Negative Urgency Mediates the Relation between Genetically-Influenced Serotonin Functioning and Alcohol Problems

Role of Impulsivity in Explaining Social Gradient in Youth Tobacco Use Initiation: Does Race Matter?

Background

Socioeconomic status (SES) is traditionally viewed as a protective factor against impulsivity and subsequent tobacco use in youth. The prevailing model suggests that higher SES is associated with lower impulsivity, which in turn reduces the likelihood of future tobacco use. However, this pathway may not hold uniformly across racial groups due to differences in impulsivity and the phenomenon of Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs), where the protective effects of SES, such as educational attainment, tend to be weaker or even reversed for Black youth compared to their White counterparts.

Objectives

This study aims to examine the racial heterogeneity in the pathway from childhood SES to impulsivity and subsequent tobacco use initiation during adolescence, focusing on differences between Black and White youth.

Methods

Data were drawn from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, which includes a diverse sample of youth aged 9 to 16 years. The analysis examined the relationship between baseline family SES (age 9), impulsivity (age 9), and subsequent tobacco use (ages 9 to 16). Impulsivity was measured using the Urgency, Premeditation (lack of), Perseverance (lack of), Sensation Seeking, and Positive Urgency Impulsive Behavior Scale (UPPS-P). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed, with analyses stratified by race to explore potential differences in these associations.

Results

Overall, 6,161 non-Latino White and 1,775 non-Latino Black adolescents entered our analysis. In the full sample, higher family SES was linked to lower childhood impulsivity and, consequently, less tobacco uses in adolescence. However, racial differences emerged upon stratification. Among White youth, higher SES was associated with lower impulsivity, leading to reduced tobacco use, consistent with the expected model. In contrast, among Black youth, higher SES was not associated with lower impulsivity, thereby disrupting the protective effect of SES on tobacco use through this pathway. These findings suggest that racial heterogeneity exists in the SES-impulsivity-tobacco use pathway, aligning with the MDRs framework, which highlights how structural factors may weaken the protective effects of high SES among Black youth.

Conclusions

These findings underscore the importance of considering racial heterogeneity in the relationships between SES, impulsivity, and tobacco use. The observed disparities suggest a need for targeted interventions that address the unique challenges faced by Black youth, who may not experience the same protective benefits of high SES as their White peers. These results carry significant implications for public health strategies aimed at reducing tobacco use in racially diverse populations.

Theoretical Frameworks and Mechanistic Aspects of Alcohol Addiction: Alcohol Addiction as a Reward Deficit/Stress Surfeit Disorder

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) can be defined by a compulsion to seek and take alcohol, the loss of control in limiting intake, and the emergence of a negative emotional state when access to alcohol is prevented. Alcohol use disorder impacts multiple motivational mechanisms and can be conceptualized as a disorder that includes a progression from impulsivity (positive reinforcement) to compulsivity (negative reinforcement). Compulsive drug seeking that is associated with AUD can be derived from multiple neuroadaptations, but the thesis argued herein is that a key component involves the construct of negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement is defined as drug taking that alleviates a negative emotional state. The negative emotional state that drives such negative reinforcement is hypothesized to derive from the dysregulation of specific neurochemical elements that are involved in reward and stress within basal forebrain structures that involve the ventral striatum and extended amygdala, respectively. Specific neurochemical elements in these structures include decreases in reward neurotransmission (e.g., decreases in dopamine and opioid peptide function in the ventral striatum) and the recruitment of brain stress systems (e.g., corticotropin-releasing factor [CRF]) in the extended amygdala, which contributes to hyperkatifeia and greater alcohol intake that is associated with dependence. Glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids may play a role in sensitizing the extended amygdala CRF system. Other components of brain stress systems in the extended amygdala that may contribute to the negative motivational state of withdrawal include norepinephrine in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, dynorphin in the nucleus accumbens, hypocretin and vasopressin in the central nucleus of the amygdala, and neuroimmune modulation. Decreases in the activity of neuropeptide Y, nociception, endocannabinoids, and oxytocin in the extended amygdala may also contribute to hyperkatifeia that is associated with alcohol withdrawal. Such dysregulation of emotional processing may also significantly contribute to pain that is associated with alcohol withdrawal and negative urgency (i.e., impulsivity that is associated with hyperkatifeia during hyperkatifeia). Thus, an overactive brain stress response system is hypothesized to be activated by acute excessive drug intake, to be sensitized during repeated withdrawal, to persist into protracted abstinence, and to contribute to the compulsivity of AUD. The combination of the loss of reward function and recruitment of brain stress systems provides a powerful neurochemical basis for a negative emotional state that is responsible for the negative reinforcement that at least partially drives the compulsivity of AUD.

