Associations Between Neighborhood Resources and Youths’ Response to Reward Omission in a Task Modeling Negatively Biased Environments

Objective

Neighborhoods provide essential resources (eg, education, safe housing, green space) that influence neurodevelopment and mental health. However, we need a clearer understanding of the mechanisms mediating these relationships. Limited access to neighborhood resources may hinder youths from achieving their goals and, over time, shape their behavioral and neurobiological response to negatively biased environments blocking goals and rewards.

Method

To test this hypothesis, 211 youths (aged ∼13.0 years, 48% boys, 62% identifying as White, 75% with a psychiatric disorder diagnosis) performed a task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Initially, rewards depended on performance (unbiased condition); but later, rewards were randomly withheld under the pretense that youths did not perform adequately (negatively biased condition), a manipulation that elicits frustration, sadness, and a broad response in neural networks. We investigated associations between the Childhood Opportunity Index (COI), which quantifies access to youth-relevant neighborhood features in 1 metric, and the multimodal response to the negatively biased condition, controlling for age, sex, medication, and psychopathology.

Results

Youths from less-resourced neighborhoods responded with less anger (p < .001, marginal R² = 0.42) and more sadness (p < .001, marginal R² = 0.46) to the negatively biased condition than youths from well-resourced neighborhoods. On the neurobiological level, lower COI scores were associated with a more localized processing mode (p = .039, marginal R² = 0.076), reduced connectivity between the somatic–motor–salience and the control network (p = .041, marginal R² = 0.040), and fewer provincial hubs in the somatic–motor–salience, control, and default mode networks (all p_FWE < .05).

Conclusion

The present study adds to a growing literature documenting how inequity may affect the brain and emotions in youths. Future work should test whether findings generalize to more diverse samples and should explore effects on neurodevelopmental trajectories and emerging mood disorders during adolescence.

Plain language summary

A growing body of literature suggests that access to resources at the neighborhood level affects the neurodevelopment and mental health of youth. This study explores how access to neighborhood resources shapes the behavioral and neurobiological responses to negatively biased environments in youth. During brain imaging, 211 youth participated in a task where rewards were randomly withheld under the pretense that the youth performed poorly, an “unfair” intervention that elicits frustration. The authors found that youth from less-resourced neighborhoods exhibited less anger and more sadness in response to the unfair condition compared to youth from well-resourced neighborhoods. Limited access to neighborhood resources was also associated with reduced connectivity between the control and motor brain networks. These findings suggest that neighborhood inequity may impact the neurodevelopment and mental health of youth.

Diversity & Inclusion Statement

One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented sexual and/or gender groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper received support from a program designed to increase minority representation in science. We actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our author group. We actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our author group.