT presented lower HRV. Conclusions: These results suggest that baseline ANS activity is not a robust indicator for CD. However, deviant ANS activity – especially parasympathetic activity - was observed in CD females with internalizing comorbidity. The psychophysiological abnormalities observed in this subgroup are indicative of emotion regulation problems. Accordingly, this subgroup may require specific interventions.",

keywords = "Autonomic nervous system, Conduct disorder, Emotion regulation, Psychophysiology, Sex differences",

author = "Helena Oldenhof and Martin Pr{\"a}tzlich and Katharina Ackermann and Rosalind Baker and Molly Batchelor and Sarah Baumann and Anka Bernhard and Roberta Clanton and Dimitris Dikeos and Roberta Dochnal and Fehlbaum, {Lynn Val{\'e}rie} and Aranzazu Fern{\'a}ndez-Rivas and {de Geus}, Eco and Karen Gonzalez and {de Artaza-Lavesa}, {Maider Gonz{\'a}lez} and Silvina Guijarro and Malou Gundlach and Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann and Amaia Hervas and Lucres Jansen and Linda Kersten and Gregor Kohls and Angeliki Konsta and Helen Lazaratou and I{\~n}aki Kerexeta-Lizeaga and Anne Martinelli and {van Nimwegen}, Tisse and Ignazio Puzzo and Raschle, {Nora Maria} and Jack Rogers and R{\'e}ka Sikl{\'o}si and Areti Smaragdi and Martin Steppan and {De Brito}, Stephane and Graeme Fairchild and Meinhard Kieser and Kerstin Konrad and Christine Freitag and Christina Stadler and Arne Popma",

year = "2018",

month = jun,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2018.05.011",

language = "English",

journal = "Journal of Criminal Justice",

issn = "0047-2352",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Baseline autonomic nervous system activity in female children and adolescents with conduct disorder

T2 - Psychophysiological findings from the FemNAT-CD study

AU - Oldenhof, Helena

AU - Prätzlich, Martin

AU - Ackermann, Katharina

AU - Baker, Rosalind

AU - Batchelor, Molly

AU - Baumann, Sarah

AU - Bernhard, Anka

AU - Clanton, Roberta

AU - Dikeos, Dimitris

AU - Dochnal, Roberta

AU - Fehlbaum, Lynn Valérie

AU - Fernández-Rivas, Aranzazu

AU - de Geus, Eco

AU - Gonzalez, Karen

AU - de Artaza-Lavesa, Maider González

AU - Guijarro, Silvina

AU - Gundlach, Malou

AU - Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate

AU - Hervas, Amaia

AU - Jansen, Lucres

AU - Kersten, Linda

AU - Kohls, Gregor

AU - Konsta, Angeliki

AU - Lazaratou, Helen

AU - Kerexeta-Lizeaga, Iñaki

AU - Martinelli, Anne

AU - van Nimwegen, Tisse

AU - Puzzo, Ignazio

AU - Raschle, Nora Maria

AU - Rogers, Jack

AU - Siklósi, Réka

AU - Smaragdi, Areti

AU - Steppan, Martin

AU - De Brito, Stephane

AU - Fairchild, Graeme

AU - Kieser, Meinhard

AU - Konrad, Kerstin

AU - Freitag, Christine

AU - Stadler, Christina

AU - Popma, Arne

PY - 2018/6/1

Y1 - 2018/6/1

N2 - Purpose: Autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning has been widely studied in relation to antisocial behavior, such as Conduct Disorder (CD). However, research in females is scarce and findings are inconsistent. This study investigated baseline ANS activity in CD children and adolescents and tested for sex differences. Furthermore, subgroups of CD were investigated: +/‐ Limited Prosocial Emotions (LPE), +/‐ comorbid internalizing disorders (INT). Methods: Baseline ANS activity was measured by Heart Rate (HR), Heart Rate Variability (HRV; parasympathetic activity), Pre-Ejection Period (PEP; sympathetic activity), and Respiration Rate (RR). 659 females (296 CD, 363 controls) and 351 males (187 CD, 164 controls), aged 9–18 years participated. Results: Baseline HR, HRV and PEP did not differ between CD subjects and controls in both sexes. RR was higher in CD participants than controls amongst females, but not males. LPE was unrelated to ANS activity, whereas females with CD + INT presented lower HRV. Conclusions: These results suggest that baseline ANS activity is not a robust indicator for CD. However, deviant ANS activity – especially parasympathetic activity - was observed in CD females with internalizing comorbidity. The psychophysiological abnormalities observed in this subgroup are indicative of emotion regulation problems. Accordingly, this subgroup may require specific interventions.

AB - Purpose: Autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning has been widely studied in relation to antisocial behavior, such as Conduct Disorder (CD). However, research in females is scarce and findings are inconsistent. This study investigated baseline ANS activity in CD children and adolescents and tested for sex differences. Furthermore, subgroups of CD were investigated: +/‐ Limited Prosocial Emotions (LPE), +/‐ comorbid internalizing disorders (INT). Methods: Baseline ANS activity was measured by Heart Rate (HR), Heart Rate Variability (HRV; parasympathetic activity), Pre-Ejection Period (PEP; sympathetic activity), and Respiration Rate (RR). 659 females (296 CD, 363 controls) and 351 males (187 CD, 164 controls), aged 9–18 years participated. Results: Baseline HR, HRV and PEP did not differ between CD subjects and controls in both sexes. RR was higher in CD participants than controls amongst females, but not males. LPE was unrelated to ANS activity, whereas females with CD + INT presented lower HRV. Conclusions: These results suggest that baseline ANS activity is not a robust indicator for CD. However, deviant ANS activity – especially parasympathetic activity - was observed in CD females with internalizing comorbidity. The psychophysiological abnormalities observed in this subgroup are indicative of emotion regulation problems. Accordingly, this subgroup may require specific interventions.

KW - Autonomic nervous system

KW - Conduct disorder

KW - Emotion regulation

KW - Psychophysiology

KW - Sex differences

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DO - 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2018.05.011

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85047749308

SN - 0047-2352

JO - Journal of Criminal Justice

JF - Journal of Criminal Justice

ER -

Baseline autonomic nervous system activity in female children and adolescents with conduct disorder: Psychophysiological findings from the FemNAT-CD study

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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