Association Between Parental Educational Attainment and Children's Negative Urgency: Sex Differences

Background and aims

Negative urgency reflects a specific facet of impulsivity and correlates with a wide range of health-related risk behaviors, including, but not limited to, problematic substance use. Negative urgency is also shaped by family socioeconomic position (SEP), such as parental educational attainment (PEA). This study aimed to explore sex differences regarding protective effects of PEA on children's negative urgency in the US.

Methods

This cross-sectional study used the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study data. Baseline ABCD data included 10,535 American children in the age range of 9-10 years old. The independent variable was PEA, treated as a 5-level categorical variable. The primary outcome was negative urgency measured by the Urgency, Premeditation, Perseverance, Sensation Seeking, Positive Urgency, Impulsive Behavior Scale (UPPS-SS). Mixed-effects regression models were applied for data analysis.

Results

In sex-stratified regression models, high PEA was predictive of lower levels of negative urgency in female but not male children. In the overall sample, sex showed a statistically significant interaction with PEA on children's negative urgency, indicating a stronger protective effect of high PEA for female compared to male children.

Conclusion

PEA was a more salient determinant of negative urgency in female children than male ones. Our results also showed that American boys tend to have high levels of negative urgency, which is a risk factor of drug use, at all parental education levels.

The role of family conflict in mediating impulsivity to early substance exposure among preteens

OBJECTIVES

Preadolescence substance exposure, which increases the risk of regular substance use, has been a public health concern. Although studies found that impulsivity is a predisposing factor of early substance exposure, the pathways through which impulsivity is associated with early substance exposure remain unclear. This study examined how family conflict mediates this association among U.S. preteens as family environment plays an essential role in pre-adolescent development.

METHODS

Respondents (N = 11,800, 9-10 years old) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study Release 2.01 (July 2019) were included in this study. Generalized structural equation modeling was performed to investigate the mediation effects of family conflict on the associations between childhood impulsivity and early exposure to alcohol and tobacco use, controlling for covariates based on the Problem Behavior Theory.

RESULTS

Pre-adolescents with high impulsivity levels (≥90^th percentile) were more likely to report early alcohol and tobacco exposure (total effect: ORs = 1.49 and 1.70, respectively), where 4.13% and 12.41% of the associations, respectively, were meditated by family conflict (indirect effect: ORs = 1.02 and 1.07; Sobel test ps = 0.022 and 0.005, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Family conflict mediates the associations between childhood impulsivity and early substance exposure among preteens, with higher impulsivity leading to more severe family conflicts that are, in turn, associated with a higher likelihood of early substance exposure. To prevent preteens with high impulsivity level from early use of substances, interventions may focus on reducing family conflicts such as parenting counseling that guides parents to strengthen conflict-resolution skills and create a stable home environment for preteens.

A trait-like propensity to experience internalizing symptoms is associated with problem alcohol involvement across adulthood, but not adolescence

There are stable between-person differences in an internalizing "trait," or the propensity to experience symptoms of internalizing disorders, such as social anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, and depression. Trait internalizing may serve as a marker of heightened risk for problem alcohol outcomes (such as heavier drinking, binge drinking, or alcohol dependence). However, prior research on the association between internalizing symptoms and alcohol outcomes has been largely mixed in adolescence, with more consistent support for an association during adulthood. It may be that trait internalizing is only associated with problem alcohol outcomes in adulthood, after individuals have gained experience with alcohol. Some evidence suggested that these effects may be stronger for women than men. We used data from a community sample (n = 790) interviewed during adolescence (ages 14-16) and again at ages 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, and 39. Using generalized estimating equations, we tested the association between trait internalizing and alcohol outcomes during both adolescence and adulthood, and tested whether adult trait internalizing mediated the association between adolescent trait internalizing and adult alcohol outcomes. Trait internalizing in adulthood (but not adolescence) was associated with more frequent alcohol use, binge drinking and symptoms of alcohol use disorders, and mediated the effects of adolescent trait internalizing on alcohol outcomes. We observed no moderation by gender or change in these associations over time. Understanding the developmental pathways of trait internalizing may provide further insights into preventing the emergence of problem alcohol use behavior during adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Dietary yeast influences ethanol sedation in Drosophila via serotonergic neuron function

Abuse of alcohol is a major clinical problem with far-reaching health consequences. Understanding the environmental and genetic factors that contribute to alcohol-related behaviors is a potential gateway for developing novel therapeutic approaches for patients that abuse the drug. To this end, we have used Drosophila melanogaster as a model to investigate the effect of diet, an environmental factor, on ethanol sedation. Providing flies with diets high in yeast, a routinely used component of fly media, increased their resistance to ethanol sedation. The yeast-induced resistance to ethanol sedation occurred in several different genetic backgrounds, was observed in males and females, was elicited by yeast from different sources, was readily reversible, and was associated with increased nutrient intake as well as decreased internal ethanol levels. Inhibition of serotonergic neuron function using multiple independent genetic manipulations blocked the effect of yeast supplementation on ethanol sedation, nutrient intake, and internal ethanol levels. Our results demonstrate that yeast is a critical dietary component that influences ethanol sedation in flies and that serotonergic signaling is required for the effect of dietary yeast on nutrient intake, ethanol uptake/elimination, and ethanol sedation. Our studies establish the fly as a model for diet-induced changes in ethanol sedation and raise the possibility that serotonin might mediate the effect of diet on alcohol-related behavior in other species.

Does Emotion Regulation Predict Gains in Exercise-Induced Fitness? A Prospective Mixed-Effects Study with Elite Helicopter Pilots

Emotion regulation (ER) is a strong predictor of different aspects of mental health and wellbeing. However, only recently has ER been examined in relation to physical activity and its effects on fitness. In the present study, 26 elite helicopter pilots, serving in the Spanish Air Force, were physically trained for 6 months, and their level of fitness (maximum oxygen consumption and time to exhaustion in a treadmill-running test) was assessed before and after that period. Additionally, two indices of emotion regulation (general adaptiveness of ER strategies, as measured by the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and negative urgency, as measured by the UPPS-P questionnaire) measured at baseline were used as prospective predictors of fitness improvement. After controlling for individual features, baseline fitness, and type of training, better emotion regulation strategies (more cognitive reappraisal plus less expressive suppression) predicted larger fitness gains (p = 0.028). Incidental emotion regulation, as measured by the negative urgency index, failed to predict pre–post-fitness changes (p = 0.734). These results suggest that fostering emotion regulation skills may improve the effectiveness of fitness training programs.

Racial Variation in the Association between Positive Urgency and Body Mass Index among American Children

Background

Positive urgency reflects a specific facet of impulsivity and correlates with several health-related risk behaviors such as obesity, food addiction, and substance use. However, less is known about whether positive urgency is similarly or differently associated with high body mass index (BMI) across diverse racial groups.

Aim

The aim of this study was to investigate racial differences in the associations between positive urgency and BMI in 9-10-year-old children in the US.

Materials and Methods

This cross-sectional study used the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study data. Participants were 11590 American children between ages 9 and 10 years old. The independent variable was positive urgency measured by the Urgency, Premeditation (lack of), Perseverance (lack of), Sensation Seeking, Positive Urgency, Impulsive Behavior Scale (UPPS-SS). The primary outcome was BMI. Race was the moderator. Demographic variables (age and sex) were covariates. Mixed-effects regression models were used for data analysis to adjust for the nested nature of the ABCD data. We also used weights (propensity score) to generate nationally representative results.

Results

In the pooled sample, race showed a statistically significant interaction with positive urgency on children's BMI, indicating a stronger effect of positive urgency on BMI for White children, compared to African American children.

Conclusion

The association between positive urgency and BMI seems to be weaker in African American children than in White American children. The role of individual-level risk factors such as impulsive traits may be smaller for African American than White American children. Future research should study the role of obesogenic environments and other area -level indicators in altering the effects of individual-level risk factors on BMI and obesity.

Racial Variation in the Association between Suicidal History and Positive and Negative Urgency among American Children

BACKGROUND

Positive and negative urgency reflect specific facets of impulsivity and correlate with several health-related risk behaviors such as aggression, substance use, and suicide. Less is known about how positive and negative urgency are associated with suicidal behaviors of diverse racial groups.

AIM

To investigate racial differences in the positive associations between positive and negative urgency and suicide in children in US.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This longitudinal study used the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Participants were 10535 American children between ages 9 and 10 years old who were followed for up to one year. The independent variable was suicide history. The primary outcomes were the positive and negative urgency measured by the Urgency, Premeditation (lack of), Perseverance (lack of), Sensation Seeking, Positive Urgency, Impulsive Behavior Scale (UPPS-SS). Mixed-effects regression models were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

In the overall sample, suicidality was associated with positive and negative urgency in children. Race showed a statistically significant interaction with suicidality on children's positive and negative urgency, indicating stronger effects of suicidality on positive and negative urgency for White, compared to Black and Other/Mixed race children respectively.

CONCLUSION

The effects of positive and negative urgency for suicidality of American children depend on race. White American children show the strongest links between positive and negative urgency and risk of suicide, while the effects of positive and negative urgency on children suicide are weaker for Black and Other/Mixed race children.

Impulsivity Derived From the Dark Side: Neurocircuits That Contribute to Negative Urgency

Negative urgency is a unique dimension of impulsivity that involves acting rashly when in extreme distress and impairments in inhibitory control. It has been hypothesized to derive from stress that is related to negative emotional states that are experienced during the withdrawal/negative affect stage of the addiction cycle. Classically, a transition to compulsive drug use prevents or relieves negative emotional states that result from abstinence or stressful environmental circumstances. Recent work suggests that this shift to the "dark side" is also implicated in impulsive use that derives from negative urgency. Stress and anxious, depressed, and irritable mood have high comorbidity with addiction. They may trigger bouts of drug seeking in humans via both negative reinforcement and negative urgency. The neurocircuitry that has been identified in the "dark side" of addiction involves key neuropeptides in the central extended amygdala, including corticotropin-releasing factor. The present review article summarizes empirical and conceptual advances in the field to understand the role of the "dark side" in driving the risky and detrimental substance use that is associated with negative urgency in addiction.

Integrating Preclinical and Clinical Models of Negative Urgency

Overwhelming evidence suggests that negative urgency is robustly associated with rash, ill-advised behavior, and this trait may hamper attempts to treat patients with substance use disorder. Research applying negative urgency to clinical treatment settings has been limited, in part, due to the absence of an objective, behavioral, and translational model of negative urgency. We suggest that development of such a model will allow for determination of prime neurological and physiological treatment targets, the testing of treatment effectiveness in the preclinical and the clinical laboratory, and, ultimately, improvement in negative-urgency-related treatment response and effectiveness. In the current paper, we review the literature on measurement of negative urgency and discuss limitations of current attempts to assess this trait in human models. Then, we review the limited research on animal models of negative urgency and make suggestions for some promising models that could lead to a translational measurement model. Finally, we discuss the importance of applying objective, behavioral, and translational models of negative urgency, especially those that are easily administered in both animals and humans, to treatment development and testing and make suggestions on necessary future work in this field. Given that negative urgency is a transdiagnostic risk factor that impedes treatment success, the impact of this work could be large in reducing client suffering and societal costs.

Personality and Coping: Individual Differences in Responses to Emotion

Abundant evidence links personality with emotion via coping. Alternatively, personality can be viewed as an emergent property of responses to the experience of emotion. Dispositions to control, approach, escape, and avoid one's emotional experience underlie diverse traits, including positive and negative urgency, trait emotional approach and avoidance, alexithymia, and emotional expressiveness. In this review, we consider the neurobiological underpinnings of these dispositions and the nature (e.g., stability) and adaptiveness of the associated traits. Important future directions for research in this area include the roles of development, intraindividual variability and flexibility, and the intensity and structure of emotional experience.